This is when it’s time to take the power back from the pimples.
It’s time to seek professional help for acne when all of the over-the-counter options aren’t working, your acne is consistent and painful, and you’re suffering from it’s effect on your self-confidence, social life and quality of life. When none of the options you have access to are not working for you, it’s time to seek professional help to get a handle on your situation and throw your skin and self-esteem a major life-line.
About Face Aesthetics was created in Philadelphia in 2011 primarily to help our acne patients, and we are more excited than ever about this constant quest due to the new advancements and offerings available for acne treatment.
-
The Sephora, pharmacy, non-prescription options haven’t stopped the break-outs.
If you’ve tried multiple over-the-counter products and your acne persists or worsens, it’s a sign that you may need more specialized care.
-
Your breakouts are painful and severe.
Deep, cystic acne or nodules can be especially painful, and harder to eradicate. To clear current acne, prevent future breakouts and erase signs of breakouts, you’ll get the most efficient, safe, and specialized advice from an expert.
-
Acne is leaving scars or dark marks.
The best kind of acne scar is the one that never happens. Acne scarring can manifest in multiple ways all by itself, or due to the improper care of it. Acne scarring that presents as dark spots and pigmented areas are the preferable form of scarring because there are powerful treatment options to clear these, but textural scarring like ice-pick scars or dimpled-skin can be impossible to treat without requiring surgery. If you notice that your breakouts are leaving textural, divot-like scarring you should seek outside advice as soon as you can to prevent the accumulation of these hard-to-clear acne scars.
-
Acne is majorly affecting your self-esteem and confidence.
It used to be thought that there was a correlation between Accutane (a popular acne-eradicating prescription medication) and suicide. From a 20-foot view, it could be speculated that if a disproportionate amount of Accutane users were suicidal, the causation had to be Accutane. With more time, study and insight however, it is now understaood that the Accutane wasn’t causing these severe depressive thoughts, it was the acne itself (for which the Accutane was being used to treat). Some studies show that acne can have such an impact on a person’s self-esteem that as much as 56% of acne sufferers can develop depressive and suicidical ideation. We get it, and we are thrilled at every chance we get to help someone overcome their acne struggles. If your breakouts are causing massive. negative impact on your life, please reach out for help.
-
Unusual breakouts patterns.
If you notice that your acne is spreading to unusual areas like armpits, groin, or thighs, it could indicate a different type of acne or an underlying health-issue that requires professional diagnosis.
-
You’ve had acne for years.
If you’ve had acne for an extended period without significant improvement, and you’re well past the typical “teenage acne” stage, it’s time to seek professional advice to determine the best treatment plan.
-
Your parents had acne.
Acne can be genetic, and if you know from the start that you are predisposed to this skin condition and can get a gauge of what your acne timeline and experience may be like, you owe it to yourself to take the reigns back from the breakouts and take advantage of the clear-skin options and advances that exist now, which were never even an option for your parents.
-
You started taking a medication and now have breakouts:
Certain medications can trigger or worsen acne, so it’s important to discuss this with a professional to find appropriate treatment options. Your provider can help you determine if there are different medicines to take that won’t cause the same side-effects or responses, and/or if there are recommended ways to treat the resulting breakouts.
-
Your pimples often get infected.
If you notice that your pimples are usually swollen, oozing, painful, and an angry shade of red, it’s a good indication that you have a mini-infection brewing inside the pore which can take longer to resolve, cause discomfort, and make scarring more likely. If this is something that happens regularly, please talk to an expert to learn your best options to prevent these situations from occuring.
-
Your pimples are annoyingly itchy.
While occasional itching is normal, chronically itchy acne can be a sign of an underlying skin condition, and a skin-professional can help diagnose and treat it.
If any of these items ring true for you, please reach out to About Face Aesthetics in Philadelphia for your acne treatments. We will be thrilled to help you.
(Depending on your particular situation, we are happy to guide you to the right specialist.) You can schedule an appointment here, or you can fill out our online Treatment Builder here to get an idea of what might be recommended for you.
