Acne Skin Care

     The purpose of acne skin care is to heal current pimples and help prevent more from occurring. You can find many over the counter acne treatments at your neighbourhood drugstore or, if these don't work, you can get a prescription for something stronger from your doctor.

     One popular prescription acne skin care medication is Retin-A. This cream is made from retinoic acid and contains tretinoin. Retin-A is used to prevent pimples from forming and to heal pimples that are already present. It takes three to six weeks to take full effect and acne may worsen at the beginning of treatment. Side effects of this skin care medication include stinging, redness and skin peeling which should stop once your skin becomes accustomed to the treatment.

     Another popular prescription acne treatment is Renova. This tretinoin cream may cause acne to become worse at first and improve over time. Side effects include itching, burning, peeling, skin scaling and dry skin but all side effects should clear up over time.

     Retin-A and Renova both cause skin to become much more sensitive to sunlight so it's important to always wear sunscreen and cover up as much as possible when outside.

     It is not recommended that pregnant women use either Retin-A or Renova.