Acne products that work: How to fight acne at the source
Want acne products that work? Some acne formulas are too harsh, while others aren’t strong enough acne fighters. If you’re tired of searching for the top acne products, look no further. Our one of a kind formulas use clinical doses of proven acne fighting medicines AND soothing, calming and strengthening ingredients to truly tackle your acne and heal skin all over.
Acne + irritation
If you suffer from acne, you are not alone. A study examining the prevalence of acne prone skin in adults over the age 20 found that acne affects more than 50 percent of women between the ages of 20-29 and more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 40-49.*
In your search for acne products that work, it may be tempting to try drugstore or DIY options. However, many of these products only contain strong active ingredients with not much to buffer them, which can cause dryness, irritation, or flaky skin. Other options, particularly DIY, don’t contain the active ingredients needed to fight acne. It’s crucial to choose the right professional formula for you.
“Not all acne products are for everyone. If you are an adult with anti-aging concerns, or even a teenager with dry or sensitive skin, you shouldn’t choose harsh drugstore options designed for teens. Adults with acne have unique skin that needs to be cared for with ingredients that heal, but also hydrate and reduce inflammation.” –Teresa Stenzel, Bioelements Director of Education
Even an acne product that is designed for adults can dry the skin out if not used correctly. If you apply too much or too often you risk irritation no matter what product you use. Always follow the instructions and never skip sunscreen during the day or moisturizer day and night.
Looking for the perfect moisturizer for acne prone skin? Read this quick guide.
What causes acne? 4 acne triggers
At a cellular level, there are four main causes of acne:
1) Excess sebum
Sebum is oil produced in sebaceous follicles that are found all over your skin. The average rates of sebum secretion are higher in people with acne than people without acne. Those with oily skin have excess sebum as well.
2) Pore-clogging dead skin cells
Dead skin cells shed inside the follicles in large clumps. In people with acne, these dead cells stay in the follicle, where they mix with sebum and form an impaction called a micro-comedo.
When the impaction builds, it flows to the surface of the skin. In some cases, it causes the pore to dilate, creating an open comedone (a blackhead) or it becomes a closed comedone (a whitehead).
3) Acne bacteria
P. acnes are a natural resident of the skin. They are anaerobic bacteria, which means they hate the air, and so they live inside sebaceous follicles. The mixture of sebum and dead cells there facilitate the overgrowth of P. acnes.
4) Inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s response to the development of the acne lesion. As P. acnes proliferate in the oxygen-free environment of the follicle, the irritation and inflammation increase, causing stressed out and weakened skin and sometimes even spreading the breakout.
How to heal acne: Ingredients
There are three FDA approved ingredients that fight acne: salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and sulfur. These are the active acne fighters.
“These ingredients all help increase cell turnover to keep pores clean and remove dead skin build up that leads to acne breakouts. The sulfur also attacks acne bacteria, fights inflammation and reduces redness.” –Teresa Stenzel
Without these ingredients, your acne products aren’t actively tackling acne.
However, to have a truly effective acne fighting system, you can’t just dry out blemishes with strong active ingredients. You need soothing, calming, and strengthening ingredients to help the acne healing process.
What makes Bioelements Acne Clearing System so unique is the fact that we use additional ingredients to provide antiseptic, soothing and hydrating benefits: allantoin, panthenol (vitamin B5), honey, lavender/lavendin, lemon, lime, orange and grapefrui