Shaving What Are Razor Bumps? Razor Bumps Develop When Shaved Hairs Get Trapped Inside the Skin, Causing Acne-like Lesions
THE WORLD'S #1 ACNE RESOURCE - since 1996
Science-based acne information, a supportive community,
and a regimen that works
and a regimen that works
The Acne.org Regimen
Reliably and completely clears the skin in 3-4 months, or faster for many people. Improvements start almost immediately.
The Acne.org RegimenPersonalized Advice Quiz - All of Acne.org in just a few minutes
What is acne?
Clogged pores lead to skin lesions: Acne is an inflammatory disease that occurs when the pores of the skin become clogged. Once a pore becomes clogged, it traps skin oil and bacteria inside, leading to an acne lesion.
Where on the body: Acne occurs most often on the face, neck, back, and chest.
Scars: Depending on genetic makeup and how severe the acne lesions are, scarring can be left behind.
Who: Almost everyone experiences acne, especially during adolescence. A high percentage of adults also continue to experience acne, though its severity tends to gradually lessen over time. It afflicts people of all ethnicities and is treated the same regardless.
Avoid unnecessary skin irritation: Our skin is healthiest and clearest when it is balanced. The less irritation your skin experiences, the better it is able to remain clear. Sources of irritation include anything which rubs, scratches, or comes into prolonged contact with your skin. To best clear acne, try to keep your skin as untouched as possible. Also try to avoid anything which sends your skin out of balance, such as over-washing the skin, sunburns, shaving with irritating razors, and pore-clogging cosmetics. And absolutely, positively, do not pick at your skin.
Popping a pimple: None of us likes to walk around with pus-filled pimples. Done correctly, properly popping a pimple with a clear white or yellow head can actually help speed up healing.
How to treat acne
Ongoing treatment can get the skin completely clear and keep it that way for years if need be. However, aside from Accutane®, there is no other oral or topical treatment for acne which produces long-lasting remission of acne symptoms.
2.5% benzoyl peroxide
The most effective treatment for most people aside from Accutane is benzoyl peroxide, which has been a mainstay of acne treatment for decades. It penetrates into the skin and eradicates acne bacteria within minutes. It also helps peel the skin, helping to prevent clogged pores. For benzoyl peroxide to completely clear acne, it should be carefully applied it as outlined in The Acne.org Regimen. This regimen allows most people to completely suppress acne symptoms until their bout of acne naturally subsides.
Learn The Acne.org Regimen »Accutane (isotretinoin)
For severe, widespread, and scarring acne, isotretinoin (often known by its original brand name, Accutane) is an option. Isotretinoin is an oral treatment which is normally prescribed for 15-20 weeks and produces long-term remission of acne symptoms in about 2/3 of people who take it, but comes with a large range of side effects, some of which can be lifelong and plague the patient for the rest of their lives. It also causes severe birth defects, and may cause premature aging and joint pain in the long-term. For all of these reasons, all other options should be exhausted first. If it is used, it must be administered in close partnership with a physician.
Learn about Accutane »Many other topical and oral treatments exist for acne, most of which produce moderate, yet incomplete, results. Home remedies, aside from a few exceptions, tend to produce little to no results.
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