Posts Tagged ‘Moisturizers’

prescription acne
Abhishek Agarwal asked:


It is true acne is a bother. It pesters. And it is a tenacious adversary. But this does not mean there is nothing you can do to win the war agains it. For one, there are many acne skin care products that can help you repel acne. For another, you can always turn to professionals for their advice.

There are three major categories of acne skin care products. One consists of general or preventive acne skin care products. Another consists of specialized, over-the-counter acne skin care products. And still another comprises on-prescription or dermatologist-prescribed acne skin care products.

General acne skin care products are used for prevention. They comprise the basic skin cleansing products like make-up removers, cleansers, and exfoliants. Most of them prevent acne by limiting oil secretion in the skin and by its pores pores from getting clogged. In addition, these products also make it hard for the oil to stay trapped in skin pores. They therefore stymie the spread of bacteria which cause acne. It is important for you to understand how these products work to keep your skin oil and bacteria free and thereby prevent acne.

The specialized acne skin care products are generally anti-bacterial. They comprise among other things of vanishing creams and moisturizers. They can be bought without prescription and are accessible over the counter. The active ingredients of this group of products include salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and alpha-hydroxy-acid. They fight and repel bacteria.

To find out which specialized skin care product is most effective for you, you may need to try several products first. You may also start with lower concentrations of benzoyl peroxide first, say 5 percent, and see for yourself how your skin reacts to it. If none from the products you tried does not seem to work for you, it would be best if you seek the advice of a dermatologist.

The on-prescription acne skin care products, or those which you can access only with a dermatologist’s prescription, are meant to cure more severe cases of acne infection. Examples of these products are topical ointments and oral antibiotics. A procedure related to application of on-prescription acne skin care products is hormone-based treatment. This treatment assumes that some hormonal changes have also been discovered as one possible cause of acne. Further recourse may indicate surgical removal of the pustule.

These products and procedures normally work best with healthy habits like eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and avoiding too much stress. These are all within your control and with them you can outshine acne.



prescription acne
Nicholas Tan asked:


Acne is a menace. However, it’s not something that cannot be tackled. There are loads of acne skin care products around. We can classify acne skin care products into 3 broad categories –

* Preventive or general acne skin care products

* Over-the-counter, specialised acne skin care products

* On-prescription acne skin care products.

The general acne skin care products are the ones that are used as acne-prevention measure. These include cleansers, make-up removers and similar products that help prevent acne. In the real sense, these acne skin care products are just those that should anyway be part of your daily routine. However, some of these are more oriented to act like an acne skin care product. These acne skin care products act against the causes of acne e.g. limiting the production of sebum/oil and preventing clogging of skin pores. Basically, these acne skin care products prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and hence hamper the growth of bacteria that lead to acne. The general acne skin care products also include exfoliation products like skin peels. These work towards removing dead skin cells, hence reducing the possibility of pore-clogging and bacteria development.

Then there are specialised acne skin care products that are available over-the-counter i.e. without the need of a prescription. These include products like vanishing creams which extract the extra oil from the skin. Most of these acne skin care products are based on benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, both of which are the enemies of bacteria (and hence acne). You should start with a product that has lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide (e.g. 5%) and see how your skin responds to it.  Alpha-hydroxy-acid based moisturizers are also popular as acne skin care products. You might have to try a few, before you zero-in on the acne skin care product that is effective for you. If nothing seems to work, you should contact a dermatologist.

On-prescription acne skin care products are the ones that are prescribed by a dermatologist. This can include ointments that can be applied on the affected area or oral antibiotics or just any topical treatment. Dermatologist could also suggest a minor surgical procedure to remove the contents of pustules.  However, never try to squeeze or do this by yourself, it can lead to permanent damage of your skin.  Your doctor could also prescribe a hormone-based treatment (since hormonal changes are also known to cause acne). Such acne skin care products are known to be very effective in some cases.

So, with all those acne skin care products, tackling acne is not that difficult.