Is acne cool now? Acne awareness and Acne treatments occur everyday in our office. Doctors Rebecca and Saida Baxt have been helping patients with the battle of acne for over 30 years out of their practice Baxt CosMedical in Paramus, NJ. The NY Times recently published an article “Is Acne Cool Now?” noting how celebrities and other social media influencers are changing the stigmas and anxieties of acne.
Who is most prone to having acne?
Our board-certified dermatologists Dr. Rebecca Baxt and Dr. Saida Baxt see patients who have acne of all ages and skin types. Acne is more common in boys when they are teenagers, but a small percentage continue into adulthood. Women often get acne worse as adults, and it is hormonally mediated and can by cystic and painful. The Doctors also see children as young as 8 or 9 starting with acne. Acne is caused by clogged pores, bacteria, excess sebum production and hormones.
Acne Before and After treatment of a teenage boy.
Click here to view more Acne Treatment Before & After photos
What Acne Treatments are available?
We can attack any or all of the causes with many different modalities. We can use what we call aggressive conservative management with creams, gels, and pills and add injections of cortisone to shrink acne cysts, as well as chemical peels to unclog pores, reduce oil, and fade marks and scars, and our patients get fantastic results. Most patients see improvements within one month, but full results of any new acne program can take 3-6 months. For women who need hormonal therapy, we can advise on birth control pills or prescribe spironolactone. For children and adults who do not respond or who have failed conservative therapy in the past, we can use isotretinoin/accutane pills, or a variety of alternative therapies we provide at our office
We also have Isolaz acne treatments which uses intense pulsed light to kill bacteria and suction to unclog pores. There is no downtime and no pain with Isolaz and it works really well to improve most acne. Smoothbeam laser is another choice which shrinks the oil gland and works especially well for cystic acne. It is a bit uncomfortable, we recommend numbing cream, but there is no downtime with Smoothbeam laser treatments. Lastly, we offer PDT or photodynamic therapy. PDT is not FDA approved for acne, but it works well for inflamed red acne. It is a series of monthly treatments with aminolevulanic acid which reacts with the bacteria in the pores and then when light is applied causes inflammation and shuts down the oil gland and kills the bacteria. PDT causes light sensitivity for 48 hours afterwards, and can causes redness and peeling for a few days up to a week or so in rare cases.
What happens if you have seen other Dermatologists for Acne treatment with no progress?
We commonly see patients who have seen 3-5 other dermatologists and have failed various acne programs and acne treatments, and we are always able to clear the skin, so we look forward to seeing you at your consultation! Call us today at 201-265-1300 to schedule your appointment and dont forget to bring your prior and current product list to make the consultation as useful for you as possible.
