Acne.

For most of us, it might as we all be a four-letter word. Acne is, understandably, the bane of a lot of people’s existence—a frustrating blemish on otherwise beautifully healthy skin. Hey, we get it—we’ve been there. Everyone has breakouts, everyone has acne, and everyone struggles with less-than-perfect skin, that’s just a part of being human.

But being human doesn’t mean we have to fall victim to the inflammation we all know and hate—in other words, acne doesn’t have to ruin our lives.

There are tons of different acne treatment products out there that promise they can clear complexions in a pinch—but how can you tell which is the real deal and which is an empty promise?

With a little help, that’s how. At Pharmaskincare, we’re entirely invested in helping you achieve the complexion of your dreams, so if you suffer from acne—from a breakout here and there to consistent inflammation issues—we’re glad you’re here. We’ve compiled a list of the best acne-fighting ingredients out there that we believe are must-have when it comes to anti-acne products.

We know how confusing it can be to shop around endlessly for the acne products that promise to change your life, so here’s a little advice—be on the lookout for acne treatment systems that contain the following ingredients. Join us as we dive into a little more info on each of these ingredients and learn why they’re the secret to helping you fight off acne.

Sulfur
Before you give us the whole “well, that sounds smelly” spiel, stick with us. Sulfur is an amazing, acne-fighting ingredient that can be immensely helpful in your battle for clear skin. Why? Because sulfur is grade-A at removing the dead skin cells that clog your pores and force your skin to build up excess oil, grime, and other gross stuff. Sulfur works similarly to products like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. The biggest downfall for sulfur? Yeah, you guessed it—the smell. But even though it doesn’t smell wonderful, its benefits certainly are, so don’t let that pungent odor turn you off entirely. We do recommend making sure you’re hydrating your skin prior to using sulfur because it has the tendency to dry skin out too much—and overly dry skin, by the way, can cause acne all over again!

Alpha Hydroxy Acids
When we say alpha hydroxy acids, we’re primarily talking about glycolic acid and lactic acid. Both help to treat acne by removing dead skin cells, enabling quicker cell turnover, reducing inflammation, and unclogging pores. These types of acids are lauded for their ability to help stimulate the growth of new skin that’s much smoother, but they’re also well known for helping with reducing the appearance of pores and visibly reducing scars.

Salicylic Acid
We could write love songs about salicylic acid, but for your sake (honestly, everyone’s sake), we’ll just stick to talking about its benefits. Salicylic acid, sometimes shortened to SA, has sometimes been called the savior of breakouts. This is typically the go-to ingredient that treatment products reach for because it can work wonders on inflamed, cystic breakouts. SA works carefully and efficiently—it dries out excel oil, exfoliates (gently) dead skin cells, and mindfully targets that inflammation-causing acne. Like sulfur, though, it can really dry your skin out—which, as we mentioned, can cause even more breakouts—so it’s vital to pair up a SA treatment with a really great moisturizer.

Hydrocortisone
Remember how we mentioned that acne is an inflammatory condition? Hydrocortisone is one of the best active ingredients to fight inflammation, so it only makes sense that it would be an effective acne treatment ingredient, right? Hydrocortisone won’t prevent breakouts, like some of the other ingredients we’ve listed will, because it doesn’t kill the bacteria on the skin’s surface that causes acne. So, if you’re looking for something that’s both preventative and reactive, we recommend either looking for another product that works better for you or pairing this one with a fellow acne-fighting ingredient.

Benzoyl Peroxide
BP is a badass when it comes to killing off a common type of bacteria that causes breakouts ( you can call it P.acnes). BP gets underneath the skin to kill off the bacteria that’s seeped in, which helps to expedite your skin to shed your dead skin cells and turnover new, smoother skin faster. Be careful with this treatment if you already have dry skin—without a moisturizing partner to join the party, you’ll definitely be left with a peeling and patchy complexion!

Are you ready to start your journey toward the clear complexion you’ve always wanted? We thought you might be! We encourage you to find the perfect acne-treatment solution for you by checking the ingredients list on all of the treatment systems you’ve got in mind. If you’re looking for a skincare solution that’s bound to help you beat the acne inflammation, check out Pharmaskincare’s collection of acne-fighting products filled with the ingredients we just discussed!