What's the best (and cheapest) way to get rid of acne?

Question

I've had acne since I was in the 5th grade and now I'm a freshman in college and it seems worse than ever.

Answer 1

If you wash your face with hot water and a wash cloth, then repeat it with ice cold water, you will open and close your pores,cleaning then out. Then put on moisturizer,at NIGHT most of all. Cause your skin drys out 8X faster at nite then during the day. The reason your skin gets oily is because its dry, so it products oil to moisturize itself, try this is works!!

Answer 2

Proactive is the best and it is about $20 a month. I used it and had great results. You can pretty much buy any product with benzoil peroxide in it at the drug store too.

Your skin and its health all depend on what you eat. Avoid foods that are really acidic and fatty. Start taking a multivitamin daily and make sure to wash your face in the morning and at night top remove any build up or make up. Also, you should drink at least 64oz of water daily.

Doing all of this in combo with a treatment will make a huge difference. Make sure if you get another product that you get a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer system to use. The combo of these three is another key to healthy skin.

Answer 3

Stress is a major contrubutor to skin problems, and I know you've gotta be stressed as a freshman! First - do not attempt to cover up the problem! You'll clog your pores and make it worse. Second: steam your face daily by filling a sink with hot water and beding over it with a towel around you to hold in the steam (good for your sinuses, too). Third: drink WATER, no soda, not teas, not coffee - just water! And, of course, watch what you're eating - though this last is really holistic advice. Good luck!

Answer 4

I've used ProActiv and it worked for about the first few months. I am now using the new Garnier Nutritioniste cleanser. The cleanser was only like 5 bucks You really need a cleanser, a toner and a moisterizer. (probably will cost you about $15) And you HAVE to wash your face every morning and night no skipping out. to get the effect you want. You can buy it at any drug store, Eckerd, Walmart

Answer 5

St.Ives apricot scrub to exfoliate is what i use in the shower and then I use hand sanitizer on my face.
The alcohol dries out the acne and removes any dirt or bacteria that clogs pores.
Also... toothpaste helps dry out zits if you dab some on the area (overnight kind of thing)

Answer 6

I bought a generic tube of benzoil peroxide at the grocery store last week for under $5, and it worked great.

Answer 7

I heard Pro Active is really good and pretty cheap they sell it at the mall a lot of the times... also it depends what CHEAP means to you.... if it means those wal mart brand well then thats cheap but if you want something really effective and not so expensive i would deff try Pro Active.

Answer 8

I would try St.Ives apricrot scrub and cleanser, it works good, and is affordable, buy some at Target!

Answer 9

u no i heard when a woman gets married her hormones stop the acne. maybe if u had sex it would stop it. one of my reletives got married and her acne was gone the next month. or u can try proactive

Answer 10

THIS WORKS FAST & CHEAP!!!
I used Tetracycline, Proactive, Retina A and had many expensive facials with less than good results. This has worked for me and many many other happy people.

Go to pharm., Drug store, or Wal-Mart, buy "PURPOSE" bar of soap - Blue box - Made by Johnson & Johnson - wash your face with this 2-3x's per day. Also pick up a LOW strength Benzoyl-peroxide cream, apply the cream by dabbing to the individual blemishes.... DON’T rub it in works using a oxidation/reduction reaction. It will unclog
dry it out and bring it to a head...DON’T over use this or put anywhere else on your face. It will cause drying and make you look worse.

Salicylates such as found in regular aspirin among other products work very similar but also remove layers of skin...other over the counter creams with this product will dry out pimples but maybe too hash and cause surrounding skin trauma..
I have seen many people recommending crushing aspirin and making a paste which probably will dry out the blemish but again pretty strong and probably will cause more tissue damage and bigger scars as an anti inflammatory probably would take the redness out... again pretty harsh for sensitive skin.

Also, If need which probably will for moisture ASK FOR "NUTRADERM lotion" - the original not the new stuff, this works great and wont clog pores or leave a residue on your skin...Any lotion that is completely oil free and hypo allergic should work but again I recommend Nutraderm. I have heard from people online that "Purpose" also makes a lotion that is good, Neutrogena, and Nivea make good products also. I recommend Nutraderm from experience and my dermatologist.

