Looking for the right Acne Cream?

by Chad Winslow 

There are too many circumstances, too many big events that come up and require us to shout “Get the acne cream right away”! The unexpected and of course unwanted zit appears just as our biggest moment approaches, whether it's a wedding, a high school graduation or prom, a first date, a job interview, or any other appointment where first impressions will keep the acne cream companies in business.

TV sit-coms play on this debacle a lot. In one episode of "Wings" for instance, Joe Hackett, played by Timothy Daly, is getting ready for his high school reunion on the island of Nantucket.  Joe’s brother Brian, who gets his kicks pointing out flaws his brother inevitably has, points out a huge zit that has appeared suddenly on Joe’s nose. The zit, of course, is of the kind and size that you'd want to lance and medicate ASAP, retrieving the magic acne cream that really does work...if not in an hour, at least overnight. For the sake of the sitcom laugh, however, Joe obsesses over this unpleasant development every five minutes, over-burdening his acne cream of choice by expecting too much too soon.

This is not to say that acne cream doesn’t work; it just does not perform at an absurdly rapid rate...over a period of thirty sitcom minutes.  Rather, acne cream requires a few steps or considerations in order for it to be, still, a so-called miracle acne cream. For example, you need to consider what kind of skin you have and which acne cream or product is appropriate—and fast-acting:

If you have oily skin, it benefits mostly from a medicated acne product or one in gel form. If you have dry skin, then apply the acne cream forum and medicated products like benzoyl peroxide or salycic acid. If you have combined (both oily and dry) skin, then your acne will heal best by applying oily skin gels or dry skin acne creams. If you have sensitive skin, then you will need less intense concentrations of either dry, oily, or combined-type treatments.

In another real (well, sitcom) instance, in an episode of Roseanne, Dan Conner (played by John Goodman), the normally ruby-cheeked and adorable working-class guy, has to deal with the same problem Joe Hackett and many of us have had to deal with: he is getting ready for a reunion and finds he has a massive zit, a zit he hasn't had since adolescence. Acne cream, again, is a solution, but maybe not a fair one. Better to relax, as that acne is appearing because of stress, touching the face, or exaggerated oils brought on by the impact of work, sweat, and anxiety over the past or what have you.

We real-life characters have experienced these sudden, ill-timed breakouts and we maybe have children or a past record of needing warehouses of acne cream and other skin products and treatments. All we need t to do, instead of freaking out further, is investigate a bit, ask a few questions of our primary care physician or dermatologist, and do a couple of experiments of our own.  When we approach the results, keep in mind the above acne cream checklist of suggestions. If all else fails, you can opt for make-up if the big event of your life comes before the acne cream has had a chance to work its magic.

Read Additional Acne Related Articles:

Acne Treatment Resources:

We've found 2 additional sites which we feel will benefit you if you're looking for answers to your acne questions. They are:

Medline Plus - A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

Home of the Clear Skin Regimen

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