Top 10 Questions about Acne Treatments

1. What causes acne after I pass puberty?

In recent years, adult acne is increasing in adults over the age of 25, not in puberty, especially in women. Risk factors include stress, drugs, tobacco, and menstruation.

2. I have constipation and bowel disease. Could it be the cause of acne?

Sometimes acne symptoms can get worse due to constipation or bowel disease. However, there is no scientific evidence that these problems are the cause of acne.

3. What food should I avoid when I have acne?

There is a myth that greasy food and chocolate cause acne, but the real relationship between acne and food is not as clear as you might think. However, it is recommended to avoid foods with a high GI index.

4. I get acne easily. Can I wear makeup?

Acne-prone skin is more oily than other skin types. Therefore, it is important to choose cosmetics with relatively low oil content. When using liquid foundations or moisturizers, you should choose oil-free products. You should also choose products labeled non-comedogenic or non-acnegenic. Don’t forget to remove makeup every night with soap and water.

When using a hair spray or gel, be sure not to get it on your face. If the spray comes into contact with your face, this can cause acne-like rashes.

5. How should I wash my face?

It is recommended to wash your face with lukewarm water twice a day with hypoallergenic face wash.

6. Should I squeeze acne?

It is recommended to squeeze comedones that have not yet been accompanied by inflammation. However, never rip or squeeze inflammatory comedones at home alone. Acne, especially on the neck, can leave a lot of scars. When comedones are squeezed, they become redder, swollen and irritated, eventually leaving scars. The reason for this is that the oil glands walls weakened by inflammation are squeezed and destroyed, which causes more inflammation. Extrusion treatment performed in dermatology does not cause this side effect because it cleans the pore opening, expands it with hot water vapor, and squeezes acne with a special device.

7. Spots were formed where the acne was. What is it and how to treat it?

Most likely it is pigmentation after an inflammatory reaction. Effective treatment in the early stages is important to avoid acne marks or scarring. Minor pigmentation usually improves within 6 months. If the pigmentation lasts for a long time on the exposed area, such as the front of the face, it may be treated with ointment or laser depending on the depth of melanin pigmentation and the patient’s skin condition.

8. Will my pores widen after acne treatment?

During acne treatment, dead skin cells may be removed and the pores may appear temporarily wider. However, when the dead skin is removed due to exfoliation, the pores are reduced.

9. Is it true that acne medications cause weight gain and that acne medications are very poisonous?

The widely used oral treatments for acne are antibiotics and vitamin A preparations that rarely gain weight even after long-term use. Some antibiotics can cause diarrhea or enteritis after long-term use due to changes in the normal intestinal flora. Vitamin A preparations such as retinoids should be monitored for side effects by regularly performing blood tests such as liver function tests and blood fat tests before and during treatment. In particular, in women of childbearing age, it may cause malformation in the fetus, so it must be continued before pregnancy and 1 month after contraception.

10. How long should acne be treated?

When treatment is stopped, acne can recur at any time. Therefore, it is necessary to take sufficient time and steadily treat. Even after treatment, skin care needs to be maintained.