0 Why does my topical acne treatment stop working after a while?

The reason why it happens is because acne is a chronic condition of the skin that can wax and wane over a period of many years, our acne treatments regimen may need to be adjusted in order to account for flares of the acne or acne that becomes resistant to the current treatment.

For instance, our acne treatments need to be adjusted when our skin is oilier or around times that are known to cause flares of acne, or adjusted downward to every other day or less, depending on the medications being used, or to increase moisturizing in order to minimize dryness and irritation caused to our skin.

Usually acne treatment regimens are done on a rotational basis, meaning that we start with one regimen that works for us. Over time, we will notice that in spite of using the products as directed, we start to get new lesions on a regular basis, if that is the case, it is time that one or all of our acne medications may need to be changed. However, when the new acne treatment regimen again becomes less effective, the rotation continues to either new acne products or acne products that were effective in the past but have not been used for a while.

On the other hand, if oral antibiotics are taken indefinitely, resistance to the medication can occur. As such, it is advisable to limit the time that oral antibiotics are taken to 3 to 4 months at a time followed by a rest period. It is also very helpful to use a topical BP in order to minimize resistance to the topical or oral antibiotics. However, it is not usually recommended to use an oral antibiotic and a dissimilar topical acne antibiotic at the same time. We may want to know that retinoids are very useful in conjunction with oral antibiotics or other acne regimens, but can increase irritancy or skin sensitivity, especially in the first few weeks of our acne treatment.

From the acne clear and acne care perspective, oral antibiotics may be used to get quick control of the acne. To achieve the desired results, oral acne antibiotics should be used in conjunction with topical acne medications so that when the oral antibiotics are discontinued the topical medications continue to maintain clearance. Nevertheless, starting with an oral antibiotic also allows for our topical acne medications to be applied on an incremental basis for our skin to have time to adapt to them.

If we find that the BP is too irritating, we could start with a BP cleanser once a day or every other day and then increase slowly to once or twice a day. It is noted that BP cleansers are also helpful for affected areas of the body other than the face. On the same note, it is good to know that BP is known to bleach clothing and bedding.

If using topical BP creams or gels, we may want to use a lower concentration first in order for our skin to adapt to it. Water based acne formulations are generally preferred than alcohol based because it is less drying. In the event that our skin still feels too dry, applying moisturizers over the topical acne medication may be needed. Try to look for moisturizers that are noncomedogenic, and if using them in the morning, look for moisturizers that also have an SPF of at least 15. In general, we should use richer formulations at night and lighter ones in the morning.

The good news is that there are many acne treatments or acne medications come in individually wrapped wipes to accommodate our busy schedule of the day. Whatever it is, from the acne clear and acne care point of view, we should maximize compliance with any given acne treatment regimen and to improve our acne treatment results.