Acne. All you have to do is mention the word and your teenager will cringe before your very eyes. You’d think it was Lord Voldemort or something! Dealing with acne is bad, but sometimes the harsh over-the-counter products that people use in an attempt to deal with it are almost harsher.
Dr. Kronberg is an expert in treating acne. Her treatments depend on the type and severity of lesions, along with the patient’s skin type and age.
What is acne?
Sometimes people think that acne is a mystery. Does it come from eating too much chocolate? How about greasy foods like potato chips? But acne basically comes down to the sebaceous glands. These are the glands attached to hair follicles in the skin on the face, neck, back, and chest. These glands produce oil that keeps our skin and hair from drying out. This oil normally comes up to the surface and is released through the opening of the follicle/pore. This is the normal process.
But when you throw in raging hormones, as all teenagers have, you’ve got trouble. These hormones rushing to and from encourage the sebaceous glands to overproduce oil, kind of like OPEC on your face. This overproduction can’t always make its way to the surface quickly enough and it clogs the follicles. Now the oil is trapped beneath the skin’s surface. This glut of oil begins to grow Priopionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) beneath the skin. This triggers a reaction in the body with chemicals and enzymes that gets the attention of the white blood cells. They come to the scene and cause inflammation. This process ends with the breakdown of the follicle wall as the oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria push upward to form pimples. Now you have a breakout, the bane of every teenager! “I cannot go to school today with these whiteheads, Mom!”
Our treatments
Dr. Kronberg has different treatments for acne, depending on the severity and the type of acne.
Microdermabrasion — Our microdermabrasion process uses a diamond tip to gently exfoliate the surface of the skin. Dr. Kronberg finds this much more effective than the crystals used in other microdermabrasion procedures. It takes off the dead skin cells and opens clogged follicles on the surface.
N-Lite & Regenlite Lasers — Our laser treatments go right after the P.acnes bacteria. The light energy targets the bacteria, killing it and stopping or severely reducing breakouts. Dr. Kronberg recommends 4-6 treatments every two weeks for the best results.
Chemical peels and facials — Our practice also offers various chemical peels and facials to treat acne. Again, we will customize your session to your particular situation.
Antibiotics — If all else fails (acne can be stubborn) Dr. Kronberg can prescribe antibiotics that kill the P.acnes bacteria.
There’s no reason to make your teenager suffer through the whole acne process any longer. Dr. Kronberg can help. Call us at 713-771-8941 to schedule your appointment.
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