Managing Acne With Daily Cleansing Routines

Featuring Dr. Jan Dank, MD

Video Title: Managing Acne With Daily Cleansing Routines Duration: 1 minute, 42 seconds

It’s a common misperception that acne is caused by dirty skin.  

Acne patients spend far more time washing their skin and have more hygiene than those people who don’t suffer from it. So it’s not that you’re not washing enough, or it’s not dirt that’s causing this.  

Certainly, because people think it may be dirt, they often scrub the skin very hard, and that has a counterproductive effect. When you scrub hard, that little plugged pore is likely to rupture and become the pimple or the zit. If you’re going to wash your face, you should wash it, but you should wash it gently with your fingertips.  

Over-the-counter medications are a great place to start, and they primarily are either a topical salicylic acid, which is usually in a wash, or a topical benzoyl peroxide, which can be in a wash or a leave-on product like a cream or a gel.  

And for milder forms of acne, if people use them regularly, they can get good control.  With any acne treatment, consistency is really important, and if there’s one thing I can emphasize to an acne sufferer is that they’ve got to find a treatment and continue to do it after the acne improves.  

We don’t cure acne; we control it. And it’s ongoing treatment once the acne is better that will ensure that you don’t suffer from acne flaring up again and again. If over-the-counter medications aren’t controlling your acne, you should seek out medical advice.  

There are prescription medications that can do better. Start with your primary care physician. Most primary care physicians treat acne and do a good job at it. If the acne is stubborn, they can certainly refer you on to a dermatologist, or you can seek out one yourself for you acne advice. 

Video shot in conjunction with HCF and Dr Dank of //www.dlcnw.com/ Managing Acne With Daily Cleansing Routines

Presenter: Dr. Jan Peter Dank, Dermatologist, Bellingham, WA

Local Practitioners: Dermatologist