This common skin condition affects over 60 million people in North America. It’s most commonly experienced during adolescence but many adults suffer from bouts of acne. At any point in your life, acne can be embarrassing and discouraging to deal with – especially with an important occasion on the horizon such as a big date, graduation or your wedding.
Contrary to popular belief, acne is not caused by poor hygiene or stress. The factors behind acne are actually unproven. How does acne form? Sometimes pores get sticky, trapping sebum (oil) in what is called the sebaceous gland. This oil allows bacteria to grow and can cause acne in mild non-inflammatory forms to more severe inflammatory cases.
Fortunately, we have several acne therapy options that will combat acne-causing bacteria including Blu-U light therapy, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) as well as physician-grade skin care products such as PRP or ZO Skin Health.
Both the Blu-U and Photodynamic Therapy can be used in combination with topical and/or oral medications. Prior to PDT, the only acne treatment to show such good results was the oral medication, Accutane. However, Accutane has several limitations such as systemic side effects and many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of taking it. Now with PDT and Levulan as an option, you may achieve good results in acne treatment without the adverse health effects.
The most important thing to do to help reduce scarring is to get your acne under control as early as possible. Sadly, that’s not always an easy task. There are several ways to help reduce the appearance of, or completely remove acne scarring. Fraxel Laser is a very good option. Fraxel works by creating millions of microscopic “holes” in the skin which in turn, stimulates collagen allowing your skin’s natural regeneration process to begin. Another option is the Venus Viva which uses heat combined with radio frequency to achieve a similar result. Of course, there’s always specially formulated skin care products like PRP or ZO Skin Health. If the scarring is very deep, Dermal Fillers are always an option as well (check out the second and third before and after photos).
If you are suffering from acne or acne scars in the Burnaby, Coquitlam or New Westminster areas, contact us for a consultation about our acne therapy program today.