How To Treat Acne

How to treat acne?

Like an unwanted guest!

In all seriousness though, acne affects nearly the entire population at some point in their lives. The methods to treat acne are not difficult, but you have to have a long-term mindset going into the process. If you expect your face to be clear for good after a few days, you're setting yourself up for failure. Instead, think of it like you're building the foundation for clear skin everyday. You will see results slowly, but they will be long-term.

This Hub will outline the method that I've followed to treat acne for the last few years. It will start with the things that are basic to good skin and build towards treatments for breakouts and severe acne.

We'll start with diet and work towards home remedies and medications to treat acne. Start at the beginning and follow the list depending on the severity of your acne.

The absolute first step to treat acne is to have a diet that isn't going to make it any worse. If you are putting crap in, you can expect that your skin will look like crap. The saying, "beauty stems from the inside" is true on many different levels.

Eat more vegetables, nuts, and fruit. Stop eating so much meat, bread, sugar, and fast food. It doesn't get any more basic than that. You don't have to be vegan to have great skin, but following some of the same principles will help you get the results you want.

Drink lots of water. Make sure that you drink at least a half gallon of water a day. This keep your skin hydrated, which prevents oil and bacteria from building up inside of them.

Easy peazy. Stop eating crap and drink lots of water to treat acne.

Depending on how sensitive or dry your skin already is will determine how often you wash your face. At the least, wash your face before you go to bed. This is a must! It will clear off a lot of gunk that will make more acne while you sleep. If your skin can take it, add a morning and afternoon wash as well.

Having the newest, most powerful, biggest brand name face wash doesn't do anything if you aren't washing your face at routine times. If you miss a day washing your face you will erase all of the hard work that you've been doing to clear it up.

Treat breakouts as they come with the method of your choice.  Every skin type is different, so some treatments will have no effect for one person, but work great on another.  Some home remedies involve mixing apple cider vinegar and water and spreading that on the affected area, or letting a dab of toothpaste sit on pimples over night. 

If you are looking for a topical treatment from the drugstore be sure the thoroughly read the directions and warnings on the label.  There is a good chance that it will negatively interact with your face wash and dry your skin out.  Before heading to the store, take note of what the active ingredient is in your face wash.  Too much salicylic acid from a combination of soap and topical treatment will make your face very dry and red.

After you have all of the prior steps taken care of, it may be time to consider an acne treatment program (think AcneFree or Proactiv). If you aren't taking care of the other things listed above, you won't get the same great results from these treatments as think you will.

Do research before jumping into one of these treatments. They are all similar, but react differently with skin types and have varying prices. Don't expect miracles right away from these either. You have to use them a few weeks before deciding if they are really going to work for you.

If these types of treatments don't work for you, pay a visit to your dermatologist for guidance. He/she will help you determine what your skin type is and the best medication (prescription or OTC) to treat acne.