The treatment could help millions of people worldwide
Whether you get face or back acne, if you have it you'll know how frustrating it can be to deal with.
According to the NHS, about 80% of people aged 11-30 in the UK suffer with acne, while 5% of women and 1% of men over the age of 25 have it.
Whichever way you slice it, this breaks down to millions and millions of people in this country alone and, unfortunately, even the best acne treatments don't necessarily work for everyone.
That's why the thought of an acne vaccine is so exciting; it will literally change so many people's lives.
Scientists at the University of California are conducting groundbreaking research into the vaccine, which could be ready in as little as a few years' time.
'Acne is caused in part by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life – and we couldn't create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you,' lead researcher Eric C. Huang told Allure last year.
'But we found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin – the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne.'
What this means is that a vaccine can prevent the acne-causing properties of P. acnes without actually destroying the bacteria entirely.
Still currently at the testing stage, the vaccine has been used on skin biopsies taken from acne sufferers, so the next step is to trial it on actual patients.
Given how self conscious acne can make sufferers feel, this vaccine could potentially change lives and we can't wait to hear more about its development.
