While many are embracing their acne in 2018, and movements like #freethepimple are helping to lessen the taboos around bad skin, there is still a large number of acne-sufferers who would do anything to get rid of it.
Cue the anti-acne vaccine. In a paper published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, a team of scientists have found a potential vaccine that would combat the acne-causing bacteria already in human skin.
At the start of the project, lead investigator Professor Eric C. Huang explained that: "Acne is caused, in part, by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life — and we couldn't create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you.”
Now – a year later – Professor Huang and his team have created a vaccine that targets the acne-causing bacteria without killing it off all together: “We found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin — the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne."
For the sheer number of people suffering from acne, and especially those who experience the mental health side effects such as anxiety and reduced self-esteem, this news is game changing; especially so when “…current treatment options are often not effective or tolerable for many of the 85 per cent of adolescents and more than 40 million adults in the United States who suffer from this multi-factorial cutaneous inflammatory condition,” as Huang puts it in the study.
While the vaccine has successfully worked on mice, and is definitely a yep in the right direction for acne-sufferers globally, a clinical human trial still needs to take place – and that could, sadly, take up to 10-15 years.
So while you it might not be time to cancel that consult with your dermatologist just yet, you can view our suggestions for treating problem skin below; and you can read the full study on the potential acne vaccine here.
Try: Mary Kay Clear Proof® Spot Solution for Acne-Prone Skin, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Anti-Acne 3 Step System, Bioré Charcoal Acne Clearing Cleanser, Kiehl’s Acne Blemish Control Daily Skin-Clearing Treatment, Gernétic Mixed & Oily Cream, Natio Acne Clear Starter Pack, HydroPeptide® Spot Correction - Acne Eliminating Treatment , Proactiv+ 3-Step Kit.
