Compound acid chemical peeling in moderate acne: split-face trial with microbiome and inflammatory evaluation
Six sessions of compound acid peeling reduced clinical acne scores, cutaneous inflammatory markers, and altered facial microbiome alpha diversity in 30 patients.
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What the study showed
GAGS scores improved significantly (p < 0.001) following the peeling protocol. Immunohistochemistry showed reductions in IL-1α, IL-6, IL-17, TGF-β, and TLR2. Skin microbiome alpha diversity decreased post-treatment, indicating a shift in local bacterial composition.
How it was done
Prospective, split-face, randomized trial enrolling 30 patients with moderate acne vulgaris; one hemiface received peeling twice weekly for 3 weeks followed by 9 weeks of observation, with skin biopsy, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and standardized facial imaging.
Risk of bias
The sample is small (n = 30) and the abstract is truncated, preventing access to complete microbiome and follow-up data. Split-face design does not fully exclude systemic cross-effects between hemifaces.
What this study does NOT prove
The study does not prove causality between specific microbiome changes and clinical acne improvement.
In clinical practice
Findings are preliminary, from a single center with a small sample; they do not support changes in clinical practice without replication in larger studies.
Limitations
The sample is small (n = 30) and the abstract is truncated, preventing access to complete microbiome and follow-up data. Split-face design does not fully exclude systemic cross-effects between hemifaces.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-08-31 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.