Treating Acne
What Type of Treatments Are There For Acne?
Every year, millions of people around the world suffer with acne, affecting every age group. Acne is a skin condition that is caused by clogged pores, resulting in whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, blemishes, and cysts all of which can be annoying, irritating, and even embarrassing to people. Fortunately for all affected, there are many acne products on the market that can help you effectively heal and control acne.
What Can I Use To Treat Acne?
The store shelves are packed with a huge array of products, such as gels, creams soaps, cleansing liquids, cleansing bars, and lotions to help combat acne. Sometimes sifting through these various options can be daunting, not to mention expensive if you end up testing a number of different products.
One of the primary purposes of many over-the-counter acne products, is to kill Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), which are bacteria that triggers the inflammation associated with acne. Other targeted aspects of over-the-counter acne treatments are removal of excess oil from the skin, promoting faster growth of new, healthy skin cells, and getting rid of dead skins cells. A number of these products are combination products, meaning they target more than just one aspect of the acne problem.
It is the primary active ingredients in the acne product that determines how they work and what problem area they work with best. Some of the most common ingredients are: benzyl peroxide, which kills the P. acnes bacteria and helps remove oils and dead cells; salicylic acid, which retards shedding of cells in the follicles, preventing the pores from clogging; sulfur and resorcinol, which are normally used together and help remove dead skin cells and excess oil; alcohol and acetone, which are astringents found in many cleansers and help remove dirt and oils.
Herbal Remedies For Acne
Herbal remedies can be very useful in the treatment and prevention of acne. Chamomile, lavender, juniper, bergamot, dandelion root, and burdock root can all be used to reduce toxicity in the skin and improve its overall condition. Other herbs like Echinacea and poke root have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce the swelling and clear blocked oil glands. Red clover is beneficial for its estrogenic action, and witch hazel has excellent astringent properties and can be very effective for cleansing acne-prone skin.
There is such a huge selection of acne remedies available, so pinpointing the right over-the-counter or natural acne treatment for you will likely take some trial and error. While trying different products, it is always a good idea to be sure you take the proper steps in hygiene on a daily basis, and add more healthy foods to your diet, which can only help your body fight any disease, including the skin disease called acne.
