Acne is a common skin condition and many people will successfully contain and get rid of acne using easily available over the counter medication. Treatment is not that straightforward though for persons with sensitive skins. Using the wrong approach can cause or aggravate burning, stinging, peeling, redness and general irritation. The following are some important dos and don’ts for treating acne on sensitive skins.
- Do not use harsh scrubs – In the heat of the moment, you may be tempted to pick up a brush and scrub away the blackheads and breakouts. While this may have some success in ordinary skin, it is likely to only worsen the burning and redness in dry skin and sensitive skins. Sensitive skins need a more genteel approach. Avoid scrubs, gritty cleansers, coarse washcloths and abrasive exfoliants.
- Gradually introduce new treatment techniques – If you have sensitive skin, it takes time to determine what type of treatment techniques will work for your skin. You will have to try out new products cautiously e.g. applying a tiny amount on a spot on your arm to see your skin’s reaction. If there is no reaction, apply it to the areas affected by acne but restrict this to just 2-3 times each week. If this goes well, increase the frequency slowly to 4, 5 and then daily.
- Avoid using multiple treatment products simultaneously – Whereas it is understandable that you would want to do all you can to permanently get rid of your acne, combining several different treatment alternatives may have the opposite effect if you have sensitive or dry skin. Using medicated moisturizer, acne cleanser and prescription treatment at the same time may be overkill. Identify and stick to one type of medication and stick to that only changing if there is no improvement and/or the doctor instructs you to do so.
- Exercise caution when using leave-on skin treatment – Leave-on skin medication such as benzoyl peroxide and Retin-A are harmless for ordinary skin but may be detrimental if allowed to set for too long on sensitive and dry skin. Test and grow your skin’s tolerance level by initially leaving such treatment on for just 10 minutes. Increase the time before washing to 20 minutes, 30 minutes and longer if your skin does not react within the previous timeframe.
- Consult a dermatologist – If in doubt, always talk to the experts. You do not necessarily have to experiment on your own with different treatment alternatives to determine which ones will work with your sensitive and dry skin.
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