Acne is so difficult to deal with at any age. Think about it: not only are there small bumps on your face that alter the texture of your skin, but they’re an angry red hue, (sometimes with a white head) seemingly screaming to the world that something in your body is off balance. Whether you’re a teenager with a certain image to maintain or an adult who feels like she should be past this stage, nothing can feel more infuriating than acne. As trivial as it sounds to someone who’s never suffered from this potentially disfiguring disease, seeing just one new blemish on your skin can dramatically impact your self confidence.

At this point, we’re going to guess you’ve tried every wash, gel, scrub, serum, moisturizer, and spot treatment known to man (well, almost every one anyway). You may have even given up your dreams of clear skin, thinking that you’re destined to go through life dealing with it. But the one thing we’re willing to bet you’ve never tried are monthly facials, and here’s why they’re going to work for you.

Understanding What Causes Acne:

Acne is caused when our sebaceous (oil) glands fill up with too much sebum, becoming clogged and inflamed. Typically, once the swelling goes down, you’re left with a red mark (also called hyperpigmentation), and often times, the same gland will just become clogged again and again.

How An Esthetician Can Stop Acne In Its Tracks

Scheduled facials will help in several ways: First, we can perform professional extractions of your blemishes (which you are hopefully not attempting by yourself at home it leads spreading of acne AND severe scarring, so please leave this to a trained, licensed professional). When we perform this procedure, it releases the built-up puss inside of each blemish, which is causing you on-going inflammation. This allows blemishes to heal much faster than usual, and with the treatments that follow these extractions, helps reduce the chance that this same pore will become clogged and inflammed in the future.

Following Up: Why You Want a Personalized Plan

This next part is key. Although you will notice a significant difference after just the first facial treatment, we recommend a follow-up every 3-4 weeks. A personalized series of facial treatments will stop the reoccurrence of your breakouts, as well as lighten the leftover spots and smooth out your skin. In between these facials (about every two weeks) we recommend a microdermabrasion treatment and/or chemical peel: The goal is to constantly lift off dead skin cells, which can accumulate and clog up the pores.

We have seen the damage caused by years and years of cyclical acne, and it isn’t pretty. When you avoid seeing a professional, the acne just keeps reoccurring, followed by post acne-inflammation and even pitted scaring. That’s why it’s really important to work with us on a bi-weekly basis until your acne is under control. We can also recommend follow-up treatments at home, including our inexpensive go-to: Bragg Organic Apple Cider, which you’ll want to add to your smoothie or salad (about 2-3 tablespoons daily). The professional grade products we carry – and stand by can also help, especially when it comes to lightening the marks left over from the blemishes we’ve healed.

Frustrated with acne scarring? Stay tuned for our follow-up blog next month, which will address the types of scaring you have and what to do about it.