I’ve never used acne creams, never really believed they work. Now I am long past the time that pimples are particularly an issue (they still appear, but are relatively infrequent).
All the advertising claims that acne creams seem to make as far as I can see are a waste of effort. They say that if you apply their product correctly, pimples will clear up in a matter of four or five days.
But I know from my own experience that if you do absolutely nothing at all, pimples clear up in four or five days.
Surely applying a cream to your face is going to block pores, not clear them. Right?
The products that I use that do work are based on benzoyl peroxide and IIRC salicylic acid They both work by clearing the pores and preventing spots developing. They are preventative not a “treatment”. Even so the instructions say to apply them to spots - which makes no sense, once the pore is infected you’ve basically got to wait for your skin to fight it out with the bacteria.
Some-people on this board recommend toothpaste as a topical treatment
I bet that’s because if there’s acne in that spot, it’s a problem area, and applying to that area prevents more pores in the area from becoming infected.
And the one topic I choose to address today? Pimples. man, I sure can pick 'em… (Topics, not pimples.)
The thing I find interesting about most acne treatments are that the instructions tell you to wash your face thoroughly before each use, in the morning and at night. I’m just thinking out loud here, but it seems to me that anyone’s face would look better if they washed their face thoroughly twice a day. Regardless of any other medications. (That’s not to detract from Benzoyl Peroxide, et al - I understand some products truly help.)
Here’s OlPeculiar’s money saving tip for the day: Back when I had to deal with oily skin on my shoulders (and the blemishes that would result), I would make my own anti-acne soap. Crush a few aspirin into a fine powder and infuse the powder in liquid soap (Ivory or some other NON-moisturizing soap) for a few days. Whammo! Acne soap on the cheap. Works wonders and you can adjust the strength to suit your needs. Just don’t go too crazy - I recall making one batch too strong and after a week or two the skin on my hands started to peel.
I think it depends in part about what kind of acne we’re talking about.
If you’re a typical teen, and get 2 pimples, slapping some clearasil on them will actually help them clear up faster than picking them, or poking at them, or leaving them alone. Not a lot faster, but a bit faster. It can also help prevent scaring, if you get a really big one. Ditto for the anti-acne cleansers - they can help with prevention. Actually, so can not touching your face with your hands more than you have to.
However, for people with cystic acne, acne creams aren’t going to do diddly. In fact, they can actually exacerbate the problem by irritating the skin even more - something that someone with cystic acne doesn’t need. In that sort of case, a trip to the dermatologist is going to be much more effective than any topical acne type product.
Although OTC treatments may be minimally useful, our doctor gave us a prescription ointment that contains clindamycin and it does wonders to clear up spots. Before this, I’d noticed that pimples seemed to clear more quickly if I put an OTC antibacterial ointment (like Mycitracin) on them.
