Acne is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis of the pilosebaceous unit. Topical treatment is the first choice in mild and moderate cases of acne, especially topical retinoids. Although topical retinoids are very effective in the treatment of acne, local cutaneous irritation including burning, itching, erythema, peeling or dryness, is observed in a considerable number of patients, resulting in low patient compliance, compromising the efficacy of the therapy.

Several approaches have been proposed to address these concerns, including the use of esters of retinoic acid (RA) and RA precursors, such as retinol and retinaldehyde, or novel drug delivery systems, which present the potential for controlled release, in turn reducing the aforementioned occurrences.

Encapsulation of retinoids into vesicular carriers as liposomes and ethosomes and nanoparticulate carriers can significantly improve their effects for the treatment of acne compared with commercial formulations , providing better tolerability of irritating retinoid.

The aim of work is to assess the efficacy and tolerability of the topical application of Retinyl Palmitate-loaded ethosome formulation in the treatment of acne vulgaris in comparison to conventional formulation of classic retinoids

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with facial mild to moderate acne vulgaris
• Patients aged 12-40 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant females
• Patients with skin condition of the face such as rosacea, perioral dermatitis, atopic or seborrheic dermatitis or psoriasis.
• Patients with known hypersensitivity to preparations containing retinoid.
• Patients who take any other cocomitant systemic or topical medications for acne vulgaris

data that underlie results in a publication

starting 6 months after publication

The topical preparations are packed in non-identifiable jars and coded by a person who is not involved in the study the patient.