Blackheads and whiteheads
Comedonal acne
Blackheads and whiteheads with little inflammation, caused by blocked pores. It responds well to peels and a prescription skincare routine that keeps pores clear.
Acne Treatment Birmingham
By the time most people book at MediZen, they have already tried everything the pharmacy shelf offers. Acne is one of the concerns we treat most often at our Birmingham clinic, across teenagers and adults alike. Our team reads your skin first. Then we draw on laser, peels, prescription skincare and doctor-led care to clear it and keep it clear.
Acne & breakouts
Mild, moderate, cystic and hormonal acne, treated by a doctor-led team.
- Treats Mild, moderate & cystic acne
- Approaches Laser, peels, skincare
- Suitable for Teens & adults, all skin tones
- Downtime Minimal
- Care by Doctor-led team
What is acne?
Acne is a common skin condition where pores block and inflame. This leaves blackheads, whiteheads, red bumps and, at its most stubborn, deep painful cysts. It favours the face, though the neck, chest, shoulders and back are all fair game. Around eighty per cent of people meet it at some point. Yet the old idea that it belongs to teenagers is only half true. Plenty of the patients we see at MediZen are adults in their thirties and forties. Their skin never got the memo that puberty ended.
Clinicians tend to grade it by how much is going on. Mild acne is the occasional crop of blackheads, whiteheads and a few small spots. Moderate acne means more widespread congestion with numerous papules and pustules. Severe acne brings large, painful nodules and cysts, and it is the type most likely to scar. Naming the grade matters, because it steers everything that follows. That might be laser acne treatment, a course of peels or a prescription routine. With acne, getting the order right matters as much as the treatment itself. Our doctor-led team calms the active breakouts first, then turns to the marks and scars they leave behind. Rushing that sequence tends to mean chasing your tail.
Know your acne
Types of acne we treat
Red papules and pustules
Inflammatory acne
Red papules and pus-filled pustules where blocked pores have become inflamed. Moderate cases do well with AviClear laser alongside a course of peels.
Deep, painful and most likely to scar
Cystic & nodular acne
Large, deep, painful lumps that sit under the skin and are the most likely to scar. This is the type most worth a doctor-led plan, sometimes with prescription support, and hormonal flares along the jaw and chin belong here too.
What breakouts leave behind
Acne scarring & post-acne marks
Pitted or raised marks left after breakouts heal, and the flat brown or red discolouration a spot leaves behind, more common in medium and deeper skin tones. Once active acne is under control, resurfacing with Secret PRO and micro-needling rebuilds the skin, and peels with brightening skincare fade the colour faster.
What causes acne?
Acne starts with oil. Deep in the skin, sebaceous glands produce sebum to keep the surface supple. When they run into overdrive, that oil mixes with dead skin cells and plugs the pore. Add the bacteria that live on everyone’s skin and the plug tips into inflammation. That is the red, sore, raised spot you actually see.
Hormones are the usual thing that tips oil production over. Puberty is the obvious one. But the monthly cycle, pregnancy, and coming off or going on the contraceptive pill all stir it up. So do the hormonal shifts of later life. That is why so much adult acne lands on women along the jaw and chin. Genetics set your baseline, so acne often runs in families. Stress and a diet heavy in sugar and refined carbohydrates can add fuel. So can pore-clogging make-up and simple friction from helmets or phone screens. The NHS overview of acne causes and treatment is a level-headed summary worth reading alongside this page.
What acne is not is a question of poor hygiene. Scrubbing harder tends to inflame skin further rather than clear it. It is one of the more common mistakes we help patients unlearn.
