Abrasive cleansing in the management of acne vulgaris

The comparative effectiveness of an abrasive cleaner and the same cleansing agent without the abrasive granules was evaluated using a bilateral paired comparison method in 44 patients with acne vulgaris. Lesion counts and an appraisal of the severity of disease were made every two weeks for a total of eight weeks. An equal reduction in both the number and severity of acne lesions was seen with each test product. Substantial differences between the adverse effects of these two products were not observed.