Why Over the Counter Treatments Won’t Clear Your Teen’s Acne

What Most People Don’t Realize

Most over-the-counter acne medications contain pore-clogging ingredients that actually make acne worse instead of better. If you take the time like we did and read the ingredient lists on the back of common acne products, you would realize that many of them contain pore-cloggers.

In this post, we’ll be reviewing some of the most popular over-the-counter acne products and detailing exactly why they don’t work. The truth is, many big corporate acne product companies want consumers to believe that they will solve a problem for acne sufferers, when in reality, they only make them worse.

The True Causes of Acne

You may have heard that acne is caused by bacteria. Germs and microbes infect the pores and that is what causes acne. Or that acne is caused by not keeping the area clean enough.

The reality is, acne is not the simple. If acne were as simple as a bacterial infection, everyone could just take antibiotics, keep the area dry and sterile, and their skin would clear up eventually. If acne were caused by not cleansing the skin enough, then all anyone would have to do would be buy more aggressive cleansers and use then more than twice a day. The problem is that acne is far more complex than that.

Acne is hereditary and hormonal. It can’t be made to go away just by using strong disinfectants, medications, or aggressive cleansers. These solutions to acne usually just end up giving the acne sufferer painfully dry skin, or worse.

The acne-causing genes make it so pores overproduce oil, dead skin cells, and sebum. These genes are also especially susceptible to androgens and hormones, which create a high turnover rate of these cells. When cells are overproducing and there’s a high turnover rate, the pores become so clogged that breakouts are inevitable.

When you realize that the cause of acne is pores that are just too clogged, it makes perfect sense that products that contain pore-cloggers simply won’t do the job. Acne is caused by pores becoming congested and inflamed with oil and dead skin cells. Adding more oil and pore clogging ingredients in a recipe for disaster and further acne problems.

Popular Products that Cause Breakouts

Not every product line or acne treatment available believes that pore-cloggers are an issue. Many OTC or mail order products don’t buy into the theory that acne is caused by clogged pores, therefore, they contain ingredients that clog pores and cause more inflamed acne.

Over-the-counter treatments are popular because, while some of them do contain acne fighting elements such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, unfortunately, these do little to prevent pores becoming clogged deep down under the skin.

Here are some popular acne products that contain pore cloggers:

Cetaphil
Includes sodium laureth sulfate in its formula, which causes breakouts.

Clearasil
Myristic acid and lauric acid are also pore cloggers and will do more harm than good when it comes to clearing skin.

ProActiv
Contains ethylhexyl palmitate is a pore clogger.

Clean and Clear
Has algae extract, which is a pore clogging ingredient. According to reviews voted “most helpful” on their online retail store, the product did nothing for customers but break them out even more.

Best Practice

Before using any acne product, it is always a good idea to consult the ingredient list (actives and inactives) to find out if there are any pore cloggers. Don’t buy into the idea that just because a product seems popular means that it is effective. Oftentimes, it is the opposite

The best method for clearing acne is realizing that it’s a journey that takes time and patience. Having someone guide you through the struggle is what we suggest because treating acne is not easy. But clearing acne is possible, with the right products and the right system.

Taking care of your skin doesn’t have to start with blind trial and error. If you are reading this, you are on the right path.

Click here to read more and find out why Skintherapy is the best solution for clearing acne

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