How we treat acne at MediZen
There is no single best treatment for acne. So much depends on the grade and whether breakouts run inflamed or congested. It also depends on how your hormones behave and how readily your skin scars. At MediZen the right plan comes together at consultation. It is tailored to the skin in front of us rather than decided in advance.
| Compare | AviClear Acne Laser Laser clearance for persistent acne | Chemical Peels Unclogs pores & clears congestion | Medical-Grade Skincare Prescription care for mild acne |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Persistent moderate, cystic & hormonal acne | Blackheads, whiteheads & congestion | Mild acne & maintenance | |
| Laser calms overactive oil glands | Acids unclog pores and clear the surface | Prescription actives cut oil and breakouts | |
| Course of 3 | Course of 3 to 6 | Ongoing routine | |
| None to minimal | Mild flaking for a few days | None | |
| All skin tones | Most, with the right peel | All skin tones | |
| Course, quoted at consultation | Per session or course | From consultation | |
| View AviClear Acne Laser | View Chemical Peels | View Medical-Grade Skincare |
AviClear Acne Laser
Laser clearance for persistent acne
- Persistent moderate, cystic & hormonal acne
- Laser calms overactive oil glands
- Course of 3
- None to minimal
- All skin tones
- Course, quoted at consultation
Chemical Peels
Unclogs pores & clears congestion
- Blackheads, whiteheads & congestion
- Acids unclog pores and clear the surface
- Course of 3 to 6
- Mild flaking for a few days
- Most, with the right peel
- Per session or course
Medical-Grade Skincare
Prescription care for mild acne
- Mild acne & maintenance
- Prescription actives cut oil and breakouts
- Ongoing routine
- None
- All skin tones
- From consultation
Your options
Which treatment for your type of acne?
As a guide, here is how we typically match each type of pigmentation to a treatment. Your exact plan is always confirmed at consultation.
Acne type
Recommended treatment
Why
Mild acne (blackheads & whiteheads)
Clears congestion and keeps pores clear
Moderate acne (papules & pustules)
Calms oil glands and clears inflamed breakouts
Severe & cystic acne
Doctor-led care and prescription where needed, then laser
Acne scarring
Resurfaces and rebuilds scarred skin once acne is controlled
Can you treat acne at home?
Plenty can be done at home, and for mild acne it is the right place to start. Over-the-counter products built around salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide help unclog pores and calm breakouts. A pharmacist can point you to a sensible one. Choose make-up and moisturisers labelled non-comedogenic so you are not feeding the problem. Also, give any routine a fair run, since most take a good two months to show their hand. Resist the urge to pick or squeeze, which is the fastest route to a scar. When shop-bought products stall, our skin specialists build a prescription plan around medical-grade skincare that works well above high-street strength.
There is an honest limit to home care. If your acne is severe, leaving scars, painful and cystic, or dragging your mood down, seek help. It is worth seeing a GP or booking a doctor-led consultation rather than persevering alone. Acne is strongly linked to low confidence and low mood. That is a reason to ask for help early, not to wait it out. For everything in between, pair an in-clinic treatment with a home routine that protects it. That gives the quickest and safest results.
Our Team
Meet our team of experts
At MediZen we truly believe that the best treatments come down to the best practitioners partnered with the best products. We have selected a dedicated team of professionals who are experts in their fields. They deliver the best treatments in a safe and comfortable environment. Our team has been extensively trained in every treatment they perform.
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Good to know
Acne treatment FAQs
Still turning something over about acne treatment in Birmingham? These are the questions our patients raise most, from AviClear and cystic acne to scarring and what results really look like. If yours is not here, bring it to a consultation, where we grade your skin properly and talk you through the honest options.
There is no single winner, because acne is graded rather than one condition. Mild, congested skin often clears with chemical peels and a prescription routine. Persistent moderate and hormonal acne suits AviClear laser, which calms the oil glands at the source. Severe or cystic acne is best handled with doctor-led dermatology first. We match the plan to the grade at your consultation, not before it.
Overactive oil glands, blocked pores, the bacteria that live on all skin, and the inflammation that follows. Hormones are the usual trigger, from puberty to the monthly cycle, pregnancy and later-life shifts, and genetics set how prone you are. Stress, diet and pore-clogging products can all add to it. What it is not is a sign of poor hygiene, and scrubbing harder tends to make things worse.
Yes, and it is one of the more exciting options we offer. AviClear is an FDA-cleared laser that targets and calms the sebaceous glands so they produce less of the oil acne feeds on. It runs as a course of three, needs little to no downtime, and is safe across all skin tones, which suits moderate, persistent and hormonal acne that has not settled with skincare alone.
