The Dermatology Blog

I love my iPhone. (No, that’s not me in the photo.)

My iPhone is teeming with apps that help me get through my day (like Doodle Jump for instance). An emerging iPhone trend is the development of apps that diagnose and treat diseases. For example, there is the stethoscope app to help diagnose heart murmurs. In dermatology, there is an app designed to treat acne.

We know that specific wavelengths of light can have medicinal effects such as killing bacteria (red light) and reducing inflammation (blue light). This app produces light at those wavelengths to treat acne. The claim is that by holding the iPhone to your face, the light produced from the app will treat your acne.

Although it scores a 10 on 10 in the coolness factor, it scores a 0 on 10 for proof of efficacy. The studies that looked at treating acne with light used much more intense light than an iPhone uses. The studies with more powerful light exposed faces for 60 minutes every week, which is about 8 minutes on each side every day. Even then, light treatments for acne have not been shown to be consistently better than standard acne treatments such as antibiotics and tretinoin.

So does the acne app work? Well, there are no studies to tell us. Given that the light intensity is low and that most people would not do the treatment — try holding your phone for 2-5 minutes on each side of your face every day for months — I doubt it works.

Acne is common and naturally gets better and worse at times no matter what you do. It is unfortunate that products like this are sold that do not have any proof that they work. There will be people who buy this app and believe that it helped them, (“My acne was clear in just THREE DAYS!”) but the two bucks is better spent on Doodle Jump.

See also:

Can an iPhone App Clear Up Your Acne?

In Light and Heat, Gadgets Claim to Fight Acne

Better Skin to the Touch?

Can You Treat Acne With an iPhone App?

A study to determine the effect of combination blue (415 nm) and near-infrared (830 nm) light-emitting diode (LED) therapy for moderate acne vulgaris.

Photo: Aye Shamus (flickr)

Proactiv® is the most popular acne treatment in the US. If Proactiv is so popular (and used by all those now-acne-free celebrities), then it must be a great product, right? Well, maybe. Here are the pros and cons of Proactiv. Read more…

Dear Dr. Benabio,

OMG, my face is a disaster! My acne is worse than ever. PLZ help me!

Desperately,

Your Patient

Many of my patients email me; this is the most common email I am getting this week. Why is everyone’s acne flaring up all of a sudden? It’s because of this simple formula: [High School Stress + Hormones = Acne].

Acne results when your pores clog, trapping sebaceous oils and bacteria deep in the skin. When you’re under stress, your body releases cortisol, a hormone that helps you stay alive in life or death situations. High school, however stressful, is not usually life or death, but your body doesn’t know that, and it reacts as if it were.

Two side effects of increased cortisol are increased sebaceous oil production and increased inflammation in your skin. The result: big, red pimples in the middle of your face that make you now wish you were dead.

If you have painful, cystic acne bumps, then your dermatologist can inject the worst ones with steroids to reduce the inflammation and to flatten them out quickly — “Nurse! Give me a syringe with Kenalog. Stat!” (Who said I don’t do emergencies?) Steroid injections can, however, cause atrophy or dimpling in your skin, which can last for months — much longer than the original pimple.

• Spot treating acne is difficult at home. Tretinoin products such as Retin-A, Differin, or Tazorac do not work if applied to acne spots.
• You can pop a pimple; however, unless it has a white head, squeezing usually just makes a little pimple into a big pimple.
• Apply a spot acne treatment such as Neutrogena Rapid Clear Fight and Fade Gel. The mild acids in it help dissolve a pimple when applied directly.
• Use a spot cover-up or concealer that has salicylic acid in it. Yes, guys, it is OK for you to apply a dab of cover-up. Use your sister’s.
• If you have a little extra cash lying around (humor intended), then acne zappers like Zeno can help. They apply heat directly to the pimple killing the bacteria and hastening recovery. Or just use your iPhone, (I’m sure they will have an app for that soon, right?).

Remember that school is stressful, so eat well, sleep well (preferably not in calculus class), and exercise regularly. These will decrease your stress hormones and help keep you acne free.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any free products or reimbursement from any products mentioned in this post; these are my unbiased suggestions.

Photo: John Steven Fernandez

Argh! You cleaned out your high school locker years ago and now you have acne pimples on your jaw this morning. You’re not alone — 1 in every 5 women over 25 has acne.

Adult acne, in contrast to the teenage type, occurs more often in women. For some women, this is the first time they had acne; we call this late-onset acne. For other women, their acne never stopped from childhood into adulthood; we call this persistent acne. Many of my women patients have other names for adult acne, but they cannot be printed here.

It Must Be Hormones

We like to blame everything on hormones. In the case of acne, hormones contribute, but they are not the only factor. Stopping birth control pills causes a change in hormones and is  a cause for acne in adult women. Similarly, using progestin-only birth control pills affects hormones in such a way as to cause breakouts. Pregnancy is a time of dramatic hormone fluctuations and for some women, dramatic acne. Similarly, menopause can trigger outbreaks. Despite these known hormonal triggers, most women who have acne do not have hormonal imbalances (they are normal fluctuations in hormones). Foods or supplements that claim to balance women’s hormones don’t. So save your time and money, they won’t help your acne.

You Can’t Scrub Acne Away

Exfoliating to open pores can help, but only when done in moderation. Harsh scrubs or repeated microdermabrasion will irritate the skin and make acne worse. Instead, use mild chemical exfoliators such as salicylic acid or glycolic acid which are found in many women’s cosmetics and in acne treatments. Products that contain benzoyl peroxide also help to exfoliate and will treat adult acne.

Don’t Give Up Your Scharffen Berger Chocolate

Although myths of chocolate and pizza causing acne have been disproved, it is true that consuming cow’s milk (which contains hormones) as well as eating a diet high in carbohydrates (which causes inflammation) can contribute to acne. Eating chocolate once and a while, especially good chocolate, will not cause or worsen your acne.

Cosmetics Cause Acne

Many skincare products contain ingredients that clog your pores, triggering acne. Pantene shampoo as well as many hair conditioners have been known to cause this problem. Also, sunscreens are notorious for causing acne. If you notice that your acne is worse around your hairline or that it has flared since you started sunscreens, then try changing your products; it might be all you need to clear up your face.

Photo: Foundphotoslj (flickr)

Post written by Dr. Benabio Copyright The Derm Blog 2009

Everybody is talking about the blue light. It is the latest gadget for treating acne (and admit it, we LOVE gadgets).  But can you really treat acne by simply shining a blue light on your skin? Read more…