Acne is one of the most common reasons for attending Skin Temple Medi Clinic & Spa, and we often see clients who have tried numerous types of treatment (including Roaccutane!) prior to their initial visit here.
As a fully qualified medical practitioner, with a background in General Practice, a postgraduate Certificate in Dermatology and as a former assistant to a Cosmetic Dermatologist in Melbourne, Dr Teska has developed a special interest in the medical management of acne, and has presented talks on acne to other doctors, as well as writing articles for national magazines, such as FHM, Cleo and several blogs.
Acne is a chronic skin disease that causes extraordinary distress to sufferers in its most severe forms, and can lead to severe loss of self-confidence at a time when most sufferers (though not all!) are young and are already vulnerable to self-esteem issues. Adult acne is far more common than many realise, and is often associated with a general slowing of skin turnover and hormonal changes as people age, or in the post-partum (breast-feeding) period.
There are many different reasons why some people develop acne, and others do not. Sometimes a strong family history can be a factor, but for most it’s related to an excessive production of sebum, combined with blocked or congested pores, and bacterial infection. Excessive moisturiser or facial oil usage will aggravate the already blocked pores and will worsen acne.
Treating acne takes time, and therefore patience, yet most clients can expect an obvious improvement within just 4 weeks!
Your initial consultation with Dr Teska will be extremely detailed, and in addition to a thorough skin analysis with the Visia Complexion Analysis software, will cover many different, but inter-related areas, including a very thorough review of all products currently used on your skin.
Visia software imaging can be profoundly useful in the detection of very abnormal bacterial levels on the skin, such as the example shown below. Please note that the client images on this page are of genuine clients of Dr Teska’s. By using follow up images for comparison, we are able to easily monitor the progress of your acne treatment! Bacteria show up in the baseline UV image below (taken on our old Visia camera) as white fluorescent areas in this olive skinned client, who also has complications of post-inflammatory pigmentation from the severe baseline acne. Pigmented areas will almost always resolve within 6months or less. Our new Visia camera also detects bacteria, but they now show as fluoroscent coral pink.
Acne treatment before and after
After 10years in the cosmetic medical industry, Dr Teska understands skincare, and understands which products can aggravate acne!
Wherever possible, we will encourage you to use any products already purchased, rather than replacing items unnecessarily…we know that you probably already have a bathroom cupboard full of skincare products!! Having said that, it is a concern that so many acne sufferers are using “organic” skincare products to treat their acne. There is actually no such thing as an organic skincare product..it is a marketing fad designed to appeal to those who like their skincare ‘greenwashed’. Sorry, but organic skincare doesn’t cure acne, it almost always makes it much much worse.
So, if you want to get a rapid result, it is likely that you will need to add in at least one prescription product to your routine…after all, it’s all about getting the acne under control pronto and seeing a result for your investment! If you have darker scars and have developed pigmented scars, we are also able to dramatically improve these within 4weeks too!!
All in all, if past feedback is anything to go by, your initial consultation with Dr Teska will be the best spent $170 ever! And, it’s Medicare rebatable too!! So you’ll only be approx $95 out of pocket for your initial consult, not including the nominal annual fee ($90) for baseline Visia pictures.
Treatment options include the initial medicated home-care skin routine, followed in only some cases with Medispa treatments such as Healite LED, specialised Acne Facials, with or without Microdermabrasion and Laser Genesis for red acne scarring. Other options include the use of the Combined Oral Contraceptive Peel, Chemical Peeling, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Fractionated Laser Resurfacing. (the latter is useful in cases of indented acne scarring)
For some clients with very severe cystic acne, an early referral for Roaccutane (isotretinoin) tablets may be necessary. Unlike in many other countries around the world, Roaccutane is currently restricted in Australia for use only by Dermatologists, (because apparently they are the ONLY medical practitioners with enough common sense, family planning training and medical expertise to counsel against the use of isotretinoin in pregnancy! Touch of sarcasm there I’m afraid!) this is NOT a prescription that can be obtained from Dr Teska at this stage.
Those who feel strongly that Roaccutane prescribing should be accessed from Specialist General Practitioners and Cosmetic Physicians, such as Dr Teska, (who at the end of the day see a great deal of acne problems, and are more accessible than dermatologists in most areas, not to mention far more trained and qualified in Family Planning, thanks to their background in General Practice) should write to the Federal Health Minister, (currently Ms Sussan Ley) or their local Federal member and also the Therapeutic Goods Administration, who review such restrictions from time to time.
All images are of actual clients of Dr Teska’s, other individual results may vary