Acne is usually bacteria thriving on a build up of oil / sebum in your pores and causing them to become inflamed. Washing your face 2 or 3 times a day is rarely enough to tackle the problem.
In my experience, none of the acne-specific face washes do anything more than soap does. They have good advertising and branding, but the chemical effectiveness is poor and the majority are just embellished bottles of soap.
I also tried Benzoyl Peroxide cream, which didn't work for me (although it does work for a lot of people apparently), and resulted in quite a few bed sheets and items of clothing having bleach stains -
Pros: Increases skin cell turn-over because of peeling thus reducing the bacteria count in pores, directly kills bacteria.
Cons: The skin peeling is unappealing (pun intended) and more severe for some people. Drying out can result in flakey, sore, cracked skin. Also bleaches fabrics (clothing, bedsheets) so be warned.
Another treatment I'm trying is light treatment; I bought a red and blue LED light which works by killing the naughty bacteria in the pores with light waves. In trials this method has a pretty good rate of success, better than Benzoyl Peroxide, which is otherwise the most typically effective. You have to use it for 15-30 minutes a day on whatever area has spots over a period of several months before noticing a difference though, which is a long time for a lot of people. I haven't used it for long enough to know whether it's working for me yet -
Pros: Doesn't irritate or damage the skin, penetrates pores further than the majority of creams can due to the use of light, kills the bacteria, has an impressive rate of effectiveness in clinical trials.
Cons: Expensive, takes a while to find out whether it is working for you.
Some girls need only start taking a contraceptive pill to overcome acne. That's all my friend needed and she went from severe acne to perfectly clear skin. Doesn't always work but worth a try even if you're not sexually 'active'.
Apparently intolerance to some foods can cause acne, especially dairy intolerance. It might be worth experimenting with cutting certain foods out of your diet over a few months to see if that makes a difference. Good luck to everyone out there dealing with acne :)
What do you use for acne?
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Acne is usually bacteria thriving on a build up of oil / sebum in your pores and causing them to become inflamed. Washing your face 2 or 3 times a day is rarely enough to tackle the problem.
In my experience, none of the acne-specific face washes do anything more than soap does. They have good advertising and branding, but the chemical effectiveness is poor and the majority are just embellished bottles of soap.
I also tried Benzoyl Peroxide cream, which didn't work for me (although it does work for a lot of people apparently), and resulted in quite a few bed sheets and items of clothing having bleach stains -
Pros: Increases skin cell turn-over because of peeling thus reducing the bacteria count in pores, directly kills bacteria.
Cons: The skin peeling is unappealing (pun intended) and more severe for some people. Drying out can result in flakey, sore, cracked skin. Also bleaches fabrics (clothing, bedsheets) so be warned.
Another treatment I'm trying is light treatment; I bought a red and blue LED light which works by killing the naughty bacteria in the pores with light waves. In trials this method has a pretty good rate of success, better than Benzoyl Peroxide, which is otherwise the most typically effective. You have to use it for 15-30 minutes a day on whatever area has spots over a period of several months before noticing a difference though, which is a long time for a lot of people. I haven't used it for long enough to know whether it's working for me yet -
Pros: Doesn't irritate or damage the skin, penetrates pores further than the majority of creams can due to the use of light, kills the bacteria, has an impressive rate of effectiveness in clinical trials.
Cons: Expensive, takes a while to find out whether it is working for you.
Some girls need only start taking a contraceptive pill to overcome acne. That's all my friend needed and she went from severe acne to perfectly clear skin. Doesn't always work but worth a try even if you're not sexually 'active'.
Apparently intolerance to some foods can cause acne, especially dairy intolerance. It might be worth experimenting with cutting certain foods out of your diet over a few months to see if that makes a difference. Good luck to everyone out there dealing with acne :)