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This App Is Trying To Change The Way We Treat Acne

Bustle

Real talk: Acne sucks. Trying to figure out which products to use to successfully treat your zits can be a brain drain (and a major wallet-suck), and when over the counter methods fail, getting to the dermatologist can take a lot of time and end up costing a lot of money.

Enter MDacne, a new app that's trying to make treat acne as easy as swiping right on tinder — without ever having to set foot in a doctor's office.

"MDacne is a mobile app that was built to help people with acne," says Dr. Yoram Harth, the company's Chief Medical Officer. "The user starts with a quick Selfie, and the app analyses the user skin and provides him/her with a detailed personalized daily skin care routine that matches his/her acne type and severity."

So can an app like this really make a difference? According to Dr. Harth, 90 percent of the 50 million people dealing with acne never see a dermatologist, and end up treating their skin with wrong or ineffective products that don't match their conditions. With the app, they'll be able to get advice on the right solutions.

"80 percent of the cases of acne can be controlled by over the counter products without the need to see a Dermatologist," says Dr. Harth. Once people understand which products they need to use and commit to the treatment acne will be effectively controlled." The more severe cases of acne will be referred to an IRL dermatologist to consider prescription medication.

MDacne provides full daily routines that match a user's skin type, and include advice on cleansers and over the counter anti-acne creams based on the severity of the acne. It also provides advice on the right diet and cosmetics, and offers step-by-step video tutorials to help guide users through daily activities. Most importantly, it helps track skin improvement and provides accountability for sticking to a regiment.

The app is available now in the Apple store, and really makes me wish something like this was around during my personal pizza-faced puberty years. Thankfully, adult-acne-prone me will get some pretty good use out of it, too.