Adapalene 0.1% Gel in Combination With Microdermabrasion to Treat Acne

Acne vulgaris is a disfiguring disease that typically affects adolescents and young adults. The treatment of acne can be difficult and often requires combination therapy. Microdermabrasion and topical retinoids are 2 approaches that have been widely used separately; however, conventional wisdom warns against the combination of these treatments. Adapalene 0.1% gel is a topical retinoid that has very few side effects and a favorable tolerability profile compared with other topical retinoids. Consequently, the authors challenged the conventional wisdom by testing the feasibility of combining adapalene 0.1% gel and microdermabrasion in a series of 6 teenage patients with moderately severe acne. In this group of patients, the combination of adapalene 0.1% gel and microdermabrasion was very well tolerated, resulting in a marked reduction in lesions during a 14-week period. These results suggest that the combination of microdermabrasion and a topical retinoid can be used as long as the retinoid has favorable tolerability.