Dealing with adult acne

For as long I can remember, acne has plagued my life. Sometimes it feels as if I have tried everything under the sun: from squeezing them so hard that my entire face turns red to gently patting them over with Colgate toothpaste in the hope that they will dry out and eventually fade away.

No particular do-it-at-home hacks have ever solved my acne woes. I suppose being constantly bombarded by television advertisements from a young age, of women enthusiastically washing their faces only to lift them up looking brighter and clearer at the end, caused me to believe that managing acne should be a one-time fix and pretty much straightforward.