Acne Treatment: Is Carbon 60 (C60) Good For Acne?

What are acne and what is the best acne treatment?

• Acne is a burdensome problem that affects the quality of life of many people. Carbon 60 or C60 is a new candidate that shows promise in acne treatment.
• Causes of Acne include oily skin, inflammation, family history, hormonal changes, oxidative stress, bacterial infection, and dirt clogging pores. The above causes should be kept in mind while planning your acne treatment.
• Some people may be more prone to get acne than others due to family history and environmental factors.
• C60 has major antioxidant benefits that help in acne treatment.
• C60 can play a role in treating other health conditions next to skin diseases like diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, aging, and arthritis.
• Multiple in vivo and in vitro researches prove C60’s benefits.
• There is real-world evidence from patients’ stories who used C60 in acne treatment.
• C60 is generally safe with no reported side effects or drug interactions, however, it’s still under investigation.

What are the different types of acne and what treatment is required for acne?

Types of acne include Whiteheads, blackheads, cysts, papules, pustules, scarring, skin redness, and inflammation. Though they have different names they all mean one thing: ‘Acne’ and it’s coming to ruin your day!

Acne is a common skin condition that affects a lot of people throughout their lives with varying degrees of severity. —Some of us have it worse than others— Most of us are aware of the traditional route we go about to get rid of acne.

A proper skincare routine, some antibiotics, and other topical medications (containing Retinoids or Retinoid-like drugs). But even with all those options, some people fail to get rid of acne completely.

Nevertheless, there’s no need to worry folks! In this article, we’re presenting you with an exclusive treatment option that is currently being studied for its general effect on the skin and specifically for acne.

Brace yourselves, this is the stuff science fiction movies are made of! Today, we’ll be talking about ‘Carbon 60’ which is also known as ‘C60’. If you want to know more about it and how it helps in acne treatment, continue reading this article.

What Causes Acne?

You know how they always say that the problem is half the solution, well this is exactly how researchers organize their thoughts before advocating for a treatment candidate. They think of the cause of the problem, then how to prevent, treat, or solve the root cause of it.

So, in our case, we’re talking about acne. Here are some of the most common triggers that can be causing you acne:

• Extra oily skin
• Inflammation
• Infection by acne-producing bacteria
• Hair follicles and dead skin trapped inside the pores
• Changes in Hormones levels inside the body (Ex. Menstrual cycle, teenagers, etc.,)
• Diet rich in Carbohydrates
• Oxidative stress

Then again, you might be wondering:

Why do some people get acne?

Just like any medical condition, your risk increases according to two factors, genetic factors, and environmental stress factors.

Well, Acne is no different, if your parents had acne, you’re probably more susceptible to getting acne yourself. Similarly, if you’re surrounded by a harmful environment that negatively affects the skin, it can bring about acne as well.

Since traditional acne treatment takes months to resolve, some cases can be resistant to any intervention. Our scientists came up with ‘C60’ a new contender that has shown promising results from preliminary data.

What Is Carbon 60 (C60)?

Carbon 60 is self-defined by its name. It’s a type of Fullerene that’s made of 60 Carbon atoms bound together giving the shape of a melon cavity or a soccer ball.

It was first discovered and awarded the Nobel Prize by Robert F. Curl Jr., Harold Karoto, and Richard E. Smalley back in 1996. Although it was originally meant for applications in electronics, further research proved its efficacy in treating acne and other health conditions as well.

What are the other Benefits of C60 apart from acne treatment?

Carbon 60 has several other benefits besides treating acne, this is due to its antioxidant properties which work on reducing free radicals in the body and with it improving many diseases. These include:

• Aging
• Wrinkles
• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• Cancer

Diseases that affect the Nervous System (Ex. Alzheimer’s disease)

What is the Scientific Evidence Behind C60 and Acne Treatment?

Owing to the previous information that oxidative stress is one of the causes of acne, a small study done in 2011 tested the efficacy of C60 as an antioxidant in treating acne. They tested C60 gel that was applied twice daily after a period of 4 and 8 weeks.

The results revealed significant reductions in acne after 4 weeks and an improvement in skin condition after 8 weeks. These promising results opened the door for further investigations into C60 as an acne treatment.

Furthermore, another study provided evidence that C60 showed a significant positive effect in regulating oil in the skin and inhibiting an enzyme (lipase enzyme) produced by acne-producing bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes which caused skin inflammation and acne.

Recent studies that prove c60 helps in acne treatment.

Just in 2021, researchers are synthesizing new molecules derived from C60. This was evident in this study, which has shown that a nanoparticle made from Chi-Gly-Ful demonstrated effective results in treating bacterial acne.

