How is Acne Treated?

Acne treatments need to be tailored to each patient’s individual needs, factoring in their unique circumstances. Factors that are often considered while deciding upon a treatment regimen may include their vocation, sporting and outdoor activities as well as hormonal influences, stress, current health, medication and lifestyle choices. It is important to consider all the factors that may be contributing to the acne. Attention must be given to water intake, diet, minerals and oral supplementation as well as combination therapies, skin technology and effective home care products.

A combination of the following treatment protocols would be tailored to treat the individual’s skin according to the degree of the acne, the skin type and all the factors that would contribute to the person’s lifestyle and set of circumstances. These combination therapies include:

1. Deep Pore Cleansing – the skin needs to be thoroughly cleansed by unblocking the buildup of dead skin cells (keratinocytes) around the hair follicles, performing extractions of deep seated blackheads, unblocking clogged pores, removing whiteheads, unblocking milia, removing pimples, and treating acne cysts.
2. Chemical Peels – these can be used on their own or in combination with other products and technologies. Chemical peels remove the excess dead keratinocytes, dissolve excess sebum, destroy the p.acne bacteria and reduce the redness or inflammation on the skin. They also promote increased cell turnover and healing to the damaged skin, improving skin texture, reducing pore size, resulting in an overall healthier skin.

3. Micro-Needling and Lamprobe CIT (Collagen Induction Therapy) – this procedure uses numerous tiny needles to puncture the layers of the skin to stimulate the healthy functioning of each layer of the skin affected by the acne. Regular cell turnover is promoted, the skin is oxygenated so p.acne bacteria can’t thrive and anti-fibrotic growth factors are released to reduce acne scarring. Lamprobe Collagen Induction Therapy is used to lift depressions in the skin for the improvement of atrophic (depressed) scars.

4. LED Treatment – LED, or light emitting diode therapy complements specific treatments using varying wavelengths of light, primarily red, blue, green and yellow. Red LED helps heal wounds and stimulate skin regeneration. Blue LED is anti-bacterial. It complements acne and problem skin treatments. Green LED is anti inflammatory. It reduces inflammation after deep pore cleansing facials and also aids in deactivating the inflammatory response in darker skin that pigments easily when exposed to heat, stress, UV radiation or any other factors that induce inflammation. Yellow LED rejuvenates the skin and increases the overall health of the skin, increasing blood circulation and hastening wound healing. This complements the three protocols above.

5. IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) – this treatment uses a laser flash lamp to generate light and heat on a lesion. The hemoglobin in the fine blood vessels that supply the sebaceous glands and hair follicle is heated, causing minor trauma to the sebaceous glands in that area, slowing down the production of sebum. The heat also destroys the infected contents of the sebaceous gland. The light therapy stimulates regeneration of the dermis producing healthier skin thereby reducing and improving scarring.

6. Topical Treatments – Each individual’s needs differ from skin sensitivity to an oily film present on the skin, to dry flaky patches, rough texture, itchiness, tenderness and pain. All four triggers of acne need to be addressed with a home care range to control pimple emergencies, to calm redness on the skin, reduce the over production of oils and impurities on the skin, address the unhealthy acid mantle and an impaired skin barrier function. The aim of an effective home care skin range is to leave the skin free of oil residue and impurities without drying, irritating or sensitizing the skin. Acne skin products should contain anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, non-irritating, healing and soothing ingredients that also prevent scarring and darkening marks or pigmentation that is commonly associated with inflammatory acne. Skin care products need to be gentle enough on the most sensitive skin.
7. Oral Supplements – Oral supplements support the skin’s needs when treating mild to moderate inflammatory acne. The combination of ingredients like zinc picolinate and nicotinamide, can achieve an improvement of 82% to 88% within 4 to 8 weeks. A healthy gut is crucial to the skin’s health so toxins need to be flushed out and a liver detox may be necessary. Anti-inflammatory ingredients help to reduce itchiness, redness, and skin sensitivity.

What is the Best Treatment for My Acne?

At The Skin and Body Clinic, we take a holistic approach when dealing with teenage or adult acne, and problem skin. We account for all the factors that contribute to the skin condition, which may just be genetics and stress, or broader lifestyle-related factors such as diet (intolerances to foods that affect the gut and liver), the air in a patient’s environment, hormonal fluctuations/imbalances, medication, exercise and sweating, steroid use and environmental or occupational hazards.

With over 30 years of experience in skincare technology, we can tailor a solution of treatments, topical home care products and oral supplementation for your specific needs and help you regain a clearer, healthier skin.

Leave us a message or contact us via email or call to book a consultation and take the first step to a healthier, more beautiful skin.

Tips

Tea Tree’s anti-bacterial properties are well suited to aid the treatment of acne, however it is a sun sensitizing ingredient and can promote pigmentation.

Benefits of Micro Needling for Acne

• Deeply exfoliates dead skin build up around the hair follicle
• The overproduction of sebum is reduced
• Oxygenation destroys p.acne bacteria
• The functioning of every layer of the skin is improved
• Stimulates increased skin healing
• Acne scarring is improved