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.
Oil of Olay 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.
Exfoliating Back Strap- It is extra hard to clean our backs well. Most find this to help. It should be washed in the washer and dried in the dryer at least once a week.
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
Cerave Acne Control Foaming Wash with 4% Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO)- Social media has made Cerave a hot product. This one is nice, but as with all BPO containing products, this one can bleach your towels. See the article below. https://a.co/d/clvfNgH
Panoxyl 10% BPO Acne Foaming Wash – This strength of BPO used to be only by prescription. Panoxyl is an old, trusted brand. https://a.co/d/64rJChm
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. https://a.co/d/1KhPnhH
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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