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If you suffer from acne as an adult, employing a good skincare routine does not always provide sufficient relief. You may still be left with some unsightly blemishes and blackheads. Thankfully, med spas offer an array of services that can help encourage those blemishes to heal and keep new ones from forming.

Extractions

You've probably heard time and time again that you should not pop or pick at your blemishes. This is true — but it does not mean that a professional should not "pop" your blemishes. Professional extractions, as they are called, treat blemishes by piercing them and extracting the contents. With the infectious bacteria and white blood cells removed, the blemish reduces in size, its redness subsides, and it starts to heal. Med spa practitioners use sterile equipment and a gentler technique to extract blemishes, so they are less likely to cause scars or spread the bacteria causing the acne.

Salicylic Acid Facials

Salicylic acid is a common ingredient in over-the-counter acne treatment products and washes. It helps kill bacteria, and it also helps release dead skin cells from the surface of the skin so that they do not clog pores and cause blemishes. A med spa can use salicylic acid at a higher concentration than you can use at home, so the effects will be greater. They will usually use this ingredient as a part of a face mask, which may also include other ingredients to help soothe your skin, heal active blemishes, or open your pores so that dirt and bacteria rinse out more easily. The mask will be left on for a while and may be followed up with some moisturizer or another treatment.

Microneedling

Microneedling is a common treatment for older adults with acne. The procedure involves using tiny needles to make little, tiny holes in the surface of the skin. This doesn't really hurt, although it may sting a tiny bit. The little holes stimulate your skin's healing process, which helps bring white blood cells to the surface to fight off the bacteria that would otherwise cause acne. Once the skin has healed, its collagen content also tends to be higher, and skin with plenty of collagen is more acne resistant.

Which one of these med spa treatments is the best choice for your adult acne? Visit a med spa for a consultation, and find out. In some cases, the practitioner may even recommend a combination of treatments.