Health Articles > Acne > Ways To Prevent And Treat Acne

Many people suffer from acne and even more continue to have acne related skin care issues that carry over from adolescence. Acne can be embarrassing and discouraging because it is unexpected and not as understood as the pimples we experience as teens. Establishing a daily skin care routine is the best thing you can do for your skin. Without the twice daily washing, toning and moisturizing, your other external treatments could be wasting your time and money. Your external treatments can include a range of skin care products, salon and home treatments with different products applied at different intervals. The Acne Resource Center gave some great advice on an ideal skin care routine. The acne patient should wash the face at least twice in a day, with some gentle medicated soap and warm water to keep the skin fresh from extra sebum. Refrain from vigorous washing or scrubbing of acne as it will definitely cause the acne to worsen. After washing, a topical exfoliant like Benzoyl Peroxide should be used to remove the dead layer of skin while the skin is wet. Doing so will allow a toner to cleanse the pores and healthy skin. After cleansing with a toner, one should use a restoring cream to kill any bacteria and prevent the acne from returning. If you continue to use this three step process every day, there is a good chance you may never have acne again. Cosmetics should be used with utmost care. Preference should be given to non comedogenic cosmetics which will coalign with good skin care. In fact, use of cosmetics by people suffering from acne should be avoided as much as possible. In treatment of acne, as stated above, attention is paid to obstruct the factors which cause acne stimulation. Oral antibiotics and topical solutions are also used in treating acne. Common acne may be controlled with the help of topical solutions, but to control inflammatory acne, systemic antibiotics are required. The antibiotics that have proved to be most effective include tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline and erythromycin. These drugs penetrate the follicle, even sebaceous glands and decrease the colonization of bacteria. In women and girls, oral contraceptives may be a useful therapy in treating acne and these contraceptives tend to remove the hormonal imbalance which is the most common cause of acne in women. Oral contraceptives reduce the level of androgen hormones and thus prevent it from stimulating the sebaceous glands into producing an increased amount of sebum. However, oral contraceptives are known to have side effects as well. Some are reported to cause cancer. It is wise to check with your doctor. Internal treatments are equally important too. These include what you eat, how you exercise and vitamins and supplements that you take. These will help you create a better skin from inside out.