Acne Treatment

What causes acne?

Acne occurs when the hair follicles in your skin become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Clogged pores also collect bacteria, which only adds to the problem. Typically, when your sebaceous glands produce too much oil, skin cells and bacteria clog the follicles and pimples appear on your face, chest, shoulders, and upper back — the areas that contain the most sebaceous glands.

Some factors that may contribute to acne breakouts include:

• Hormone production and changes
• Use of oral contraceptives
• A diet high in carbohydrates (sugar) and dairy products
• Lifestyle
• Stress
• Certain medications

Acne is not the result of eating greasy food or dirty skin. In fact, in some cases, if you try to cleanse or scrub your skin too much, you’re compounding the problem.

What acne treatments can help improve my skin?

When you come in for a consultation for acne, Dr. Phuah spends time to understand your skin health, the products you currently use, what worked and what didn't, and then creates your skin care routine to help you achieve your goals. She seeks to develop a comprehensive, individualized acne treatment plan that not only clears up your acne but improves your skin health from the inside.

Topical products and medications can help control your acne and reduce breakouts. In addition to pharmaceuticals, other effective acne treatments may include changing your skin care routine, red and blue light therapy, chemical peels, and laser. We offer the award-winning acne treatment from Aerolase called NeoElite. The NeoElite laser will reduce acne-causing bacteria, control inflammation, and reduce production of oil from sebaceous glands. In few cases, the laser may be effective as a single therapy option without use of any acne medications. Follow @aerolase on Instagram for more.

Dr. Phuah also recommends noninvasive treatments to decrease scars and uneven pigmentation because of acne. The NeoElite laser will take care of post-acne hyperpigmentation, however, she may suggest adding on chemical peels, SkinPen, or ResurFx resurfacing treatments to get even better results.

How many treatments will I need to see results??

Dr. Phuah customizes your in-office acne treatments for each person. Acne clearance requires perseverance and targeted therapy that may differ from person to person.

An at-home based skin care regimen and lifestyle change can often bring people greater than 80% clearance, however, for those acne that are more stubborn, we have some in-office options.

Chemical peels typically require a series of three to six treatments once every 3-4 weeks, but not all skin types can withstand chemical peels.

NeoElite laser is a no-downtime, easily tolerated comprehensive laser that can be used for all skin-colors and requires about six or more treatments to get clearer skin. NeoElite is an all-around favorite.

SkinPen microneedling and ResurFx resurfacing requires about six treatments to modestly improve scars. Note that these do not treat active acne. Dr. Phuah recommends that active acne is cleared up prior to beginning scar treatment.

If you’re tired of facing acne-prone skin every day, and it’s affecting your self-confidence, schedule a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Phuah at Hanami Medspa today. You can call the office or use the convenient online booking tool to take the first step toward a clearer complexion.