These are the most that science has gotten when it comes to studies in C60 and its association with C60.

Granted, this is a limited number of studies, only done in vivo or in vitro. However, when it advances into clinical trials, the sky is the limit to what C60 can do in treating acne.

This doesn’t contradict the fact that there are many commercially available topical products of C60 for acne treatment and other skin conditions. So, before we get into what those are and where you can find them.

Let’s get some first-hand experience from those who used C60 for acne, and what were the outcomes of their journey.

Real-World Evidence for C60 Use for Acne treatment

This one is an experience of a 20-year-old young man named Cameron.  He suffered from acne since he was a teenager. After that, he used 10 ml of C60 in Olive oil daily for the duration of 3 months (from May to August 2019).  

As a result, there were significant improvements in his skin complexion and his acne is almost gone.

Are there any side effects of C60

So far, there aren’t any reports about the safety or efficacy of C60 supplements.

It’s very safe when it comes to topically apply C60 in the form of gel, patches, or combined with oil.

This was proved by several studies revealing no adverse effects of skin irritation, inflammation, or corrosion due to C60 or fullerenes.

Nonetheless, some people are not used to taking antioxidants, those can experience headaches and general discomfort when first starting but this usually subsides after a few days.

Also, pregnant, and breastfeeding women should be excluded from trying this treatment as there haven’t been much data to prove its safety on them yet.

How Should You Take C60?

Because it can’t dissolve in water, C60 is generally consumed with oil. You can find it commercially in two forms:

• Supplements
• Gels, Serum, or Skin Patches

This is an example of a commercially sold C60 in organic virgin olive oil. While you can find C60 serum for treating acne through an e-commerce website, online carriers, and cosmetic stores.

Another point to consider is reading the bottle information provided by the manufacturer to know the possible side effects, who should be excluded from taking it, the dosage, and the ingredients.

What Is the Appropriate Dose for C60?

When it comes to deciding on a specific recommended dose, several factors should be taken into consideration. Those are:

• Underlying medical history
• Possible drug interactions
• Age
• Allergies
• Intended use
• Bodyweight
• Manufacturer of the product

And many other factors that can cautiously be determined by your health care professional. Thus, it’s advised to consult your doctor first so they can customize the best treatment plan for you.

That being said, the recommended daily dose is about 5 ml a day which translates to about 4 milligrams of C60 on average. However, this can vary according to your weight.

Are There Any Interactions to Avoid C60?

There are no reports of any interactions with C60. However, as previously mentioned studies are still limited. This means that it can be a possibility in future investigations so it’s better to take care and consult your doctor before mixing any medication with C60.

C60 for acne treatment: Hope or Hype?

The bottom line is that for many years traditional acne treatments have surpassed the prevalence of hard-to-treat acne. But lately, the speed of resistant acne has outpaced our existing therapeutic options, leading to the burdensome complications we’re living with today.

Not to worry though, the fight is far from over! As acne grows more resistant, C60 comes with a promise of a new age of acne-free skin. As Dr. Rondagsand his team put it:

‘Although the number of in vivo investigations is still minimal and sound data about the (long-term) safety of C60 derivatives is necessary, results of experiments regarding the potential of C60 in dermatology are positive.’

This further proves that C60 has great hope and potential in treating acne as proved by patient experiences and scientific literature and that it’s only a matter of time and further clinical research to approve C60 as a medical drug rather than just a cosmetic treatment.

C60: Definitely, Hope.

References:

1.        Zaenglein AL, Pathy AL, Schlosser BJ, Alikhan A, Baldwin HE, Berson DS, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2016 May 1;74(5):945-973.e33.

2.        MayoClinic. Acne – Symptoms and causes [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2022 Apr 15]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acne/symptoms-causes/syc-20368047

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7.        Ghabdian Y, Taheri A, Jahanian-Najafabadi A. Development of novel topical formulation from fullerene with antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes. https://doi.org/101080/1536383X20201825388 [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2022 Apr 15];29(2):163–73. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1536383X.2020.1825388

8.        C60 has cleared up my acne – Blog [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2022 Apr 15]. Available from: https://www.c60inoliveoil.com/blog/could-c60-help-your-acne

9.        Rondags A, Wing |, Yuen Y, Jonkman MF, Horváth B. Fullerene C 60 with cytoprotective and cytotoxic potential: prospects as a novel treatment agent in Dermatology? 2016;

10.      C60 Dosage – Natural C60 [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2022 Apr 15]. Available from: https://naturalc60.nl/pages/dosage 11.       Carbon 60 (C60): How to Take, Where to Buy, and More [Internet]. [cited 2022 Apr 15]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/carbon-60-faqs#how-to-take

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