Blog Post - Blank - Apr 15, 11:41:56

You've tried the right treatments.
Here's why they haven't fully worked.

For women who have been dealing with hormonal acne for over a year and have tried prescription or expert recommended products without seeing the lasting results they were promised.

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Dr Yangjo

Double-Board Certified Dermatologist

03 Jan 2026

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There's a specific kind of frustration that comes from doing everything right — and still breaking out.

Not the frustration of not trying. The frustration of trying correctly. Consistently. For months or years. Spending serious money on the right products.

And still. Same breakouts. Same places. Same time every month.

The skincare you've been using probably has the right ingredients.

The problem is that most of it never arrives where your hormonal acne actually forms.

That's not a product failure. That's a delivery failure. And here's what nobody told you.

The change that surprises people most

Most of my patients who solve this problem tell me the same thing.

It wasn't just their skin that changed. It was how they felt about it. The exhaustion of trying correctly and seeing nothing — that disappears.

What replaces it is something simpler.

A routine that works. Products that deliver. Skin you recognise again.

What's actually happening — The Absorption Plateau

What most women in your situation are experiencing is something I refer to as the Absorption Plateau — and it's the result of two things working together.

Age: Accelerating from the late-30's, your skin's outer barrier becomes denser and more compact, making it harder for skincare to penetrate into the skin. ^1

Tolerance: As we age, skin becomes more efficient at regulating what passes through, and what stays out. And what stays out includes the very things you're trying to get in.^2

So even when you're applying the right skincare actives consistently, they don't move through the skin the way they once did. They begin to stall closer to the surface — rather than reaching where they're designed to work.

For hormonal acne specifically this means the actives designed to reach the sebaceous gland — where cystic and hormonal breakouts form — are often stopping well short of their target.

The product is correct. The delivery is the limiting factor.

Why nothing has fixed it

Once you understand that the problem is delivery — not formulation — it reframes everything you've already tried.

The Absorption Plateau doesn't respond to more or stronger. It responds to the right delivery mechanism.

What changes when your skincare finally works

Not just the visible changes — though those are real. Skin that responds. Treatments that deliver. Results that build instead of plateau.

The change I hear about most from patients is quieter than that.

The frustration of doing everything right and seeing nothing — that specific kind of exhaustion — disappears. Not because they added something complicated. Because something that was always supposed to work finally does.

Women tell me they stop dreading the mirror. They start spending less and noticing more. They simplify routines they'd been making more elaborate for years trying to compensate for results that weren't coming.

One patient told me — "My routine went from something I was anxious about to something I just did."

That's what's on the other side of the delivery problem.

How clinics solve this (and why it's not sustainable)

In clinic treatments the focus is often on delivery — not just what's applied. The goal is temporarily changing how the skin receives what you put on it.

This creates a Receptivity Window — a brief period where ingredients move more efficiently to where they're designed to work.

It works. Dermatologists have used this principle for years precisely because it solves a problem that topical application alone cannot.

But a single session costs £80 to £200. Regular treatments to maintain results run to £1,000 or more annually.

For most women — regardless of how seriously they take their skincare — that's simply not accessible.

Until recently it wasn't available any other way.

But this has now changed.

Electroporation isn't new. But its form is.

Electroporation has been used in clinical and pharmaceutical settings for transdermal delivery for decades.

It creates temporary micro-pathways in the skin's outer layer — openings through which what you apply passes more efficiently to the layers it's designed to reach.

Not permanently. Not aggressively. The skin returns to normal within minutes. But during that window everything you apply is received differently.

The science hasn't changed. What changed is that the technology has been refined enough to apply safely at home — without clinical supervision, without appointments, without the cost.

You haven't heard about electroporation before not because it didn't exist — but because until recently it didn't exist in a format you could use yourself.^3

For hormonal acne this means your prescription actives can reach the sebaceous gland rather than stopping at the surface.

Same products. Same routine. Fundamentally different delivery.

Not all electroporation devices are equal

Electroporation has become a marketing buzzword.

Dozens of devices now claim to deliver it. Most don't — not in any clinically meaningful sense. They use the terminology without the calibration that makes it work.

This matters because if you buy the wrong device you'll use it consistently and conclude the technology doesn't work for you. When the reality is — it does. The device just wasn't delivering it.

For home use the frequency, pulse intensity, and duration must be calibrated precisely enough to create a genuine Receptivity Window without professional supervision. Too weak — no meaningful pathways. Too strong — not safe for daily use.

Most devices fail on the first criterion. A small number get it right.

What I tell patients who ask me which device to use

The question I get most — "I've seen these devices online. Are any of them actually worth it?"

My honest answer is that most aren't. Not because the technology doesn't work — it does. But because most consumer devices claiming electroporation aren't calibrated to deliver it in any clinically meaningful way. They produce a sensation. They don't produce a Receptivity Window.

The ones that do share three characteristics.

A pulse voltage within the effective range for transdermal delivery — between 140V and 200V. Below that threshold the electrical field isn't strong enough to create meaningful pathways. Above it the treatment moves beyond what's appropriate for unsupervised daily use.

Whether their claimed absorption improvement has been independently third-party tested — not self-reported by the brand. Any device can claim a percentage. Very few have had that claim verified by an independent testing body.

