Discovering acne treatments that work is important for everyone afflicted with this condition, and it is especially critical for teenagers. A common misconception is that only teens deal with acne but in truth, this skin condition affects babies and adults as well. Although there are similarities to the different types of acne, levels of severity, and even triggers regardless of a person’s age, there are also some unique differences. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to choose effective and safe treatments. In this article, we’ll be focusing specifically on teenagers since acne is a prevalent problem.
Skin Condition Information
Before discussing the most effective acne treatment, we need to address the different types of acne that teenagers deal with:
- Papules – Inflamed and tender-to-the-touch lesions that are usually small, pink bumps
- Comedones – Non-inflammatory papules, either whiteheads, which appear as white dots or blackheads that have a black tip
- Pustules – Inflamed lesions filled with pus that are often red around the base
- Nodules – Large, solid, and painful lesions deep within the skin
- Cysts – Deep-seeded lesions filled with pus that are painful and known to cause scarring
Dealing with Teenage Acne
Teenagers can develop any of the above types of acne. The goal is to choose the acne treatments that work best accordingly. Keep in mind that while moderate to severe cases can affect a person’s level of self-confidence regardless of age, this problem is most prevalent among teenagers. Teenage years are often fragile and unfortunately, there have been reported cases of teasing and even bullying of someone in high school who has acne. This is why finding safe but also fast-acting acne treatments is imperative.
To keep skin moisturized, sebaceous glands naturally produce sebum, which is oil. However, teenagers have raging hormones that stimulate the sebaceous glands, thereby producing too much oil. Sebum reaches the skin through hair follicles but when dirt and dead skin cells mix with the overabundance of oil, bacteria that typically lives on the skin’s surface begins to grow in the openings of the follicles. The result is clogged pores and the development of acne.
