Acne affects almost 17 million people in the United States. Accordingly, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies have targeted this large market by developing a vast range of skin care products to clean and clear your skin of acne.

Here in this article, we'll address the different fads, brands, types and ingredients with regard to the best acne products so you can confidently enter that daunting cleansers aisle. When finished, you should have a good idea of the different non acne medication options out there.

Over the Counter Acne Products

Benzoyl Peroxide

Benzoyl peroxide, the or one of the most common over the counter acne solutions out there, functions by killing the bacteria that causes acne and by eliminating excess skin. The P. acnes bacteria cannot live in an aerobic (with oxygen) environment. By introducing oxygen into the follicle, benzoyl peroxide kills this bacteria. Unfortunately, benzoyl peroxide dries out the skin and causes flaking, in addition to causing some level of structural damage to the skin by its release of free radicals. Proactiv, a product made popular by infomercials, utilizes benzoyl peroxide in its main product line.

Salicylic Acid

Pimple products containing salicylic acid help the skin shed excess skin cells more effectively, reducing the availability of those skin cells to combine with sebum and create pore-blocking keratin. Salicylic acid is effective when found in whitehead and blackhead products. The popular brands utilizing salicylic acid include Stridex, Noxzema and Oxy.

Alcohol and Acetone

Typically as astringents and toners, alcohol and acetone are usually found together when used for acne treatments. The alcohol attacks the bacteria problem while the acetone eliminates oil.

Sulfur and Resorcinol

Sulfur and resorcinol usually come together in acne products. Sulfur has been used for more than 50 years as a way to become acne free but how it works has still not been agreed upon. Resorcinol prevents whiteheads and blackheads by removing excess dead skin cells. Clearsil's 'medicated' blemish line uses sulfur and resorcinol as ingredients.

Natural Acne Products

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is a powerful antiseptic and anti-fungal when applied topically. Skin can be sensitive to tea tree oil so treatment should begin with low dosages or be diluted with water or aloe vera gel.

Licorice Root Extract

As an antimicrobial, licorice root extract kills acne-causing bacteria. It also is an anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, antioxidant and sebum inhibitor.

Garlic

Garlic is a natural antibacterial agent that also contains sulfur.

Alpine Willow Herb Extract

In addition to being an antiseptic, this extract is a botanical source of keratolytic salicylic acid.

Helix Aspersa Muller Glycoconjugates

With regard to natural treatments, the top acne products should include this miracle serum. These glycoconjugates promote skin reparation (improving the appearance of acne scars) and better moderate the body's inflammatory response to infection. This cuts down on the number of damaging chemicals released by the body's white blood cells as they fight foreign entities, protecting the adjacent healthy skin against unnecessary injury. It also exfoliates the skin naturally with enzymes, preventing skin pores from becoming blocked, and cleanses the skin of bacteria without causing extreme drying.