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Acne Treatment

How Can I Treat Acne?

Having acne can not only be irritating and painful, but it can also make you feel awkward or embarrassed too.  That’s why we’ve made this useful article which describes many of the treatment options available for acne.  Read on to find out how to treat acne and how Chinese Medicine can help.

Acne Treatment

Natural Remedies and Lifestyle Tips:

It sounds obvious, but an important part of treating acne is keeping your face clean.  Avoid touching your face throughout the day and keep your hair off your face too.  To ensure that your skin stays clean, try washing your face with a gentle cleanser and warm water two or three times per day.  When selecting skincare products, try to buy ones that say “non comedogenic”, which means that they won’t clog up your pores.  Another key tip is to change your pillowcase every week or even every day, as oil can build up on it from your hair or face.

Creams, Gels, and Lotions:

You may need an extra boost to free your skin from the clutches of acne.  Many topical creams are available over the counter to treat acne, which are typically applied twice a day after you clean your face.  These creams and gels often contain ingredients like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, which fight inflammation and decrease your body’s oil production.  This helps to prevent new pimples appearing, while also treating the existing pimples.

Stronger acne medications can also be prescribed by your doctor if the OTC ones aren’t doing the trick.  These may be able to fight bacteria in your skin more effectively than other medications if your symptoms are more severe.  Prescription creams usually contain ingredients such as a stronger version of benzoyl peroxide, a retinoid called tretinoin, or an antibiotic drug called clindamycin.

Dry Eyes Treatment

Medications:

As well as topical creams, there are also oral medications available for treating acne.  These medications are sometimes called systemic treatments, as they spread throughout your whole body.  These medications are only available when your doctor prescribes them, which occurs when topical creams aren’t enough.

Oral acne medications include birth control pills, antibiotics, or isotretinoin.  For some women, acne symptoms may be caused by hormonal imbalances, in which case birth control pills may help.  However, it is not safe to take these during pregnancy.  Antibiotics like tetracycline work by fighting bacteria and infection from the inside out.  Isotretinoin is a strong retinoid drug that minimises the production of skin cells that block your pores and simultaneously reduces the size of your oil glands.  But isotretinoin can have severe side effects, so it is only prescribed occasionally for people with severe cystic acne.

Medical Procedures:

In some cases, medical procedures including laser therapy, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, or drainage and extraction may be an option.  Laser therapy can reduce infection by killing bacteria on your skin, while chemical peels and dermabrasion actually remove the top layers of your skin.  Pimples like blackheads and whiteheads are also removed during the procedure.  If you have large cysts under your skin, your doctor may perform drainage and extraction.  This removes fluids and unwanted dirt and pus from the cyst, and your doctor may even inject a steroid or antibiotic to promote healing and reduce infection.  These procedures are only performed for severe acne cases and can be painful and potentially cause scarring.

Acne Treatment

Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture:

If you have acne and haven’t found the perfect treatment option for you, come along to Centre of Balance.  We practise Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques like acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, which treat conditions like acne by addressing the root cause.  Symptoms like acne usually arise due to underlying imbalances within our body, and your Chinese Medicine practitioner can prescribe individualised treatment just for you, to get you back to your healthy, beautiful self. 

While other acne treatments like oral medications (including isotretinoin and birth control pills) come with the risk of harmful side effects, Chinese Medicine treatments are natural and only present very low risks of side effects.  This makes Chinese Medicine a great treatment option for acne. To find out more about how acupuncture can help you treat skin problems, click here.

Conclusion:

Overall, there are many treatment options available for acne, depending on the severity of your symptoms.  These include natural remedies, topical creams, oral medications, and medical procedures.  Chinese Medicine is particularly effective for treating acne, as it addresses the underlying cause of your symptoms and has a very low risk of harmful side effects. Our professional practitioners can use Chinese Medicine techniques to treat acne in an effective and natural way.

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References:

Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine (n.d.). Archive for category: Facial Acupuncture. https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/facial-acupuncture/

Roth, E. (2018, August 22). Acne Treatment: Types, Side Effects, and More. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/acne-treatment

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Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.