Exposed Acne Treatment

Update: A few of you have been asking for an SPF update. I’m working on getting it feeling just right with ingredients that are uncompromisingly high quality yet within financial reach. The bottom line is that it will come out when all of this comes together but I can’t guarantee when that will be. It may take some time since SPF is quite a tricky brew. I know it’s been a very long time, and it may still be longer. I can promise you one thing–that I am working on it and will let you know the minute it’s done.

In the meantime: A couple of options:

1. Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with a 5-6 drops of jojoba oil added.

2. If that doesn’t work well enough to take care of flakiness, you can mix equal parts Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with Acne.org Moisturizer, and then add 5-6 drops of jojoba oil.

3. Another option is Philosophy Hope In A Jar SPF30. I love this stuff but it is zinc based like so it is a flake promoter, much like the Olay. Since I use benzoyl peroxide and need something to combat flakes, I often mix equal parts Philosophy Hope In A Jar SPF30 with Acne.org Moisturizer plus 5-6 drops of jojoba oil. This gives me an SPF of around 15 and keeps me pretty good on flakes. The only downside is that the Philosophy SPF is very expensive (around $35 for 2 ounces). But since I mix it with Acne.org Moisturizer it goes twice as far.

Spot treatment: Someone asked about the spot treatment as well. This project is on the back burner at this point. In the meantime, the AHA+ works so well for spot treating that it is definitely a suitable alternative.

After decades of sparse research, the scientific community is finally sinking its teeth into the subject of diet and acne. Even though nobody knows exactly how diet and acne are related, we’re starting to get some data. To get yourself up to date on all the latest information, visit the new Diet and Acne page here at acne.org.

I also added a Nutrition/Holistic Health section to the reviews pages where you can review various diets. Please add your reviews!

One of the topics I came across in my recent research was chemical peels. I realized Acne.org was missing a chemical peels page so I went ahead and made one. Have a read to get the full story. Here’s a quick bottom line:

Based on six recent articles printed in respected medical journals regarding chemical peels and acne, the concensus is that chemical peels seem to help reduce acne more than placebo, but not by much. They can be a fun adjunct to acne therapy, but probably should not be relied upon to produce significant clearing.

Note:  I will still be on acne.org doing videos along with everyone.

Leave your comments below por favor.

Evidence continues to mount that birth control pills help with acne. Interestingly, it has become apparent that just because a birth control pill is approved for acne, however, does not mean it will produce superior results.

First, it’s important to understand how oral contraceptives (OCs) help with acne. Almost all OCs contain an estrogen component and a progestin component.† The estrogen component helps reduce the production and expression of male hormones which can lead to acne. Depending on the progestin used, the effects of the progestin component can range from relatively inert to theoretically leading to increased male hormone levels. But the estrogen component is much stronger and outweighs progestin, thereby allowing all OCs to help with acne.

An article published in the International Journal of Women’s Health in 2010 took a look at all of the different options and research to date. As it turns out, no matter what OC you take, it will likely produce a 30-60% reduction in acne lesion count. According to the article, “Studies comparing oral contraceptives did not convincingly show superiority of one oral contraceptive to another in the treatment of acne.” They went on to note, “Compilation of evidence was difficult due to variable study designs.  More research needs to be done to draw conclusions about the comparative efficacy of different [oral contraceptives].”

In other words, it appears women who are looking for acne symptom relief with their oral contraceptive are not constrained to “approved” brands.

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Important: Whether or not to embark upon hormonal acne therapy requires careful physician screening with a focus on risks and benefits.

†Note: Cyproterone Acetate (Diane, Dianette), which is a synthetic derivative of 17-hydroxyprogesterone approved for contraception in Europe and Canada but not the United States, and which can be used on its own or in combination with an estrogen component, was also considered as authors in this article drew their conclusions.