5 Anti-Acne Cosmetic Treatments to Reduce Acne

What is Acne?

Acne is a skin condition that becomes visible on the face when the hair follicles get clogged with dead skin cells and excess oil. The clogged pores often result in the buildup of whiteheads or blackheads. The more severe kind of acne is usually painful and appears in the form of puss-filled cystic lesions and nodules.

Acne usually appears on the areas where you have more sebaceous glands, such as the face, neck, and shoulders. A severe type of acne often leaves behind scars, ranging from shallow dents to deep ‘ice prick’ scars. If you have acne-prone skin, it’s best to seek early treatment to reduce the appearance of scars and acne. Visit your nearest dermatologist to discover which acne treatment will work best for your skin concerns.

Five Best Cosmetic Treatments for Acne

1. Acne Chemical Peels

A chemical peel is a cosmetic treatment that uses different chemical agents to exfoliate the skin and enhance skin texture. Chemical peel with TCA cross is often recommended to treat severe acne and acne scarring.

Chemical peel treatments are available over-the-counter, but it is recommended that you visit a professional dermatologist to get these treatments done. During a chemical peel session, your doctor rinses your skin and applies a chemical solution that exfoliates the top layer of your skin and removes dead cells. A chemical peel removes blackheads, whiteheads, and boosts the production of new skin cells.

Your doctor will likely ask you to undergo various sessions to observe the best results.

2. Laser Resurfacing

Resurfacing is a great treatment that helps reduce the appearance of shallow acne scars and some deep scarring. With the help of ablative lasers, dermatologists target superficial skin concerns such as acne, wrinkles, and fine lines. Just like chemical peels, this treatment also removes the outer layer of the skin.

Erbium is an agent that is usually used in the treatment of active acne and acne scars. Ablative laser treatment requires more time for the skin to heal than an average chemical peel treatment, but you won’t have to undergo multiple sessions in order to achieve good results.

3. Light Therapy

The redness you often see on your face due to acne is caused by bacteria that can easily be killed off by blue light or other different types of lights. But dermatologists usually use blue light to tackle severe cases of acne.

During the light therapy, dermatologists apply a photo-sensitizer—a medication used to make your skin more sensitive to the light—to your skin. Your doctor may ask you to take multiple sessions of this treatment to achieve satisfactory results.

Light therapy can be administered through blue light, red light, or red-blue light. There is no official study that indicates which light gives better results in the treatment of acne. Light therapy can also reduce the size of sebaceous glands, which in turn reduces the overall oil production.

This treatment often carries some common side effects such as pain, redness, peeling, or crusting.

4. Radiofrequency

The radiofrequency treatment uses a hand-held device that heats the skin and helps reduce acne and acne scars. This treatment is usually not so in-depth and requires various sessions to develop better and more visible results.

Radio-frequency treatments are often deemed effective for mild and severe acne. Clinical evidence has also proven that heat works best to shrink large pores and sebaceous glands. Radio-frequency is a non-surgical, risk-free, and minimally invasive procedure to improve acne and acne scars.

5. Platelet-Rich Plasma

PRP is a short name for platelet-rich plasma, an agent that is injected into the skin to treat acne scars and acne. This plasma agent is designed especially to ramp up the healing process in the body. Typically, this therapy is used to reduce the appearance of scars left by injuries, but the PRP agent also has anti-aging properties that can rejuvenate the skin.

PRP can also be used in conjunction with Microneedling to eliminate and reduce acne scars.

A recent 2016 study highlighted the benefits of using Microneedling in conjunction with PRP to reduce acne and acne scars. The study was conducted with 50 patients having acne scars.

The trial with Microneedling and distilled water observed a 45% reduction in acne scars. While the trial with Microneedling and PRP observed over 63% reduction in the appearance of acne scars.