A money back guarantee long enough to actually see results. Skin changes take weeks not days. A 30-day return window on a device that takes six to eight weeks to show meaningful improvement isn't a real guarantee.

I have shortlisted three of the most popular products on the market and put it into an easy to read table for you:

Of the consumer devices I've reviewed in this category Absorb+ is the only one that meets all three criteria I outlined.

The pulse voltage of 145V to 185V sits within the effective range for transdermal delivery — strong enough to create meaningful micro-pathways, calibrated specifically so it's safe for unsupervised daily use at home.

The 562% absorption improvement isn't a brand claim. It was independently verified by the GDSITS — the same standard applied to clinical devices. That's the only number in this comparison I can point to and say with confidence — that figure has been tested and confirmed by someone with no commercial interest in the result.

And the 90-day guarantee matters more than most people realise. Skin changes take time. Six to eight weeks of consistent use before meaningful results appear is normal.

A guarantee that covers that window — and then some — tells you the brand believes in what the device actually does.

Operating at 180V to 280V this device exceeds the range I consider appropriate for unsupervised daily home use. At those parameters the treatment moves beyond what most skin can tolerate consistently without professional oversight.

The 480% absorption claim is self-reported — there is no independent body that has verified that figure.

And a 28-day return window on a device whose results require six to eight weeks to meaningfully appear isn't something I'd consider a genuine guarantee. You'd be returning it before you could fairly evaluate it.

Below 50V this device doesn't generate the electrical field required to create meaningful micro-pathways through the skin barrier. At that voltage you'll feel a surface sensation — but the barrier isn't being shifted in any clinically meaningful way.

The 1000% absorption figure is the largest claim in this comparison. In my experience a claim that large with no testing behind it tells you more about the marketing than the device.

The 2.9 star customer rating reflects what happens when expectations set by unverified claims meet the reality of the results.

This is what your skincare is truly capable of

Reading about pulse voltage and third-party testing only tells part of the story.

The part that matters most is what actually happens to real skin — from women who had tried everything else, who understood why nothing had worked, and who gave Absorb+ the 90 days it needed to prove itself.

No studio lighting. No filters. No before photos taken on a bad day and after photos taken on a good one.

Just the same women. The same routine. Weeks apart.

(Reviews taken from Absorb+)

Yvonne B.

27/11/25

"Spent three years and probably £800 on treatments during my menopause. Some worked briefly. None held. Three months in with Absorb+ — clearest skin since my 30s. The absorption explanation finally made sense of why nothing had worked before."

Kate R.

09/03/26

"I've been dealing with hormonal acne since my late 40s and I've tried everything. Prescription retinoids, antibiotics, every targeted serum on the market. I'd reached the point where I assumed my skin just didn't respond to treatment anymore.

I was sceptical about Absorb+. Another device promising results I'd stopped believing were possible for my skin. But the 90-day guarantee meant the risk felt manageable. 15 weeks in. Fewer breakouts than I've had in four years. My prescription is clearly reaching where it's supposed to now. I genuinely wish I'd found this sooner."

Hannah B.

02/12/25

"I was constantly trying new products because my skin would just break out randomly. Even stuff the pharmacy recommended didn’t really do much, which was frustrating. A friend told me to try Absorb+, and it’s the first time it actually feels like my skincare is working properly. My skin is way more predictable now, and I just feel a lot more confident day-to-day :)"

These women didn't change their routine.

They changed how their skin received it.

And that's the only thing I recommend you do.

Here's what I'd tell you if you were sitting in my practice

Your hormonal acne hasn't responded to skincare treatments the way it should. The treatments aren't failing you. Your skin just needs help receiving them.

That's a solvable problem. After everything you've tried — you deserve to know what solving it looks like.

Most patients who add Absorb+ to their routine find they naturally spend less on skincare within a few months. When everything is actually working, you need less of it. Most reduce their monthly spend by £30–£50. At that rate it pays for itself within six months.

I've attached some stats from their 2026 post-purchase survey:

88%

reduced their skincare spend by at least £30 a month

83%

of women with hormonal acne reported fewer breakouts after 12 weeks of consistent use

82%

reported a natural glow after using Absorb+ 3–5 times a week for 8 weeks

Data drawn from a post-purchase survey of 2k+ customers who've been using Absorb+ for at least 6 months.

*Exciting update! 19/04/26

Something unexpected happened after I published this piece.

The team behind Absorb+ reached out to me. They'd seen the review — the results my patients were getting, the feedback I'd been sharing — and they wanted to do something special for the women reading it.

They've given me an undisclosed amount of exclusive 40% discount codes to share with readers of this piece and patients in my practice.

I genuinely didn't expect this — and I want to make sure the women who read this far actually get access to it before the codes run out.

Enter your email below and I will send it to you!

90-day money back guarantee

Thank you for reading this far.

I know your time is valuable — and I wouldn't have written this if I didn't genuinely believe the delivery problem is real and solvable. Whatever you decide, I hope this gave you a clearer picture of what's actually been happening with your skin.

— Dr Lee Yangjo

You've tried the right treatments.Here's why they haven't fully worked.