Here’s Why Your Drugstore Acne Washes Aren’t Working

If you struggle with acne like most of us do and have tried seemingly everything when it comes to drugstore acne washes, yet nothing seems to be working, it can be incredibly frustrating. But before you give up hope and accept the fact that you are just going to have acne forever, hear me out. The answer to your prayers may be simpler than you think.

First, start by considering where you are getting your acne washes from.

For many of us, it’s the drug store since that’s what is most convenient and affordable. Now, I am certainly not knocking drug stores and suggesting you go out and spend hundreds of dollars on top-of-the-line acne washes. In fact, the drug store can have many great options for combating acne. The number one reason as to why drug store acne washes aren’t getting the job done is because you don’t know your acne. That may sound strange, so allow me to explain.

There are many different forms of acne that are caused by many different reasons and require a specific type of treatment in order for it to go away.

If you don’t know what type of acne you have, then you don’t know what’s causing it or how to properly treat it. For example, if you have cystic acne (swollen, painful zits that form deep in your skin), this is a time when calling your dermatologist is your best option. Drug store products typically don’t penetrate deep enough into the skin for it to be effective for cystic acne and actually clear it up. By calling your dermatologist, they can prescribe a product that will work best for you based on your skin.

If you don’t have cystic acne, but instead struggle with issues like whiteheads or blackheads, here’s what you need to know:

Both result from an increased oil production and skin cells that don’t shed properly, which causes clogged pores. It’s very tempting for us to pick at our whiteheads and blackheads as a quick solution to get them off our face, but that actually only creates a bigger problem. When your clogged pores become inflamed (like when you pick at them), that is when pimples form. Now you have an entirely new problem on your hands.

So it’s best to just leave your whiteheads and blackheads alone and treat them with products like Differin Gel, Biore Charcoal Cleanser, or Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, all of which can be found at a drug store. By treating your whiteheads and blackheads with these products, you are saving yourself time by trying others that likely won’t work, as well as added frustration by giving yourself another problem (pimples when you pick at your whiteheads and blackheads).

It’s also important to take your diet into consideration.

If your diet consists mainly of junk food and not a lot of water, that alone could be the culprit, not the products you’re using. Water is incredibly good for your skin and so is eating healthy food. If you have a poor diet with little to no water intake, there isn’t a product in the world that will help. So try drinking more water and ingesting less junk food – you may surprise yourself at how effective that is.

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Also, don’t be weary of the fact that some of these products are incredibly cheap (I’m talking $8 or less).

Many think that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on dermatologist-prescribed products in order to effectively clear your skin, which is only true in rare cases when you have difficult cystic acne. In most other cases, drug store products will do the trick; you just have to know your skin in order to choose the right product.

So don’t give up hope just yet. Talk to a dermatologist to accurately know your acne and then you can go from there. Clear skin will be yours in no time!

What are your experiences with drugstore acne washes? Let us know in the comments down below!

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