Acne is one of the most common skin conditions, and chances are pretty good that you’ve suffered the occasional, or perhaps more frequent, breakout. But what do you do when a breakout strikes? It’s important to do your research on acne, as you could be inadvertently harming your skin more than helping it.

Many people swear by toothpaste as a good way to get rid of acne. Take about a fourth of a pea-sized squirt of toothpaste and apply it to each zit, preferably every night. Use warm water to wash it off the next morning. By doing this routine repeatedly, you should see your acne clear up in no time.

In order to clear up and prevent acne, make sure you’re not actually washing your skin too much. A gentle wash two times a day is recommended. While washing is obviously important for skin care, washing too vigorously or too much can actually harm your skin as it may irritate and dry it out.

Acne scars can be eliminated via a surgery, such as laser surgery. This is something that has to be suggested by your dermatologist though. Basically, they use a gentle laser and go over the scars. Through repeated treatments, you will start to see these scars diminish and go away for long periods of time.

If you have aspirin laying around you can try an aspirin mask for your acne. Crush up several pills and add just enough water to make a mask. Apply this to the skin for about ten minutes. The ingredients in the aspirin will reduce the swelling and redness.

Avoid abrasive skin-care products when you are fighting an acne problem. Regardless of their supposed benefits, these products damage the skin by stripping away its outer layers. Acne is caused by bacteria taking root inside vulnerable pores. Harsh, abrasive cleaning products merely make your skin more susceptible to acne infection by exposing surrounding pores to the bacteria present in pimples.

Although acne is the subject of many jokes about teenagers, it is a condition that negatively affects the self-esteem and psychological well-being of many young people. If you are a parent who would like to help your child deal with the emotional aspects of acne, there are resources available to help you with this process. Finding a reputable dermatologist who is trained to recognize the psychological effects of skin conditions is an important first step in relieving both the cause and the result of the acne. A counselor or psychologist can teach your teen how to cope with his or her feelings and alert you if the child is having any thoughts of suicide. Find out if there are any acne support groups in your area or search for an online forum for acne sufferers, that you and your son or daughter could join together. These precautionary measures could turn your despondent youth into a happy, carefree teenager again.

So, if you have acne, is there hope? Yes, absolutely! Most people, at some point in their life, have struggled with acne. The good news is that there is a solution – put some of our tips into practice, and the result will be a clearer complexion and a happier you!