You may feel pressure from your peers to have clear skin, or feel the pressure to look like everyone else and fit in. You are using different treatments in order to fit into the mold, but nothing seems to work. Are you using too many products? Not enough products? The wrong products? No products at all?

The most common mistake people make is starting a program, not seeing the results and stopping the program. This is the worst thing you could do, because you didn't give it long enough to begin working.

If you choose to begin a program to clear up your acne and it doesn't start working, what are you most likely to do? Pick at the pimples? Try to “pop” the pimples? It is recommended that you DO NOT pick/pop/pinch your pimples because this may cause the bacteria to go deeper into your follicle or become irritated and scar.

Are you one of those people who treat their face like the kitchen floor, and think the harder you scrub the cleaner it will be? Some people believe this, even though it has never come close to be true. There are NO benefits to scrubbing your skin so hard that it becomes inflamed. The only result you are left with is a red, raw, burning sensation on your face. This is uncomfortable to feel and look at. All you are doing to your skin when you scrub hard enough to make it red is taking off that top layer of protection that your skin offers.

Different treatments that can cause problems if used in excess: benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin, topical antibiotics and oral antibiotics. Using any one of those products in excess can cause dry, itchy, blotchy skin. If you use benzoyl peroxide too often your skin can become red and scaly. Do you want your face to look like a reptile shedding its skin? Same thing happens with topical antibiotics and tretinoin. Oral antibiotics on the other hand can cause the many side effects that you are warned about before beginning the medicine, nausea and vomiting. Also, not attractive.

If you do not see the results of your acne treatment regimen right away do not be discouraged. It is important to remember that your skin will not start seeing the benefits for 3-6 weeks. Do not start and stop your skin care regimen, you need to keep it steady if you want it to work. Follow the directions exactly, as this is the only way that you will be able to see any benefit of the products you are using. And finally, NEVER use medicine that is not prescribed to you. The medicine may have been prescribed to them for a specific reason, and may not even help you.