Acne Treatments That Work Fast? Faster Isn’t Always Better!

When you’re evaluating acne treatment products to treat and get rid of your acne breakouts, chances are you want acne products that work fast. After all, don’t we all want to get clear, acne-free skin as quickly as possible? However, the best way to treat acne is to think long term. You don’t just want an acne treatment that clears up your existing breakouts; you want an acne treatment that helps clear up your acne for the long term and, more importantly, gives you healthy skin. What are the pros and cons of fast-acting acne treatments versus those that take longer to deliver visible results?

There’s Nothing Wrong with an Acne Treatment That Works Fast for Temporary Results or to Get Rid of a Surprise Blemish
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using something that gets rid of acne fast to heal a temporary breakout or an individual blemish. In fact, the most effective way to heal acne breakouts quickly is to minimize bacteria and reduce inflammation and irritation. For that reason, the most effective acne treatment for individual blemishes or surprise breakouts is often one that works to dry out the acne blemish and the surrounding area. Murad Acne Spot Treatment uses sulfur to both treat and heal blemishes on contact. In fact, you can actually heal your blemishes as you feel them forming, before they become visible to the world. On the other hand, an acne treatment that works fast but dries out your skin may only deliver temporary results, and may actually damage your skin in both the short and long term.

When Looking to Get Rid of Acne for the Long Term, Patience and an Acne Treatment That Takes Longer May Be Best
When you’re hoping to get rid of acne for the long term, however, the approach is somewhat different. While oil does contribute to the buildup of bacteria that causes acne, it’s not the main cause of acne breakouts. Acne blemishes are actually caused by an overproduction of skin cells within a hair follicle. To clear up your skin for the long term, you need an acne treatment that helps slough away dead cells below the surface of your skin within the follicle, reducing the number of clogged pores and therefore the number of acne breakouts you experience. Murad acne treatment products use Salicylic Acid to help shed dead skin cells beneath the surface, tackling the root of your acne breakout problem rather than the symptom.

While an acne treatment product that uses drying ingredients to heal your acne breakouts may work fast, it will not prevent future breakouts. It may also dry out and irritate your skin, which can ultimately lead to even more breakouts. Additionally, each time you dry out your skin, you increase your chances of needing an acne scar treatment or post-acne mark treatment, as well as the likelihood that the signs of aging will begin to appear.

Aggressively drying out your skin may quickly and temporarily heal or reduce breakouts, but you’ll continue breaking out for the long term. Each time you break out and then dry out your skin, it can cause a vicious cycle of breakouts that seems never ending. Taking a more patient and healthy approach to getting rid of your acne might mean you won’t have clear skin for the weekend, but you will have clear, glowing skin for years to come.

Learn more about the Murad acne treatment products, including Acne Complex®, Murad Acne Spot Treatment and the full line of individual acne solutions from Dr. Howard Murad.