It is of great concern that in the recent announcement from GSK Malaysia that Acne-Aid Soap and Liquid Cleanser contain porcine derived sulfonated olive oil. This is a major setback in this country where the majority of the population are Muslims. Not only that, as more people are moving away from using cosmetics containing animal by-products, this revelation set an added disadvantage. It is one of the top-selling cleansers and we hope that GSK would consider removing any animal derived ingredients from their products.
Severe acne scarring Last week, a couple brought their teenage son for consultation for acne. He has moderate to severe acne over the face with numerous comedones, papules, pustules and some nodules (inflammatory acne). He obviously needed systemic treatment. I counseled them regarding various options and their possible side-effects. The parents asked one very good question. Can acne resolve by itself? Well, the answer is, YES. So, why do we need treatment then? Well, the answer is pretty obvious from the picture shown above. We want to prevent acne scars!! Inflammatory acne always lead to scarring. It is of cosmetic concern and treating the scars that had formed is very challenging. Despite a lengthy explanation, however, they parents decided not to have any treatment. Various reasons were expressed especially concerning side-effects of the treatments. I have re-assured them that the side-effects are uncommon and tolerable. Anyway, the choice is with
Comments