Acne affects almost 17 million people in the United States. Accordingly, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies have targeted this large market by developing a vast range of skin care products to clean and clear your skin of acne.

In this article, we will cover fads, brands, types of acne products and ingredients that are found in the best acne products to help you tackle that daunting cleansers aisle. When you are done reading, you will have a broad knowledge base of the different non acne medication options at your finger tips.

Over the Counter Acne Products

Benzoyl Peroxide

Benzoyl peroxide, one of the most used over the counter acne solutions, prevents acne by killing the bacteria P. acnes and by removing extra skin. The P. acnes bacteria cannot live in an aerobic (with oxygen) environment. By introducing oxygen into the follicle, benzoyl peroxide kills this bacteria. Unfortunately, benzoyl peroxide dries out the skin and causes flaking, in addition to causing some level of structural damage to the skin by its release of free radicals. Proactiv, a product made popular by infomercials, utilizes benzoyl peroxide in its main product line.

Salicylic Acid

Pimple products containing salicylic acid help the skin shed excess skin cells more effectively, reducing the availability of those skin cells to combine with sebum and create pore-blocking keratin. Salicylic acid tends to work well as the main ingredient of whitehead and blackhead products. Stridex, Noxzema and Oxy are popular brands that utilize salicylic acid in their acne lines.

Alcohol and Acetone

Typically as astringents and toners, alcohol and acetone are usually found together when used for acne treatments. The alcohol attacks the bacteria problem while the acetone eliminates oil.

Sulfur and Resorcinol

Sulfur and resorcinol are also usually sold together as an acne product. Sulfur has been used for more than 50 years as a way to become acne free but how it works has still not been agreed upon. Resorcinol's function is known and prevents whiteheads and blackheads by removing excess skin. The Clearsil 'Medicated' Blemish line utilizes resorcinol and sulfur.

Natural Acne Products

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is a powerful antiseptic and anti-fungal when applied topically. The skin can initially be quite sensitive to tea tree oil so application should begin in low concentrations, diluted with water or aloe vera gel.

Licorice Root Extract

Licorice root extract is an antimicrobial that kills the acne-causing bacteria P. acnes. It also is an anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, antioxidant and sebum inhibitor.

Garlic

Garlic is an antibacterial that also happens to have sulfur.

Alpine Willow Herb Extract

In addition to being an antiseptic, this extract is a botanical source of keratolytic salicylic acid.

Helix Aspersa Muller Glycoconjugates

All top acne products, not exclusively natural treatments, should include this miracle ingredient. These glycoconjugates promote skin reparation (improving the appearance of acne scars) and better moderate the body's inflammatory response to infection. This management effectively reduces the number of damaging chemicals that are released by the white blood cells of the body when fighting against infection, preventing healthy adjacent skin from being harmed in the process. It also uses enzymes to remove extra skin, preventing against clogged pores, and disinfects the skin without causing peeling and flaking.