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Title: Simple Over the Counter Acne Treatments That Work!
Word Count: 864
Author: Tony Buel
Email: sales1@...
Article URL:
http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=7280

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Simple Over the Counter Acne Treatments That Work!
Copyright 2006 Tony Buel

Everyone deals with acne at some stage in their life. Some
will experience it worse than others. Some forms of acne
will be more mild than others. The vast majority of people
will, however, be in the middle somewhere.

Although there may not be a direct linkage, acne may be
aggravated by factors such as stress, diet, air quality and
life-style choices. But the main factors causing acne are:
hormonal imbalances and genetics. Everyone, at some time in
their lives will go through a period of time when their
hormones seem to get messed up (puberty and pregnancy are
prime examples) and if acne is your genetic trait -- you're
stuck with it.

Fortunately, there are many over the counter (OTC)
medications available to help people deal with acne. How
well they work for you will pretty much be determined by
three factors: the product's active ingredients, the cause
of the user's acne and the user's skin type.

Not all acne products will work the same way because of the
different ingredients used. The active ingredient salicylic
acid works by reducing the amount of dead skin. The active
ingredient benzoyl peroxide works by reducing the P.acnes
bacteria (a naturally occurring bacteria in the skin).

Following are descriptions of the active ingredients you
will find used in most over-the-counter acne medications:

Benzoyl peroxide: Benzoyl peroxide is the 'wonder drug' in
the acne treatment industry; it works by reducing the
natural P.acnes bacteria and reduces the quantity of dead
skin cells. By performing these two actions, benzoyl
peroxide manages to lessen the effects of two of the main
causes of comedones (the large, deep, pus-filled pimples
that are the trademarks of acne). Benzoyl peroxide has been
used for years in acne treatment medications since being
discovered to be very effective in treating mild acne.

You will find (on the Internet) many 'personal'
recommendations for benzoyl peroxide and details about how
it was used to successfully treat acne. But as with all
medications, use an acne product with benzoyl peroxide as
instructed on the product label or as instructed by a
physician. Benzoyl peroxide, when over-used, has the
side-effect of drying out your skin and can also discolor
any fabrics or materials it comes into contact with, e.g.,
shirts, towels, sheets, etc.. Benzoyl peroxide is available
as a lotion or gel and can be used as a preventative acne
treatment even after your acne has cleared up.

Alcohol and acetone: Alcohol and acetone are used together
in some over-the-counter acne medications. The alcohol
kills external bacteria while the acetone makes the skin
less oily.

"Herbal", "organic" and "natural" products: You will find
some OTC products with labels such "herbal," "organic" and
"natural;" these products are generally put on the market
to appeal to the people who are attracted to products with
those labels. The products themselves may or may not be
beneficial for acne and actual results have proven
inconclusive.

Resorcinol: The active ingredient resorcinol has been found
to work well on small acne blemishes and can be found in
some OTC products combined with sulfur.

Sulfur itself has been used in a number of OTC medications
for decades. You will find this usually in combination with
active ingredients such as alcohol, salicylic acid and
resorcinol. Sulfur has been found be an effective acne
treatment for some people but it does not seem to be known
exactly how it works to clear up acne. Also, products with
sulfur will tend to have an unpleasant smell.

Salicylic acid: The active ingredient salicylic acid is
generally effective for acne blemishes when there is no
inflammation present. Salicylic acid acts by unclogging
clogged-up pores to reduce the number of acne blemishes
formed -- it does this by minimizing the amount of dead
skin cells; it has no known effect on the production of
sebum or the production of the P.acnes bacteria. Just as is
recommended with products containing benzoyl peroxide,
products with salicylic acid as the active ingredient
should be used even after the acne clears up to prevent its
return. One possible side-effect of salicylic acid is skin
irritation in some people.

Remember -everyone's skin is different! Some people have
generally dry skin, some have generally oily skin and most
people have a combination of the two on different areas on
our bodies. Acne in areas of oily skin will respond better
to a gel based acne product. Acne on dry skin will respond
better to a cream.

Those with sensitive skin should not use real strong acne
medication. It may lead to skin irritation or even make
your acne worse!

Some of the milder acne treatments can be used as a
preventative measure and some (like those with benzoyl
peroxide and salicylic acid) are recommended as post-acne
preventative measures but many are too strong and will
irritate your skin.

If you have anything but a mild, seemingly manageable case
of acne, an OTC medicine may control it and eventually get
rid of it. If, however, your acne seems out of control or
painful or too stressful to handle by yourself, be sure to
see a get to a dermatologist!


About the Author:

This article written by Tony Buel may be found at:
http://www.acnetreatment-101.com/Simple-Over-the-Counter-Acn
e-Treatments.htm
Much more information on this subject can be found on his
website:
http://www.acnetreatment-101.com