Acne is a problem that is more than skin deep. The best treatment for acne will involve nutrition and herbs both internally and externally. In addition to these two elements, the control of acne requires thorough, gentle cleansing. Therefore, there are three steps to beautiful clear skin - internal treatment, external treatment, and cleansing.

The best internal treatment for acne will be one that contains herbal medications. These require no prescription. Many other medications for acne control do require a prescription, and can only be used for severe cases. In addition, many of these prescription medications have serious side effects. Some, like Accutane, have been found to cause depression, and even suicide. Herbs, on the other hand, are natural, gentle, and effective.

The external part of a good acne control system must have certain characteristics as well. For one thing it needs to not be a drying formula, and yet it needs to control the oil in your skin. It should be able to be used on either a severe case or a mild case. It should contain botanical ingredients that heal and strengthen the cellular structure of your skin. The cleanser should remove extra sebum, the natural oil in your skin, which contains the bacteria that cause acne.

The other part of a good quality acne control system is a lotion or gel to treat the blemishes after cleansing the face. This product should be able to unplug the pores. It also should fight the bacteria that causes acne. It should also be formulated with a transdermal delivery system so that the helpful, natural ingredients are absorbed into the skin thoroughly.

Why do you get acne? The actual outer layer of skin is dead, but under this thin layer called the epidermis, the cells are alive and multiplying. Normally your skin is shedding the old cells and replacing them with new ones. The problem happens when too many dead skin cells clump together with the natural skin oils, called sebum, and cause the pores to get clogged.

Acne is a skin disorder that actually starts two or three weeks before the blemish appears. The beginning is the clogging of the pore. The natural bacteria that live on the skin begin to multiply inside the pore since the excess oils can't get out. Since the body is fighting bacteria, white blood cells arrive on the scene, and inflammation is the result.

Obviously, frequent cleansing is an important step in acne control, since the extra skin cells and oils need to be removed in order to keep them from clogging the pores in the first place. But washing too often can be drying to the skin. For these reasons, skin cleansers need to be very gentle.