There are many different approaches to treating acne available today. What works for one individual may produce little or no results for another, and finding a good acne treatment is usually a process of guessing and checking. The most common forms of acne treatment involve skin cleansers. Most acne cleansers are available over the counter, and use a variety of different ingredients, benzyl peroxide and salicylic acid being two common ones.

Personally, I preferred cleansers that use benzyl peroxide, as they have worked better for me. Find whatever works best for you and stick with it, as it can sometimes take days or even weeks to show progress. Since the actual physical cause of acne lesions are sebaceous follicles plugged with the skin oil sebum, anything that effectively removes the oil will probably at least help control acne and should be included as a part of an acne treatment regime.

For most mild to moderate forms of acne, daily use of a good skin cleanser is enough to control the outbreaks. However, there are many forms of the disease that will require a more serious acne treatment for effective results. Acne on the back, sometimes called 'bacne', is often resistant to normal cleansers for instance. Bacne often requires additional cleansers that are too harsh to be used on facial areas, but work well on the back because the skin is much tougher there. Glycolic acid is one such cleanser that can be effective for acne on the back, upper arms, or legs, but is not recommended for the neck or face.

Some of the more severe and persistent forms of acne may require a prescription from a doctor. Depending on the form of acne you suffer from, you may be prescribed any of a variety of acne treatments, including forms of antibiotics, drugs designed to reduce sebum production in the skin, and more serious topical cleansers.