In partnership with SA’s top medical aesthetic companies
Most of us who battle with acne would do anything in our power to stop it in its tracks. And after it subsides, we need to address the “fallout” of scarring and dark marks.
It cannot be emphasised enough that treating the problem from the outset will result in less severe acne consequences. And the best results come from a combination of acne treatments:
1. For home use, we have medical skin care.
2. Consultations with an expert skin-care therapist will help you monitor your skin’s progress and deep-cleanse facials and extraction peels will improve its appearance and healing.
3. Technology is the third step in reducing the size of individual acne lesions, reducing the frequency of acne eruptions, and promoting faster healing times.
Skin Renewal recommends the following treatments for active acne, post-acne scarring and hyperpigmentation:
Cutera’s Laser Genesis gives you a five-in-one treatment − it reduces the size of the sebaceous gland, reduces inflammation in pimples, reduces pore size, and improves acne scarring and pigmentation. It is also excellent for healing acne lesions, especially after extractions.
For acne scarring, a different setting is used to induce collagen production in the deeper layers of the skin, causing an improvement in scar appearance. For best scar improvement results, this is done mostly in conjunction with treatments such as Carboxytherapy and Dermapen needling.
Who is this for? All skin types and colours.
Downtime? No significant pain or downtime. Patients can return to work on the same day. There may be slight redness or very slight swelling on the day of treatments, but this will resolve by the following day.
Treatment Protocol? Anything from 2-4 weeks apart depending on what other treatments are being done in conjunction with the laser.
Radiant Healthcare’s PDT (Photodynamic Therapy) is a light based therapy that uses different wavelengths of light to treat certain targets in the skin. For example, in the case of acne patients, red and blue light is used. The red light is used to reduce inflammation and encourage healing, while the blue light targets bacteria and reduces infection.
Radiant Healthcare’s Carboxytherapy is a very versatile treatment modality in that it can be used to treat the skin at various levels (depths), and based on the way in which the treatment is applied, various issues can be targeted. In the case of acne, the deeper injections are used to treat deep nodules and cysts, while more superficial injections cause oxygenation in the follicles, resulting in ceasing the action of the bacteria in the follicles which cause the infection. As a result, inflammation calms down significantly and healing occurs more rapidly.
Who is this for? All skin types and colours.
Downtime? No significant pain or downtime. Patients can return to work on the same day.
Treatment Protocol? Anything from 2 weeks apart
Genop’s Dermapen Advanced Skin Needling is used to treat acne scarring.
This new-generation tech uses a sterile Dermapen needle head, which contains multiple needles that vibrate at high speed and pierce the skin vertically. It causes minimal pain compared to traditional Dermaroller needling, has great results and much less epidermal damage.
With skin needling, controlled “micro-injuries” are created to stimulate the skin’s self-repair function, which destroys old, damaged tissue and replaces it with new, healthy collagen. The needle head can be placed on precisely targeted areas, such as acne scars and enlarged pores, causing them to be smoothed and plumped up as the new collagen is formed over time.
Only 20 minutes are needed to treat the entire face and neck. Before the procedure, anaesthetic is applied to your skin to ensure a virtually painless experience.
Who is this for? All skin types and colours. Dermapen Skin Needling can however not be used on any active inflammatory condition, including active acne.
Downtime? There is minimal downtime after this treatment except possible redness for 12 to 48 hours after the procedure. Skin Renewal apply a breathable healing camouflage which seals the skin and covers any redness, and most people are able to return to normal daily activities immediately after the treatment.
Treatment Protocol? Anything from 2-4 weeks apart depending on whether the Dermapen is being done in conjunction with other treatments.
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