Lasers are not a long term solution for your acne. Here’s why.

If there was a way to describe the typical ‘acne treatment starter pack’ in Singapore, it would look something like this: 

• Oral medication e.g. doxycycline, roaccutane in combination with
• Lasers 

This conventional treatment —used by many dermatologists and aesthetic doctors— works in controlling acne, but is not optimal in treating acne long term. Let us explain why. 

How do conventional acne treatments work? 

First, let’s identify common acne treatments in Singapore and their modalities. 

Topical medication

These are your creams such as Differin and Retin-A; they control and reduce acne by 30-60%. 

Oral medication 

Many patients swear by oral medication and they are not wrong — oral acne treatment can completely clear acne if you take them as prescribed. However, the acne will recur once the medication is stopped. There are also reported side effects of acne medication; these side effects include extremely dry skin including around the genital areas. 

Lasers 

Research ‘acne treatment’ and you’d be met with plenty of clinics trying to upsell you laser after laser, some even with packages. Don’t get me wrong — lasers do work, but just like oral medication, they are temporary and will recur once stopped. Additionally, factors like stress and hormones also often cause acne to return or worsen. In such scenarios, most practitioners would suggest increasing the laser’s power, which can cause side effects including post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation especially for darker skin individuals. 

The truth is, acne is a multi-factorial, deep-rooted condition that is heavily influenced and often caused by stress and hormones. There is no long term treatment for acne till your hormone levels drop. Conventional acne treatments and lasers do provide a temporary resolution and improvement, but they may not be sustainable long term. 

What is the best treatment to get rid of acne?

Based on the explanation above, it appears the only way to manage acne is by controlling your hormone levels — or is it really? 

Let’s not forget that acne occurs when sebaceous glands in our skin activate and produce oil. As aesthetic doctors, we cannot directly correct your hormone levels — but what we can do is exactly target and shut down those acne-causing sebaceous glands, preventing acne breakouts from happening altogether. This is possible through Secret RF. 

Secret RF is a non-invasive treatment that uses fractional radiofrequency and microneedling to directly target, heat and inactivate acne-causing glands. When these glands are destroyed entirely, they can no longer react to stimulants like hormones and excess oil. To put it simply and boldly, Secret RF provides a long term resolution to acne. 

At Ozhean Zoey Aesthetics, to enhance the effectiveness of Secret RF, we make sure we prime our patients’ faces properly first with our Basic Acne Program. This involves: 

Extracting existing acne sebum with SuperFacials and Chemical Peels 

We remove blackheads, whiteheads and pus-filled acne to control the spread of inflammation. This step is imperative in any acne treatment, and even more so with the use of lasers. Failure to do so will in fact cause the heat of the laser to stimulate even more acne! 

Targeting acne bacteria with the Pro Yellow Laser 

Once we cleanse and extract existing acne sebum, we then use the Pro Yellow Laser to specifically target red acne marks and heal acne bacteria. 

Once these two steps are done, you’re all set to begin your Secret RF treatment with us at your next session! Because Secret RF also denaturalises surrounding tissue and triggers collagen and elastin production, this treatment can also be used to treat acne scars; patients looking to treat both active acne and acne scars can do so at the same time. 

In a nutshell, Secret RF can: 

• Treat and resolve existing acne 
• Prevent new acne 
• Correct acne scars 

Why Secret RF and not other microneedling treatments? 

Secret RF, like any other microneedling treatment, works by the same mechanism for overall skin rejuvenation. What’s different, however, is that Secret RF comes with ultra-fine gold-plated needles that can make perfect contact with your skin and perform a conventional subcision without any bruising or bleeding. 

We also especially like that the Secret RF device allows us to manipulate delivered energy and customise each treatment according to your skin type. This aspect is highly advantageous for our patients with darker skin tones.

How long will it take to see results?

Generally we recommend at least 4-5 sessions, each spaced a month apart. Thereafter, you can choose to continue Secret RF for maintenance of skin health or treat and prevent new acne with LDM. 

Otherwise, because Secret RF has long term benefits, you are free to enjoy your new, rejuvenated skin long term without continuing treatment. Just make sure to exercise a normal skincare routine after, including washing your face regularly.

Although Secret RF is effective in treating acne, we recommend Gold PTT for moderate acne and AGNES for severe acne. 

Do you have any questions? Feel free to speak to us and we are more than happy to help! 

References 

1. El-Domyati, M., Barakat, M., Awad, S., Medhat, W., El-Fakahany, H., & Farag, H. (2015). Microneedling Therapy for Atrophic Acne Scars: An Objective Evaluation. The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 8(7), 36–42.
2. Hou, A., Cohen, B., Haimovic, A., & Elbuluk, N. (2017). Microneedling: A Comprehensive Review. Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.], 43(3), 321–339. https://doi.org/10.1097/DSS.0000000000000924