Acne - FAQS
What is acne?
Small sebaceous glands lie just under the skin surface. These glands make the 'oil' (sebum) that keeps the skin supple and smooth. Tiny pores on the skin allow the sebum to come onto the skin surface. Hairs also grow through these pores. During the teenage years, you make much more sebum than when you were a child. This is due to the hormone changes of puberty which stimulate the sebaceous glands. As a rule, the more sebum that you make, the more greasy your skin feels, and the worse acne is likely to be.
Some pores become blocked ('plugged'). This is due to the skin at the top of the pores becoming thicker, combined with dead skin cells that are shed into the pores. You can see the 'plugs' that block the top of the pores as tiny spots known as comedones (blackheads and whiteheads).
Some sebum may collect under blocked pores. You can see this as small spots called pimples or papules. In some cases, acne does not progress beyond this mild-to-moderate stage when you can see a number of small pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads.
Trapped sebum is ideal for a bacterium (germ) called P.acnes to live and multiply. Small numbers of this bacterium normally live on the skin, and do no harm. However, if a large number develop in the trapped sebum, the immune system may react and cause inflammation. If inflammation develops, it causes the surrounding skin to become red, and the spots become larger and filled with pus (pustules). In some cases the pustules become even larger and form into small 'nodules' and cysts.
Each inflamed spot will heal eventually. In some cases the area of skin that was inflamed remains discoloured for several months after the inflammation has gone (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation). This is often more noticeable in darker skinned people. Also, a small pitted scar is commonly left on the skin where there was an inflamed spot. These small scars often do not fade fully and are a marker in older people that they once had inflamed acne spots.
Acne lesions are most common on the face, but they can also occur on the neck, chest, back, shoulders, scalp, and upper arms and legs. Most people are able to manage their acne with over-the-counter treatments. Unfortunately for some, acne can be more serious, it can be a socially debilitating disorder at any time, Individuals with severe acne suffer from being marginalized by their peers, leading to a low self-esteem and poor confidence.
What are chemical peels?
Chemical peels are acidic solutions that are applied on the affected area. The solution acts on the outermost skin layers - causing the bonds between the cells to fail and facilitating thus to be 'peeled' away to reveal the underlying, newer, unaffected skin. For acne we will use BHA: salicylic acid. This is attracted to the lipid content of skin, particularly sebum, found predominantly in the sebaceous glands of the hair follicles. The peel helps to regulate the turnover of epithelial cells and shed unwanted cellular debris. This helps to unclog pores, reducing blackheads and pimples.
Which patients with acne can have a peel?
Anyone over 18 with mild to moderate acne is a good candidate. More severe cases will need to control the severity of the inflammation first with topical products, like our clarifying serum or very gentle microdermabrasion.
