Acne -- Skin and Face Cleansers

Acne cleanser
Acne cleansers are basically used to remove accumulated oil, make-up, sweat, and dirt on the surface of your skin and tissue. In doing so, these products generally make it easier for topical acne treatments to be absorbed. However, excessive use of acne cleansers can also lead to irritated dry skin and some skin tissue damage. It is advised that you know your skin type. Most acne patients will only need to cleanse with such products once to twice daily.

Salicylic acid cleansers:

These break down keratin in the blackheads, and can be used for mild acne.

• PANOXYL® CLEAR ACNE CLEANSING GEL (Stiefel)
• SALAC® (Medicis)
• CLEARASIL® (Procter & Gamble)
• FOSTEX® (Bristol-Myers Squibb)
• NOXZEMA® (Procter & Gamble)
• AVEENO® BAR (SC Johnson)

Benzoyl peroxide cleansers:

• Panoxyl Bar, Panoxyl Creamy Wash, Panoxyl Wash (Stiefel)
• Benzac-c Wash
• Clearasil
• Clean & Clear (Johnson & Johnson)
  

Antibacterial cleansers:

• Trisan
• Tersaseptic
  

Skin Cleansers > Different Skin Types
OILY SKIN - the choise of cleansers for oily skin should involve the use of products that rinse off well. Both bar soaps and liquid cleansers have been formulated for this purpose. Many of the cleansers which are appropriate for acne-prone skin, would be suitable for oily skin.
DRY SKIN - the use of hard-milled face soaps and gentle synthetic detergents are very appropriate and recommendable for dry skin. It may be necessary to only use cleansers on the face and body folds, when the ambient humidity is low for example, in the winter or in the south-western United States. There are many liquid cleansers formulated by cosmetic industries as well as products like Aquanil or Cetaphil which are very useful and helpful. There are a lot of new products, which incorporate a liquid cleanser in a cleansing sheet, these act to leave on a modicum of petrolatum after the final rinse and have been proven to be effective.
NORMAL SKIN - most people do cleanse with bar soap daily. The synthetic detergent soaps react better with hard water. Liquid cleansers and soap gels are popular at this time, the advantages, being cleaner dispensers in the bathroom. The cleansing sheets may be used for normal skin as well, the petrolatum is suspended in the water by crystals that dissolve in the last rinse leaving the skin feeling smooth and moist. Most people with normal skin may enjoy using a loofah-type sponge to clean their skin, these have been sold with some liquid cleansers.
SENSITIVE SKIN - people that have sensitive skin can react easily to fragrance and preservatives, and should try every possible means to avoid mechanical cleansers such as brushes, loofahs and cleansing grains. Most synthetic detergents have the pH balanced favorably and normal for the skin and are well tolerated by sensitive persons. A few liquid cleansers are not irritating, but many interact with the skin because of their additional surfactants formulated with them. Two non-irritating cleansers are Cetaphil and Aquanil lotions, many of the hard-milled soaps are well tolerated also.

MILD CLEANSER
Different gentle skin cleansers are available for acne control and treatment, there are several types of mild cleansers that you may use if your skin is irritated or aggravated. There are also several types of specific acne cleansers that you can use for daily skin care. Oil-free and non-comedogenic products are usually advisable and are highly recommended. Over cleansing the skin, can cause irritation and may aggravate your skin condition as well as encourage you to use other products that will grease up your skin. This may then complicate your skin care. You may need to use a toner to remove the oil, which in turn may irritate your skin further.

Cleansers Can Be Grouped As Follows:

1. Wipe-off cleansers (cold creams and make-up removers)
2. Soaps
3. Water-soluble cleansers - these are the most gentle

Water- Soluble Cleansers ( Soap Substitutes)
These should be not be irritating, unscented, non-greasy, and being able to remove some excess skin oils as well as cosmetics.
Examples are:

• CETAPHIL cleanser
• SPECTROJEL
• DORMER cleanser
• AQUANIL
• SEAQUANIL
• DOVE, by Unilever