Can Skin Quality-Boosting Injections Actually Help With ‘Bad Skin’?

Considering they are often grouped together as ‘skin quality-boosting’ injectables you could be forgiven for assuming that skin boosters and biostimulators such as polynucleotides can fix every kind of blemish — dullness, dehydration, fine lines, and yes, even acne. After all, nothing messes with your skin quality quite like breakouts, right?

However, while these buzzy injectables might be the secret to glowing, smooth, glass-like skin, experts have something to say about how well they can help with breakouts; including whether they could actually make acne worse.

Read on for all your need to know…

What do we even mean by skin quality?

“When we refer to ‘skin quality’ in dermatology, we’re typically talking about the overall health and appearance of the skin, beyond just the absence of disease,’ explains the consultant dermatologist and founder of Self London, Dr Anjali Mahto.

“This includes factors such as hydration, elasticity, firmness, pore size prominence, smoothness and evenness of tone. Good skin quality also often means the skin barrier is functioning well, inflammation is minimal and collagen and elastin levels are preserved. So, while it’s quite a broad term, it’s highly relevant to many cosmetic and clinical dermatology goals.”

What are skin quality-boosting injectables?

As you might expect from the name, skin quality-boosting injectables try to address the key concerns listed above. In particular, leading products such as Profhilo and Skinboosters involve injections of hyaluronic acid just underneath the skin’s surface, with the main aim to give a fresh-faced, lit-from-within glow.

Other injectables that could also be called skin quality-boosters include biostimulators such as Sculptra, which uses poly-L-lactic acid, and Radiesse or HArmonyCa that use calcium hydroxyapatite, to stimulate collagen and elastin production. You could even say polynucleotides qualify. They also trigger production of these key skin proteins using (purified) fish DNA) and are equally celebrated for their ability to improve hydration, elasticity and texture.

So, can such tweakments help with acne?

Unfortunately, the short answer is no – especially if your skin is actively breaking out, particularly with inflammatory acne (the red, sore, cystic kind).

Skin boosters and biostimulators are not treatments for active acne,” confirms Dr Mahto. That’s because acne is a complex condition influenced by hormones, oil production, bacteria, and clogged pores. These root causes are not addressed by any hyaluronic acid or biostimulating ingredients injected beneath the skin.

Therefore, that skin quality boost they talk about can only go so far…

Could they actually make things worse?

There’s another concern too – could these injectables actually be making acne worse?

“The main concern would be injecting into or too close to areas of active acne or comedones, which could potentially trigger inflammation or secondary infection,” explains Dr Mahto. “However, when used appropriately and on relatively stable skin, boosters such as Profhilo or polynucleotides are unlikely to provoke breakouts – even in oily or acne-prone individuals.”

That said, choosing the right practitioner here is crucial. “The technique and timing of injections matter just as much as the product used,” she continues.

But is there hope for post acne-marks?

Before any acne-prone individuals turn their backs totally on skin quality injectables as rather not living up to their name, there is a silver lining.

“For patients with acne or a history of acne, improving skin quality might involve addressing residual scarring, texture irregularities, and pigmentation issues – all of which impact the way skin looks and feels,” says Dr Mahto.

So, if you’ve moved past active breakouts and are now dealing with the aftermath – dehydration, dullness, fine lines, and mild (not pitted) scarring – then skin quality-boosting injectables might be a good choice.

“For example, polynucleotides have regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties that can support healing and tissue remodelling, which may subtly improve the appearance of scars over time. Profhilo helps with skin laxity and hydration, giving the skin a smoother and firmer appearance too,” reveals Dr Mahto.

Are there better alternatives for acne?

Ultimately though, skin boosters do tend to give “gradual” and “subtle” results, so Dr Mahto likes to see them as “complementary, rather than primary, treatments.”

Instead, once your acne is medically managed and under control, she recommends laser therapy as an excellent next step to address lingering concerns such as pigmentation, redness and scarring. Her recommendations include:

• BroadBand Light (BBL): for post-inflammatory redness and improving overall skin tone. Devices to look out for include BBL Hero.
• Halo, a hybrid fractional laser that offers both surface rejuvenation and deeper collagen remodelling, making it suitable for mild to moderate textural scarring;
• ProFractional (ProFrac) to target the deeper dermal layers to stimulate collagen and elastin production, helping improve the appearance of atrophic scars
• UltraClear laser: the world’s first cold, ablative, fractional fiber laser for anti-ageing, which works similarly to ProFrac and can be tailored to the individual’s skin type and scarring pattern
• Aviclear: the first (and currently only) FDA-cleared energy device for active acne. This clever tech is designed to target acne at its source using a particular 1726nm wavelength of light to target oil glands, shrink them, and suppress sebum production.

Most importantly of all though, Dr Mahto highly recommends visiting someone with expertise in acne-prone skin to avoid triggering flare-ups.

The takeaway

Basically, don’t expect boosters to work miracles on active pimples. Their name might suggest they’re a cure-all for “bad skin,” but in this case, “boosting” mostly means hydration and smoothness – not breakout banishment.

“The most important thing to understand is that skin quality injectables are not a standalone solution for acne-prone skin,” concludes Dr Mahto. “While they can support skin health and improve texture and hydration, they won’t control active breakouts or address oil production.”

Also remember that “a piecemeal approach – visiting different providers for acne and cosmetic care – can lead to suboptimal results or even harm.” So, try to find a practitioner who you feel comfortable with, who can assess your skin holistically. That’s the best approach for long-term improvements in both acne and overall skin quality.