acne problem

Benzoyl peroxide has been used to treat acne for many years and is still present in many over-the-counter treatments available today. This seems to indicate that benzoyl peroxide is an effective treatment however, there are many others that have been around for many years and are still available as well. Some of these include, alpha-hydroxy acids and salicylic acids.
Now the question becomes, which one will work the best for your acne. The answer, unfortunately, is not a simple one as there are different types of acne. One treatment may work well for one type of acne but, not so great for another and using a trial and error method to discover which works' best can be time consuming, because of the thousands of over-the-counter treatments available.
If you have an acne problem, the first step you should take, and can take without any acne treatments, to help control it before it develops into a severe case, has to do with hygiene and skin care. It is commonly known acne is caused by the skins pores becoming clogged with dirt and oils which promote the growth of bacteria.
Start controlling the acne by not irritating your skin, which will cause it to worsen, by over washing the infected areas, twice a day is enough. When you do wash, avoid using strong or harsh soaps and abrasive cleansers as well as washcloths and scrub pads as these irritate the skin just as much as over washing. So, use mild soap and your finger tips to gently wash the infected area, just this one thing can help control the acne and help keep it from getting worse.
Gently washing and a topical acne cream, gel, or ointment containing any of the ingredients I mentioned earlier, should be sufficient to begin clearing up the acne. If the treatment you are using is irritating your skin then, try a treatment with one of the other ingredients until you find one that does not irritate the skin. ( All of the ingredients will cause irritation if applied before the skin is completely dry, wait at least thirty minutes after washing, then apply them.)
One other thing that can keep the acne from worsening is not picking at, or popping the pimples. Besides making your acne get worse, picking at the pimples or popping them can leave scars, even if the acne is only a mild or moderate case, and with severe cases, it can make the scarring severe as well.
When dealing with a severe case, it is advisable to see a dermatologist since there are different types of acne and with severe cases you are normally dealing with all the types of acne. In this case it may take more than one type of treatment to get the acne under control, and the longer it takes to gain control of it, the more severe scarring you may experience. It may take a prescription medication or a combination of medications to clear up severe cases so, seeing a dermatologist or skin care professional may be your only option.