If you are like me, and have at least one teen in the house, then you have no doubt confronted the "Big A issue" - Acne. And, if you are like me, you've been bombarded online by information overload when it comes to what acne products you need to defeat the onlslaught of zits. Not only are there many acne products on the market, in all shapes and sizes, but each one claims to be the best, the only one you need.

This is simply not true. There are acne products for daily routines, used as a way of preventive maintenance, and there are acne products for daily (or nightly routines) for curing acne issues. There are natural acne products, and medicated acne products, and on and on.

The best thing to do, is to learn first what product types you will need, before making a decision on what brand would be your best choice. It all starts with skin type: oily, dry or combination skin.

For oily skin, you should consider a gel-based product. For dry skin, a cream-type product, and for combination skin, this would depend upon the area being affected by the acne condition. What I mean is, if the area affected is oily, reach for the gel. If the area is dry, a cream. Pretty simple once you know, right?

Another area to look at is how sensitive your skin is. The more sensitive your skin is, the less concentration of active ingredients in your acne product you will need, because if you get a product that is too highly concentrated, then you could be making matters worse by drying out your skin or causing your skin to overproduce the oil that causes flare ups. This would mean, more acne.

There are some mild creams that can be used for preventative treatment, but most cream-based acne products are too harsh to be used for anything other than when you see or feel a zit coming on.

As for active ingredients, the most common is benzoyl peroxide. This is the warrior of the active ingredients. It gets into the breakout, destroying blemishes and fighting off any new flare-ups that may occur. It unclogs pores that are filled with dirt and bacteria, and controls the production of oil, and best of all reduces redness around the affected area, which in turn improves the overall appearance of your skin.

Then there are tea tree oils that act as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. Using this with the benzoyl peroxide is like having artillery backup to benzoyl's foot soldiers. This unbeatable combination can give you dramatic results in just a matter of days.

One word of advice. Some medicated (and even natural) acne products can leave your skin sunlight sensitive, so be sure to use sunscreen to offset this side effect and keep your skin protected.

Lastly, salicylic acid is not called the "acne-killer" for nothing. This ingredient goes to work, even if you use other things like moisturizers while using this stuff. You can clear out any topical ingredients without removing the acid.

Other acne products you can use to round out your acne-fighting regimen are cleansers, because you should have good clean skin if you hope to prevent or reduce acne problems. Cleansers are used to remove makeup, dirt and other collectibles, and oil that has built up in pores. Then you can move to other acne products like scrubs, masks and overnight treatments (also known as spot treatments).

Lots to think about when it comes to acne products and keeping things clean and flare-free on your skin.