Acne Treatments Lack Science

Common acne treatments aren’t backed by sufficient comparative studies on their safety and efficacy.

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, GEORGE HENRY FOX

We’ve all seen the late-night infomercials for Proactive and other “miracle” acne products, but there’s actually very little evidence that they work, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The lack of studies that compare available acne treatments have forced agencies such as the Global Alliance to Improve Outcomes in Acne and the American Academy of Dermatology to issue guidelines based purely on expert opinions, not data, which hold the potential for conflicts of interest.

“The large number of products and product combinations, and the scarcity of comparative studies, has led to disparate guidelines with few recommendations being evidence-based,” lead author Hywel Williams from the University of Nottingham said in a press release. As a result of the dearth of clinical information available ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Jef Akst

    Jef Akst was managing editor of The Scientist, where she started as an intern in 2009 after receiving a master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses.
Share
May digest 2025 cover
May 2025, Issue 1

Study Confirms Safety of Genetically Modified T Cells

A long-term study of nearly 800 patients demonstrated a strong safety profile for T cells engineered with viral vectors.

View this Issue
iStock

TaqMan Probe & Assays: Unveil What's Possible Together

Thermo Fisher Logo
Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Unchained Labs
Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Bio-Rad
How technology makes PCR instruments easier to use.

Making Real-Time PCR More Straightforward

Thermo Fisher Logo

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Biotium Launches New Phalloidin Conjugates with Extended F-actin Staining Stability for Greater Imaging Flexibility

Leica Microsystems Logo

Latest AI software simplifies image analysis and speeds up insights for scientists

BioSkryb Genomics Logo

BioSkryb Genomics and Tecan introduce a single-cell multiomics workflow for sequencing-ready libraries in under ten hours

iStock

Agilent BioTek Cytation C10 Confocal Imaging Reader

agilent technologies logo