Background Acne vulgaris remains a common dermatological disorder with substantial physical and psychosocial burden, and currently available therapies are often limited by incomplete efficacy, tolerability concerns, and recurrence. Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of combined supramolecular salicylic acid (SSA) and photon rejuvenation (PR) therapy in treating facial acne. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted by reviewing the medical records of 160 acne patients treated between August 2020 and August 2021. Patients were classified into the observation group (OG, n = 80), who had received combined 30% SSA and PR therapy, and the control group (CG, n = 80), who had received PR monotherapy, according to treatments recorded in medical files. Clinical efficacy, adverse effects, skin physiological parameters, recurrence rates, and patient satisfaction were compared between groups based on data extracted from the medical records. Results The groups showed comparable baseline characteristics. Posttreatment evaluation revealed significantly greater improvement in lesion counts in OG compared to CG at Weeks 4, 6, and 8 ( p < 0.05). Skin physiological parameters showed greater improvement in OG, with significant differences in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin hydration (SH), and sebum content (SCL) at Week 8 ( p < 0.05). The overall treatment effectiveness was higher in OG (95%) versus CG (75%) ( p < 0.05), with comparable safety profiles. Lower recurrence rates were observed in OG during the 12‐month follow‐up. Conclusion Combined SSA and PR therapy demonstrates superior efficacy in treating mild‐to‐moderate facial acne, with improved skin parameters, higher patient satisfaction, and lower recurrence rates compared to PR monotherapy.
Hu et al. (2026) studied this question.