COMBINATION TREATMENTS FOR ACNE AND ACNE SCARRING
The way in which we treat acne and acne scarring will vary according to your age, skin type, and severity of scarring but in almost all cases successful treatment may require combination treatments.
There are several types of acne with the most difficult to treat being Cystic Acne. There was a time when cystic acne could not be treated without strong acne medication, but we can now effectively treat cystic acne drug-free.
Acne scarring ranges from red, inflamed areas (sometimes called post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, to red or white flat or raised bumps and scars and in some cases deep ice pick scarring.
The skin is a complex system with many layers and different issues can occur in each layer. Although we see acne on the surface of the skin as with pimples, pustules, redness and bumps, there is also a lot happening beneath in the deeper layers such as bacteria, infection, inflammation, over production of oil and damage to the cell structure resulting in scarring.
Therefore, we need to look at the skin as a whole to target each concern and the causes of acne with a combination of treatments for the best ongoing results.
Essentially, we take a multi-modal approach to treat all of the acne symptoms and tailor our approach to suit your needs.
Typically, acne sufferers are concerned about:
- Spots / Pimples/ Cysts
- Redness and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (the red and darkened rings around acne breakout)
- Scarring (which may be what we call ice-pick scarring, or less aggressive scarring)
- Reoccurring breakouts
We therefore breakdown our treatments into a logical program to assist
1. BRING ACTIVE ACNE BREAKOUT UNDER CONTROL WITH EFFECTIVE ACNE TREATMENTS
Depending on the severity of your acne and your experience of any other treatments to date, we will bring your acne under control with a combination of homecare products and in-clinic treatments. Typically, this would include ISSADA Acne Performance Products and an initial intensive course of microdermabrasion. More severe cystic acne will also respond well to Fractional RF treatments. We also include strategies for self-management and help you to identify anything that you may be using or doing that is making the problem worse.
2. REDUCE REDNESS & POST INFLAMATORY PIGMENTATION
Peels, laser and microdermabrasion all have a role here depending on the severity of your concerns while continuing with your ISSADA homecare regimen.
3. ADDRESS DEEPER SCARRING
Deeper scarring such as ice-pick scarring will respond well to Fractional Radio Frequency and/or Fraxel Laser. In some cases, we may only need to treat small areas so will always make appropriate recommendations to keep costs to a minimum for you
4. CONTROL REOCCURING OUTBREAKS
Acne is rarely "cured" although hormonal acne is often grown out of. That said, many adults suffer from acne well into ther later years. Our goal here is to help you maintain your skin and minimise the distress of outbreak by the use of proven skincare and strategies.
GOLD STANDARD ACNE TREATMENTS
ASK ABOUT OUR 60-DAY ACNE QUICK START PLAN
We have been treating acne since 1996 and have developed gold standard for acne treatment protocols involving combination treatments of Microdermabrasion
and Fractional RF (Radio-Frequency) Treatments in conjunction with LED Light Therapy and Peels.
Microdermabrasion will help to clear the dead skin away from the surface allowing a breathable environment and for oil to flow more freely to help rid blockages. It will also allow all the active ingredients in the peels we perform to penetrate deeper, as well as the home care products in your skincare routine. We also do extractions which will manually remove blackheads and properly evacuate pimples, then a customised peel selected to encourage cell turnover and exfoliation of the skin.
Fractional RF (also known as Fractional Radio frequency uses a combination of dermal stamping /needling and radio frequency to produce healthy new cells, shrink sebaceous glands, minimise oil production and improve acne scarring.
LED Light Therapy is used to kill the acne bacteria, reduce inflammation and begin to heal and repair damage within the skin. It is more effective when used in combination with other treatments and in between micros, RF and peels
Medi-Aesthetic Peels (also known as Chemical Peels) are also a useful treatment for acne sufferers and also use to help reduce scarring by encouraging rapid cell turnover and replacement. We offer a wide range of peels to suit your skin needs ranging from Jessner's, Glycolic, Enzymatic, Retinol AHA/BHA and more. We offer peels that will create micro or extensive peeling depending on your needs.
NeoGen Evo - Low Energy Treatments are another great treatment for acne and will assist to reduce infection, increase elastin.
Laser Treatments for Scarring - Gentle laser treatments are effective for post inflammatory redness and pigmentation but for ice pick and deeper scarring Fraxel laser is the Gold Standard treatment.
COMBINATION TREATMENTS FOR ACNE AND SCARRING
using our years of experience and advanced combination treatments, we have seen the best results using combination of treatments with the correct skincare routine at home. Do keep in mind that no two complexions are the same so everybody’s skin journey will be slightly different, and results are also influenced by numerous biological factors that are individual to you. These include whether you smoke, your diet, any underlying medical conditions and medications. Other lifestyle factors to consider are also diet, stress levels, hormonal imbalances, hygiene, touching the skin often, leaning on your hands, changing pillowcases and sleeping with pets - all of which can affect the skin.
Understand that treating acne is a gradual process and sometimes the skin needs to purge first (bring everything underlying up to the surface) before it gets better.
Committing to a treatment plan with regular appointments is a must to get effective, long-lasting results and following the guidance recommended by our specialists is imperative.
For an initial complimentary consultation to discuss your skin, please contact us on 07 5509 0081 or book online.
COMBINATION TREATMENTS FOR ACNE & ACNE SCARRING