Why Acne Worsens Despite Medication Four Aggravating Factors To Check Together

Hello, I am Dr. Jung Ji-in, a dermatologist. Many people may feel that their acne is not improving or is even getting worse, despite consistently managing and treating it. In such cases, upon closer examination, it is not uncommon to find that they are unknowingly engaging in behaviors that worsen their acne daily. From now on, let's examine together whether your unconscious actions are causing or worsening your acne, and explore solutions.

Many people apply over-the-counter acne patches, hoping they will cover unsightly acne and help. However, applying patches to acne lesions can actually worsen the condition. The reason is that the main culprit in worsening acne, acne bacteria, is anaerobic. This means that acne bacteria struggle to survive when exposed to air, but patches can block air, thereby creating an environment where acne bacteria can thrive. Additionally, patches can prevent sebum from being discharged, causing inflammation to grow larger internally and potentially worsening acne.

Occasionally, some acne patches made from skin regeneration tape, shaped circularly, contain low concentrations of fruit acid ingredients to provide an exfoliating effect. However, caution is needed as these ingredients can sometimes cause irritant dermatitis in a sealed environment. Nevertheless, satisfactory results can be expected when used for wound healing after extraction by a skilled professional at a dermatology clinic, or when applied to deep wounds.

Excessive dead skin cells accumulated at the pore opening can obstruct sebum discharge, leading to acne. For this reason, people with acne-prone skin tend to place great importance on exfoliation. However, I recommend against physical exfoliation. Acne-prone skin often has a weakened skin barrier, and physical exfoliation can cause severe damage to it. To overcome this dryness, the skin may produce more dead skin cells and generate more sebum to prevent moisture evaporation. Ultimately, acne may tend to worsen.

So, how should dead skin cells be managed? If our skin is well-moisturized and healthy, it undergoes a turnover process every 28 days, and old dead skin cells naturally shed without separate exfoliation. In such cases, sebum discharge occurs smoothly, leading to less acne. Therefore, for acne-prone skin, I would say that maintaining a healthy skin state, or homeostasis, is much more important than focusing on exfoliation.

However, some cosmetics contain chemically dissolving fruit acid ingredients for exfoliation. These products can partially dissolve the dead skin cells that form comedones within the pores, and good effects can be expected. However, they should not be used excessively.

Did you know that your unhealthy eating habits can further trigger acne? Certain foods and irregular eating habits can contribute to acne worsening.

Foods reported to potentially have a negative impact on acne include:

• Dairy products
• Foods high in animal fats, such as hamburgers and fried chicken
• High-carbohydrate foods with a high glycemic index

Furthermore, irregular eating habits, such as eating only one meal a day, binge eating, or frequent late-night snacks, can disrupt hormone secretion patterns and increase stress hormones. This can, of course, further worsen acne.

Therefore, if you are struggling with acne, it is advisable to reduce the frequency of consuming greasy foods, fried carbohydrates, and junk food, and to adopt a regular eating habit of three meals a day.

Many people believe that acne is caused by not washing well, and often scrub their faces vigorously with highly cleansing, mildly alkaline cleansers. However, such actions can make acne even worse.

Our skin needs to be maintained at a mildly acidic pH to be healthy. Using too many alkaline cleansers, which are good at cleansing but excessively drying, can damage the skin barrier function. To overcome this, the skin may increase sebum production.

So far, we have looked at daily habits that can worsen acne. While acne management and effective treatment are certainly important, please remember that satisfactory results may be difficult to achieve without the support of correcting these lifestyle habits and incorrect behaviors.