Personalized Approach for Acne Management With Dermocosmetics According to Initial Skin Sensitivity

BACKGROUND: Current acne management relies largely on topical and systemic pharmacotherapy, but these treatments frequently cause cutaneous adverse reactions. Such side effects are of particular concern in patients with initial skin sensitivity, highlighting the need for personalized approaches. METHODS: This 12-week prospective observational study included 308 Korean acne patients to compare the clinical efficacy of a specific dermo-cosmetic (DC) formulation used as monotherapy versus combination therapy in acne patients, and to evaluate a sensitivity-based approach to improve quality of life. Patients were classified into DC monotherapy (n = 151) or combination therapy (n = 157), and to sensitive (n = 144) or non-sensitive (n = 164) subgroups. Primary outcomes were Global Evaluation of Acne (GEA), total lesion count, and sebum secretion levels. Secondary outcomes included skin sensitization score, tolerance assessment, quality of life, and adverse events. RESULTS: The DC monotherapy group showed significantly greater improvement in GEA scores, fewer sensitivity symptoms, improved quality of life, and greater tolerability than the combination therapy group (all p < 0.0001). In the sensitive patient subgroup, DC monotherapy was also significantly superior to combination therapy in terms of GEA, tolerability, sensitivity symptoms, and quality of life (all p < 0.0001). In patients without initial sensitivity, improvement in GEA (p = 0.0079), total lesion count (p < 0.0001), and sebum secretion (p < 0.0001) was significantly greater in the combination therapy than in the DC monotherapy. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that baseline skin sensitivity may represent an important determinant of treatment selection and support a sensitivity-guided personalized treatment approach in acne management.