The average teenager has enough on his or her plate without having to worry about acne control. Fortunately for some people, acne is only a concern during their teenage years, while for others it is an affliction that plagues them for their entire life. Regardless of a person’s age or of the severity of the acne, there are many methods to treat acne.

The acne sufferer must both keep the pores of the skin unclogged and work on unclogging already infected pores. One must keep at bay the bacteria that cause the infection and redness of acne and reduce any redness that is already present. The best line of attack is to apply preventive measures to avoid an acne breakout altogether.

Washing the face twice daily using a gentle soap and warm water will go a long way toward preventing the clogging of your skin pores. Beyond that, cleansing your skin with benzoyl peroxide will also help it dry out. Benzoyl peroxide is the active substance found in cleaning wipes such as Oxy Pads. A major benefit of benzoyl peroxide is that it can be used in conjunction with other acne treatment products.

Using exfoliation has become a common technique in acne control. The removal of dead skin cells through exfoliation can help prevent them from clogging the pores of the skin, which in turn aids in preventing acne. The skin revealed by exfoliating is new, smooth, and much more healthy looking. It is important to know, however, that many of the agents found in exfoliating products can be very irritating to your skin. Before using them on your entire face, a small area of your skin should be tested to check for any negative reactions to these agents.

Many of the products available to treat acne have a dual function: the exfoliating agents which remove dead cells from the skin can also kill the bacteria associated with acne and reduce the inflammation of the skin. Therefore these products not only help to prevent acne, but also reduce the swelling and redness associated with an acne breakout.

Checking your acne products will reveal sulfur and azelaic acid as commonly used ingredients. It is always best to test acne products on a small patch of skin prior to using it everywhere, just to check for any adverse reaction. If you find that salicylic acid listed as one of the ingredients in acne product, you should be careful; even though salicylic acid works well in keeping your pores unclogged, it has been found to be very irritating to facial skin.

A consultation with a dermatologist may be required for the most severe cases of acne. He or she can assist you with putting together a cleansing program for you to follow. A dermatologist may also use lasers in the treatment of acne as well as prescribe acne medication. If your dermatologist does prescribe medication to aid in fighting your acne, be aware that most acne medicines are quite powerful and can even be toxic. You need to warned of any possible side effects and be alert to them if they do occur.

If the idea of prescribed treatments from a dermatologist concern you, give the over-the-counter products a try. They are readily available, less expensive, and just might work for you. Since these products are applied externally, you will also avoid ingesting any acne medications and suffer the possible side effects that they can cause.