Acne
Acne
Acne is one of the most common dermatological diseases of the face and can also occur on the body. Acne is caused when tiny holes in the skin, known as hair follicles, become blocked.
Mild: Mostly whiteheads and blackheads, with few papules and pustules.
Moderate: More whiteheads and blackheads, with many papules and pustules.
Severe: Lots of large painful papules, pustules, nodules, cysts. You might also have some scarring.
Acne can be caused by a multitude of factors from hormonal to environmental. Acne usually occurs when the pores in your skin get blocked with dead skin, oil or bacteria. The blockage of the pore if it is closer to the surface will show up as acne. Its depending on the blockage and if bacteria is able to contaminate the plug. This will affect the type of acne, as you may see in the notes that follow.
Types of Acne
White heads: This type of acne forms through a combination of dead skin cells, bacteria and oil that’s trapped inside your pores. They appear yellow or white looking and are filled with a liquid consistency.
Blackheads: Blackheads appear on your skin like small bumps because of hair follicles being clogged inside your pores. These bumps are called blackheads because the surface looks dark or black.
Papules: This type of acne appears as swollen red bumps that we are usually aware of when having a standard breakout. Papules can cluster into a rash and be either brown, purple, pink or red in colour.
Pustules: Similar to papules, pustules are small bumps on the skin that contain fluid and they appear as white bumps surrounded by red skin.
Nodules: Nodules are raised soft tissue bumps filled with fluid developed just below the skin. It can also turn red as the area gets more inflamed.
Cysts: This type of acne appears as large, red, painful breakouts deep in your skin and as bacteria is trapped underneath your skin, this causes the area to become swollen and painful to touch.
As for the Acne Scarring the following types occur:
Ice Pick Scars: Ice pick acne scars are often narrow, but ‘dig’ deep – usually reaching past the top levels of the skin’s surface. This type of scarring is one of the most common types, along with Boxed scarring.
Rolling Scars: Rolling scarring causes the skin to have an undulating appearance. This is due to damage beneath the skin’s surface. Rolling scars are usually shallow but wide.
Boxed Scars: Similar to ice pick scarring in the fact that they are also common, these scars are wider and feature well-defined edges. They appear more oval in shape.
PIH Acne Scars: Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) refers to the dark spots that remain on the skin after an acne has healed. Unlike other forms of scarring, PIH does not typically change skin texture but rather pigmentation.
GURU DERMA offers a range of excellent quality, proven acne treatments for a variety of acne conditions. We understand that acne is often much more than just a skin problem, as the surrounding psychological factors come into play when a person is dealing with acne.
Your skincare specialist will apply the acne treatment our doctor will recommend to you depending on your age, the type and severity of your acne and how willing are you to commit in the overall procedure. Topical medications and oral medications are often used in combination.
If you’re looking for a way to deal with your acne or acne scarring, get in touch with us today and begin your skin and confidence transformation. We offer follow-up appointments with our doctor every three to six months until your skin improves.
Acne Test Fagron: Personalized Acne Diagnosis Through Genetic Analysis
Acne is not the same for everyone — which is why effective treatment requires a personalized approach.
At Guru Derma Hair Clinic, we use the Acne Test Fagron, an advanced genetic diagnostic tool that helps us deeply understand the root causes of acne for each individual patient.
The test analyzes specific genetic markers related to sebum production, inflammation, the skin’s microbial balance, and sensitivity to hormonal changes.
This creates a personalized “genetic acne profile”, allowing the physician to design a fully targeted treatment plan.
How does it work?
The process is simple, painless, and performed using an oral swab.
The sample is then sent to Fagron’s specialized laboratories, where it is thoroughly analyzed using advanced molecular biology techniques.
What does it offer?
- Identification of genetic factors that cause or worsen acne
- Selection of treatments that truly match the patient’s biological needs
- Higher effectiveness and faster results
- Avoidance of unnecessary or ineffective therapies
- Optimization of skincare routines based on scientific data
The Acne Test Fagron allows us to go beyond standard clinical evaluation.
By understanding the exact genetic contributors, we design treatments that are precisely “tailored” to the skin’s needs — delivering more consistent and long-lasting results.
Topical medications
Retinoids: Retinoic or tretinoin acid (ATRA) are often useful for moderate acne. These come as creams, gels and lotions. Topical retinoids increase your skin’s sun sensitivity. They can also cause dry skin and redness. Adapalene may be tolerated best.
