Why Some Acne Treatments Don't Work

Now think about the acne remedies you've seen or tried. Most of them are promising to dry up the oil. Some of them are promising to kill the bacteria. Killing the bacteria will solve a part of the problem. Drying up the oil will solve part of the problem. But you have to start by getting rid of the excess skin cells. Those excess dead skin cells are the root of the problem.
Simple Tips to Manage your Acne
Retinoids were originally developed to address the excess skin cell problem. They cause the outer layers of skin to slough off and the cells to be less sticky in the process. Used correctly they will help lift those impactions right out of your skin. But if used incorrectly, they will irritate the heck out of your skin, and do nothing for your acne. Some formulations will even make your acne worse.
A brief detour here: If you are an inflamed retinoid user, or you tried retinoids and had to stop because they made your face too uncomfortable, I am not saying you did something wrong. You simply had no way of knowing how to use a retinoid correctly. Most doctors prescribing them don't take the time to explain, or in some cases don't know, the proper way to use retinoids. And it certainly isn't written on the package! Take a look at the article on this site about retinoids, and you will find a description of the proper way to use them. You have to use a slow break-in period to allow your skin to adapt to them. And make sure your retinoid doesn't have isopropyl myristate or one of the other notorious pore-cloggers. The cream form of Retin-A does!
But even used correctly and in the right formula, retinoids do not address the oil or the bacteria part of the problem. There is one product that does a remarkable job of addressing all three factors that contribute to acne. It's called Benzoyl Peroxide.
Benzoyl Peroxide dries up oil, and like it's cousin, Hydrogen Peroxide, it kills anaerobic bacteria by flooding them with oxygen. But unlike its cousin, which stays on the surface, the Benzoyl portion of the molecule draws the Peroxide portion deep into the pore where it can flood those anaerobic p.acnes bacteria with oxygen. But most remarkably of all, Benzoyl Peroxide, or BPO, causes mild exfoliation and makes those sticky dead skin cells unsticky! It is amazing to see how those plugs soften right up after a couple weeks on BPO. Used consistently, BPO stops those plugs from forming in the first place.
Oh goodness! I can hear the screams from here. You tried Benzoyl Peroxide and it didn't work! You tried Benzoyl Peroxide and you're allergic to it! You can buy Benzoyl Peroxide at Target so why do you need the help of an acne specialist?
To the first scream my answer has four parts.

• First, you were probably using the wrong BPO. Most formulations of BPO have ingredients in them that will clog the pores. By nature BPO is drying, and manufacturers worry that people won't like to have their skin feel dry, so they add creams or lotions to counteract this effect. Many of the creams are clogging, and of those that aren't, most contain fatty acids that prevent the BPO from getting into the pore to do its work. So just because a product contains five or 10 percent BPO does not mean it will help your acne.
• Second, even with the right formula, you have to be religious in your use. The night you skip is the night a microcomedo forms. You may think you got away with it, because the lesion won't surface for weeks or even months, but it will surface.
• Third, your skin will adapt to the BPO. So even the right BPO used consistently will stop working over time, and you need a way to increase its action, probably more than once.
• Fourth, while BPO is the best acne medication ever developed, it isn't the whole answer to acne skin care.

To the second scream I'd say, less than 1% of the population is actually truly allergic to BPO. Were you ever patch tested, or do you think you're allergic because your face got red and irritated when you tried it? Chances are pretty good, in fact I'd say it's 99% likely, that you are not allergic to BPO.
If you were patch-tested and really are allergic, we can still get you clear without it at The Acne Treatment Center, but it might take a little longer. If you only think you are allergic because your face got red and irritated, you probably didn't use a break-in protocol (who knew?) to allow your skin to adjust.

Consult an Acne specialist

To the third scream, I will tell you that an acne specialist will design the whole answer to your acne skin care, not just give you the right BPO. She will provide professional treatments that will help clear you up faster and allow your home care to work more effectively. These treatments include professional exfoliation and extraction. She will design the right home care for you, including the right break-in period for BPO and retinoids, after testing your skin for sensitivity, and she will be able to judge when you need to increase the action of your products. She can judge when your skin is getting too dry for lesions to heal and when it isn't dry enough. She will keep track of your progress to be sure you are moving forward and she is always just an email or phone call away when you have questions or concerns about your skin.