Basic Acne Facts
Acne is often thought to be a skin problem that is exclusive to teenage boys. While acne most commonly develops during preteen and early teen years, contrary to stereotype, it can also affect young adults, both men and women, and these conditions can persist for years. However, with proper skin care and treatment, acne can be beat.

Top Ten Acne Myths
Acne is an extremely common skin condition, and the majority of people experience acne at some point in our lives. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths regarding acne, creating a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about the skin condition. Here are the top ten acne myths, debunked.

Acne Scars and Effective Treatment
When it comes to acne scar treatment, avoidance and early treatment is the best. Acne treatments are plentiful, and early treatment reduces the risk of scarring or other complications. Acne scars can be treated, for acne in all areas, and will often enhance your self-image if you are embarrassed about your acne scar..

Acne Triggers and Treatments
Almost all women are affected by acne at some point their lives, although severity varies widely from the occasional pimple to breakouts. Acne is most common during preteen and teen years, but can also affect adults, and can persist for years. Acne can be especially frustrating for women due to the proliferation of stereotypes about acne being associated with teenage boys. However, there are many effective treatments that are available for acne.

The Invisible Effects of Acne
While acne is nearly universal, likely affecting all of us at some point in our lives, many of the negative social effects of acne are often underappreciated by those who have not suffered from the more severe acne. We are all familiar with the physical features of acne, but acne can also cause emotional and social suffering, and can lead..

Treating Acne Scars
Acne is nearly universal, affecting us at some point in our lives, most likely during our teenage years. The condition is temporary, lasting from months to a few years, scarring and dyspigmentation can occur, which can be permanent. Ideally, early treatment of acne will eliminate scarring later. If however, acne scarring has occurred..

Acne Q&A: Ask the Dermatologist
While the direct cause if not well known, acne is the result of hormonal, bacterial, and inflammatory disturbances. Due to overactive sebaceous glands, pores become clogged with excess oil, prompting the proliferation of acne bacteria. This can inflame the skin, resulting in pimples or cysts.

Understanding Acne
You don't have to be a teenager to get acne, although generally acne starts during puberty. How you treat it and how early you treat it can have long lasting effects on your skin. Here are a few tips to help you deal with those nasty pimples.

Hormonal Treatment Guide
The premise of hormonal treatment is in containing the levels of androgens, which starts the sequence that eventually leads to acne. There are options for both oral contraceptives such as Alesse®, Diane-35®, Tri-Cyclen® or Yasmin®, and non-contraceptive anti-androgens such as spironolactone.

Acne – The New Blu-U Treatments
The treatment of acne depends on the type of acne that a patient has. Since there are many different acne types, thorough assessment by a physician would be needed before specific therapies are recommended. It is important for patients struggling with challenging acne to be visit a dermatologist as poor diagnosis and lack of experience can lead to inadequate therapy and result in scarring.

Dealing with scars from acne?
The type and severity of acne scarring needs to be determined based on several factors that include age, skin colour, presence of existing acne, and the coexistence of other skin conditions.

Wanting to camouflage acne?
If you're using cosmetics to cover up your acne, make sure you're not using products (such as oil-based foundations) that can actually make your acne worse. Products labeled as non-comedogenic usually won’t clog pores and tend to not cause acne breakouts.

Why do white bumps form under the eyes?
These bumps are likely whiteheads called milia. Milia form when dead skin cells and sebum (oil) become trapped under the top layer of your skin. The embedded cells turn into tiny cysts that appear as white beads just below the skin’s surface. Milia can occur on the skin, mucous membranes (the inner surface of the cheek), or the border of your lips

Makeup that won't cause acne outbreaks
While it is true that the creams, oils and greases used in cosmetics can aggravate acne by irritating or blocking pores, many cosmetics and foundations will not actually cause a flare-up to occur

Acne and shaving
For guys with acne, shaving can present quite a challenge. Try both electric and disposable razors to find out which one can give you the best results. You’ll need to also take a bit more time to care for your skin before and after each shave.

What is mature acne?
Many women in their 30’s, 40’s and even 50’s can be faced with the embarrassment of acne, which was once considered to be a condition affecting only teenagers. The very visible signs of acne can be a source of negative self-esteem and heightened self-consciousness.

Uncover how to cover-up skin imperfections
Start by applying a concealer to any darkened or discoloured area, or deepened scar, but make sure not to use too much of the product, which can result in a caked-on effect. Use a makeup sponge and lightly blend the product into surrounding areas.

Pregnancy can cause acne
When you’re pregnant your body increases hormone production and activity, one of the results is that your oil glands can work in overdrive, leaving your face looking shiny and acne can erupt.

The link between acne and your hormones
Hormones play an important role in the development of acne. Consequently, many women find that birth control pills can improve their complexions while providing contraceptive benefits.

Could your hair be contributing to your acne?
Long hair that sweeps along your face can promote acne breakouts. If you've noticed a connection between your hair and acne, try shampooing more often, being careful not to apply hairstyling products too close to the skin, and keeping your hair away from your face.

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Optimal Management of Acne to Prevent P. acnes Resistance
Acne vulgaris is a disease of the pilosebaceous follicle characterized by noninflammatory (open and closed comedones) and inflammatory lesions (papules, pustules, and nodules). Its pathogenesis is multifactorial, i.e., hormonal, bacterial and immunologica

Acne: Maximizing Effectiveness With Combination Therapy
Effective management of acne is contingent upon understanding the pathophysiologic features of this condition. At the level of the target organ, the pilosebaceous glands, the primary factors involved are: 1. androgenic stimulation or hypersensitivit

Hormonal Agents Approved for Treatment of Acne
Acne is an occlusional and inflammatory disorder of pilosebaceous follicles (oil pores) resulting from the combined effects of: * androgenic hormones (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, hydroxyprogesterone) * follicular bacteria (Propionobacte

The Treatment of Cystic Acne
Cystic acne is characterized by the formation of cysts enclosing a mixture of keratin and sebum in varying proportions. It is the most severe of the four main types of acne, which are comedonal, papular, pustular, and cystic.

