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It's not just a teenage condition

	More and more adults are afflicted with acne than ever before. Let ConsumerReportsHealth.org help you understand the causes, the symptoms and how to help keep your skin healthy and prevent acne scarring.
	Subscribe to ConsumerReportsHealth.org today and find out which prescription and over-the-counter acne treatments may be right for you.

If you or someone you know suffers from acne, you're not alone. Consumer Reports Health is here to help with the best research about acne, and expert evidence and advice about how to treat it.

Key points for people with acne

• Acne is just another word for pimples. If you have severe acne, you get lots of pimples or pimples that are large, red and sore.
• Acne can be made worse by rubbing your skin, picking or squeezing your pimples, wearing tight clothes or bag straps that rub your skin, and by hormonal changes (in women).
• Acne is not caused by eating greasy foods or from not washing enough. These are myths.
• Treatment can make your acne much better. But it can take about eight weeks to work.
• If one treatment doesn't help you, see your doctor again. Another treatment might work better for you.

Most people get some sort of acne. About 8 in 10 teenagers have pimples at some point and about 30 percent of teenagers have acne that's severe enough to need treatment. More people over 25 have acne now than in the past and we don't know why. For most people, acne lasts for about five years. But some people have acne for even longer than this. And some get it for the first time as adults. About 5 percent of women and 1 percent of men between 25 and 40 still have acne or get it for the first time.

There are several treatments that can help to clear up your acne. The treatment you have will depend on how severe your acne is. Certain prescription and over-the-counter medications may also be helpful. (Subscribe to ConsumerReportsHealth.org and search our comprehensive drug database.) We encourage you to read our entire condition report and to consult with your doctor or dermatologist to learn more about acne. As a Consumer Reports Health subscriber, you willl have access to our expert research and recommendations, and you will be more confident and knowledgeable about which treatments are best for you.