Antibiotics: These work by killing excess skin bacteria and reducing redness and inflammation. For the first few months of treatment, you may use both a retinoid and an antibiotic, by applying the antibiotic in the morning and the retinoid in the evening. The antibiotics are often combined with benzoyl peroxide to reduce the likelihood of developing antibiotic resistance.
Azelaic acid and Salicylic acid: Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring acid produced by a yeast, with antibacterial properties. A 20% azelaic acid cream or gel seems to be as effective as many conventional acne treatments when used twice a day. Side effects include skin redness and minor skin irritation. Salicylic acid may help prevent plugged hair follicles and is available as both wash-off and leave-on products. Side effects include skin discoloration and minor skin irritation.
Dapsone: The daily use of Dapsone (Aczone) is recommended for inflammatory acne, especially in women with acne. Side effects include redness and dryness.
- Oral medications
- Antibiotics: For moderate to severe acne, you may need oral antibiotics to reduce bacteria. Usually the first choice for treating acne is a tetracycline or a macrolide. Oral antibiotics should be used for the shortest time possible to prevent antibiotic resistance and usually in combination with benzoyl peroxide, so as to reduce the risk of developing antibiotic resistance. Severe side effects from the use of antibiotics to treat acne are uncommon. These drugs do increase your skin’s sun sensitivity.
- Anti-androgen agents: A type of treatment, that could be considered in cases of women and adolescent girls, when oral antibiotics aren’t helping. It works by blocking the effect of androgen hormones on the oil-producing glands. Possible side effects include breast tenderness and painful periods.
Clinic therapies
- Light therapy: A variety of light-based therapies may be applied successfully. In this case multiple visits to our doctor’s office are necessary, initially to determine the ideal settings for you in terms of light source and dosage and therefore achieve the desired results.
- Chemical peel: This procedure uses repeated applications of a chemical solution, such as salicylic acid, glycolic acid or retinoic acid. This treatment is for mild acne. It might improve the appearance of the skin, though the change is not long lasting and repeat treatments are usually needed.
- Drainage and extraction: With the use of special tools to gently remove whiteheads and blackheads or cysts are removed, that haven’t cleared up with topical medications. This technique temporarily improves the appearance of your skin, but in some cases might also cause scarring, subsequently extra caution is needed.
- Injections: Nodular and cystic lesions can be treated by injecting a steroid drug into them. This therapy results in rapid improvement and decreased pain. Side effects may include skin thinning and discoloration in the treated area.
Treatments for Acne Scars
- Fillers: Our professionals use fillers, to fill in acne scars and help even out the skin. The fillers can be made with collagen, your own fat, or a commercial filler. They’re injected under the surface of the skin to help plump up and smooth out depressed scars. Most fillers last between 6 and 18 months before they need to be redone, but some are also permanent. We propose this method for someone with a small number of boxcar or rolling scars.
- Injections: There are a few different medications that can be injected into raised scars to help soften and flatten them, including corticosteroids, interferons and others. The injections are usually performed as a series, with one every few weeks. We recommend this method for raised scars
- Surgical Removal: At first brush, it might seem crazy to remove a scar and potentially replace it with a new one, but our dermatologists or plastic surgeons can remove a very noticeable scar and leave behind a small scar that will fade with time
- Subcision: In this case, the scar is lifted by loosening the fibers beneath it to help bring it closer to the surface, so it’s less noticeable.
- Dermabrasion: One of the most effective and common treatments for facial scars. While it uses the same general principle as the microdermabrasion kits you can do at home, Guru Derma professionals use tools to more deeply exfoliate the top layer of the skin. It is highly recommended for scars close to the surface like shallow boxcar or rolling scars, but deeper scars may also become less noticeable.
- Fractional Laser: Fractional Laser is considered the best treatment for scars and acne marks, whether new or old. It is ideally combined with autologous PRP mesotherapy, achieving scar “reduction”, even tone and firmer and more elastic skin. The use of the CO2 Laser is painless, bloodless and immediately after the treatment, the patient can return to any activity. The laser beam is directed with absolute millimeter precision to the desired point, without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue at all.
Contact us today for a free consultation with our experts.
GURU DERMA HAIR CLINIC MEDICAL & WELLNESS
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