Skin care for acne consists of progressive regimen of basic hygiene, topical anti-spot creams, and prescription medications.
If you have acne, your skin care should begin with a review of your basic hygiene. This does not mean that you should scrub your face hard multiple times a day. Instead, consider the following regimen for skin care for acne.
When you wake up in the morning, use a mild soap such as Dove and wash your face with warm water using your fingers or a soft cloth. Do not use a rough wash cloth, loofah, or sponge and these can irritate the face. Also, do not massage the soap into the pores. Once you have cleaned your face, you should rinse it with warm water and pat it dry with a thick towel.
Do not apply any creams or cosmetics for at least 10 minutes after you wash your face. This gives the face time to rest and air dry.
In the evening, you can do a similar routine before bedtime or you can try a natural skin care for acne technique. This involves making a mixture of equal parts fresh cucumber and lime juices and applying the juice to your face before taking a hot bath. After the bath, rinse the mixture off with lukewarm water.
Another acne skin care treatment is to make a mud mask from 1 tsp. of green clay powder and 1 tsp. raw honey. Apply the paste to your face, avoiding the eye area. (Some people enjoy placing cucumber slices over the eyes). Leave the mask on for 15 minutes and then rinse off in warm water. You should do this 3 times per week.
If none of these skin care for acne techniques work, you will need to see your doctor or a dermatologist about stepping up your treatment.
A physician can steer you towards the right topical creams for acne sufferers. Many of these creams are available over the counter. Most contain benzoyl peroxide. These creams tend to work best for people with mild cases of acne.
Creams in the 5 percent to 10 percent active ingredient categories work best. Having more than 10 percent of the cream contain benzoyl peroxide doesn’t tend to help you any more than 10 percent does.
These creams should not be used more than twice per day. They may cause skin irritation. You should use care when applying them as the creams can bleach fabrics and hair.
If neither improving your basic hygiene nor using topical creams helps to alleviate your acne, you may need to move on to prescription medicines.
One of the most popular medications for acne is Tretinoin, also known as Retin-A. Retin-A increases your skin cell turnover and promotes the extrusion of the plugged materials in the follicle.
Retin-A is a long-term solution. Many people quit using it aver a couple of weeks because it dries out their skin and they don’t see any immediate improvement. This is a mistake.
If you are using Retin-A, you should not use any over the counter creams containing benzoyl peroxide as they counteract the active ingredient in Retin-A.
In addition to Retin-A, topical antibiotics with Clindamycin or Erythromycin are often prescribed.
Skin care for acne starts with basic hygiene and progresses to over the counter medications and prescription medications. The best bet for skin care for acne is to start by careful washing of the face.