Acne isn’t just a problem for teenagers. Adults deal with it, too. In fact, more than 60% of adult women suffer from cyclical breakouts. And hormonal changes, whether in puberty, pregnancy, or perimenopause, are the main cause.
Top Acne Treatments for Teens & Adults
Fortunately, many of the same acne products for teens also work for adults. The trick is to stay on top of things with regular maintenance. This means cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing. These simple but necessary steps keep your pores clear, control oil and kill acne-causing bacteria. Now let’s look at the best acne treatments for teens and adults.
Dermalogica Clear Start Breakout Clearing Foaming Wash
This gentle foaming wash from Dermalogica is part of their Clear Start lineup. It contains 0.50% salicylic acid, which is an exfoliator that gets rid of excess oil and dead skin. The formula also has natural anti-acne ingredients like tea tree and lavender oil. The mild ingredients make this cleanser safe enough to use morning and night.
Dermalogica Clear Start Skin Soothing Hydrating Lotion
After you’ve washed with the Breakout Clearing foaming wash, apply Dermalogica’s hydrating lotion (if you don’t use their toner). It’s a lightweight moisturizer with squalene and botanicals that instantly makes skin feel softer.
Dermalogica Clear Start Breakout Clearing Kit
Instead of purchasing each Clear Start component separately, get them all in this travel-size kit. It includes the foaming wash, toner, blackhead-clearing scrub, matte moisturizer with SPF15, and overnight treatment.
Dermalogica MediBac Clearing Adult Acne Treatment Kit
Dermalogica also makes an adult acne treatment kit called MediBac. It comes with an overnight clearing gel, a face wash, oil control lotion, and the sebum clearing masque. The active ingredient in the face cleanser is 0.50% salicylic acid. Moreover, each one of these products is free from artificial dyes, fragrances, and parabens.
Murad 30-Day Acne Control Kit
Murad’s Acne Control Kit is designed to reduce breakouts in just a few days and keep your skin healthy for a month. It includes a cleanser, a clearing solution, an oil control mattifier with sunscreen, and a spot treatment cream. Customers report positive results when they use it to clear up adult acne.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Dermatological Acne Treatment System
Would you like to try an award-winning solution that ends acne breakouts? Try the Effaclar system from La Roche-Posay. It won Allure’s Best Acne Treatment three times in a row. That’s partially because it makes a visible difference within the first day.
Furthermore, La Roche-Posay products are, as a rule, recommended by dermatologists and free of fragrances and parabens. In this kit you’ll find a 2% salicylic acid gel wash, a glycolic acid clarifying solution, and 5.5% benzoyl peroxide medication.
Paula’s Choice-CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit for Moderate Facial Acne
Paula’s Choice CLEAR Acne Kit contains two of the strongest anti-acne treatments you can buy over-the-counter. It has both 2% salicylic acid and 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to get rid of blemishes and blackheads. This powerhouse combination wipes out pimples and shrinks pores without drying out your skin.
The kit contains a cleanser, an exfoliating solution, and a clearing treatment for everyday use. And all of these products are free from artificial fragrances and never tested on animals.
Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Kit
Clinique’s Anti-Blemish Solutions Kit is a 3-step system with cleansing foam, clarifying and exfoliating lotion, and clearing moisturizer. It’s made to be used twice a day to reduce breakouts in inflammation and control shine.
Mario Badescu Acne Starter Kit
Mario Badescu’s kit is a favorite for people with combination skin. It includes a salicylic acid cleanser, a cucumber lotion toner, a moisturizer with SPF 17, a spot treatment, and an oil-control mask. The mask only needs to be used once or twice a week to dry up breakouts.
The Acne.org Regimen – Complete Acne Treatment Kit
The popular Acne.org treatment kit has pharmaceutical-grade benzoyl peroxide that zaps zits without wrecking your skin. Benzoyl peroxide is very good at stopping acne because it destroys acne-causing bacteria. It also tends to make skin sensitive to sunlight, so don’t forget to wear sunscreen.
But that’s not the only component in the set. There’s also a pH-balanced gentle cleanser and a fast-absorbing moisturizer. Acne.org says that each kit should last one to two months, and most people end up with completely clear skin in four months or less.
AcneFree Severe Acne Treatment System
AcneFree’s 4-step Severe Acne Treatment System relies on 10% benzoyl peroxide and retinol. It’s harsh, but it’s effective. As they point out, it works 24 hours a day to speed up healing and stop new breakouts. It’s possibly the most intensive over-the-counter acne treatment available.
Neutralyze Moderate to Severe Acne Treatment Kit
Neutralyze’s kit eliminates cystic acne, acne scars, whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples. It can also relieve keratosis pilaris and psoriasis. And it does all this with nitric oxide.
