Most teenagers experience acne, and some adults suffer from it at various times in their lives. But far from being something you simply have to live with, acne is often treatable and preventable.

• What causes acne? Skin blemishes — affectionately known as whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples — are primarily caused by the natural oil (called sebum) that everyone's skin produces. Normally, the oil formed in a pore softens and spreads out across the skin's surface, serving a protective purpose. But when pores are clogged by dead skin and debris, or are misshapen by scarring or genetic factors, sebum can build up inside them, causing blemishes. A whitehead, generally occurring where skin is dry, forms when excess sebum and bacteria hardens inside of a pore. A blackhead, usually forming in oily areas, occurs when oil built up inside a pore is exposed to air and oxidizes. Pimples — those large, pink blemishes that seem to torment every teen — occur when bacteria colonize an oily pore.

• Basic skin care. For most folks, the keys to successful skin care are simple: wash away excess oil and debris to prevent clogged pores, exfoliate the skin's surface to remove buildup inside pores, and disinfect the skin to kill pimple-causing bacteria. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? This can all be accomplished by washing your face twice a day with a good liquid cleanser. Skin care expert Paula Begoun recommends a few good cleansers to try, including Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser and Olay Foaming Cleanser for Sensitive Skin.

• Over the counter blemish-fighters. Washing your face every day will exfoliate, disinfect, and remove excess oil, but if you suffer from acne, you may need to do more than just wash. An easy way to exfoliate the skin's surface is to mix a little bit of baking soda with your cleanser to form a paste, and use it as a gentle scrub. Salicylic acid is an excellent chemical exfoliant that, like baking soda, can be used daily. Use it in a gel or liquid form because cleansers containing salicylic acid don't stay on the skin long enough to work.

The best way to disinfect your skin is to use a gel-based product that contains benzoyl peroxide. Plain Milk of Magnesia, something you may already have sitting in your medicine cabinet, makes an excellent oil-absorbing mask when applied to skin (but don't use the mint or cherry varieties, please!). Use it as often as need — daily or weekly, depending on how oily your skin is — to help keep your skin oil-free.

• Prescription blemish-fighters. If acne doesn't improve after three or four weeks of washing with a gentle cleanser, exfoliating, disinfecting, and using Milk of Magnesia masks, then it might be time to find a dermatologist. A dermatologist can prescribe heavy-duty exfoliants like Differin or Retin-A, and topical antibiotics like Azelaic acid. Hormone therapy, often in the form of low-dose birth control pills, can be used to help skin produce less oil.

Written by Eva Talmadge

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