We want to make it perfectly clear that the following acne tips are intended for those of you suffering from mild to moderate acne only. Acne tips alone are not sufficient whenever you are dealing with acne that has turned severe, as it's time to seek medical attention without delay, otherwise you are prolonging the agony unnecessarily, and also risking permanent scarring of the face.

Before telling you some awesome acne tips, you must first be aware of the different acne stages. Mild acne involves black and whiteheads small in size and numbers around the face, mainly around the forehead and nose. Acne stops being mild when blackheads and whiteheads appear on neck, chest, back, or shoulders and also when there is an increase in their size or numbers, which is considered moderate acne.

If you begin to experience red, painful bumps besides the usual black and whiteheads, it denotes an infection, and you are no longer dealing with moderate acne, but rather with severe acne. The deeper the infection occurs, the more severe your acne is.

It's time to talk about acne tips that rock. In order to get rid of and keep away those hated zits, you need to begin a regimen involving the basic things suggested by dermatologists everywhere. Good hygiene, healthy eating, and using popular over-the-counter acne remedies daily combine to form deadly ammunition against your acne.

Acne tips: hygiene. It is divided in 3 areas: hair, face, and body. You also have to pay attention to your particular kind of skin, whether oily, dry, or sensitive. Wash your hair once a day and keep it away from your face specially when dealing with oily skin, which is the most common type found in acne-prone skin. Take a shower daily to maintain the body clean and use a separate towel to dry up. Keep separate towels for hair, face and body. Acne causing bacteria propagate easily through wet towels. If your skin happens to be oily, you have no choice but wash your face 2 or 3 times a day with a regular acne cleanser, and use an acne scrub once a week. There is no need to wash it or scrub it more often than that to avoid overdrying patches of skin. If your skin is rather dry, wash your face no more than twice per day using a mild cleanser, and in the case of sensitive skin, use a mild cleanser once daily. Apply an oil-free moisturizer right after cleaning each time.

Acne tips: OTC remedies. Today's OTC (over-the-counter) acne medications are simply awesome, containing various active ingredients (natural or chemical) and in different concentrations and bases. The market offers all kinds of powerful cleansers, toners, scrubs, astringents, pore strips, peel-off masks, pads, and the new blue light units. There are lotions, gels, foams, ointments, and creams.There is not an "one-size-fits-all" acne treatment. An acne product that works perfectly for your best friend, may not give you similar results. Try different remedies one at the time for 3 weeks max. It shouldn't take longer than that for you to notice positive results on your skin. Allergy test every new remedy by applying it to a small area of the skin and waiting for any reaction during the day. Ready all labels and follow all instructions.

Acne tips: Diet. For many years it was thought that the food you eat had no effect on acne. Wrong! The latest studies on the subject demonstrate that changes in the levels of glucose and insulin due to diet result in changes on the skin. Read about this connection in an article titled, "Acne and Diet" published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) by acne experts Alan Shalita, M.D., Whitney Bowe, M.D., and Smita Joshi, M.D. A good diet consists of reducing saturated fats, which come from animals products, like meat, fish (except salmon and sardines), eggs, milk, and cheese, or from plants like coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and vegetable shortening. Reduce sugar, salt, white bread and white rice. Eliminate chocolates, ice cream, and coffee from your diet. Eat more fruits, vegetables (except potatoes), nuts, whole grains, essential fatty acids (from salmon, sardines, flaxseed, or hempseed oil), and drink no less than 4 glasses of water or pure fruit juice each day. Follow such diet at least until acne goes away.

Stop hating your acne and have you acne hate you instead by following a good hygiene routine, eating healthy foods, and applying topical acne medications on a regular basis.