A Five-Step Plan To End Acne

Can acne really be conquered in five steps?  You bet it can!  Just follow these medically sound steps that are proven to improve virtually any case of acne.

Step 1:  Starting with a visit to a board-certified dermatologist at Midwest Dermatology makes sense.  And start sooner, rather than delay your medically sound treatment until other approaches are unsuccessful.  Only an experienced dermatologist can assess your acne, evaluate it with a trained eye, and develop a customized treatment plan.  Our physicians focus on your skin and what’s needed to eliminate acne.

Step 2:  Keep it clean.  Gentle skin care can improve existing acne and help prevent outbreaks on acne-prone skin.  Best advice?  Use cleansers recommended by Midwest Dermatology that are gentle and contain ingredients that remove debris and dead skin cells without stripping your skin of needed hydration or irritating the skin.

Step 3:  Leave it alone.  Pimple popping is all the rage but leave it to the professionals.  At Midwest Dermatology, your physician may recommend extractions the traditional way, where qualified medical staff use a special instrument to safely express the pus inside pimples and blackheads without damaging the skin.   Or you may want to try an acne HydraFacial for extraction and exfoliation, along with blue light treatment and products that calm the redness associated with acne.

Step 4:  Prep for success.  Incorporate changes to your daily life that will help control the condition.  Take your prescribed medicine daily, as directed.  This takes commitment, especially for teens and young adults with busy lives.  Accutane takes more dedication and is unforgiving if you do not stay the course.  Closely review the list of ingredients of all make-up and skin care products, including sunscreen.  They should be dermatologist-approved, non-irritating, and oil-free.  With essential oils everywhere, yes, essential oils are bad for your skin no matter what anyone tells you on social media, you must be diligent in finding fragrance-free products as well.

Step 5:  Stay the course.  There’s no overnight answer to acne. Visible improvement from good medical care can take four to 12 weeks.  When improvement occurs,  follow up with your Midwest Dermatology skin specialist to see if your treatment can be adjusted.

Start your five-step journey with a visit to Midwest Dermatology.  Whether your acne is back after getting it under control, or you have just started to experience the dreaded flare, we have space for you in our schedule.  Call now at (402) 933-0800 and we’ll get those five steps in place immediately.  Or look for your best possible appointment option using our online appointment feature.  A few clicks and you’ll be seeing a board-certified physician, or licensed aesthetician, at your preferred office location.

Erasing Acne Scars for Good

Your physician at Midwest Dermatology knows a thing or two about acne scars, too.  Mainly how to prevent them before they mar the surface of the skin.  But if you have some scars, despite your best efforts to keep acne at bay, we’ve got answers.   The appearance of acne scarring can be significantly improved with treatment at Midwest Dermatology.  There are several options that are best determined with a consultation between you and your physician.

Different Types of Scars

Acne scars are more than simply skin discoloration or a blemish.   Scars are either indentations or raised areas of skin caused by injury resulting from an acne lesion.  There are four major types of scars, including:

• Icepick scars, which look like the skin was once punctured with something sharp.
• Rolling scars, which results in wavy skin appearance.
• Hypertrophic scars, which are raised above the rest of the skin’s surface
• Boxed or Boxcar scars, which may look like oversized scars.

At your consultation we will discuss your history, examine scars and recommend treatments like

• Microneedling and Vivace Microneedling with Radio Frequency, FDA approved treatments with proven results treating acne scars.
• Chemical Peels that can improve the appearance of small, depressed scars by gently resurfacing the skin, removing the top layer of skin to even things out. At Midwest DERMaesthetics, we have a range of peels with minimal down time and on the Midwest Dermatology side we have peels that penetrate deeper, for deeper scars.
• Laser treatment like fractional lasers that penetrate deep into the dermis and help smooth out scars.

Discoloration is a common concern of patients who have experienced acne. We have options, prescription and non-prescription, to even out your skin tone.

Get started with a consultation. We have openings immediately for patients who are ready to find answers. Call (402) 933-0800 to learn more.  Or schedule with a Midwest Dermatology board-certified physician or licensed aesthetician with our online scheduling option. You can find your appointment any time by heading to midwestderm.com.