I remember when I was growing up how one of the really big issues at school around the ages of 14 – 18 was whether we would get acne or not and how to stay acne free. There was one girl in my year who was particularly attractive except for the fact that she definitely did not have acne free skin with over half of her face being covered with angry red acne inflammation. In the same year we also had a teacher who had the consequences of acne that were shown in the exceptional pock mark acne scars that covered just about all of his face. Clearly he had not been acne free as a teenager either.

Back then we didn’t really understand what acne was. It had something to do with greasy skin and hormones and that was about it. As it turns out, the acne bacteria actually inhabit healthy skin as a natural part of life. It is only when the sebaceous follicle gets clogged that acne begins to occur. The sebaceous follicle is a skin gland that produces an oily substance called sebum. They are attached to hair follicles and so are found on the upper body – face, neck, back and chest. When they get clogged with trapped sebum, dead skin cells or possibly even small hairs, it is then that the bacteria begin to multiply causing the different types of acne.

Just about every teenager alive at some time will experience mild acne in the form of acne pimples. This includes blackheads, whiteheads or pustules near the surface of the skin. Blackheads have the sebaceous follicle open, which appears black whilst in whiteheads it is closed, looking like a slightly inflamed bump. Acne can begin between the ages of ten and thirteen and usually goes away by the early twenties, though it can continue on into adulthood and in some cases doesn’t even start until becoming an adult. Acne affects both males and females about equally although young women can have intermittent bouts of acne due to hormonal changes while young men are prone to longer bouts of more severe acne.

Keeping the skin acne free is far superior to trying to control it once you have it and so early control is important in all forms of acne. In fact this is a major priority to most teenagers and some adults, as the embarrassment of having an acne pimple on the nose can almost be enough to cause seclusion. As such, teenagers are generally on the lookout for the best acne treatments and will search far and wide to find those that work. Although the average teenager would like to be acne free in 3 days, the actual process can take up to eight weeks, even with the help of over the counter acne medication. When looking for a treatment for acne, regardless of whether it is teenage acne or adult acne treatment to stay acne free or provide an acne cure, is the same.

In this case the most natural acne treatment of simply washing the face in soapy water twice a day will be enough, although applying an over the counter acne treatment will definitely help. These acne treatments can work more or less effectively for different people and so will help keep some people acne free more than others. It usually depends on what the specific ingredients of the acne products are and whether they match the exact cause of the problem. For instance, acne solutions that contain acetone and alcohol may have a different effect in keeping the skin acne free than an acne cream that contains Benzoyl peroxide. The acetone reduces the greasiness of the skin and alcohol is a mild antibacterial while Benzoyl peroxide helps fight acne bacteria (in particular P.acnes) to clear up and prevent acne lesions. It can also cause dry skin and because it acts as a bleach, care must be taken that you don’t get it on your clothes. Acne products that contain this are probably the best acne treatment for keeping skin acne free.

Other ingredients include salicylic acid that helps stop abnormal skin shedding which in turn helps to stop the pores clogging up. It can cause irritation to the skin.

If someone finds that they cannot keep their skin acne free by using the above simple measures and your acne is becoming more severe, then it is time to see a dermatologist. More severe acne can take the form of numerous whiteheads, blackheads, papules and pustules and even cystic acne. If your skin gets to this point, there is a good chance that acne scars can occur, so it is well worth seeing a dermatologist who can use prescription acne medicine in combination with physical acne skin care as methods for acne control in your specific case. Since acne can occur at different levels of severity in different people and acne scarring is always a possibility if the acne is not taken seriously, it is vitally important to use whatever means are at hand to keep your skin acne free from day one.