What is Acne?
Acne is a skin condition that is brought on by many different causes mainly the overproduction of a natural moisturizing oil called sebum. Sebum is secreted through your hair follicles, and these narrow pathways can easily become clogged, creating bumps on the surface of the skin. These bumps produce a desirable environment for overproduction of bacteria that can secret irritating material. Both bacterial overproduction and the material they secret can be highly irritating to the surrounding skin resulting in significant inflammation and scarring. Effective acne treatments focus on addressing these underlying issues to reduce inflammation, prevent scarring, and restore healthy skin.
Acne Treatment For Adults and Teenagers
No matter who you are, living with acne can feel like a real curse. Even though effective treatments exist today, acne can be persistent. Dr. Moazemi is specially trained in the successful treatment of acne. If you have acne that is not responding to other therapies, visit Beau Visage Aesthetics for a one-on-one session so we can help you find the right acne treatment that will provide you with the results you want.
Different Types of Acne
Whiteheads
Medically labeled as Closed comedones, these are small, whitish or flesh-colored bumps and spots. Typically, closed comedones have a white, circular center surrounded by a reddish halo. Whiteheads usually don’t cause scarring.
Blackheads
Blackheads are also referred to as open comedones. These are small, black or dark-colored spots that typically appear as slightly raised bumps. The center of the blackhead is darker than the surrounding area.
Blackheads sometimes have the appearance of exposed dirt, but in reality, these are open whiteheads. When the interior of these open comedones is exposed to the air, they darken or turn black.
Inflammatory acne
Inflammatory acne blemishes include:
Pustules
These are large and have a well-defined center. This center is filled with white or yellow pus from an overabundance of bacteria or bacterial infection.
Papules
Smaller than pustules, these have no discernable center and appear as solid bumps under the skin’s surface. They are tender to the touch and usually appear with the surrounding skin swollen and red.<
Nodules
Look Like larger papules, they are inflamed deep under the skin and painful to the touch. Nodules are a signal that the deeper layers of skin are clogged. These are known to cause a darkening of the skin or scarring.
Cysts
Like nodules, cysts exist deep within the skin layers; they grow very large and are soft and painful to the touch. Cysts require treatment with antibiotics.
Inflammatory acne is a more severe form of acne, likely to cause complications, such as scarring or pitting.
How Does Your Acne Treatment Work?
Dr. Moazemi will start with local treatment using medical grade Salicylic acid, Benzoyl peroxide, then local antibiotics and local retinoids. From there, he may perform procedures to define pores and improve blood perfusion to the area. The cycle usually ends with a systemic treatment of oral antibiotics and isotretinoin if desired response is not obtained.
If scarring has occurred and your skin has cleared from active acne there is no better treatment than microneedling, in fact, we recommend a round of treatments to even out your skin and begin to grow a healthy, new structure beneath.
It is crucial to your skin’s health that your resistant acne is treated with only the highest quality skincare products. Any over the counter products must be discontinued as these often contain ingredients that actually aggravate your acne.
How Long Will it Take to See Results After Acne Treatment?
It depends on the severity, type of acne, adherence to instructions and presence of other factors including but not limited to other associated medical conditions. If this is your first time getting treated for acne and your acne is not severe, typically you will see a response within weeks of starting treatment.
Occasionally several different factors are involved in acne and will need to be addressed one at a time. In such cases, although you would see a response in a month or so, you would probably need further follow up to make sure all aspects of what is making your acne worse are evaluated and treated.
Treating acne is a process rather than a one time remedy. The intensity of treatment for acne does not need to stay the same and frequently needs to be increased or decreased depending on the circumstances. Most of the time a maintenance treatment regimen can be instituted that will maintain your skin’s health for the long term. Unfortunately, due to the nature of acne, breakouts can happen, but with appropriate and timely action that is nothing to be concerned about.
How Long Will Results After Acne Treatment Last?
You will likely experience significant improvement within 1 to 3 months of starting treatment with appropriate follow up and change in the intensity of treatment. At this point, one would be on a maintenance protocol. Depending on the type of acne your condition may resolve within a couple of years spontaneously at which time you will gradually come off of treatment. Under other circumstances, one would need to stay on long term maintenance treatment to prevent breakouts. Such circumstances are rare and usually associated with other types of medical illness.