Other Unproven Acne Remedies

Zinc was once touted as effective against acne but Dr. Peter W. Gould, former president of the New Zealand Dermatological Society, said it only "helped a little; there was nothing dramatic." The US recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for zinc is 15 milligrams and taking much can lead to problems.

"A toxic dose of zinc would be 500 milligrams. Such an overdose causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea," according to Dr. Myron Winick, director of the Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in The Columbia Encyclopedia of Nutrition.

The array of acne cures that fill the shelves of drug¬stores is probably enough to impress and give hope to every pimple-faced teenager in search of an acne cure. But the truth is, most over-the-counter (OTC) acne drugs are a waste of money.

"A survey of OTC products by the Food and Drug Administration found the majority of medicated anti-acne soaps, scrubs, and lotions completely ineffective," revealed Dr. Frederic Haberman, a dermatologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

"While many products claim to be 'deep-pore' cleansers, pores are merely surface openings; acne originates far below them. No soap can penetrate the skin's troubled lower layers, so the term is misleading and meaningless. Other cleansers boast of antibacterial power. While this may sound medically persuasive, the irritating microbes in acne do most of their damage in the absence of oxygen; they operate deep within the follicle walls, not on the surface of the skin," Haberman said in Your Skin; A Dermatologist's Guide to A Lifetime of Beauty and Health.

Contributing to the variety of many questionable acne products are the "home-made" drugs of some dermatologists. Gould said there is every reason to doubt the quality and efficacy of these mixtures.

"I don't think these concoctions are effective at all. Dermatologists using them should first establish how good their pro¬ducts are through proper double-blind trials and other scientific means. It's rather ridiculous for big companies to put a lot of money into research and development to make a quality product and then have someone out in the kitchen with a food processor make his own concoction. I think this practice should be condemned. There's no academic basis for it," Gould said.

There are many acne products in the market today. But not all of them work and some may even do more harm than good to your skin. Which product is best for you?

For mild to moderate forms of acne, topical treatment may be all that is needed to improve the patient's condition. Sulfur, resorcinol, and benzoyl peroxide are gene¬rally used for this purpose.

"These are long-standing remedies used either alone or in combination. Such products main value lies in drying out and layering away existing pimples, often dramatically reducing the time it takes for them to heal," explained Haberman.

When using these products, avoid applying them around the eyelids, under the chin, or on the neck since these areas are easily irritated. Kurt Butler and Dr. Lynn Rayner of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, said blacks and other dark-skinned persons should refrain from using these chemicals since they may suffer from discolored skin. (Next: More popular acne cures.)

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