Those creams aren’t as bad as smoking, but they can leach benzene.
As if being a teenager wasn’t bad enough, for an unfortunate number of youngsters the agonies of adolescence are also accompanied by the scourge of acne.
While the condition is most commonly associated with hormonal changes brought on by puberty, acne can also occur in adults due to pregnancy or menstrual cycles, and occasionally due to the use of some medications, such as oral contraceptives.
But besides being unsightly and irritating, the drama of acne seemingly doesn’t stop there.
According to researchers at the University of NSW and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US, the most common treatments for the skin condition are also harming the environment by leaching a toxic gas called benzene.
Publishing recently in JAMA Dermatology, our boffins examined a total of 111 different acne treatments based on benzoyl peroxide and evaluated the formulation processes for the treatments and how those processes affected the release levels of the gas.
The researchers found benzene levels were higher in formulations that were produced at higher temperatures while treatments that included antioxidants, which cancelled out benzene production, had the lowest levels.
They also said that “leave-on” products had lower benzene levels than “rinse-off” products, probably because leave-on products tended to be made in smaller batches and spent less time at hot temperatures.
Overall, the experts said benzene levels in these products were low and did not increase by much over time when products were stored at room temperature.
It is important to point out at this stage that even though benzene is a known human carcinogen, the levels produced via the breakdown of benzoyl peroxide acne treatments “might not pose a clinically meaningful risk”, the researchers said.
“However, it is still important to identify strategies to minimise benzene formation in benzoyl peroxide-containing products,” they added.
Your correspondent doubts there would be a single sufferer of acne that was prepared to forgo their best treatment options for the sake of releasing a little poison gas, but certainly knowing which product was the least carcinogenic might help ease the conscience a bit.
And if you really don’t care about your exposure to benzene, try smoking or vaping – there’s more than enough in those products to do some serious damage.
Send dermatologically flawless story tips to penny@medicalrepubic.com.au.
