Acne – An Explanation of the causes and Treatments available
- What is Acne?
- What are the four causes of Acne?
- How do you effectively treat Acne with Medical Grade products and treatments?
- Other factors to consider.
Acne is a common skin condition which will affect most people to a varying degree during their lifetime. It often presents with oily skin, blackheads, whiteheads, spots, inflammation, nodules or even cysts. These can appear unsightly and painful. Symptoms can range from mild acne to severe bouts lasting many years. The resulting flare ups can play havoc with the patient’s self-esteem, leading to anxiety, lack of confidence and feelings of depression. If left untreated acne can cause hyperpigmentation, and scarring which is often referred to as “ice-pick” scarring.
The effects of Acne usually commence in the teenage years around the time of puberty and it is associated with younger adults. It is incorrectly assumed that it only affects young people. Patients are sometimes advised that they will grow out of it and suffer unnecessarily with the debilitating symptoms for years. However, this condition can appear in adult life, which is known as “Adult Onset Acne”. Often genetic factors are involved, if your parent had acne then this increases the chances of being prone to it.
Hormones play a huge role in the cause of acne in both men and women. Female hormones fluctuate regularly, before and after a period when the skin may be greasier and spots appear. Pregnancy, menopause and polycystic ovary syndrome are other factors when hormone levels may become unbalanced. However it is known to be the production of Androgen hormones which can surge and negatively affect the skin.
The Four Stages of Acne
Acne affects the areas of the body which contain a high number of sebaceous glands, the face, shoulders chest and the back. The sebaceous glands are responsible for producing the sebum or oil to keep the skin moisturised.
1) Oil output from Sebaceous Glands inreases
Breakouts occur when over activity starts in the sebaceous glands and more sebum than normal is secreted. This oil fills the hair follicle and spills out onto the surface of the skin.
2) Cellular Debris Increses
The excess sebum is quite sticky and this has a negative impact on function of the ability of cells to shed, causing dead skin cells and cell debris to adhere together forming a build up around the hair follicle. This is commonly known as a blocked pore.
3) Bacterial Collonisation
Levels of a particular bacteria called Propionbacterium Acnes increase and colonise the skin, which then causes outbreaks. Spots and the usual symptoms of acne appear.
4) Inflammation
This in turn progresses into an inflammatory cascade, which makes the skin red and irritated.
Effective Treatment of Acne
In order to treat Acne fully, all FOUR of the factors must be addressed. Treatments can be performed at home or in clinic, a combination of both gives greatest results.
Home care
The reduction of excess oil is imperative in successful treatment of Acne and the first step to take is with an effective cleanser. Salicylic acid foaming cleansers are the most effective way of treating excess sebum as this is the only ingredient which is lipid soluble. This means that it can break down and penetrate the oil, leaving the skin clean and feeling great. This unclogs the blocked pore. It is best to begin with washing the affected areas once a day for a week or so and then increasing to morning and evening. Salicylic wipes can also be used to reduce oil. A highly recommended product with excellent results is The Obagi CLENZIderm Range which is only available with a prescription. 
It is a highly successful product for the treatment of acne, reducing oil production, redness and breakouts within a matter of days. There are also other topical preparations which can assist such as Benzoyl Peroxide or antibiotics.
For more severe outbreaks of acne along with pigmentation issues and scarring, the gold standard treatment is the Obagi nu-Derm system. This is also available on prescription only but is a system like no other. Most acne sufferers have spent many years trying different over the counter products to improve their appearance. This system is much stronger and more effective and the difference is noticeable as soon as the products are applied, they feel so much more potent. Over the course of 12 weeks this system will help to dry out the oil, diminish spots, treat dark pigmented lesions and resurface the skin making it more even. It speeds up cell turn over and also has the added benefit of boosting collagen production so addressing fine lines, wrinkles and skin laxity. Ingredients include Hydroquinone to reduce pigmentation and Retinol or Tretinoin to resurface the skin.
In Clinic Treatments
Acne prone or oily skin will benefit greatly from a regular skin peel. Do not imagine though that your face will be shedding skin, be sore or unsightly. Skin peels can be tailor-made to the strength required. If a patient is new to this treatment it is usual to start off with a gentle peel and increase the magnitude of strength with each subsequent visit. The peel works by unclogging blocked pores, refining the pores and reducing oil which helps to smooth the surface of the skin. Antioxidants promote skin health and vitality leaving a lovely complexion. It is a nice relaxing treatment.
Scarring and pigmentation can be treated to some degree using micro needling. Here the skin is numbed using a cream and tiny needles used to penetrate the surface. These cause a controlled trauma to the area which causes the skin to kick-start the healing process, helping to reduce the depth of the scars and lighten the pigmented areas.
Other Things To Take Into Consideration
Stress- this is a common factor in the appearance of adult onset acne, and has been documented to play a role regarding the appearance of the skin, amongst other areas of the body. The feeling of stress can add to the release of cortisol and other stress hormones which elevate the sebum production and aggravate the situation.
Allergies and Intolerances- More recently food allergies and intolerances are believed to have an