It is sad, but true. Whatever the reasons behind it may be, you have acne. The pores in your skin are becoming clogged with debris, bacteria, and dead cells. Blackheads, red and inflamed pores, and other blemishes have begun to tarnish your once clear skin. If you are fortunate enough to know the specific reasons behind your acne, you can help to control it.



Other people out there are constantly searching for the next breakthrough in fighting acne. With modern day medicine, different and unique treatments are coming out all the time. But are these newfangled ideas of any use to you? How can they help your acne, and more importantly, will they help your acne?

One of these new ideas is a liquid antiseptic. When you pop or squeeze a pimple, you may be doing damage to your skin, opening a wound and leaving the potential for a tiny pot mark later on in your face. However, a lot of times people forget this information or simply cannot help themselves. A pimple is aggravatingly large or simply begging to be popped and we are more than happy to oblige.

When you pop it, you can put this liquid antiseptic over the small wound, which will fill in the area and then harden. It is somewhat like an instant scab, protecting the damaged area from bacteria and giving it the chance to heal faster and possibly better.

The catch? This is not a way to prevent your breakouts. Nor is it a way to help heal current breakouts. This product is more for patching up blemishes you yourself have poked at too much. In that respect, it can be handy, but what you really want is to keep breakouts from occurring in the first place. Are you thinking you could put it over your pores in the first place?

No, because that is definitely not what this product is for, nor is it recommended that you do this, as blocking your pores completely will only lead to oil buildup and an irritated pore, hence more acne. A good product, but not what you are looking for unless you are constantly popping your acne blemishes, something you want to avoid doing in the first place.

The second so called hot product (pardon the pun) is a device that supposedly causes bacteria to self destruct. How is this possible? A small, hand held device that could easily be mistaken for a cell phone in size and metallic coloring, has a tip that heats up that is then placed on the skin. The heat used is supposed to very depending upon the pimple you have put the heat on, and upon first contact, it feels quite hot. This heat is supposed to cause the bacteria to begin self destructing, thus reducing the size of the pimple over a period of 24 hours and a few uses of the device.

The catch? The claim for devices such as these (which can cost as much as $100 and upward) is that they work 90 percent of the time. However, you will not know whether or not you will fall into the 10 percent that it will not work for. Sure, 90 percent is a pretty good number, but it does not matter for the 10 percent the device does not help.

It is also recommended that you use the device as soon as possible on a pimple, otherwise it may grow too big and be out of control, which means it will be beyond the help of the heat the device uses. Other restrictions include only using it on mild to moderate acne, and it works only for pimples. It will have no effect on whiteheads, blackheads, or pustules. Sure, it looks cool and sounds pretty nifty, but expensive and may not even work for your skin.

New technology is great and appreciated, but your best bet for helping acne is by understanding the reasons for it and maintaining a good skin care regimen. Eating right, exercising, and taking care of your skin can make a great deal of difference, and if necessary, you can always rely on specific creams and medications already proven to help acne.