In our last blog post, we discussed various aspects of teen acne treatment. We reviewed why acne treatment is so important with regard to both physical and psychological scarring that can result from unhandled acne. We also discussed how a treatment regimen should be designed to effectively control each teenager’s type of acne in order to prevent the frustration and further psychological effects of continued acne breakouts. In today’s blog post, we’re going to discuss some of the forms of teen acne treatment.
Treatment For Mild Teenage Acne
Treatment of mild teenage acne takes a variety of different forms. At the Advanced Acne Institute we utilize a number of different mild acne treatment options including topical prescription therapy, medical acne facials, chemical peels, Blue Light treatment and oral contraceptives. Let’s discuss each one individually.
Acne Treatment With Topical Therapies
Some cases of teenage acne can be effectively managed with topical therapies. Usually, we reserve topical treatment for acne that only involves blackheads or whiteheads with or without mild pimples. Overall, however, at the Advanced Acne Institute, we often don’t rely solely on topical prescription therapy for acne treatment because it is often not a very effective option. This is somewhat different than other doctors who prescribe many different topical prescription therapies for teenage acne treatment. However, at the Advanced Acne Institute we find that relying slowly on topical creams and gels gives sub-optimal results.
Rotational Therapy™ As Treatment For Mild Breakouts
Just because topical medication doesn’t always lead to dramatic improvement doesn’t mean that they have no role as adjunctive therapy in treatment of teenage acne. At the Advanced Acne Institute we developed an acne treatment system called Rotational Therapy. Rotational Therapy consists of separate medicated treatments that are used in alternating fashion. This rotating treatment regimen delivers different medicated ingredients at different times, to target acne on multiple fronts.
Acne Treatment With B-Clenz™
Let’s first consider B-Clenz, the first component of Rotational Therapy. B-Clenz incorporates benzoyl peroxide in an effective concentration balanced by additional botanical ingredients that together promote improvement of blackheads, whiteheads and mild pimples. The effect of Rotational Therapy is to target the bacteria within acne-prone pores as well as the overall development of abnormal pores. This leads to lessening in the overall degree of acne development. B-Clenz is used during the week as a wash-off treatment. It is applied and rubbed into the skin of the face and body where acne is forming. After rubbing in effectively, the treatment is washed off either in the sink or shower.
Saliclenz® Acne Treatment
The second component of Rotational Therapy is Saliclenz, which contains the teen acne treatment called salicylic acid. Salicylic acid works by gently exfoliating the dead and stuck-on skin cells that line and clog the acne-prone pores. Saliclenz is applied on the weekends in the same manner as B-Clenz, and washed off in the sink or shower. Together with B-Clenz, these two medicated therapies target the pores to treat and prevent blackheads, whiteheads and pimple formation.
Hydrating Base™ Is Integral To Acne Treatment With Rotational Therapy
The third part of Rotational Therapy is the Hydrating Base. The Hydrating Base serves to condition the skin and prevent disruption of the skin barrier. This helps to prevent the dryness and irritation that often accompanies the inflammation of acne and the harsh effects of topical acne medicines. In addition, another important effect of Hydrating Base is to hydrate the skin sufficiently without triggering excessive oiliness. The Hydrating Base is applied twice each day, morning and evening.
Rotational Therapy Has Other Benefits
There are other advantages to using the Rotational Therapy system that we discuss with our patients when we recommend it. There are additional components of the Rotational Therapy system as well, that are used depending on the type of teenage acne under treatment. We’ll discuss these advanced uses of Rotational Therapy as well as other forms of mild teen acne treatment in future blog posts.