Introduction: Hair care products can be comedogenic, and therefore contribute to acne. Hair care products can leave a residue on the skin, even with rinse off products. This residue may explain why hair care products can cause acne.
Methods: 27 subjects aged 16–45 with mild to moderate facial and truncal acne utilized a non-comedogenic hair care regimen for 8 weeks. Dermatologist assessment of acne severity was performed with the PGA (truncal acne) and IGA (facial acne) scale at baseline and 8 weeks.
Results: At 8 weeks 70% of subjects with truncal acne showed improvement in PGA, and 52% of subjects with facial acne showed improvement in IGA by dermatologist grading. Subject self-assessment corresponded with dermatologist grading, with 74% agreeing that their skin looks and feels healthier at 8 weeks.
Conclusion: This non-comedogenic hair care regimen showed efficacy in improving mild to moderate truncal and facial acne, both by dermatologist grading and subject self-assessment. Hair care products should be considered as a possible contributor to acne. J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(6):690-693. doi:10.36849/JDD.5772.