2nd October 2006
There really isn't one "ideal" treatment for all acne. We all have different skin, and each person needs to find his or her own unique treatment.
For me, I've found (at least for now) that the following works.
- Be on birth control (ortho-cyclen and ortho-tricyclen both seem to do it for me)
- Twice a day wash with Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser for sensitive skin.
- Follow Cetaphil cleansing with astringent that has 1% salicylic acid in it. Anything stronger dries out my skin and makes it red/flaky. The astringent is really good at removing extra dirt/make-up that the initial cleansing didn't get. (I use Sea Breeze Actives, but I'm sure any brand with 1% SA should work equally well.)
- Cover face with generous layer of Benzoyl Peroxide gel, at 2.5% concentration (so many BP products have the full 10% concentration, but again this just irritates my skin). I actually order this gel from a website, where you get a really good deal on it price-wise.. but any brand should work fine.
- Depending on other conditions, I may add moisturizer (Neutrogena or Cetaphil) about 15-20 minutes later (after BP gel has dried), but often I don't need to; only if I find my face is starting to dry out.
I've been doing this routine for about 3-4 months now and have had great success!! I hardly get pimples, but when I do they are small, hardly noticeable, and dry up within a couple days. Usually these pimples seem to be the result of "forgetting" (or just being lazy and not doing) an application once in a while. :)
For me, I've found (at least for now) that the following works.
- Be on birth control (ortho-cyclen and ortho-tricyclen both seem to do it for me)
- Twice a day wash with Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser for sensitive skin.
- Follow Cetaphil cleansing with astringent that has 1% salicylic acid in it. Anything stronger dries out my skin and makes it red/flaky. The astringent is really good at removing extra dirt/make-up that the initial cleansing didn't get. (I use Sea Breeze Actives, but I'm sure any brand with 1% SA should work equally well.)
- Cover face with generous layer of Benzoyl Peroxide gel, at 2.5% concentration (so many BP products have the full 10% concentration, but again this just irritates my skin). I actually order this gel from a website, where you get a really good deal on it price-wise.. but any brand should work fine.
- Depending on other conditions, I may add moisturizer (Neutrogena or Cetaphil) about 15-20 minutes later (after BP gel has dried), but often I don't need to; only if I find my face is starting to dry out.
I've been doing this routine for about 3-4 months now and have had great success!! I hardly get pimples, but when I do they are small, hardly noticeable, and dry up within a couple days. Usually these pimples seem to be the result of "forgetting" (or just being lazy and not doing) an application once in a while. :)