We get a lot of questions and search requests on MySkinCareConnection  for information about acne cures. The problem is that there are a lot of dubious claims out there from people who claim they can cure your acne. For example, in a previous post I talked about a doctor who claims to be able to cure your acne with a phone app. This is just the tip of the iceberg, however. We are inundated every day with ads for acne remedies from TV, the Internet, and the alternative health section of the bookstore. It can be hard to sort out what is fact from fiction as to what acne treatments work (and are backed up by research) and which claims are exaggerated or downright fraudulent. We are here to help.

In this post we are going to take a look at whether or not zinc has any merit as an effective acne treatment.

My quest for an answer to the question of whether or not zinc supplements can help treat acne has generated pages of advertisements marketing zinc as an “amazing breakthrough” for “consistent and dramatic results.” What is equally as amazing is when I try to click any links which say “study” or “research” it takes me to another advertisement. Imagine my surprise to find no links to any research to back up the claims. I also am finding long-winded testimonials on acne forums attesting to how zinc had cured their acne. Curiously these testimonials sound very similar to the wording of advertisers trying to sell zinc supplements. Could it be that some of these glowing reports are coming from the same source?

Call me a skeptic but I am not seeing anything so far to substantiate the claim that zinc can cure acne.

Is there any research to back up the advertising?

Here are the results of my search for research on the possible benefits of zinc for treating acne:

• A 2001 study published in Dermatology, compared the efficacy of treating patients diagnosed with inflammatory acne with either zinc gluconate or an antibiotic, minocycline. The researchers found that treating acne with the antibiotic was far more effective than treating with a zinc supplement. The test subjects were given either 30 mg elemental zinc or 100 mg minocycline over 3 months. Clinical success was defined as a more than 2/3 decrease in inflammatory lesions, i.e. papules and pustules at the end of the 90 days. This clinical success rate was 31.2% for zinc and 63.4% for minocycline.

• A 2010 report published in Dermatologic Clinics, concluded that “...there is little evidence that convincingly demonstrates the efficacy of zinc as a reliable first-line treatment for most dermatologic conditions.”

• In 1985 researchers tested the efficacy of topical zinc therapy for treating acne vulgaris. The results of this study were published in the International Journal of Dermatology.  During a 12-week period subjects were either treated with a placebo or a topical zinc application. No difference was found between participants who were treated with placebo or zinc. In fact, the study subjects who were treated with topical zinc experienced more skin irritation than subjects given the placebo. The study authors concluded that topical zinc therapy alone is not of significant benefit in the treatment of acne.