Mild Acne: Treating & Diagnosing the First Pimple
Almost everyone at some point in his or her life will be troubled with mild acne. It can be related to athletic activities, travel, cosmetics, or hormonal changes. The peak incidence of acne occurs during adolescence, affecting approximately 85% of young people 12–24 years of age.

Combination Therapy for Acne Vulgaris
Acne vulgaris is a complex skin disorder of the pilosebaceous unit affecting almost all people at some point in their lifetime, especially among people aged 15–24 years.

Topical Treatment for Acne: A Case Study
She had recently been prescribed a topical retinoid, however, she believed she was allergic to it. She wore make-up to conceal her problem and was very embarrassed by her appearance. Her job requires her to be in contact with the public, and she confessed to being very impatient with the rate of treatment response.

Natural Topical Retinoids with Emphasis on Tretinoin for the Treatment of Acne
Microcomedones are the precursors to all acne lesions. Topical therapies, such as retinoids, have the ability to substantially reduce their number, thereby disrupting the pathways that lead to the development of both inflammatory and noninflammatory acne lesions.

Tips for Maximizing the Effectiveness of Topical Acne Therapy
Topical medications are the cornerstone of therapy for the vast majority of acne patients. However, use of these products is generally regarded by patients to be time-consuming, inconvenient, irritating, and less effective than oral medications.

New Developments in Hormonal Therapy for Acne
Oral contraceptives (OCs) have been used for many years by dermatologists as a treatment option for women with acne. The onset of acne is triggered by the increased production of androgens. Oral contraceptives inhibit ovulation, thereby resulting in the prevention of androgen production.

Topical Acne Therapies: Optimizing Patient Adherence
Topical acne formulations are the most common treatments used by patients and prescribed by family physicians and dermatologists.

Therapeutic Advances in Topical Acne Agents
Acne vulgaris is a multifactorial disease characterized by different types of lesions at various stages of development. Several obstacles encountered in the treatment of acne include irritation resulting from topical medications and the emergence of bacterial resistance to both topical and oral antibiotics.

Management of Recalcitrant Acne
Acne that is recalcitrant to therapy is a common clinical dilemma. Some of the influencing factors that contribute to treatment challenges include poor adherence, inadequate therapy, and diagnostic mimics.

Topical Acne Therapy: Current and Advanced Options for Optimizing Adherence
Acne is the most common skin disorder treated by physicians, affecting about 85% of individuals between the ages of 12-24 years.1 Adult-onset acne is increasingly common with presentation in patients beyond their teenage years.

A Review of Systemic Retinoid Therapy for Acne and Related Conditions
Oral isotretinoin, since its introduction more than 20 years ago, has been and still is the “ gold standard” in the treatment of acne and its variants. This is the only approach to acne with the possibility of a permanent “cure” or long term remission.

Psychosocial Impact of Acne Vulgaris: Evaluating the Evidence
This paper reviews current evidence presented by recent studies on the impact of acne on psychosocial health. Study methodologies, including case-control and cross-sectional surveys, have demonstrated psychological abnormalities including depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, including pain and discomfort, embarrassment and social inhibition.

Adapalene 0.1% and Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5%: A Novel Combination for Treatment of Acne Vulgaris
Topical products commonly used to treat acne include retinoids and antimicrobials, due to their effects on different components of pathogenesis. Accordingly, a fixed combination of adapalene 0.1% and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) 2.5% was developed (Epiduo™, Galderma) and was approved by the US FDA in December 2008 for the treatment of acne.

Novel Topical Drug Delivery Systems and Their Potential Use in Acne Vulgaris
A vast spectrum of topical anti-acne agents has emerged in response to new insights that have been gained through the understanding of disease pathophysiology and the need for clinicians to adopt an individualized therapeutic approach.

Efficacy of Lasers and PDT for the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris
Acne vulgaris can represent a therapeutic challenge in terms of managing ongoing symptoms and preventing scar formation. While the copious variations of available treatments address milder forms of the disease, until recently, therapies for resistant or moderate-to-severe forms were limited to systemic agents that were accompanied by potentially severe side-effects.

The Impact of Acne on Quality of Life
Optimal acne therapy must take into account not only acne type and severity, but also the impact of this skin disorder on the patient’ss quality of life. Several validated instruments have been used to measure quality of life in acne patients. By using these instruments, acne patients have been shown to experience levels of social, psychological and emotional distress similar to those reported in patients with asthma, epilepsy and diabetes. Several studies have demonstrated that the disability caused by acne can be mitigated by effective therapy.

Treatment of Acne Scarring
Acne scarring is common but surprisingly difficult to treat. Scars can involve textural change in the superficial and deep dermis, and can also be associated with erythema, and less often, pigmentary change. In general, treatment of acne scarring is a multistep procedure. First, examination of the patient is necessary to classify the subtypes of scarring that are present. Then, the patient’ss primary concerns are elicited, and the patient is offered a menu of procedures that may address the various components of the scarring process. It is important to emphasize to the patient that acne scarring can be improved but never entirely reversed.