I’m a researcher, not a clinician, so where my information comes from is everything. Every clinical claim on TipsForAcne.com is traced to one of the sources below, and linked in the article so you can check it yourself.
Every clinical claim here is traced to
American Academy of Dermatology
US clinical guidelines of care for acne vulgaris, plus patient-facing guidance on treatments and skin care.
Cochrane Library
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses with formal certainty-of-evidence ratings, my go-to for “does this actually work?”
NICE (UK)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline on acne vulgaris management (NG198).
NIH: NIAMS
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: what acne is, causes, and treatment overview.
MedlinePlus
The NIH National Library of Medicine’s consumer health reference, including drug information for common acne ingredients.
U.S. FDA
Drug labeling, over-the-counter acne drug monographs, and safety communications (for example, on benzoyl peroxide and isotretinoin).
PubMed
The index of biomedical literature I use to find and link the underlying trials and reviews.
British Association of Dermatologists
UK dermatology guidance and patient information leaflets.
What I don’t count as evidence
- Brand marketing, product pages, or “clinically proven” claims without a published study behind them.
- Other blogs and content sites, including well-meaning ones.
- Social media posts, influencer routines, and before-and-after photos.
- Single small studies presented as settled science.
Not experts, but expert research
Nobody here is a dermatologist. No article on TipsForAcne.com has been reviewed by a clinician, and none claims to have been. The expertise on this site is in the sources, and in how carefully they are handled.
Said plainly rather than disguised. You won’t find a generic “medically reviewed by our expert team” badge here, because that badge is usually decoration. What you get instead is the expert material itself, handled with care: the guideline, the systematic review, the trial, the drug label, read at the source, quoted accurately, linked on the claim, with weak evidence labelled as weak. Expertise you can click on beats credentials you have to take on faith, and if something matters for your skin, take the source to a clinician who can apply it to you.
Spotted something I’ve got wrong?
If you can point to a guideline, trial or label that says otherwise, send it over and I’ll fix the article and log the change on the Corrections & Updates page. Get in touch.
Medical disclaimer: Content on TipsForAcne.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a board-certified dermatologist or other qualified health provider with any questions about a medical condition.