February 2007
What is Acne?
Acne is a condition of the skin that shows up as various types of bumps
including whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and cysts. The pores of your skin contain oil glands, which lubricates your hair and skin.
Sometimes a pore may become clogged with too much oil, dead skin cells and even bacteria. If a pore becomes clogged, closes and then bulges out, you have a whitehead. If a pore becomes clogged but stays open, the top may darken and you’re left with a blackhead. Sometimes when the walls of the pore become damaged it allows bacteria and dead skin to work their way under the live skin. This leaves you with a small infection called a pimple. Clogged pores that are open deep in the skin cause cysts which are generally infections larger than pimples.
What causes Acne?
Natural Hormones - hormones are constantly produced by your body throughout your entire life however, during the teenage years they tend to be the most active and most rapidly changing.
Bacteria - When bacteria is present on the skin it can easily infect the oil
glands and pores. Bacteria thrives on the oil and can grow rapidly beneath
plugged skin creating infections.
Family background - If a parent had acne as a teenager, he/she can bet their kids will also have problem skin especially during the adolescent years.
How to we treat acne?
The purpose of treating acne is to prevent scarring by reducing the number of lesions.
Prescription Medications are used to reduce the clumping of cells in the follicles, cease bacteria colonization, suppress androgen levels and control inflammation.
Skin Care and Topical Preparations facilitate exfoliation and allow new skin to emerge.
Microdermabrasion and Chemical Peels help to exfoliate the skin and clean out pores. Decrease oiliness and improve texture of the skin.
Light therapy (Blu U) is a specific wave length of violet/blue light which targets p-acnes bacteria to reduce colonization.
Levulan or PDT is a photo sensitizing agent which is applied to the skin and targets sebaceous glands and irregular cells. This is then activated with violet/blue light to help alleviate oiliness, active acne breakouts and kill bacteria.
Injections of steroid compounds to individual lesions help break down cystic nodules.
Call us for a free consultation about your acne or with your medical cosmetic questions at
504-4156 or visit our website at www.skintechnologies.ca