Effective Acne Treatment

Acne can be such a stubborn and persistent problem that it can leave people who have suffered from it asking the questions “Is there any truly effective acne treatment out there today?” I understand this desperation, because I have had to deal with acne personally before as well. All through my teenage years, especially once I hit high school, I dealt with acne, and man, I was put through the ringer for it. The insecurity and embarrassment that it can create can truly be debilitating to a teenager’s confidence in social situations. But anyway, before I start delving too far into past memories and end up feeling like I need therapy, the topic of finding effective acne treatments is vital to your self-confidence, as many times clear skin can be the difference between having confidence versus not having confidence. There are several different chemicals and substances that are used to treat acne topically such as retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, but many of these types of chemicals can do more harm than good, as they often can react harshly to people with sensitive skin. From my own personal experience using practically every single anti-acne skin cream and facial wash on the market at one time or another, I had serious issues with salicylic acid breaking my skin out. One time it made the skin on my cheeks completely scaly and flaky, to the point where any time I wore a black shirt, you could see the “snowfall” from my face on the shirt (unless it was dandruff and I didn’t know it—well, that’s another hub for another time). What I found out, as many others have who also deal with sensitive skin, is that most over-the-counter acne treatments in the form of skin creams and facial washes have astringent properties, primarily due to the alcohol content in most of those products, causing the skin to be dried out instead of truly moisturized and rejuvenated. One of the things that’s quite ironic is the fact that you have skin “moisturizers” that contain alcohol, which is the ultimate drying agent…but I know they have to put a certain amount in there to keep those products from taking on too much of an “oily” feel, and also so that the product can actually be absorbed into the skin.

As far as finding an effective acne treatment, I have found that taking a different approach can make all the difference in the world. What I mean by a “different approach” is basically the preventative method, which is really the best way to go. Healthy skin starts from the inside out; this was one of the most eye-opening things I realized about taking care of my skin. To even begin to treat acne effectively, you must do all that you can to “stack the odds in your favor” in the form of taking care of your body overall. Poor diet many times can actually lead to poor skin. If you eat a diet full of fried foods, oily foods, or foods that are very low in fiber, it will eventually show up in your skin because of the toxins that are present in those foods (especially fried foods). One of the biggest hindrances to clear skin is failure to drink water. If you do not consume at least 6 to 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day, you’re really short-circuiting your skin’s health. Your skin needs lots of water to stay supple and hydrated, and drinking water overall is one of the building blocks to truly healthy skin from the inside out. So yes, there are other treatments out there that can help to reduce the appearance of acne on the face, or even dry up the acne so that it will eventually “fall off” the skin, but in my mind there’s really no better way to go for an effective acne treatment than to go the preventative route. So keep in mind those simple tips as far as drinking tons of water and laying off the fried foods. Foods like chocolate and peanut butter especially are good to keep in moderation and, if possible, avoid altogether, due to the heavy oils that they contain. Again, diet plays such an essential part of maintaining healthy skin and keeping those pimples away. That’s it for this hub…I’m barely keeping my eyes open, so I’m out.