Acne

Acne is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin (sebum) clog hair follicles.

Typical signs of acne include spots, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, cysts, oily skin and/or possible scarring.  This can happen on the face, shoulders, back, neck, chest and upper arms. Pimples, as an example, can become infected in the case of acne.  Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is the name of the bacteria that live on the skin and contribute to the infection of pimples. But the severity of acne depends on the strain of bacteria, not all acne bacteria triggers pimples.

Acne can happen at any stage of life, but most commonly occurs between the ages of 12 and 24.  However, it can also affect people into their 30’s and 40’s.  Hormonal acne can flare periodically around a woman’s monthly cycle, when hormones are involved or another type of acne can persist called Cystic Acne. Cystic Acne is linked with large, red, swollen and painful cysts that develop below the surface of the skin, causing inflammation and infection.

Our approach to treating acne is multifaceted to ensure the best results.  If there are any triggers for the acne (foods, contactants, personal care products, etc.) we will identify those and address them first. We will also work locally on the face with acupuncture and blue LED light therapy to support the skin and reduce the bacteria causing acne. Blue LED light has been shown to kill P. Acnes, so it is a great addition to the treatment. Acupuncture is fantastic for all types of acne symptoms (hormonal, cystic, etc.) and can work on addressing the underlying issues within the body contributing to the condition, plus it works wonders on acne scars.  Because of this, we always include a full body acupuncture session with all of our facial acne treatments. We use topical pre/probiotics to rebalance the skin’s microbiota and address dietary issues contributing to the issue.

In Chinese Medicine, cystic acne is seen as an invasion of toxic heat and dampness in the body and/or blood and Qi stagnation. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there's a very effective technique used to treat localized acne cysts known as ‘Surrounding the Dragon’. This is a technique where we surround the breakout with acupuncture needles to disperse the stagnation. It works great and gets noticeable results by the following day after treatment. Surrounding the cyst with the needles will aggressively move the stagnant Qi and blood and help to clear toxic heat and dampness.