Acne is a common skin disorder affecting at least 85 percent of adolescents and young adults. While some may dismiss it as just a right of passage of growing up it needn't be something that has to be endured.

For most sufferers acne is just a nuisance that disrupts their normal social activities while more severe sufferers can often face long term psychological impacts and enduring pain caused by suffering acne. With the advances of treatments out on the market and a greater understanding of this affliction one can get control of their acne and needn't suffer needlessly.

The first thing to do if you suffer from acne is to implement a cleaning schedule. While poor hygiene is not a cause of acne it is a contributor to its effects. With proper hygiene you can at least reduce the effects of acne breakouts. Start using more than just soap to wash your face as soap tends to dry your face and can irritate the skin. Purchase a face wash and wash your face twice daily. Look into toners and skincare treatments to add to this routine as they can do wonders in keeping the poor clear and clogged free.

The key here is not to wash your face too often as this can have the opposite effect to what you are trying to achieve.

Reduce stress in your life. While stress isn't a cause of acne either it can be contributing factor in aggravating the acne. If you are stressed then you need to start considering ways to implement strategies that will reduce the stress in your life and bring your life back into balance. Spend more time with friends or take up a sporting activity of some sort to allow you time out in your life to relieve your stresses of the day and your schedule.

Review your diet. A healthy balanced diet is not only great for your overall health but can also help with reducing your acne breakouts. Stay away from oily foods. Keep a food diary over several weeks and monitor the occurrences of breakouts. You can then work out roughly what foods potentially cause breakouts and then you can begin avoiding them for future consumption.

Oily cosmetics and skincare products for a sufferer of acne can do more harm than good. There are many products on the market now that are oil free so why not choose them the next time you are shopping. Oily products tend clog up your pores and thus cause blockages that result in breakouts.