There are many different ways to treat your acne and this article will deal with the more popular ways to do so such as antibiotics, accutane and cleansers… Antibiotics are the usual quick fix for clearing up acne, but unfortunately they don't usually work in the long term. This is due to the bacteria involved in the development of acne – which antibiotics attack – mutate and become resistant to the antibiotics. So after a short while, usually only a few months, the positive effects of using antibiotics will tend to wear off. Of course there are other strains of antibiotics to try out, of which the bacteria on the skin will have not yet resisted, but ultimately you should see that the same thing happens with any strain of antibiotic and that they are not a long term solution for acne.

There are three main strains of antibiotics used for acne; tetracycline, erythromycin and minocycline. Tetracycline is usually the first to be prescribed and the most effective, and you can expect at least a couple of months of clear skin from using it. Erythromycin and minocycline tend to be less useful at producing good results and don't produce the results for much time either. Attempting to get rid of the skin bacteria propionibacterium acnes is basically flawed, as all people have this on their skin. So getting rid of this skin bacteria is a flawed treatment and although dermatologists like treating acne is this way because of the very fast results, the acne comes back, and so antibiotics are not a good way to treat acne. Often overlooked by doctors is how antibiotics cause candida – imbalanced bacteria and fungus in the body – leading to poor long term health and a difficult to get rid of health condition. Candida also worsens acne.

Another common acne treatment is accutane, a powerful vitamin A like drug which is quite potent. Accutane often produces very good results for a few months of treatment, but again it's positive effects tend to fade. And with the side effects of accutane being so potentially harmful, the risk of using this acne treatment is worth considering seriously before going down that road. When someones acne is very very bad or failed to respond to other treatments dermatologists will prescribe accutane to help their patients. The most common topical acne treatments are cleansers which you apply to your face. Unfortunately cleansers are not very powerful and don't attack the root cause of acne and have little positive effect for anything but the most mild cases of acne. One topical commonly used as a treatment is benzoyl peroxide, a cream. Yet it has cancer causing and aging effects on the skin due to it's free radical action on the skin.

Similar to that of long exposure to the sun unprotected. Considering that people with acne are having enough trouble with their skin as it is, it's surprising that dermatologists so commonly prescribe benzoyl peroxide to them. Over-the-counter cleansers used for treatment of acne typically have salicylic acid in it. An ingredient that sheds skin cells and prevents excess oil in the skin, it can reduce outbreaks of acne in this manner. In practice salicylic acid is ineffective for anything but the most mild of acne cases, and is not powerful enough to combat stubborn acne. It's essentially just a chemical exfoliation agent, removing skin cells, but is toxic to the skin and may make acne much worse and cause damage to the skin.

Having explored the usual acne treatments and their general effectiveness and drawbacks, there is a natural, safe and effective way to go about clearing up your acne. This involves treating the root cause of acne. Learn more about the root cause of acne here. Stop by The Secret Acne Cure site where you can find out all about acne treatments and what works and what doesn't to clear up your skin.