If you’re a teen with acne, you are not alone. Acne is a common and treatable skin condition that causes pimples or “zits” and other skin problems. About 80-90% of teens (girls and guys) will have some kind of acne breakout during their adolescent years. Taking good care of your skin, and avoiding things that can irritate it will help.
If you make an effort to take good care of your skin and you’re still having breakouts, ask your health care provider about over-the-counter medicine. Be sure to give it a chance to work (it takes about 6-8 weeks of using an over-the-counter anti-acne product to see a difference in your skin). If after 2 months your skin doesn’t improve, talk to your health care provider about whether you need a prescription medicine. Try not to be discouraged. There are treatments for acne.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.