According to the American Academy of Dermatology, acne affects somewhere around 50 million Americans annually. However, despite how prevalent the condition is, topical treatment options typically revolve around the same handful of ingredients. But the new kid on the block, Twyneo, is making big news as the first acne treatment to combine two of the most powerful of these ingredients—tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide.
The topical cream, developed by Sol-Gel Technologies and available by prescription only, combines a 0.1% concentration of tretinoin with a 3% concentration of benzoyl peroxide. It’s been approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acne in patients as young as 9 years old.
“As common as acne is, there’s still an unmet need for effective medications, so I always get excited when a new acne medication is brought to the market. It gives me one more tool in my belt when it comes to treating acne patients,” says New York City board-certified dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner. He adds that the fact that Twyneo combines two active ingredients in one formula makes it even more exciting. “You get the benefits of two medications, with a single application. The fewer times you need to apply something, the fewer times you’ll forget to do so, ultimately resulting in a better outcome for patients,” he explains.
So what makes this particular ingredient pairing so noteworthy? Both tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide have a long and proven history of being effective acne fighters in their own right. While tretinoin is often thought of as an anti-aging ingredient, it was first FDA-approved as an acne treatment in the 1970s. It’s a retinoid, a mainstay of acne treatment because it helps to speed cell turnover and keep pores clear, says Dr. Zeichner. Its major drawback? Traditionally, it’s been very unstable, easily inactivated by other ingredients and exposure to UV rays, he points out.
Benzoyl peroxide is another of the most effective anti-acne ingredients, working to lower levels of acne-causing bacteria and helping to reduce inflammation. But it too doesn’t always play nicely; it can inactivate other ingredients, which is why it’s most often used on its own, explains Dr. Zeichner. Not to mention that both tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide come with a fairly high likelihood of eliciting skin irritation.
Enter Twyneo. The combination formula is unique not only because it combines these two heavy-hitting ingredients, but also because of how it does so. “The drug uses a specialized encapsulation technology that allows both actives to remain stable in the formula, while also making it more tolerable for the skin,” says Dr. Zeichner. (For reference, it’s typically been inadvisable to even use tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide one after the other, making this new topical all the more groundbreaking.) Plus Dr. Zeichner says that Twyneo can be used across all skin types and is effective in treating both inflammatory pimples and pustules as well as blackheads and whiteheads. An exciting new addition to dermatologists’ acne-fighting tool belts, indeed.
