Acne has, over the years, been the cause of an incredible amount of heartache, especially amongst teenagers. However acne is not a disease restricted to just this age group as the problem can persist well into adulthood and even appear in adults who had note previously suffered from the affliction.

A large number of women are alarmed to find that they can suddenly develop acne during pregnancy. My husband was rather alarmed when blemishes began to appear on my face as I had not even had spots during my teenage years. To be honest I think that my skin never really recovered as I continued to have acne outbreaks for many years until I learnt how to bring them under control and reduce the frequency of them dramatically. Although there are periods when I get the odd pimple or two I can usually stop it progressing to a full outbreak with just a little care and attention to the way I treat it.

Although many people say that not washing your face is not the cause of acne I would say that having a good skin care regime is paramount to success in the fight against pimples. I have, through trial and error, discovered that if I keep my skin clean and healthy I have fewer spots appearing. Therefore, if you suffer from acne prone skin, I strongly advise you cleanse your skin deeply every day followed by the use of an astringent or toner (which closes the pores after cleansing).

When choosing which skin cleansers and toners to use you need to ensure that you match the skin care product with your skin type. This is extremely important as some skin care products, especially if they have been formulated for greasy skin, are simply far to harsh for sensitive dry skin.

An alternative way in which you can massively minimize the risks of an acne breakout is by having regular skin care treatments such as microdermabrasion or a mild chemical peel. These treatments were developed as anti-aging skin care treatments but it has been scientifically proven that they can have a dramatic effect upon acne prone skin vastly reducing the risk of outbreaks and bringing acne quickly under control. However you should never have such a treatment on areas where there is active acne.

If, after you have tried the above, you discover that you still have zits appearing on your face then it may be time to try something a little more aggressive. If you are only suffering from it a little then it is perfectly reasonable to try some of the over the counter remedies. Sometimes these products can nip the problem in the bud. Benzoyl peroxide, in a 2.5 – 20% solution, is usually the main ingredient in the over the counter topical acne treatments.5 and 10%. Other active ingredients include sulfur and salicylic acid (sulfur has been successfully used in the treatment of skin problems for over 50 years.

If, sadly, your acne persists you should really seek further medical advice by visiting your family doctor who will be able to prescribe acne treatments which are far more powerful than those available over the counter. Sometimes a short course of antibiotics will bring an outbreak under control within a few days. Alarmingly it is far too common to find that doctors prescribe antibiotics for acne even before trying to stop it using other proven methods and treatments first. While this will make the patient happy it is now often accepted that the overuse of such drugs can only lead to problems. I therefore feel that it is important that you at least try using the simple methods first.

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Tags: acne, acne outbreak, acne treatment, Skin Care