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Over The Counter Acne Treatments - Do They Work?
Over the counter, sometimes referred to as otc for short,
products are starting to become an increasingly popular alternative
to prescription medication in the treatment of acne.
These products are readily available as you don't need a
prescription from your doctor to buy them and for people with mild
to moderate forms of acne the best over the counter treatments will
be just as effective as the more expensive prescribed ones.
Besides being cheaper, these products often have little, or no
side effects, in comparison to some of the highly publicised
prescribed antibiotic drugs used by doctors.
Although there are lots of over the counter acne products on
sale, really there are only two kinds of treatments available -
either medicated or natural. Both types utilise basically the same
technique by using a drying agent to exfoliate the skin and to
combat the acne and pimples.
Usually, in the case of a medicated product, this is either
benzoyl peroxide, salycic acid or glycolic acid. Natural products
tend to use combinations of ingredients and plant extracts like
vitamin E, tea tree oil, aloe vera, witch hazel, green tea extract,
cucumber etc.
There seems to be a growing number of different treatments but
usually over the counter products come in the form of topical
cleansers, soaps, washes, lotions, creams, gels or even pads and
patches that are applied onto the skin.
When using these kind of preparations it is important, that you
cover all of the area where you have acne because then you will
also be treating the hidden blemishes that you can't yet see as
well as the acne breakouts that you can.
Expect some trials and errors as you experiment with the
different treatments available, it may take you a while before you
find the right type or combination of products that work for you.
Whatever you do, don't use more than one treatment at a time,
particularly with medicated products, discontinue one before you
try out another.
When you are trying a new product give it enough time to start
working before discarding it to try something else. Typically you
may need to use it for six to eight weeks before you notice any
real progress but, of course, this depends upon the severity of
your acne and your skin type, some people see improvements after
only a few weeks.
After you have found the perfect skin care products that suit
you and are providing good results, you may find that you will need
to continue your treatments to keep your acne in check. This is
because acne is a chronic (meaning long-term) skin disorder and it
is possible that once you stop using your treatments the acne could
reoccur.
To get the best out of any over the counter acne products you
need to use them consistently and correctly. This may be common
sense but do read the labels and make sure you use them in line
with the instructions given! If you don't you risk causing damage
to your skin and doing more harm than good, this is especially true
if you have sensitive skin.
The over the counter products that are available, whether
medicated or natural, do successfully treat most forms of acne.
Unfortunately, there are always exceptions to the rule and there
are some types of acne that will not respond to these type of
treatments. If this happens to you and nothing you try is helping
your condition then seek the help of your doctor or
dermatologist.
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