Those who have never suffered with acne (Zits) cannot possibly understand the stress it causes; Fortunately, skin care treatments are plentiful. Medical investigation and research is ongoing and making interesting discoveries; as a result there are a variety of new products available to help prevent and treat skin conditions. Although there may seem like a huge range of acne skin care products, they can be broken down into three broad categories: <UL TYPE="square"> *Drugstore: Preventative treatment *Drugstore: Relief treatment *Specialized, on-prescription acne products </UL

Those that fall into the preventative category are based around general skin conditioning to help stop acne from forming; for example, special toners and skin cleansers. In the real sense, these products are just those that should be part of your daily routine; often used by those who want to prevent future skin problems from occurring. Other acne skin care products, like skin cleansers for instance, are more specific about their job; they clean out the pores to help stop sebum or oil which can clog these areas. These products prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and can hamper the growth of bacteria, this can lead to the bad skin condition.

General skin care treatments also include special exfoliation products like skin peels; these are easily obtainable in any drug store. They work by reducing oil plus other contaminants from the skin and in the pores; this can reduce harmful bacteria and stop their chance of growth. The growth of the skin care market has allowed even more specialized acne skin care products to be available without the need to visit the doctor. These formulations contain the chemical benzoyl peroxide and the naturally occurring salicylic acid; these include products which extract the unwanted oil from the skin.

Although benzoyl peroxide works well, reactions can happen so it is suggested that any skin care product containing this should not have more than 5.5 percent of the active ingredient; a safer alternative to benzoyl peroxide is anything containing alpha hydroxy acid. It is not always possible to find an acne skin care product that works first time; if nothing you use is effective then speak to your dermatologist for advice. There are benefits of seeing your doctor or dermatologist, they can prescribe you with a prescription for treatments not available over the counter, for example a course of antibiotics.

Under certain circumstances, having the infected material removed from the pores under a local anesthetic may be suggested by your dermatologist; this is not something you should ever attempt yourself. Your doctor could prescribe a hormone-based treatment to treat your skin problem; hormone changes are known to be one cause of acne. The end result is dealing with this skin complaint is not the problem it once was, there are now a huge range of products specifically formulated for the task.