After having acne from the age of 15 to 25 I’ve had my fair share of buying useless products and experimenting with my skin only to end up with tears of frustration and an empty wallet. I want to spare you from the same situation, so here’s my tip #4 for remedies that actually work to control acne!

Tip #4

Salicylic acid vs. benzoyl peroxide. Maybe you’re familiar with these two main ingredients in almost all US brand acne products such as Proactive, Clean & Clear, and Neutrogena. To be honest, I hate them both. While they work for some people, they both chemically burned the flesh off my face. Ok, so maybe not that dramatic, but they did burn the skin leaving behind huge red sensitive areas that took months to heal. After sifting through to find the right products I’ve learned a lot about these two chemicals.

Salicylic acid

This chemical is used to clear away oil while keeping it under control and potentially dries out acne in the process. For me, it was the strongest of the two. It left my skin red, dry, itching, flaky, and burned the skin after just a few hours. Stripping the skin completely, it was just way too harsh even in the smallest of amounts. All products containing this ingredient was a no go for me. If it’s not working for you avoid any products containing it!

Benzoyl peroxide

This ingredient decreased the swelling and size of my acne, dried out the infected area, and sometimes prevented it from reoccurring. When used continually, it would burn my skin after a few days of use. When watered down, the product seemed to work better, but I didn’t like the idea of chemical burns on my face which took longer to heal than the acne. The acne would eventually reappear.

When testing out these two chemicals, I would recommend trying both and closely observing the effects. If you react badly to either one avoid facial treatments with those ingredients in acne medicine. Chemical burns can be damaging to the skin if it’s repeated over and over again to the same area.

If you are in the searching mode of finding a new acne product here are some tips to ease the search based on my experience.

Cleansers, washes, foams, make-up removers*

Keep your cleanser basic and gentle. Its main purpose is to remove topical makeup, dried oils, and dirt. Acne facial cleanser has always been so drying for me making things worse so test them on a small spot first. Dry skin = clogged pores because the new oils can’t escape. It’s also important to note our most sensitive areas will be the nose, mouth, chin, and under the eyes so be careful of over drying these areas. If you do use an acne cleanser, apply only to affected area.

Some cleansers that worked for me* Cetaphil Foam Cleanser and Simple Facial Wash

Exfoliators*

All exfoliating products have been my worst enemy and pore clogging nemesis. Using nut shells to scrape our skin, plastic micro-beads or some other lab created experiment jams the product deep into the open pores. Instead, use a wash cloth to do the exfoliating buffing away in circular motions. It’s like a massage. No breakouts guaranteed. There are also skin buffing brushes you can find online or in-store if you want something fancier. The key is to remove that dead skin before it can clog the pores and break away those hardened oils.

Toners*

This is where you want a strong product if you have heavier acne. Apply only to affected areas and kill that bacteria. Use after pimple extraction, in your ibuprofen or turmeric tonic, or throughout the day. If it’s too drying and leaves your skin itching apply less often, add water, or switch to a milder one. They key of toner is to kill the bacteria so no new acne will appear.

Some toners that worked for me are* Sea Breeze, Wonder Pore, and Simple

Acne spot treatments/lotions*

Use only on emerging pimples or deeply rooted ones to bring them to the surface. If the cream leaves the skin extremely tight, itchy, or super dry throw it away. It’s a chemical burn and will leave you with pink scars that lasts for months. Too strong, but works? Add water to the cream to make a milder version.

Some acne spot treatments that worked for me are* Burt’s Bees, AC Cleanup Etude (or other pink powder solutions these worked so well), Acne treatment patches (these are great for deep hormonal acne). Ibuprofen and Turmeric remedies.

Aftermath “healing” products*

This is an important step and probably takes the most patients when fighting acne. Choose products that contain more natural ingredients to avoid further breakouts and apply only to the completely cleaned out and flattened acne. You should apply these treatments throughout the day to speed up the healing process. A more safe and natural alternative is a self-face massage. If you don’t want to use oils the best time is in the shower using the water to help glide over your skin. Giving yourself a massage stimulates the circulation speeding up the healing and also breaks down hardened oils under the skin’s surface. Be sure not to press inwards which will rupture the acne on the inside of your skin. Gliding is key!

Some healing treatments that worked for me are* Bio-oil and Age Spot Brightening Serum

Final note* The key is to treat the area that needs it. If the skin around it is fine don’t change a thing! Use a Q-tip to apply your creams just to the acne. Even if you have a lot of acne it’s worth the extra work to take care of them individually.

Products I’ve tried that failed* All Neutrogena products (too strong), Clearasil (worked for a while, but too many chemical burns and dry skin), Olay (highly allergic), St. Ives (too many harmful substances that caused deep acne), Biore (this brand worked 50% of the time), Clean & Clear (too harsh!), Aveeno (sort of worked, but not good enough), Ponds (this one worked some of the time)

Products I’ve tried that worked best* Simple, Cetaphil, most Korean AC products, Burt’s Bees. In the end, Korean products contained chemicals that weren’t too harsh for my skin. If you’re having trouble with your local brands, try shopping for the Korean ones. They worked so well for me!

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