Got Bad Acne?

How To Deal With Bad Acne

A lot of people get acne at some point in their life, but what happens when you get Bad Acne?  I’m not talking a couple pimples here or there, I’m talking chronic!  I’m talking face covering acne that comes in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes.  I’m talking acne that hurts to touch and hurts even more to look at.  Acne that you can feel without even touching your face!   Where does bad acne come from?  How can you treat it, and how can you keep bad acne away for good?

Where Does Bad Acne Come From?

When it comes to acne, the causes are pretty simple.  The answer always  tends to be hormones, face oil, (scientifically known as sebum.) and bacteria.  When you’re a teenager your body begins to produce an abundance of a hormone called Androgen.  Androgen is the male sex hormone and it is present in both males and females.  Androgen is directly related to many triggers in the body ranging from all the changes that take place during adolescence to skin oil production.  Unfortunately, an increase in this hormone also causes a huge surge in the production of sebum on the surface of our skin.  This sebum collects and clogs pores (many of which we can’t see till its too late!)  and that is what causes your basic run of the mill pimples.   If the oil sticks around for any length of time, bacteria begin to feast and multiply in these clogged pores.  A clogged pore is a perfect feeding ground for bacteria.  Its protected, its low in oxygen, and it has an endless supply of food!  Your bodies immune system sees these bacteria as invaders and begins to fight back.  This fight is what turns your pimples bright red, swollen and make them painful to the touch.  So lets recap!  Oil from the skin which clogs pores causes acne and the bacteria makes it red and mean looking!

 How do I Treat Bad Acne?

If you’re able and have the means, the first place I recommend you visit if you have BAD acne is your primary doctor.  He can prescribe a number of different treatments that often can do the trick without having to go to the specialist.   If you’re looking to treat bad acne on your own, I recommend a few of the following tips:

1)  Wash Wash Wash the night away!  -  Short of being on hormone treatments, the root cause of your acne (increased oil production from hormones) isn’t going to go away any time soon.  That being said, the best way to  getting bad acne under control is to wash your face a LOT!   Personally, I never found a problem with washing my face three or four times a day.  When it comes to washing your face often, people tend to run into the same two problems.   For one, most people who commit to such a regiment usually get lazy with it after just a few days, especially if washing their face isn’t part of their normal routine.  Secondly, you need to find a good face wash that won’t rough up your skin due to frequent use.  This face wash shouldn’t have any medication or treatments in it, just a good gentle face wash that gently removes oil.

2)  Hey, not so hard!  You can’t scrub acne off your face.  In fact, popping pimples often spreads acne!  How so?  When you pop a pimple you leave small tears in your skin.  The bacteria laden skin oil seeps into all these cracks and creates what?  You guessed it, more acne.  But this advice doesn’t just stop at popping pimples.  Avoiding contact to your face with anything will help.  From holding your head up with your hands to sleeping on dirty pillowcases with skin oil on them, the more contact you come in with skin oil, the worse off you are!

3) Benzoyl Peroxide and Saliclyic Acid, Your Two Best Friends.

Propionibacteria acnes, or P. acnes, are the bacteria that are responsible for setting your acne off.   Like a lot of body bacteria, P. acnes doesn’t thrive very well in an oxygen rich environment.  The main reason benzoyl peroxide  is so effective is because it introduces oxygen into your pores to wipe out the bacteria.  In addition,  this oxidizing process also dries out sebum or skin oil within the acne to speed up healing. By reducing  the number of bacteria present, you reduce breakouts on the skin as well. In addition, benzoyl peroxide dissolves dead skin and blockages on the micro level before they turn to acne. By clearing the pores, benzoyl peroxide is effective in preventing breakouts before they start.  Finally, benzoyl peroxide also has strong anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the redness and swelling of your acne lessening its appearance.  It’s safe to say that benzoyl peroxide is the anti-acne miracle drug!  It takes a couple of weeks to really take effect though so the key is to stick with it!

Most people combine benzoyl peroxide with another acne fighting ingredient known as salicylic acid.  Salicylic acid helps to treat acne by exfoliating away dead skin and debris in and around your pores. It also has the ability to penetrate deep into the pores of the skin, much deeper and more effective than benzoyl peroxide alone.  These two actions allow the dead skin cells to be exfoliated and keep the follicles clear which are key to fighting new acne before it forms.

4)  Stick to your acne control plan!

If there were a miracle drug out there that could cure acne overnight with no side effects or issues, then there would be no need for all these products.  Unfortunately, there isn’t and the one problem that people have problem with the most is sticking to the plan.  Acne treatment, regardless of which products you use take time!  Before writing off that product or method that isn’t working, make sure to give it at least a couple weeks before you give up.  In my experience, using benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, my acne actually got worse for a few more days before it started to back off and clear up.  Secondly, don’t stop what you’re doing when you clear your acne!  The reason your acne is bad is because your hormones are out of whack and skin oil production is up.  Topical treatments just keep acne at bay, they don’t stop the source so its essential that you continue to wash and treat your face even after seeing desired results.

5)  When all else fails, see a dermatologist.

It’s not often, but sometimes acne is more than just some bacteria and skin oil and in these instances seeing a doctor is the next step.  If none of your treatments are working the least and you’ve stuck it out, washed your frequently every day, and you’ve done everything right then its time to pull in the big guns.  A dermatologist can give you stronger topical and oral treatments that are much stronger than over the counter medicines.  A dermatologist can also determine if there is a more serious source from your acne and can recommend treatments if that be the case.  Even your normal physician can help prescribe standard acne medications without going to a specialist.  If all else fails, call in the professionals.

For further information check out our acne prevention article series!

Part 1:  Bad Acne Prevention – Washing Your Face