The psychological harm acne or Zits causes it's many sufferers should not be underestimated; fortunately, the problems it causes are being investigated. Research into skin care treatment has been advancing for some time now; this is good news with the range of effective skin care treatments improving all the time. Despite the number of acne skin care products currently available on the market, they are broadly categorized into three distinctly separate groups: <UL TYPE="square"> *Internet or Drugstore: Treatment that helps prevents condition *Drugstore: Relief treatment *Prescription only: Requires visit to doctor </UL

Preventative products are formulated to treat the skin in an effort to control the occurrence of acne; this sector deals with skin creams, lotions and cleansers that can help stop the problem. Many people use products similar to this every day as part of their skin care regime; in many instances the user has never had a skin condition to worry about. Some of these products are designed to act like an acne skin care product and act against the causes of this complaint; they work by limiting the production of sebum/oil and prevent clogging of skin pores. These skin care products are designed to prevent this from happening.

This type of skin care treatment also includes those which exfoliate such as skin peels; these are easily obtainable in any drug store. Dead skin cells and other atmospheric pollutants are removed cleaning the pores which reduce the chance of any bacterial growth. There are specialized acne skin care products available over-the-counter, they do not require the need of a prescription. A bacterium that aids the formation of acne is stopped by creams and cleansers that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid; these ingredients are used to remove the additional oil in the pores of the skin.

It is often a good idea to start with a product that has lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide (e.g. 5 percent) to see how the skin responds; alpha-hydroxy-acid based moisturizers are a safer skin care regime alternative if there is a problem. 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. On-prescription treatments are prescribed by a dermatologist and can include ointments that can be applied on the affected area or oral antibiotics or just any topical ointment.

Under certain circumstances, having the infected material removed from the pores under a local anesthetic may be suggested by your dermatologist; specialists never recommend the sufferer tries this themselves as it can cause permanent skin damage. Hormone treatment might be suggested as hormone changes can cause skin problems; hormonal changes are known to cause acne and such skin care treatments often effective. With all the treatments available, tackling acne is not that difficult as there are many new products available to help.