Natural skincare for acne: top trends and options

While acne remains a significant skincare concern, trends surrounding natural skincare for acne reveal profound changes in how this condition is understood and treated.

Acne remains a persistent skin issue across the globe, as revealed by specialist research by Mintel in 2021: in Brazil, 50% of adults 16-24 have experienced acne in the last 12 months; in the UK, 56% of women aged 16-24 currently have spots/acne; and in the US, 44% of women aged 18-34 use acne treatments at home.

However, a significant shift in acne treatments is taking place: a heightened attention directed towards restoring a healthy skin microbiome, ,rebalancing the skin’s ecosystem without harming beneficial bacteria.

At the same time, this trend coexists with a broader movement where natural skin care is being redefined by technology to push the boundaries of cosmetic efficacy. In this context, an overview of current solutions revolving around natural skincare for acne reveals a promising landscape.

Understanding acne beyond the basics

Understanding acne beyond the basics involves looking beyond the surface and addressing this condition at a cellular level. In this position, acne can be defined as a skin condition that occurs when hair follicles become clogged with sebum and dead skin cells. As such, acne typically appears where sebaceous glands are most abundant, including the face, neck, chest, back and shoulders.

It’s precisely this clogging that leads to the formation of acne’s visible signs (from pimples, to blackheads, whiteheads, or nodules and cysts). 

More specifically, to find a successful solution for acne  it must understand how this phenomenon occurs in interactions betweenexcessive sebum production, alteration on the skin keratinization and the overgrowth of Cutibacterium acnes bacteria.

Sebaceous glands, which are typically attached to hair follicles, under normal circumstances, produce an appropriate amount of sebum that travels up the hair follicle to the skin surface, where it helps keep the skin soft and moisturized.

However, an excessive production of sebum (for instance, due to hormonal changes) can mix with dead skin cells and become trapped in the hair follicle.

This process is aggravated when, in individuals prone to acne, the normal process of keratinization is altered. While keratinocytes (the predominant cells in the epidermis) regularly shed and renew, an altered process can result in the accumulation of excess dead skin cells in the hair follicle, contributing to blockage.

The result of this accumulation of excess sebum and dead keratinocytes is the generation of a plug within the hair follicle, leading to comedones such as whiteheads and blackheads. This clogging is precisely at the heart of the current focus on comedogenic ingredients.

On the other hand, acne is also caused by the presence of  Cutibacterium acnes bacteria (formerly known as Propionibacterium acnes). While this bacterium is naturally part of the skin microbiome that helps maintain a balanced skin microbiome, its overgrowth within follicles triggers an immune response, leading to inflammation and, in some cases, the formation of red, inflamed pimples, pustules, or more severe nodules and cysts.

With increased awareness around the fundamental mechanisms that drive acne, effective treatments today are aiming not just at sebum production control but also at reducing the population of C. acnes on the skin all while enhancing microbial balance on the skin.

Which treatment is best for acne? The ABC of natural skincare for acne

As we’ve mentioned above, a revolution is taking place around innovative acne treatments today. As such, the focus is on rebalancing the skin microbiome and avoiding the disruption of the skin’s microbiological community.

In this context, a reeducation around skin microbiome is fundamental, guaranteeing consumers understand how natural skincare for acne effectively targets this issue.

All in all, an effective treatment focused on natural skincare for acne should include the following aspects:

• A focus on satisfactory facial hygiene with the aim of eliminate bacteria and dirty 
• The targeted use of cosmetics that help reduce sebum generation, that is, non-comedogenic ingredients
• Soft exfoliation protocols (chemical or physical) to reduce the presence of dead cells and promote cosmetic ingredient absorption

It’s particularly in this last step that current efforts in natural skincare for acne are being particularly promising. Besides, AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) have long been used in skincare for their exfoliating and skin-renewing properties. While praised for their profound exfoliation capacities (due to their small molecular level), they have also been known to cause skin sensitivity, especially in higher concentrations or for sensitive skin types. As such, their intense exfoliation can prove to be too disruptive for certain skin types.

This is precisely where the new focus on natural skincare for acne comes into play, one where PHAs have been introduced as an alternative to AHAs.Their characteristics are similar to AHAs, but they present a larger molecular size. This makes a difference, as PHAs present a slower and more gradual penetration, which results in high cutaneous tolerance. So, while their efficacy has been shown to be similar to that of AHAs, they have shown to be better tolerated by skin and areas that are more sensitive.
It’s in this current context of natural skincare for acne that ingredients like Apibreeze™ stand out. An active ingredient that enhances the benefits of PHAs, it is formulated with multi-flower honey to boost their hydrating and protective effect.

By providing a gentler exfoliation that enhances microbiome protection, Provital’s Apibreeze™ opens the door to a new era of natural skincare for acne.