Many people have trouble with acne, generally as a result of clogged pores in the skin. Contrary to popular opinion, these people are not all in their teens; many of them are older. Whatever your age, here are some helpful tips to reduce your acne problem or eliminate it altogether.

Try not to touch your face as much. Your hands contain oils and your fingers, especially. Extra oil can clog pores on your face and cause pimples. Touching your face might not cause acne, but it can definitely exacerbate it. Try to break any habits that involve resting your head against your hand.

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.

One of the best ways to deal with acne is to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist can specifically tell you ways to deal with acne that is affecting your skin without causing any further problems down the road. The dermatologist may also be able to prescribe special topical medications or antibiotics that can eliminate acne.

If you are fighting an acne battle, do not worry about your diet. While stories are wide-spread that certain foods contribute to acne problems, the rumors are not true. Chocolate and greasy foods and other rich fare have no effect on your skin’s susceptibility to acne. Just remember that the foods the get blamed for acne aren’t healthy anyway, so moderate your indulgence!

If you are an otherwise healthy adult woman with serious acne issues, consider asking your doctor if birth control pills could facilitate the problem. Birth control pills help regulate your hormone levels and most acne breakouts in young adults are related to hormone fluctuations. The regulation of hormones could reduce the number of breakouts you suffer.

If you’re looking to get ride of acne as an adult, try a medication different from the ones targeted towards teenagers. A lot of acne medication developed for teenagers is formulated for lessening the appearance of large pimples overnight, and can be harsh to sensitive skin. Look for formulations made for adults, which usually contain sulfur as the active acne fighting ingredient.

To help improve your acne problem avoid excessive sun exposure. A small amount of sun exposure is healthy for the skin and a light tan will help to hide some of the redness associated with acne. Too much exposure to sunlight, however, will cause skin to shed more than normal, resulting in clogged pores and an eventual increase in acne.

As you can see, problems with acne are not totally incurable. If you follow the tips that were discussed in the article, your acne problem will be aided, if not cured. But please see your physician or a dermatologist before doing anything very extreme, as they may have useful warnings or cautions.