For many years the positive effect of
hydrocolloid dressings on skin-related conditions attracted the attention of the medical scientific community. The use of
Acne Dressing, a tape of
hydrocolloid dressing, for the treatment of
acne has not been reported previously. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and beneficial effect of
Acne Dressing on the marker for sebum output evaluations. We also determined the cosmetic outcome of this application during the treatment of
acne and whether the material could prevent hand touching and UVB light from reaching the skin surface. The objective of this study was to assess improvement in
acne vulgaris and tolerability during one week of short contact treatment with
Acne Dressing compared to
skin tapes. Efficacy data specific to treatment of
acne vulgaris with
Acne Dressing (3M Health Care) from a double-blind, randomized, skin types-controlled study is reported. A total of 20 patients with mild-to-moderate
acne vulgaris applied the
skin tapes or
Acne Dressing every two days for up to one week. Twenty patients were enrolled in this study: ten patients received
Acne Dressing and ten patients received
skin tapes. Both groups showed decreases from baseline to the end of treatment in the mean of the overall severity scale (decrease of 1.37 from 1.8 to 0.43 with
Acne Dressing and 0.28 from 1.08 to 0.8 with
skin tapes). A statistically significant greater reduction was observed over a period of three to seven days in the overall severity of
acne and
inflammation in the
Acne Dressing group compared with the mono-
therapy (
skin tapes) group. Similarly,
Acne Dressing resulted in a significantly greater improvement in the redness, oiliness, dark pigmentation, and sebum casual level at days 3, 5, and 7. The ratio of transmission of UVB light with
Acne Dressing was 7.4%, and 38% with
skin tapes, which shows less UVB light reaching the skin surface with the
Acne Dressing. No significant adverse events were identified in either group. The pilot study shows the benefit of treatment with
Acne Dressing in improving mild-to-moderate inflammatory
acne vulgaris. A future study will investigate a large set of patients in longer followup periods.