Kids and Teens

A Google search of the internet looking for “acne remedy” will give you thousands of pages with possible results. In addition, one of the pages may have hundreds of suggestions for a cure. Some of the remedies seem very strange but others may actually work.

One suggestion is to massage in oily coconut milk nightly before bedtime. Another suggestion is to use soy sauce on your acne.  With soy sauce, one has to wonder if the salt or soy is the actual help for the problem.

One mixture sounded like a good way to keep vampires and members of the opposite sex away. It was to use garlic paste on the face for a natural remedy where there were outbreaks of acne. Another seemed more appropriate as the ingredients for a gourmet meal. There were suggestions for several spices as remedies.

Since the 1970s doctors have suggested using products that contain benzyl peroxide. It does seem effective at drying up active outbreaks and preventing new ones. Drying active outbreaks prevents them from growing larger and causing scarring on the back, chest, neck or face.

Benzyl peroxide agents are not recommended for for adults however. The product can remove essential oils from the face and over dry the skin. Instead, products that contain salicylic acid are recommended for adults as they are more gentle on skin and do not cause the dryness of benzyl peroxide.

The acne light is a newer approach to helping overcome acne. The blue light of this device helps to kill off bacteria that may cause infection of acne sites and cause scarring. Many lights also have red lights to help speed healing of sites that have been affected by acne. For this treatment to begin working, it takes at least eight weeks of daily exposure to the light.

Many people find that the over the counter products are all that are needed to take care of an acne problem. If you are not having success with these products, see your doctor or ask for a referral to a dermatologist. He can offer more advice to prevent outbreaks as well as prevent scarring.