Acne Treatment Help Blog

There are too many circumstances, too many big events in life that come up and require the significant other or the afflicted to scream, “Get the acne cream treatment, stat!”  The unexpected and of course unwanted pimple appears just as our biggest moment approaches, be it a first date, a job interview, a wedding, a high school graduation or prom, or any other appearance where first impressions are so important, thus keeping the acne creams on the shelves.  It’s no wonder they say stress is a leading cause of acne.

TV sit-coms play on this debacle with which so many of us identify: in one episode of “Wings,” for instance, Joe Hackett (played by the typically good looking Timothy Daly), is getting ready for his high school reunion on the island of Nantucket.  Joe’s brother, Brian (played by the equally gorgeous Steven Weber)–who classically gets his kicks pointing out the flaws his brother inevitably has—draws attention to 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 treatment that really does work…if not in an hour then at least overnight.  For the sake of the sit-com laugh, however, Joe obsesses over unpleasant developments every five minutes, over-burdening the acne cream he chooses by expecting too much, too soon.

This isn’t to say that acne cream treatments don’t work; acne creams just don’t perform at an extremely fast pace…over a period of thirty sit-com minutes for example.  Rather, using an acne cream requires a few steps or considerations, not to mention a little time, in order for it to be a possible miracle acne cream.  For example, you need to consider what kind of skin you have and what acne creams or products are appropriate—and fast-acting:

• IF YOU HAVE BAD PAIN BECAUSE OF ACNE…..should probably get attention from a dermatologist.
• IF YOU HAVE OILY SKIN…..takes best to a medicated acne product or one in a gel form.
• IF YOU HAVE DRY SKIN……likes the acne cream form and medicated products with benzoyl peroxide or salycic acid.
• IF YOU HAVE BOTH OILY AND DRY (COMBINED TYPE)…..will heal based upon the areas where the acne lives and so will need oily skin gels and dry skin acne creams, accordingly.
• IF YOU HAVE SENSITIVE SKIN…..will need less intense concentrations of either dry, oily, or combined-type treatments.

In another very real (well, sit-com) 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, which he hasn’t had since adolescence.  Acne cream, again, is a solution, but maybe not the only 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, present, or future.

We real-life characters have experienced these sudden, ill-timed breakouts and we maybe have children with acne problems or a past history of requiring storage bins of acne cream treatments and other skin products.  All we need do, instead of freaking out further and having a contest to see who gets to popping first, 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 do the tests and review the results, we keep in mind the above acne cream checklist of suggestions.  And we opt for make-up if all else fails…if the event comes before any of the multitudes of acne creams out there gets a chance to work its magic.