One of the most common reasons for people requesting an online skin consultation is as a result of acne, one of, if not the most common skin conditions in the world.
Whilst some mild forms of acne can be treated with over-the-counter creams and treatments, if you are dealing with a lot of larger spots and are starting to notice scarring, it is important to speak to a skin expert and explore potential treatments that can eradicate the problem.
To find out which treatment is right for you, we need to understand what causes it, how serious it is and why.
Understanding Acne
Acne, at its most basic, is caused by the blockage of hair follicles, the pores in your skin where hair grows out.
In order to keep the hairs from drying out and becoming brittle, sebaceous glands produce greasy sebum, which when your skin systems are working right helps to keep your skin soft.
However, particularly for people who have oily skin, sometimes these pores can be blocked with too much of this sebum as well as dead skin cells.
This creates either a bulging whitehead or an open blackhead, both of which can be potentially infected by harmless bacteria, which create the various types of acne that people have.
The two main traits that affect acne are hormone production, which is why teenagers and pregnant women often get more acne, and genetic traits. However, other factors such as some cosmetics, medications and smoking can cause or make it worse.
There are three levels of acne severity (mild, moderate, severe) which vary in terms of intensity and the risk of acne scarring, which can take the form of tiny icepick scars, clearly-edged boxcar scars and rolling scars.
What Treatments Are Available?
Depending on how intense the scarring is, there is a range of different treatments, from over-the-counter medications to advanced in-clinic procedures to help remove or minimise the look of scarring.
A lot of the over-the-counter treatments are familiar to many skincare routines, such as topical retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), salicylic acid and silicone dressings, although the latter is not really an option for the face.
However, for more aggressive or severe scarring, there is a range of skin treatments that can help reduce the intense appearance of acne scarring.
The most recent breakthrough is the use of laser dermabrasion, which removes the topmost layer of skin, which can often lead to more even results, reduce the colour of bright hyperpigmented scars and lower the bumps associated with raised scarring.
The treatment is not for every skin type but a skin expert will walk you through your options.
Alternatively, chemical peels can be effective at reducing scarring, but this depends greatly on the type of peel used and a person’s skin type, as whilst some peels have proven to be effective, others did not.
Finally, corticosteroids can be injected to soften and flatten particularly noticeable scar tissue in cases where nothing else works, whilst dermal fillers can help treat more pockmarked scars.