Thank you for your question. In order to comprehend treatment of any disease, it is absolutely important to understand the underlying disease process first.
Acne is fundamentally caused by 4main processes:
1. Increased keratinization (or skin thickening) and hypercornification (where skin shedding is slowed). This results in built up of skin debris leading to obstruction of oil flow
2. Increased oil (sebum) production
3. Inflammation
4. Infection with P. Acnes bacteria
Therefore, effective treatment of acne often requires a combination of different modalities to combat the various pathways leading to acne.
For acne, doctors may turn to the use of various prescription medications, depending on the severity of the condition.
These include:
- Antibiotics which can be taken orally or applied onto acne areas
- Agents containing benzoyl peroxide which keratolytic and anti-microbial properties
- Topical retinoids such as adapelene which act by inhibiting keratinisation
- Oral tretinoin such as roaccutane which reduce the size of oil glands and reduce skin oil production
The underlying disease pathways of acne would mean that it might be difficult to treat acne with skincare alone, especially in cases of moderate to severe acne.
However, for milder cases of acne, a good skincare regimen would definitely help in controlling acne. This would include:
- Cleansing. It is not true that the more you cleanse, the better it is for oil production. Overzealous cleansing strips your skin of essential fatty acids, and may trigger your oil glands to produce more oil instead. Cleansing twice a day is reasonable.
- Exfoliants containing AHA/ BHA to remove plugs and increase skin shedding
- Agents that contain calming/ anti-inflammatory properties. I personally like Skinceuticals’ Phytocorrective serum.
- Lightweight moisturiser to prevent the skin from drying out. Aknicare cream and lotion are excellent products that you may want to consider adding to your skincare regime.
Hope this helps!