Adult acne is common and we treat it every week, often the jaw-and-chin hormonal pattern that flares with the cycle or later-life changes. The approach is usually AviClear laser to steady oil production paired with medical-grade skincare, rather than the harsh products that dry adult skin out.
They can, particularly for blackheads, whiteheads and mild to moderate congestion. A chemical peel exfoliates the surface, unblocks pores and lifts away the dead skin that traps oil, and it also fades the marks that breakouts leave behind. Peels sit comfortably alongside laser and a home routine for a fuller result.
The first rule is to get active acne under control, otherwise fresh scars keep forming behind the ones you treat. After that, resurfacing does the work: Secret PRO and micro-needling rebuild collagen to smooth pitted and textured skin, and medical-grade skincare supports the result at home. The right choice depends on the type of scarring and your skin type, which we assess in person.
Yes, with the right device and settings. AviClear is safe across all skin tones, and peels are chosen carefully for medium and deeper skin, where post-inflammatory marks are more common and very treatable. A patch test comes first for any laser. The British Association of Dermatologists has useful background on acne and caring for skin across all tones.
It depends on the type and how set in it is. AviClear runs as a course of three. Peels are usually a course of three to six. Prescription skincare is an ongoing routine rather than a fixed number. You will get a realistic plan at your consultation, not a guess over the phone.
Some teenage acne settles as hormones calm, but there is no guarantee, and plenty of people carry it well into adult life or develop it later. Treating it early matters most where it is inflamed or cystic, because that is what prevents lasting scars. Waiting it out is a gamble the scars do not forgive.
For mild acne, start with over-the-counter salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, choose non-comedogenic make-up, and give it a full two months before judging results. Do not pick or squeeze. When shop-bought products stop making headway, our skin specialists prescribe medical-grade skincare that works above high-street strength.
If your acne is severe, cystic, painful, leaving scars or affecting your mood, it is worth a doctor-led opinion rather than persevering with creams. Our in-house doctors can advise on prescription options through dermatology, and the NHS guidance on acne is a sound starting point if you would rather begin with your GP.
It depends on the plan, since a single peel and a full laser course sit at very different points. Peels are priced per session or as a discounted course, AviClear is a course, and prescription skincare is quoted once we have seen your skin. Your practitioner sets out the full cost at your consultation, and the price list has the detail.
AviClear reduces oil production for the long term, which many patients find keeps breakouts far quieter. Hormonal acne can still ebb and flow, so a maintenance routine of medical-grade skincare and the occasional peel is what holds a clear result in place. Think of it as upkeep rather than a one-off fix.
Often that is exactly the plan. We clear active acne first with laser, peels or prescription care, then turn to any scarring with Secret PRO or micro-needling, with skincare running throughout. Your practitioner sequences it safely so one step supports the next.
Yes. MediZen sits in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield, a short drive from central Birmingham, and we look after patients from across the city and the wider Midlands for acne, hormonal breakouts and acne scarring.
Yes, always. Every plan opens with a consultation so we can grade your acne, check the skin and, for any laser, carry out a patch test to confirm you are a good candidate before we treat. It is also your chance to hear an honest view of what is realistic for your skin.
Why MediZen
As one of the UK’s leading medical aesthetic clinical trial and training centres, and one of only a handful of cosmetic clinics registered with the Government’s Care Quality Commission, you can be confident that our focus is your needs and that quality, training, safety and pain management are paramount in everything that we offer.
We have been using injectables here at MediZen for over 20 years. MediZen’s clinical director, Dr David Eccleston, was one of the first doctors in the UK to offer injectables and is therefore extremely experienced in the use of all injectable treatments, leading to him being named by Tatler as the ‘Man in the Midlands for Injectables’.
All of our injectors have been trained personally by Dr Eccleston, so no matter who you see, you can rest assured they have the skills and knowledge required to give you subtle, natural-looking results in the safest of environments.
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