Both measures were done at the baseline and after 60 days treatment.<\/p>\n
The results were striking, to say the least. This graph shows %-reduction in both acne score and area of face prone to acne for resveratrol and placebo gels.<\/p>\n
Data source: Resveratrol-containing gel for the treatment of acne vulgaris: a single-blind, vehicle-controlled, pilot study<\/a><\/p>\n The graph speaks for itself. Roughly 55% reduction in acne score and nearly 70% reduction in skin prone to acne for resveratrol gel, with the corresponding figures being less than 10% for the placebo gel. And keep in mind this was a split-face study, so possible dietary and lifestyle changes would have affected both sides of the face equally.<\/p>\n Before you get too excited, let\u2019s keep in mind that this was a just pilot-study. The results look very promising, but let\u2019s not jump to conclusions based on a single study. Without comparing resveratrol to existing products with known efficacy (like BP or vitamin B3), we don\u2019t really know how well it works.<\/p>\n Why resveratrol works?<\/strong><\/p>\n Studies have uncovered potential anti-acne mechanisms for resveratrol:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I also came across with an interesting study evaluating anti-aging potential of reservatrol-procyandin supplement. Procyandin is a flavonoid, like EGCG in green tea. This study didn\u2019t look at acne, but they looked at several proxy-measures for skin health, such as skin antioxidant capacity and moisture loss. Both of which are also linked to acne. The study also looked very rigorous (double-blinded and placebo controlled), so I\u2019m fairly confident that the results will hold.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t go over the study in detail, you can read it yourself here<\/a>. I\u2019ll just highlight the results relevant to acne. But first, the study had 50 participants (25 in the treatment and 25 in the placebo group); 35-60 years old; treated for 60 days.<\/p>\n Here are the relevant graphs from the study.<\/p>\n This graph shows one measure of antioxidant capacity of the skin<\/strong> before and after the treatment.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another graph of antioxidant potentia<\/strong>l. The first graph shows oxidative (inflammatory) stress on the skin and the second shows another measure of antioxidant capacity.<\/p>\n Skin hydration<\/strong><\/p>\n Clearly the supplement did a lot of good for the skin. Improvement in skin hydration usually means better skin barrier function, which in turn protects the skin from bacteria, dust and other \u2018bad stuff\u2019.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written many times about how inflammatory damage to sebum is the trigger that starts the whole pimple formation process, and protecting the skin with antioxidants could be a way to stop that process before it even gets started. That\u2019s why increase in skin\u2019s antioxidant capacity is very likely going to reduce acne. See my earlier post about a study that showed a nice reduction in acne with antioxidant supplements<\/a>, so this is not just a theoretical concern.<\/p>\n I want to also mention bakuchiol<\/a>, a substance derived from the seeds of babchi plant and apparently used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicines. Apparently it\u2019s a resveratrol analogue, so structurally very similar.<\/p>\n One study<\/a> compared the effectiveness of 1% bakuchiol to 2% salicylic acid. Here are the results of that study:<\/p>\n Data source: Resveratrol-procyanidin blend: nutraceutical and antiaging efficacy evaluated in a placebocontrolled, double-blind study<\/a>.<\/p>\n My apologies that this chart is upside down compared to the first chart, Excel error. Anyway, as you can see, the combination of 1% bakuchiol with 2% salicylic acid produced the best results. These results seem a little optimistic to me. Salicylic acid is not a very effective acne treatment; it works for mild acne but by itself is fairly useless in cases that fall into the moderate to severe range. So bakuchiol giving slightly better results that SA alone isn\u2019t very impressive.<\/p>\n Honestly speaking, I don\u2019t know what to think of this study. It was published in a journal that\u2019s not indexed by PubMed. The paper itself looks ok, though. The authors also showed bakuchiol can fight acne at many fronts:<\/p>\n The above are based on in vitro<\/em> studies.<\/p>\n I also found reports of a small, pilot study reported at the annual meeting American Academy of Dermatology. In that study 0.6% bakuchiol cream showed reasonable acne treatment potential. I won\u2019t do into the results in detail because the study had no control group or blinding, which renders the results almost useless.<\/p>\n So what to make of these? Are resveratrol and bakuchiol new miracle treatments for acne? It\u2019s too early to say about that, and probably not. But these studies show, again, the potential of antioxidants in acne. Study after study after study brings home the same results; antioxidants reduce acne.<\/p>\n So while resveratrol and bakuchiol may not be miracle cures for acne, you can add them to the growing list of proven acne fighting antioxidants. Others on the list include vitamin B3, vitamin C precursor sodium ascorbyl phosphate and green tea catechin EGCG. A formulation that includes one or more of those ingredients should be very good for your skin. Though I should say that vitamin B3 and resveratrol may not mix; apparently they work via different pathways and B3 inhibits the resveratrol pathway<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Resveratrol seems like the magic pill we\u2019ve all been secretly hoping for. Many researchers believe it\u2019s the secret behind the \u201cFrench paradox\u201d, and study after study shows it can protect against countless health conditions. And when there\u2019s hype the supplement and skincare companies are never far behind. Indeed you can find countless products touting the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47,104],"tags":[52,134],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8712"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8712"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11026,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8712\/revisions\/11026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Reduction](\"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/resveratrol-acne-gel-results.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Resveratrol supplement<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nBakuchiol, an analogue of resveratrol<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n