"Purpose Bar" & "Nutraderm" are oil free and hypo allergic they contain no perfumes and are great for both men and women. I have also heard great reports of this soap helping improve skin tone. Some people recommend the "Purpose liquid soap" saying
that the bar did dry out their skin some. The rational behind using the bar is that there are no ingredients in it that will clog pores, and according to dermatologists they recommend the Bar. I have also heard good responses from "cetaphil soap". These products are safe for all skin colors and tones. I highly discourage use of Proactive and other harsh chemicals for people with some natural color in their face due to the bleaching and drying effect it has shown in many many people.

Additional TIPS: acne, pimples, etc are frequently cause by a bacteria or hormone issues that cause clogging of pores. DON’T PICK POP POKE (your hands are the dirtiest part of your body) and will cause: infections, spreading of germs, more breakouts and scarring
DON’T EVER listen to people online who tell you to scrub your sensitive skin or use harsh chemicals such as: Lemon juice, vinegar, alcohol, etc... DON’T EVER use that APRICOT CRAP!!! DON’T USE PROACTIVE- this is expensive and harsh it may kill the bacteria because also Benzoyl based wash but will irritate skin and cause bleaching of face and neck.... Other similar treatments may work.. Also things such as Accutane but have SERIOUS side effects such as Major Depression, & birth defects in unborn children, among others
If you wear make up make sure it is oil free, & hypo allergic...Eating healthy...Drinking plenty of water.. Changing pillow cases freq. ...avoiding dirty sports equip. such as helmets...can not hurt...Acne/pimples again are caused by pores/hair follicles becoming plugged up, this plugging then causes an inflammatory reaction - redness and infection (pimple)..black head is dirt or old oil trapped in pore, while a white head is the same thing you just don’t see the dirt instead you see white pus (lymphocytes that accumulate in the area to fight the infection) It has been shown in many studies this most often not caused by what you eat (chocolate etc... or how clean you are) but most often by either excess oils plugging pores or a bacteria on the skins surface. - Proactive works in some people because it is a strong Benzoyl peroxide based washed but is most freq. to strong
for people with sensitive skin - this is why alot of people get excessive drying and flaking, rashes, bleaching or breakouts from the product. Retina-A does decrease the bacterial growth on your face but also removes dead/living skin, this can work well in some individuals and has been shown to reduce wrinkles and scars but again I feel this is pretty harsh on sensitive skin prone to breakouts. If you choose Retina-A never use this product during the day only at night due to the sensitivity it will give you to the sun. You must also get a prescription for this product and I really don't believe it is worth the damage it does to your skin. In some rare cases for very deep/large boils and cyst types
of pimples oral antibiotics maybe needed but I would first recommend trying "purpose" and a low dose "benzoyl-peroxide cream" along with a good oil free moisturizer "Nutraderm... etc" this does work well.

THIS WORKS FAST AND CHEAP!!! I no longer get expensive facials, take oral antibiotics, or even NEED makeup... I am very happy - Have very good skin... and have many many other happy friends... THANKS again to my WONDERFUL DERMATOLOGIST... TRY THIS!! GOOD LUCK.... PS. "PURPOSE" costs about $3 ---------------------------------------------
----PSSS---sorry so long I have to keep adding more information to this to address common questions that always being asked....

OK more additions to this here are 2 links to yahoo question and answers... given from people who used Alcohol and toothpaste to try to cure pimples:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmzOIbplZR3F9am.9lClrzvsy6IX?qid=20070320000738AAGNkw4&show=7#profile-info-MykwsVrgaa

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnI6PETXLwBFMhXf3GTNhRkAAAAA?qid=20070318151922AATb6bm&show=7#profile-info-cAExBdQdaa

TO SUM ALL THIS UP ********PURPOSE OR CETAPHIL FACE WASH 2 TIMES PER DAY - LOW STRENGTH BENZOYL PEROXIDE CREAM - A MOISTURIZER THAT CONTAINS NO OIL AND IS HYPO ALLERGIC SUCH AS NUTRADERM