If you're a teenager, you probably have a few zits--or more than a few. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, acne sits at the top of the list of common skin ailments, and more than four our of every five teens get acne each year. Even some adults get pimples. If you decide to fight your breakouts with over-the-counter acne products, you might try sulfur-based acne treatments, which target one of acne's several causes.
Causes
Acne results when several interrelating factors combine, the Mayo Clinic reports. When you have too much oil present in your skin, this oil can clog the tiny pores in your hair follicles. If you also shed dead skin cells irregularly, these particles can irritate those follicles and help to plug them. Once the follicle is plugged, bacteria often build up inside it, which causes infection. If these factors combine, you'll get pimples.
Features
Acne sufferers have turned to sulfur for more than half a century to curb their breakouts, according to the AAD. Sulfur appears in many over-the-counter acne medications, often in combination with other pimple-fighting ingredients. Sulfur fights pore clogs by helping to remove the dead skin cells and oil from pores. It also helps to scrub away extra skin oil, but does not inhibit oil production in the skin, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Advice
Sulfur products come as cleansers, creams and foaming soaps, according to Acne.org. Products with sulfur often smell bad, although the AAD notes that newer formulations combining it with other acne-fighting agents might smell better. If you're looking for an acne medication to clear your acne, you might want to consider purchasing a sulfur-based product that includes other active ingredients, such as salicylic acid or alcohol, the AAD says. Alcohol works to kill bacteria, while salicylic acid works with sulfur to unclog pores.
Research
Medical researchers have studied sulfur as an acne treatment since at least the 1960s, and have concluded that it can work to curb mild to moderate acne. For example, a study reported in 2010 in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology looked at a combination of sulfur and sodium sulfacetamide, another acne fighter. The researchers found the product reduced acne lesions by half over eight weeks.
Considerations
Sulfur-based acne medications can cause the skin to peel and dry out--in some cases, they will dry your skin too much and promote irritation, according to Acne.org. Sulfur also can discolor skin, and may incite new acne lesions to develop by causing cells to adhere, re-clogging your pores, Acne.org notes. However, some patients have written on acne forums that they've had excellent results with sulfur-based products. You'll likely need to try sulfur to see if it works on your skin and your acne.
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