Science Hub
Science Wrap Up July 2022
27 July 2022
Ginni Mansberg
Did I say June was cold? July has been so freezing. I think I’m getting old now because I feel like I can’t remember it being this cold. But this July we launched Spotless, the dissolving micro-needle patch for pimples.
Banish and fade early stage pimples with 300 dissolving Hyaluronic Acid microneedles tipped with Salicylic Acid, Vitamin B3, Tea Tree Oil and Green Tea.
Spotless: Microneedle Patches
Each pack contains 8 patches. Each patch is single use.
Once again, the feedback has been amazing! Please keep your feedback and your before and after pics coming in! We love getting them!
There were so many great studies published this month but I thought I’d focus on new acne related studies.
Herbal therapies for acne
A systematic review including 34 studies with a total of 1753 participants will be of interest.
The authors found Melaleuca alternifolia, (tea tree oil) and Aloe vera have the best evidence. The authors also looked at Camellia sinensis (tea plant), Berberis vulgaris, (barberry), Garcinia mangostana, (mangosteen). The results are pretty good but not 100% conclusive.
The authors pointed to tree oil which is as effective as benzoyl peroxide in combatting acne. Benzoyl peroxide has a faster onset of action, but tea tree oil has fewer adverse effects like dryness, itching, and burning.
Aloe vera contains over 75 identified separate active chemicals.
In acne, aloe vera has anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, and the chemical, epigallocatechin-3-gallate has specific anti-acne properties.
Pointing to the poor quality of the studies, the authors called these herbal treatments as promising.
Diet and acne
The link between your diet and your zits has long been controversial.
A systemic review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology sought to clarify the issue by examining 34 studies.
They found that diets mainly made of high glycaemic index foods (think junk food but also white rice and potatoes), and/or high carbohydrate diets have a “modest yet significant” acne promoting effect.
Increased dairy consumption is still controversial.
Dairy may be linked to acne in some people, especially when it is part of a “Western diet”, the authors concluded.
Spotlight on bacne or truncal acne
While nobody likes a spotty face, acne often affects the back and chest too.
So, a Korean overview of the problem in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical medicine was very interesting.
The authors found that up to 52% of teens with acne on their face also get some on their trunk.
Truncal acne most often affects the upper back (52%), followed by the upper chest (30%), lower back (22%), shoulders and upper extremities (16%), and neck (8%.)
The worse the acne on the face, the more likely you are to get bacne as well.
A peep under the hood into a brand-new acne treatment
Clascoterone 1% cream (Winlevi) is a new and exciting treatment for acne.
Acne is partly caused by an overproduction of oil or sebum in the skin and this is caused by too much male hormone or androgen.
Androgen receptors are found throughout the skin. This topical male hormone or androgen blocker is the first of its kind.
A review published in the journal, Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology looked at 6 clinical trials that have been published so far.
The verdict? When you put it on the skin, it works super well for moderate and severe acne in people over the age of 12. And it is well tolerated.
It is available in the USA already. When will it be in UK and Australia? We don’t know yet, but it can’t be too far off!
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9217581/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8971946/