Anti Aging Skin Care » Acne Medications

Acne Medications Work

There is a plethora of acne medications currently on the market. Few of these are recommendation medications, such as accutane. There are over the counter chemical compounds, such as benzoyl peroxide. There are also herbal-based acne medications, such as tea tree oil. However, many of them are not as effective as advertised.

Part of the problem with getting the right acne medication is that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to acne. Different people react differently to the various medications and treatments. However, numerous acne medications have been clinically proven effective in treating acne, and these are the medications that will stop acne for most people.

Prescription Acne Treatments
Accutane is one of the best of the prescription medications, which is a chemical derivative of vitamin A, and is often referred to as the "miracle drug" for acne. Accutane is most efficient in the treatment of severe cystic acne, and is not to be taken lightly. For some people, many side effects can be worse than the acne itself. However, this is one treatment that works.

Retin A and Renova are also prescription medications. These are topical derivatives of vitamin A, and are good at clearing up fine lines, wrinkles, and slight skin discolorations. One of the biggest causes is sunlight and other topical acne treatments must be avoided while using either of them. However, they are proven to reduce acne.

Out of the acne medications, prescribed birth control pills are used exclusively by women to help regulate hormones. Consequently reduce the hormonally related acne that many women experience. Antibiotics work by attacking the acne causing P.bacteria as it grows deep in skin pores.

Over the Counter Acne Treatments
There are few over the counter acne treatments that work well. The two best are benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid.

Benzoyl peroxide results by penetrating the skin pores, and eliminating the acne causing bacteria that grows deep in the skin. Benzoyl peroxide is the most frequently used acne treatment because it is affordable, easily available, and nearly as effective as most prescription medication.

Salicylic acid removes the top layers of dead skin cells. This aids the skin renovate itself faster, and decreases the chance for pore blockage and a subsequent acne breakout.

Herbal Acne Treatments
The majority of acne treatments come under the heading of "herbal" acne treatments. The reason is the lack or regulation for herbal products. This can be very annoying to the general consumer, because it is impossible to tell which herbal treatment will work to stop acne, and which ones will do very little at all.

Of herbal treatment available, there are only two that are currently proven to stop acne. Tea tree oil will help to get rid of acne, and so will green tea cream.

Tea tree oil is an oil derived from one tea tree plant that is unique to Australia. For several hundred years, it was touted as a cure all, until penicillin was introduced to fight bacteria. However, tea tree oil has seen a recent revival due in part to study conducted in 1990 that proved it is as effective in treating acne as 5% benzoyl peroxide. Moreover, it had none of the side effects that benzoyl peroxide does.

Green tea cream has been authorized more recently, at the 2003 American Academy of Dermatology conference. It was proven that green tea is as useful in treating acne as a 4% benzoyl peroxide solution. Although the study has not been confirmed yet, it demonstrated that there is another herbal treatment besides tea tree oil.

These are some of the acne medications proven to work. For those who are suffering from acne, any of the abovementioned treatments would be well worth trying.