Acne Treatment

All skin needs to be cleansed night and day. In order to assist acne-prone skin to exfoliate, AHA-cleansers especially those including glycolic and/or salicylic acid are recommended.

All skin-care and make-up products must be oil-free, otherwise the oil problem will be compounded. Additional oil-control products may be applied under moisturizer in the morning. This should be gel-based and contain glycolic +/- salicylic acids.

Similar AHA/BHA products should be applied at night after cleansing. Alternatively, topical retinoid may be applied.

As topical retinoid and fruit acids reduce sun-protection, it is very important to wear a zinc-based moisturizer daily. Of course, this should be oil-free.

Fine glycolic-based facial scrubs are recommended only once or twice a week, because excessive scrubbing will increase oil-production.

Topical antibiotics may also be applied. These are often combined with benzyl peroxide which not only increases the effect of the antibiotic but also combats acne-causing bacteria itself. Be warned, benzyl peroxide will bleach your towels, pillow-cases and any clothing it comes in contact with.

A six-month course or more of oral antibiotics may be needed. These require a prescription from your doctor. While in higher doses, they kill the acne-producing bacteria, at lower doses, they reduce the inflammatory process of acne.

Most antibiotics prescribed for acne make the skin more prone to sunburn. They can also predispose to thrush, so probiotics should also be taken to keep gut health optimal.

In order to reduce the local inflammation of individual pimples, blind pimples and red but healing lesions, a small dollop of calamine lotion may be applied at night.

Inflammation can be further reduced by a regular oral anti-inflammatory drug such as aspirin. One per day is sufficient.

Because hormones play a big part in acne, they can be controlled with oral contraceptives in females. There is a group of oral contraceptives especially developed for the control of acne. However, there is growing evidence that oral contraceptives should not be prescribed to teenagers as there is a strong cancer link.

Diet is very important in the treatment of acne. Wheat, dairy, sugar and soy products cause fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels, stimulating oil-glands to work harder. The hair follicles also swell and block up. It is therefore recommended to avoid these products in your diet and drink plenty of clear fluids.

Good personal hygiene helps control acne. Hair should be washed regularly to control oiliness. Pillow-cases should be changed regularly and even phones should be wiped down to avoid re-infection.

Supplements will improve acne also. Zinc and vitamin C are particularly important for healthy skin. Combination D tissue salts are also helpful.

In order to improve exfoliation, salon treatments such as peels and micro-dermabrasion are recommended. These should be performed on a weekly basis and can be individually tailored to your skin’s needs.

Blue-light specifically kills the acne-causing bacteria. Blue-based IPL and Omnilux are especially designed for this and are recommended twice weekly. The Omnilux treatments alternate between the bacteria-blasting blue light and the healing red light.

While mild to moderate exercise is recommended for acne patients, heavy exercise can aggravate it, especially in hot, humid weather. Excessive sweating causes the hair follicles to swell and therefore their ability to exfoliate is further diminished. It is recommended that you thoroughly cleanse your skin immediately before and after exercise and that excessive sweat is wiped off with a clean towel. Also change out of your sweaty clothes promptly if you suffer from truncal acne.

While most forms of acne can be controlled with a treatment regime combining several of the above treatments, some resistant forms of acne require more aggressive treatments, which will usually be prescribed by a dermatologist.  Whilst effective in drying up sebaceous glands, these treatments can have some nasty side-effects including liver toxicity and depression. Some treatments also affect the skin’s ability to heal for sometime, so treatments for acne scarring may need to be postponed or avoided.

An alternative to these more aggressive treatments is photodynamic therapy. A chemical is applied to the skin and left on for several hours. Only the over-active sebaceous glands quickly change the applied chemical to a very photosensitive chemical which then picks up the omnilux lightwaves. Thus the over-active sebaceous glands are selectively removed. Downtime is a week or two. A repeat treatment may be required after 12 months.

In order to reduce scarring, it is important to control acne, reduce inflammation, promote early healing and reduce trauma ie. no picking! – So follow your treatment regime closely.

Please note that some products and treatments are contraindicated with pregnancy and breast-feeding. These include salicylic acid products and peels, most antibiotics, some prescribed medications and vitamin/mineral supplements, oral contraceptives and hormones, PDT and IPL.