Treatment of acne depends on severity and varies from skin care products to laser. What stage of acne do you have?

Acne can be a serious health condition, both physically and mentally. When I was younger, I heard of someone dying from a brain abscess from squeezing an infected pimple. While this is rare today, the effects of acne occurring in the early years can be devastating mentally in later years because of scarring.

For this reason, I feel it is important to treat teenage acne before it gets out of hand. Picking pimples frequently leads to scarring. So parents need to get appropriate treatment for their children's acne as soon as possible.

Acne varies from very mild to severe cystic acne.

Mild acne treated with Bare Skin Program for Acne

Severe Cystic Acne with Pustules
 

Bare Skin Care Patient

After treatment using various modalities including chemical peel, Pixel laser and IPL and other light therapies

Photos are not retouched.

My recommendations for treating acne:

     Review the diet and cut back on all sugar and beverages containing sugar. Eat more fruits and vegetables. And reduce stress - this might be the most important thing. Exercise will help in the stress reduction.

     For women, oral contraceptives can help suppress the hormonal aspect that causes the acne.

     Start with the Bare Skin Program for Acne; this is the most effective treatment for acne that I have found to be produce results. It should be continued for six weeks, then go on the Bare Skin Maintenance program.

     If not successful, then proceed to Doxycycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic. (I have found that Vibra-tabs, a form of Doxycycline is better tolerated than generic, because it is easier on the stomach).

     If acne persists, then consider a chemical peel, like the Obagi Blue peel.

     Like the patient above, some acne is resistant. For these cases 90 days of Doxycycline, Levulan therapy combined with IPL and light therapy. This might need to be repeated up to three times over several months interval.

     If there is residual scarring, then consider a fractional or CO2 laser.