Daily Acne Care

When you have acne, you want it to go away, but it doesn't always cooperate. Still, that doesn't mean that you should give up on it. You have to take care of it each and every day to help control breakouts and minimize how much acne you actually have. Just because it's not all gone doesn't mean it wouldn't be worse if you didn't take better care of your skin. Daily care of your acne is very important, but it's not just that you take care of it every day, it's how you take care of it every day - sometimes that can actually be more significant. For example, if you just wash your face once with water and any old soap that you can buy, you aren't doing your acne any favors.

You need to use a cleanser that's specifically targeted for acne and that is also designed for your skin type. Most people who have acne have oily skin, but that's not always the case. Others have dry skin, and for some reason their pores just get blocked really easily or they have other problems that cause their skin to break out. If you're one of these people you don't want to use something that's going to dry your skin out any more than it already is, and most standard acne medications dry the skin.

You'll also need to think about a moisturizer. It might seem contradictory to wash all of the oil off of your face and then put a moisturizer on it, but these two things aren't the same. There are many moisturizers which are not greasy and that don't clog pores. These are the kinds that you should look for, since they will be the best for your skin and help to keep your acne at bay. If you can't find a moisturizer that addresses this problem or aren't sure, the pharmacist at your local drug store can probably help you out.

He or she can usually help you with other acne products and medications, as well. You should also try to keep your skin very clean, use hypoallergenic makeup - and wash it off before you go to bed each night - and be sure to keep your hair back off of your face as much as possible. The oils from your hair touching your face all day can cause acne, too, but most people don't think about that being a problem.

Jac Needham is one of the exclusive writers in the Acne and Dry Skin sections of SkinDermatology.com.