Wondering how to get rid of acne fast? Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve had acne for a really long time and I’m finally finding products and ingredients to help clear my skin. If you’re looking for acne tips and tricks, you’re at the right place. Let’s look at 3 ingredients you need to try to get clear skin fast!
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Acne Tips: Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl Proxide
These are great for whiteheads and blackheads and benzoyl peroxide specifically targets pustules. These will skill bacteria and remove dead skin cells and fight acne like no other. If you have acne, these two ingredients are your first step in combating it.
Also, if you have those stubborn, small ‘bumps’ on your forehead, for example, salicylic acid will help with that and remove texture and make your skin look as smooth as possible.
Some of my favorite products are from Paula’s Choice, including two exfoliants meant for fighting acne: the 2% BHA liquid exfoliant ($29.50) and the 2% regular strength clear exfoliant (I have linked a set of three of Paula’s Chice best products in travel sizes!) ($13).
La Roche-Posay has an amazing range of products and I swear by their Effaclar Duo ($30). I like to use this as a spot treatment more than an overall product and its magic! A little pricey considering its only 1.35 fl oz but totally worth it.
Also, benzoyl peroxide can be pretty drying, so its definitely not an overall treatment, just put it on any effected areas and let it do its magic.
Though you can use these two ingredients, they’re extra effective when combined, so its best to get products for both. These two ingredients are the ultimate acne tips and should make a big difference in how clear your skin is if you use them regularly.
These two ingredients tend to be the core for acne fighting products and should be enough to treat most acne. The two ingredients combined provide some of the best skincare ingredients for acne!
Let’s look at some other great products that have salicylic acid and/or benzoyl peroxide:
Salicylic Acid Products
Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser – $39
This cleanser has 0.5% salicylic acid and works upto 8 hours after you wash the cleanser is washed.
Plus, Murad products are reliable and backed by science, so give this a try to get clear skin fast!
Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash – $8.49
Murad’s cleanser has a pretty hefty $39 price tag, but this Neutrogena salicylic acid acne treatment is only $8! The active ingredient is salicylic acid at 2% concentration.
Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum – $30
This serum has salicylic acid and vitamin C!
Benzoyl Peroxide Products
Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask – $9.99
This product is super affordable and works in two ways: you can use it as a cleanser and a mask! It also has 3.5% benzoyl peroxide.
Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment – $11.20
This is an acne spot treatment with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide.
Acne.org 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide – $54.97 (complete acne treatment kit with this gel and full size moisturizer and cleanser)
This treatment is a gel so it goes on super smooth under other products and and is fragrance-free which is awesome because fragrance can often irritate your skin and lead to more skin problems.
If these don’t work or aren’t sufficient, then the next step is tretinoin.
Acne Tips: Tretinoin
It’s the active ingredient in retin-A and is often used to help not only with active acne but also with acne scars and spots.
The most accessible form of tretinoin is in the form of retin-A, though you can usually only get it if you have a prescription. Your dermatologist can easily provide you with a prescription, but retinol is essentially the same thing and is over the counter.
One of the most popular retinol cream’s is Drunk Elephants A-Passioni Retinol Cream, but its super pricey at a hefty $69 and personally, I don’t agree with the brand’s ethics so I would not recommend it, though it is super popular and heavily raved about.
My personal favorite is CeraVe’s Skin Renewing Retinol Cream ($15.84), which I really like because it doesn’t dry my skin out as much as most other retinol creams do.
Finding tretinoin on its own, and not in the form of a retinoid, is pretty difficult because it’s usually prescribed by dermatologists. I would suggest going to your dermatologist and specifically asking for a tretinoin prescription if you’re hesitant to start off with retinols.
FYI, be prepared for DRYYYY skin after using retinols, your skin will definitely need a harsh adjusting period. Tretinoin is pretty intense, so be sure to find the dosage that works for you, and monitor your skin to see how it progresses.
Acne Tips: Tea-Tree Oil
I LOVED tea-tree oil for fighting acne, and noticed a big difference when using it. It’s meant to calm acne with its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
The only tea-tree oil I’ve ever used is from The Body Shop ($7.99 for .33 fl oz) and I really liked it. I used it as a spot treatment – putting some of the oil on a cotton swab and dabbing it on any acne spots.
However, be warned that this may be irritating for some skin types and if you have very sensitive skin, I would use this oil with caution. For me, though, this oil worked so well that I ended up buying The Body Shop’s entire tea-tree line and loved it.
There’s a lot of tea tree products on the market, but I’ve only tried the pure oil form, so I’m not sure how well other products work, especially when the amount of tea tree oil in them is very small.
Though there’s many more ingredient that are great for the skin, these three ingredients are some of the best skincare ingredients for acne and will make a huge difference to the quality of your skin!
I hope these acne tips help, just remember to be patient and consistent 🙂
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Great
Thank you!