The set is comprised of a face wash, clearing, and exfoliating serum, and a moisturizer called a “Synergyzer. “ Neutralyzer says you should see an improvement in 7 days or less if you use the products twice a day. But if you aren’t satisfied with the results, they offer a 100% money-back guarantee.
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Control Kit
Clean & Clear’s Advantage Kit touts an important feature—it makes pimples hurt less within 2 hours. But that’s not all. The cleanser, acne treatment, and gel moisturizer clear away blemishes while it prevents new ones from forming.
Murad Acne Control Rapid Relief Acne Spot Treatment
Instead of investing in a complete acne control system, you might only need a spot treatment now and then. If that’s the case, try the Murad Rapid Relief blemish gel. It’s transparent, dries quickly, and can be worn underneath makeup. It uses salicylic acid and natural extracts to shrink pimple size within four hours.
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment
The Clean & Clear acne spot treatment relies on 2% salicylic acid to shrink and obliterate pimples. It’s proven to clear up a blemish in only one day. It even stops the soreness and swelling in just four hours. And you can use it up to three times a day.
Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Treatment Gel
Instead of harsh ingredients that dry out the skin, Neutrogena’s spot treatment gel contains witch hazel and salicylic acid. Apply it after you cleanse your face, and it goes right to work. Reapply up to twice more during the day for faster relief.
LightStim for Acne
Up to this point, we’ve only discussed kits and spot treatments with products you put on your skin. But there’s another way to treat acne. This method doesn’t cause flaking or dryness or have negative side effects at all. Plus, it works on all skin types.
It’s the LightStim for Acne handheld LED light. It’s scientifically proven to work, and it’s FDA-cleared for treating acne. Instead of visiting a dermatologist, you can do light therapy at home. Moreover, it works because the blue light kills the P. acnes bacteria and the red light speeds up healing.
Baby Quasar MD Blue Skincare Therapy Device
For even more power to fight acne, try the Baby Quasar MD Blue. It’s stronger than the LightStim because it has more concentrated blue light. You’ll want to use it three to five times a week. And it will wreak havoc on acne bacteria without harming your skin.
Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Treatment Face Mask
Are you feeling skeptical about using LED light to cure acne? Then take a look at Neutrogena’s light therapy face mask. This trusted skin care product manufacturer believes that the right wavelengths will clear up blemishes. All you need to do is wear their face mask for ten minutes a day. And if you don’t see the results you desire, they offer a 100% money-back guarantee.
Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel
Dermalogica helps to reduce the breakout of bacteria using Meadowsweet. It helps you to get clearer and healthier skin. It has Niacinamide and Biotin combined with Zinc Gluconate and Caffeine to help soothe skin irritation. The natural oil present in the Tea Tree helps to ease irritation on the skin while you are sleeping. It also has Salicylic Acid which helps to slow down the process of further breakouts.
Dermalogica overnight clearing gel helps to control the skin from further producing oil. It also helps to clear the skin and prevent breakouts. This gel is gluten-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free and vegan-free. You just need to apply a thin layer of the gel all over your face at night and let it absorb. You can then wash it off in the morning.
Dermalogica Clear Start Breakout Clearing Overnight Treatment
If want to wake up with clear skin, apply the Dermalogica Breakout Clearing overnight treatment before you go to bed. It has a 2% concentration of salicylic acid plus other ingredients like cucumber that soothe and hydrate. Even better, it’s not just for your face. You can apply it to any part of your body where you tend to have pimples.
Which acne treatments are most effective?
The principal active ingredients in acne-fighting products are salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. But which one is the most effective? It turns out that they both are.
For example, salicylic acid exfoliates dead skin and unclogs pores. Although it won’t kill acne bacteria, it will help prevent new pimples.
Next, benzoyl peroxide can be drying to the skin, but it’s effective at killing the bacteria that inflames pores and causes blemishes.
In summary, both components are important tools in the fight for clear skin. You’re likely to find them in face cleansers and clarifying serums. And you might even see a low concentration of salicylic acid in your moisturizer, too.
Finally, we included light therapy devices that treat acne. These are not the laser devices that the dermatologist uses. Instead, these are tools you can use at home to clear up your skin. They usually work best on your face where there is less tissue for the light to penetrate. Plus, you can treat yourself with light therapy at the same time you use salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, too.
Conclusion
We hope we helped you find the best acne treatments today. Many effective over-the-counter solutions can clear up your skin. If you’re in doubt as to where to begin, choose a product with a money-back guarantee. Then stay the course for a month to see results.
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