Understanding Acne Treatments

How to start acne treatments and when to seek help |


Treating acne has got to be one of the hardest things to figure out. For me, finding out how to keep my skin clear is right up there with rocket science. Why is it so hard? Because not only is everyone's skin different, there are also so many products out there that it's difficult to know what will work and where to start. Acne can also be as much internal as it is external, so the whole thing can grow very overwhelming.

Sometimes friends, family members, even strangers (thanks for the unsolicited advice!) will throw their two cents into the mix, recommending products or supplements that worked for them. I usually get all excited about the next possible "acne cure", only to be horribly disappointed. Other times I'll fall for infomercials or random acne kits sold at drugstores. The same goes for all the time I've spent on the internet hunting down acne remedies. And for all the dermatologists I've seen, only to come up empty handed. Overall, the search is pretty fruitless and I rarely find the kind of help I actually need.

After all these years, I have learned one thing though: there is no acne cure. No pill or cream can cure acne and make it so that you will never ever get another pimple in your life. It's also important to not get too fixated on finding that one product that will get rid of your acne because it could be a number of factors that end up clearing your skin. It's worth taking a few minutes to understand how acne treatments work, how to start treating acne, and when to seek professional help.


How do acne treatments work?

Acne treatment products help control your breakouts by doing some or all of the following things:

  1. Helping your skin shed faster and at a more normal rate - ex. Exfoliants, BHAs, retinoids

  2. Killing bacteria - ex. Antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil

  3. Reducing inflammation - ex. Azelaic acid, antibiotics, diet

  4. Drying out the pimple - ex. Sulfur

  5. Balancing your hormones - ex. Birth control pills, anti-androgens, lifestyle changes

  6. Eliminating oil - ex. Accutane


Even though acne treatments are pretty harsh, you don't have to be aggressive with the rest of your skin care routine for clear skin. Please understand that you can't scrub or wash away pimples.

If you think about it, acne treatments are trying to kill off your existing pimples and help your skin change for the better, but if you start using cleansers that are too drying or over-scrub your face everyday, you aren't giving your skin time to react and heal from all the treatment products.

It can be really frustrating to be nice to your skin when your skin isn't being nice to you, but it helps to think of it as a separate living organism. You need to nourish, love, and be gentle to it so it can thrive, be happy, and love you back.


How to start treating acne

Figuring out what treatments will work for you is a long trial-and-error process that takes a lot of willpower. You pretty much have to go through all sorts of products, test drive them, and weed out the bad apples until you find the things that actually work.

Most dermatologists and skin specialists recommend a three-pronged attack for initial acne treatment:

  1. Kill bacteria

  2. Exfoliate pores

  3. Eliminate oil


While this slash-and-burn technique (i.e. prescribe a retinoid and antibiotic) may work for some people, it is hard to say whether or not this plan of attack has a high success rate because everyone's skin responds differently.

I tend to agree with 1 and 2, but have a hard time understanding how you can eliminate oil from your skin. You do have to control bacterial growth (either with antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, topicals, or just being gentle with your skin so your don't ruin your natural acid mantle) and exfoliating your pores will help keep them clear (with retinoids, BHAs, etc) but to eliminate oil, you'll need more drastic measures such as Accutane, which not everyone afflicted with acne needs. Your skin also needs oils to function properly and form a protective skin barrier, so completely eliminating oil doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Instead of following such a rigid plan, here's a general outline of the steps you should go through in order to to help you figure out how to start treating your acne and take care of your skin:

  1. Learn about what type of skin you have so you can choose appropriate products

  2. Start and keep up a good, gentle, basic skin care routine

  3. Understand the causes of acne

  4. Familiarize yourself with all the different available acne treatments

  5. Be patient! (Give acne time to heal. It usually takes two weeks for a pimple to form so you should give your skin at least 2-3 weeks of use of a product to see if it will work.)

  6. Remain optimistic! You are beautiful both inside and out!


The process for treating acne can be very confusing and frustrating. There is the whole "it gets worse before it gets better" type of mentality, so lots of people will stick with a product that's making their skin worse in hopes that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes this risk pays off and sticking it through does give you clear skin. Other times it doesn't and really does end up making your skin worse.

As confusing as it can be, never give up on your skin. Arm yourself with as much information as possible. Google everything and look up reviews for new skin care products you're thinking about using. This is your skin we're talking about here and no one will care more about your skin than yourself.


When to seek professional help

When most people start getting acne, they usually turn to drugstore options first. (A word of advice: before you put anything on your skin, look over the skin care section to get a good idea of how to take care of your skin and choose good products. You want to be able to take care of your skin's basic needs before tackling skin problems like acne, wrinkles, etc).

If over-the-counter acne treatments are not cutting it for you, then it's time to seek professional help. It's also time to see a dermatologist when your acne escalates from mild to moderate or severe. I know some people think that dermatologist visits are too expensive (and they definitely can be) but sometimes it's more worth it to get professional advice instead of shelling out lots of money for over-the-counter treatments that end up not working anyway. Also, dermatologists are the only way to get prescription products and if you need more aggressive treatments for your acne, you won't have access to them without a dermatologist.

However, don't expect a visit to the dermatologist to be a ticket to clear skin. Just because you go to a skin care professional doesn’t mean you will get to bypass the trial-and-error process of treating acne. Like over-the-counter treatments, prescription products still require a test driving period. Dermatologists may offer good guidance to shorten your trial-and-error endeavor, but you will still have to figure out what works best for your skin.

Be selective about picking your dermatologist because many of them don't care. I've been to four different ones before finding one that actually takes time to talk me through everything. I've also been to several dermatologists who prescribe products without even telling me how to use them before sending me out the door. But good dermatologists do exist! Ask your friends or check out doctor reviews to find the better dermatologists in your area.

Also, for whatever products or treatments (facials, laser, etc) your doctor recommends, make sure you do your own homework. Don't rely on the dermatologist to tell you everything because you are ultimately responsible for your skin and what you do to it.

Having acne sucks, but hang in there! The human body is an amazing healing organism and even if your skin is in the pits now, there's always a silver lining. For a comprehensive list of over-the-counter, prescription, and at-home acne treatments, check here.



Last updated: August 28, 2011


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