Anyone that suffers with acne (Zits) may feel as if they spend most of their time searching for remedies; fortunately treatments are improving all the time. Studies into possible treatments and causes, for the condition is ongoing; these days, even with serious cases, there are many skin care treatments available. The type of acne skin care product you might use would come under three general categories:

Drugstore or Internet: Acne preventing treatments

Over-the-counter (OTC)

Treatments That Require A Prescription

Probably the largest part of the skin care market is products that are designed to protect and clean the skin, like skin cleansers. In the real sense, these products are just those that should be part of your daily routine.

More specialized cleaners are designed in the same way as acne skin care products; they clean out the pores to help stop sebum or oil which clogs up the pores. They are effective in reducing the amount of oil that stays in the pores assisting harmful bacteria growth which can ultimately lead to acne skin conditions.

General skin care treatments also include special exfoliation products like skin peels. These are effective because they remove dead skin cells and all surface pollution which can cause the pores to get blocked.

There are over-the-counter acne skin care products available they do not require a prescription. Products which extract excess oil from the skin’s pores include vanishing creams. The active ingredient in most of these is salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, both of which work to eliminate bacteria.

Generally it is best to start using this type of product with only a small amount of benzoyl peroxide; in fact no more than 5.5 percent is recommended just to see how the skin reacts. The working alternatives to this involve using products that have the substance alpha hydroxy acid in them. It is not always possible to find an acne skin care product that works first time. You may need to try a few but if none of them seem to be working then you would be advised to contact your skin specialist.

Only skin care specialists or doctors or can write the prescriptions for some acne medications, including the use of antibiotics and certain ointments. Your dermatologist may suggest a minor surgical procedure to remove the contents of pustules. Never try to squeeze your zits as it can lead to permanent damage of your skin.

In Closing

Hormone therapy is an alternative that has been shown to be effective. In many cases studies would indicate that hormone based skin care treatments are effective since in some cases hormones can cause acne. Dealing and solving this skin complaint is not the issue it used to be, there are now a large selection of acne products specifically formulated to deal with this. This means that an acne sufferer does not have to put up with this condition unless they choose to.