We thought our acne-ridden days were long gone (along with our over-use of hair straighteners and penchant for blue WKD) but somehow as actual professional adults with jobs and everything we're still haunted by it. Like, why won't you leave??
And we're not alone. With clinical studies showing that between 40% and 55% of UK adults suffer from some form of acne, the daily struggle is seriously real.
From low-level cures like cutting dairy from our diet and obsessing over probiotics, to more hardcore measures such as microneedling and retinoids, there's a million and one ways we've tried curing the dreaded acne.
But let's be honest, without resorting to the strong stuff, which can have less than appealing side effects (blood shot eyes, dry lips and a dodgy liver - Roaccutane we're looking at you), there's not much we've tried that actually seems to work.
Don't even talk to us about how to get rid of the scars.
But not anymore.
Enter the new acne cure we've basically been waiting our entire lives for - the acne injection.
Sounds too good to be true but according to Allure, this dream might just be a reality. Thanks to a group of scientists at the University Of California San Diego who are working to develop an acne vaccine, there could soon be a one injection way to banish your skincare issues for good.
Lead researcher Eric C.Huang told Allure:
'Acne is caused, in part, by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life — and we couldn't create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you. But we found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin — the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne.'
Hello, life-changing.
At the moment it's going to be a solid two years until the vaccine is available. Compared to a life time of pills and potions? Yeah, we'll wait it out.
