Some questions have to be asked before seeking treatment. First, how often do you break out? Do you have blackheads? What do your pores look like? After washing with soap, how does your skin look and feel? Do you have facial lines? By asking yourself these questions, you can determine what types of products will work best for you and how your skin might react to them.

The three basic skin types are: dry, oily, normal. One can have either of the three or a combination of them, e.g normal to oily, or normal to dry. Each skin type or combination requires different treatment products.

Now each of this skin types has different types of the following characteristics: texture, oil production and frequency of break outs. Dry skin usually has the least number of breakouts since it produces little oil. Oil is the one which causes pores to clog resulting in pimples.

Dry skin usually has nearly visible pores and may feel dry and tight after washing. People with this type of skin are usually fair skinned and develop facial lines earlier in life. However this skin type also burns easily.

Normal skin is characterized by occasional breakouts and blackheads in the T-zone. This zone is the area on the forehead and either side of the nose. Pores often appear visible in the t-zone, and the skin may feel tight after washing. The skin is usually fair to medium with facial lines appearing early around the eyes It burns when exposed to sun but thereafter tans.

Oily skin suffers the most breakouts with blackheads and due to it's oily nature often appears as shiny after washing. The color is usually olive to dark -what Africans have-and doesn't age as fast as the other skin types. This means that facial lines rarely do occur. On exposure to the sun, it tans easily and rarely burns.

The key to finding the right treatment for your skin is to determine it's type. Each type has specific treatment products for it. Once you determine this, you can be on your way to treat the acne in the correct way.