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OTC Acne Products

Remember that everyone is different and some products and medications that work for one person may not work for the other person. Also, some *OTC products may be more effective than others. There are a wide variety of OTC acne treatment options available if you have mild acne problems.

OTC Products For Mild Acne

There are several OTC *topical products you can buy in stores that are used for mild acne. Each works a little differently. Following are the most common:

  • Benzoyl Peroxide
    Destroys *P. acnes (the bacteria that causes acne), and may also reduce oil production
  • Resorcinol
    Resorcinol together with sulfur can help break down blackheads and whiteheads - resorcinol is less frequently used alone in treatment of acne.
  • Salicylic Acid
    Helps break down blackheads and whiteheads, also helps cut down the shedding of cells lining the hair follicles
  • Sulfur
    Helps break down blackheads and whiteheads, acne treatment in use for 50 years or longer, combined with other agents such as alcohol, salicylic acid, and resorcinol, sulfur is still a constituent of some of the most heavily marketed over-the-counter medications. Sulfur is less frequently used by itself as an acne treatment due to its unpleasant odor. Although long used in treatment of acne, it is not known how sulfur acts on the skin to influence the development of acne
  • Alcohol and Acetone
    Acetone is a degreasing agent, and alcohol has a mild anti-bacterial activity. The two agents have been sometimes combined in over-the-counter medication. When acetone is used alone, it may have no effect in the treatment of acne.
  • Sulfurated Lime
    An older medication used for the treatment of acne and other various skin diseases and scabies. Sulfurated lime probably characterizes the medications that were the best available in past decades.
  • Herbal, Organic and Natural Medications
    OTC (over-the-counter) products called herbal, organic, or natural are marketed as acne treatments but their effectiveness has rarely been tested in clinical trials. The value of such treatments is generally unknown.


OTC Acne Products are Available in Many Forms
Some examples:

  • Gels
  • Lotions
  • Creams
  • Soaps
  • Pads

Always read the package insert that comes with the product you buy before you use it.



Glossary For This Page

*OTC (over-the-counter)
Products you can buy at a pharmacy or on store shelves without a doctor's prescription, such as acne topical medicines, cold medicine, medicines for stomach pain, or pain relievers. A few examples - aspirin, advil (pain reliever), aleve (pain reliever), ibuprofen (pain reliever), antacids (heartburn, gas, indigestion), Monistat (treats yeast infections), laxatives (for constipation), sleep aids, and benzoyl peroxide for acne.

*Topical
Applied directly on top of the skin.

*P. acnes
P. acnes stands for Propionibacterium acnes. P. acnes is a Gram-positive, *microaerophilic *bacterium that causes skin wounds.

*Microaerophilic
Requires reduced levels of oxygen to survive.

*Bacterium
Pronounced - bak-teer-ee-um
Bacterium is a tiny micro-organism that reproduces by cell division and usually has a cell wall. Bacterium can be shaped like a sphere, rod, or spiral and can be found in virtually any environment. Bacteria (Pronounced - bak-teer-ee-uh) is plural (more than one) for bacterium.