“90% of acne eliminated without medication?”… What is this ‘method’?

The effectiveness of ‘precision cryotherapy’, which can treat acne without taking medication, has been proven. In particular, the number of skin lesions caused by acne was found to have decreased by more than 90%.

The research team of Professor Hong Ji-yeon and Professor Park Gwi-young of the Department of Dermatology at Chung-Ang University Hospital recently proved the clinical effectiveness of the therapy through a research paper titled ‘Targeted Precision Cryotherapy for Acne Vulgaris.’

Acne is caused by excessive activity of sebaceous glands and clogged pores, which can cause inflammation. If not treated properly, it can leave scars or skin discoloration, affecting one’s appearance. It can also have a negative impact on one’s self-esteem and social life, so it is considered a medical problem that requires treatment, not just a cosmetic problem.

However, existing acne treatments are limited to taking medication or topical treatments, which may be difficult for pregnant women or children and adolescents who have difficulty taking medication.

The research team conducted a clinical trial on applying precision cryotherapy to acne treatment and then investigated the patients’ reactions. This therapy is a method that has been used for skin diseases such as warts, calluses, and styes, and the equipment used was a rapid precision medical cooling device called ‘Target Cool’.

A total of 20 patients participated in the trial, and after acne treatment, the number of acne lesions, erythema index (EI), comprehensive evaluation score, satisfaction, and side effects were investigated and evaluated.

After three cooling treatments, the number of patients’ acne lesions decreased by 90.2% in the fourth week of treatment. In addition, the Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) score, which indicates the degree of clinical improvement, also significantly decreased.

The erythema index (EI), which indicates the degree of redness of the skin, also improved noticeably from the first week of treatment, and participants showed high satisfaction overall (7-point scale; average 6.75±0.79). Above all, the safety of this treatment was confirmed as no side effects or discomfort were reported during the treatment.

Professor Hong Ji-yeon said, “This study is expected to show that precision cryotherapy can be an effective and important alternative treatment for patients, such as pregnant women or infants and children, who have difficulty taking medication for acne treatment.”

The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the international academic journal Skin Research and Technology.