Acne: Your Treatment History Is Research Data

Every figure in this guide comes from a published source, linked where it appears and kept in CureCircle's evidence base with the source's own words. It is not medical advice. Read on 7 November 2026.

Acne is often dismissed as a phase, yet for many people it lasts years, leaves scars and affects confidence, mood and work. Treatment is a sequence: creams, antibiotics, the pill, isotretinoin, each tried for months, each with side effects. Which treatment worked for whom, how long it took, and what it cost in other ways are questions research on acne still asks, and people who have lived with it have the answers.

How many people live with it

The Global Burden of Disease study estimated 117.4 million new cases and 231.2 million people living with acne vulgaris in 2019.

The records worth keeping

NICE's 2021 guideline on acne describes the reviews that leave records:

• A review at 12 weeks of the first treatment, to assess whether the person's acne has improved, and whether they have any side effects.
• A review of maintenance treatment after 12 weeks, to decide whether it should continue.
• A dermatology referral when acne of any severity is causing persistent psychological distress, with the clinic letter that follows.

Your prescription history is the clearest record of what you tried and for how long. Photos of your skin over time, and your own notes on what changed, show what no letter does. If you want your prescription history, ask your practice for a copy.

What sharing it is worth

CureCircle values every contribution with a public benchmark built from what health data has sold for. A complete acne story with the records the guideline lists comes to about $74 per licence on the benchmark today. Every line and its source is on the acne page.

A licence is not a one-off sale: the same de-identified story can be licensed to several research teams, and you earn a share each time.

How to share it

You start by writing what you live with in your own words; a few quick questions follow, then an AI interviewer asks about the details only you know, and you rate every treatment you tried, from creams to isotretinoin. You can add clinic letters and prescriptions as PDFs or photos, and the AI reads them into your own medical file. Parents can share the story of a teenager with acne, as their parent or guardian. Before anything is shared, you read the de-identified summary and decide.

Start your story, or read what your health data is worth first.