• Getting rid of pimples; and
• Preventing pimples from forming

Getting rid of pimples
There are many over-the-counter creams which can get rid of a pimple. Most of them work for many people. Some, like benzoyl peroxide 2.5, are cheap, while tea tree oil is a little more expensive.

Preventing pimples from forming
However, I have never found anything in the pharmacy which dares to claim to prevent pimples. I have also visited the websites operated by several dermatological associations, and they also never say anything about preventing pimples.

Quite a sad state of affairs for our advanced Western medicine, isn’t it?

The following 3 tips are simple to do and work quite well for me and my friends, although many dermatologists would claim that they are nonsense:

Does acne affect your life very badly? Do you need to get rid of that pimple fast? Click here to learn the best acne care treatment.

I understand that not everyone has convenient access to such a pharmacist. Here are two clinically proven alternatives:

• salicylic acid
• tea tree oil

Both of them are derived from natural compounds. Salicylic acid is made from willow bark extract; it (willow bark extract) had been used in many ancient civilizations – including the ancient Greeks, Sumerians and Assyrians. Sterling Winthrop has concluded successful clinical studies of 0.5% and 2% solutions of salicylic acid as topical treatment for acne vulgaris, published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in 1992.

Tea tree oil is made from the Australian tea tree, which is a natural remedy used by the aborigines for hundreds of years. Western medicine started studying its effect in the 1920s – since then many studies have been published. Many bacteria are successfully destroyed by 1% tea tree oil, most are destroyed by 5% tea tree oil. Doctors in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (Australia) found that benzoyl peroxide 5% works faster than tea tree oil 5% as topical acne treatment, but the tea tree oil had fewer side effects.

As you can see, even if benzoyl peroxide does not work for you, both salicylic acid and tea tree oil are very viable substitute acne care treatment.

Does acne affect your life very badly? Do you need to get rid of that pimple fast? Click here to learn the best acne care treatment.

Here is the correct way to use benzoyl peroxide:

1. Wash your face with a non-soap based cleanser
2. Pat your face dry with a fresh, clean face towel
3. Apply benzoyl peroxide 2.5%
4. Allow BP to dry
5. Apply moisturizer – this is an important step which many people ignore

Benzoyl peroxide 2.5% is the lowest concentration I have ever found in shops. It has the fewest side-effects. However, I have had difficulty finding this concentration lately. Nowadays, I mainly see BP 5% at my local grocer. At higher concentrations, some people find that their acne becomes worse. This is largely because BP irritates your skin. The higher the concentration, the more skin irritation. The more skin irritation, the more your skin reacts to create whiteheads and blackheads, etc. From there, it is just one more step to pimples.

This does not mean you need to give up on benzoyl peroxide. An even lower concentration might work well for you. For example, some pharmacists are willing to whip up a house brand BP 1% for their customers. If not, you can try searching for a supplier on the internet.

Nothing beats benzoyl peroxide 2.5% as the first line of acne care treatment for most patients. Even skin specialists prescribe it. However, if it does not work for you, do let your doctor know – he will prescribe an alternative for you.

Does acne affect your life very badly? Do you need to get rid of that pimple fast? Click here to learn the best acne care treatment.

• Wash your face with a non-drying cleanser
• Apply a weak benzoyl peroxide gel or solution
• Apply moisturizer

Doing this twice a day will keep your acne under control. This method works for most people, but does take a bit of time.

For some people, their acne becomes worse instead. In these cases, you need to do some experimentation. Here are some common mistakes which people make in their skin treatment for acne:

• They do not use a fresh, clean towel to dry their face. Hygiene is very important in skin treatment for acne. You need to change your towel every time you wash your face. Don’t have enough towel? Then buy a stack of cheap face towels or handkerchiefs.
• They rub their skin dry with their towel. This irritates the skin and can cause more pimples to erupt. It can also spread the germs causing your acne, creating new pimples in the process. You need to be gentle – just pat your skin dry.
• They use too concentrated benzoyl peroxide gel. Some people are impatient – they use the 10% gel to get rid of acne fast. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for many people. The extra-strong gel irritates your skin to cause even more pimples. You need to be patient, use benzoyl peroxide 2.5%. If even this is too strong for you, try tea tree oil. Doctors in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia found that 79% of their patients who use concentrated benzoyl peroxide suffer side effects like itching, stinging, burning, and dryness.
• Reactions from their moisturizer. There are many brands of moisturizer in the market today – all of them claiming various special benefits. Unfortunately, some of these moisturizers react badly with your skin, even if they work wonders for your friends and family. You will need to test out different brands until you find one which works for you. For a cheap alternative, try extra virgin olive oil from the cooking aisle of your local supermarket. Buy the EVOO without any additives or fragrances – many people find that extra virgin olive oil makes a good moisturizer.

Does acne affect your life very badly? Do you need to get rid of that pimple fast? Click here to learn the best skin treatment for acne.