HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Arielle Lester had a peaches and cream complexion until her teens. When she reached the eighth grade, she got hit with inflammatory acne.
"I had at lot of self-esteem issues. People would ask me, 'Did you get punched in the face?' Like literally, it was
so red, it was really bad," she said.
Dr. Lesley Clark-Loeser said 45 percent of teenagers will have some form of acne that will require a visit to the dermatologist. But she said the first stop can be the drug store.
Clark-Loeser said to look for products that contain ingredients like sulfur, salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, which can work on the bacteria and inflammation. Prescription topical products with Retin-A can also help with cell turnover -- but start off easy to avoid irritation.
"Perhaps not using it, not every day at the onset but using it regularly maybe three times a week, allowing your skin to adjust and avoid some of those irritating
effects of the retinoid because they are so beneficial," said Clark-Loeser.
When topical treatments aren't cutting it, she said it's time for prescription oral medications, starting with antibiotics.
"They work really as an anti-inflammatory as much as they are an antibacterial agent," Clark-Loeser explained.
She said if after a few months antibiotics fail to work, it may be time for the big guns: an oral medication called isotretinoin.
"That is the single most effective way of treating and sometimes even curing inflammatory acne," she explained.
That's what did t
he trick for Lester.
"It's a lot better. I feel much more confident," she said.
Clark-Loeser said in-office laser procedures and peels can also help with acne. And teen girls may benefit from birth control pills if fluctuating hormones are causing their breakouts, according to experts. As frustrating as acne can be, it's important to know there are many tried and true ways to clearer skin.