Your journey to clear skin begins and ends here. We understand that our clients have spent a lot of time and money trying to clear their skin. Our dermatology consultants at Skin55 are leading experts at treating facial breakouts from spots and pimples to large cysts. Whether you are school age or into adulthood, have hormonal issues or want to address scarring, we are able to improve you skin and get your skin into a condition where you can be proud to show it off.

All our dermatologists are on the Specialist Register of the GMC and all hold, or have held, full NHS consultant dermatologist posts. 

Which acne treatment is right for me?

This is the key to success.  Only a specialist dermatologist can assess your skin and your general medical health to determine the appropriate treatment for you .

For your skin, this will depend on several factors: 

• Is there inflammation - with pus spots and nodules?

• Is there mainly pore blockage (whiteheads and blackheads) - “comedones?”

• Are you getting scars?

• Are you getting increased pigmentation?

• Is your skin worse with menstruation (females)?

• Do you have a medical condition which predisposes you to spots?

The answers to these and other questions will help guide how your treatment is chosen.  It may be that you start off on one treatment but change over time as your dermatologist learns how you respond to treatment. 

Treatments include: 

• Medicated face washes

• Benzoyl peroxide creams

• Retinoic acid creams

• Antibiotic creams

• Combination creams - mixtures of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and retinoids

For some patients, medications taken by mouth (oral treatment) may be more appropriate:

• Contraceptive pills (certain types only)

• Antibiotic tablets

• Isotretinoin (Roaccutane) tablets

Laser and Chemical Peels

Although lasers and peels are commonly used for scarring, they can be used to treat inflammatory spots and blocked pores.  As dermatologists, we tend to use these treatments in patients who cannot have standard treatments or oral isotretinoin.

Treatments include: 

• Erbium:Glass (ICON 1540nm) laser

• Pulsed dye laser (585-595nm)

• Salicyclic acid peels

Your suitability for such treatment can be considered when you attend for a consultation.

Will I need any special tests?

An expert dermatologist needs to assess and diagnose your skin.  However, sometimes blood tests regarding hormonal conditions may be necessary or sometimes you need blood or urine tests prior to treatment, such as with isotretinoin. Female patients who might have polycystic ovarian syndrome may need an ultrasound of the ovaries.   Any tests will be discussed with you at the time of the consultation.  If you think you have had these tests recently, please bring copies of the results with you for your appointment. 

What should I do next?

If you would like to have an individual assessment and discussion of treatment options, the best thing is to book in to see a dermatologist.  We will explore the you skin and treatment history and your medical history: it would help if you could bring a list of all your previous treatments.

Useful links:

www.bad.org.uk - acne information leaflet