Can you treat acne with iPhone apps?

27^th October 2010 - iPhone users love their apps, so it's no surprise that apps to treat acne - including AcneApp, a light-based therapy - have drawn interest from people who like the concept of zapping zits while chatting to friends.

It's supposed to work like this: download the application and hold the phone to the skin so the light therapy can do its work. Multitask if you like, remembering to switch sides so your entire face gets the treatment.

More than a year after release, there is still no clear evidence to prove it works.

Apps confusion

The £1.19 ‘AcneApp’ is cheaper than many over the counter acne treatments and is listed in the medical category of iTunes. The web store page for the app carries glowing user reviews, including: “This app is probably the best thing ever to surface; i've had problems with my skin for years. Acne app is easy to use and you can use it at any time of the day.” Another raves: “IT WORKS!!! I LOVE IT!! “However, elsewhere on the page, there’s the caution: ''the app is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended for treatment of any disease or medical condition”.

‘Acne Away - Pimple and Blemish Treatment’ is cheaper at 59p and claims, “Studies have shown blue and red light acne treatments eliminate most acne causing bacteria and reduce skin blemishes by 73%. (Source British Journal of Dermatology)”.

Dermatologist reaction

However, the British Association of Dermatologists says phone treatment won’t work. Nina Goad,

Communications Manager for the British Association of Dermatologists and British Skin Foundation, tells us by email: “The study mentioned from the British Journal of Dermatology does not refer to the type of light that would be emitted by a mobile phone. This application will not treat acne and is not a substitute for clinically proven treatments available from a doctor.”

Though the wavelength of light used in the AcneApp is similar to that used in dermatologists’ light treatments, the intensity of the light used by dermatologists is at least thousands of times greater, says Dr David Pariser, president of the American Academy of Dermatology. "I would be very surprised if there is enough intensity of the light [from AcneApp] to make any difference."