This report deals with a regimen for acne vulgaris that utilizes continuous graded abrasion with an abrasive soap paste as a means of producing desquamation mild enough to be cosmetically compatible with daily living and therapeutically effective enough to maintain the patency of the pilosebaceous openings. It is based on a 10-year clinical study of over 1,000 patients.
Continuous graded abrasion can be used in all acne patients as a supplement to other treatment, including vitamin A, antiseptic creams, lotions, vaccines, antibiotics, and evacuation of fluctuant lesions. When improvement has been achieved, the adjunctive treatments may be discontinued and abrasion continued.
During the course of the study, many types of abrasives were tested and discarded. They included carbonates, granites, ground porcelain, silica, and silicates. The substance found most satisfactory is fused synthetic aluminum oxide, which is incorporated in a soap paste with hexachlorophene 1% and a synthetic detergent cleanser.*
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