Back to School! Best Starter Products for Acne

It’s that time of year, back to school!  Kids who haven’t cared about or for their skin for months suddenly want it to look a little better for school starting.  Here’s some last-minute tips to get you started.  These tips also work well for pre-teen acne. If anything, teens are impatient, so these are things you can start right away, without seeing a dermatologist.  For more advanced acne, a prescription regimen will be needed, but these things are always a good place to start.

These are all affordable ideas as well.  Each item on this list is about $12-15 on Amazon, and I don’t get any kickbacks on any of your purchases.  This is free advice.  

Wash acne areas well, twice a day!  This alone is a game changer for many.  Many don’t use soap at all, they just let the water run over them.  In patients with acne, we need some soap!  I have a few products that I often recommend to get patients started and often to augment their prescription regimens.  We use many of these at home ourselves.

Facial Cleansing Brush – Helps get a more thorough cleansing than we get just using our hands, without being to harsh.  Like a spin toothbrush for the face, this is a great help.  The original version of these was Clarisonic.  There are dozens of knock off versions now.

Exfoliating Back Strap-  It is extra hard to clean our backs well.  Most find this helpful.  There are numerous options for these as well on Amazon.  I recommend one that can be periodically washed in the washer and dried in the dryer.

Best OTC Cleansers.  I am a big fan of prescription sulfur wash, but these are my favorite OTC choices.

Cetaphil Oil Control Wash – This is best used in the morning to help with oiliness throughout the day.  Just FYI, I do not prefer the moisturizer in the oil control line because it has chemical sunscreens, so just stick with the wash. https://a.co/d/7ZeJNgD

Awhile back, a consumer watch group found Benzene in a number of OTC Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO) washes, so I no longer recommend any of them.  

Panoxyl 10% BPO Bar Soap– This strength of BPO used to be only by prescription.  Panoxyl is an old, trusted brand that’s making a resurgence.   Be careful that the BPO doesn’t bleach clothes or linens.  

Best OTC Topical.  There is one clear winner in this category.  Differin Gel –  This topical is the mildest of the RetinA like topicals.  These medications target blackheads and clogged pores and help the skin grow in a more acne prone way.  The negative of this class of medications is that they can be irritating with chapping, peeling and redness when they are first used.  Differin gel is the mildest in the class and always a great place to start. It should be used nightly on the entire acne area, and it is not a good choice for spot treating.  Laroche Posay also has one they market with the same strength and active ingredient called Effaclar at a higher price.  

So there you go… Wash well, twice a day, use a good cleanser and apply Differin gel.  Remember it usually takes 6-8 weeks at least to see lasting improvement in the skin.  If these starter products aren’t enough, see a dermatologist. 

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