"We know that acne has three primary underlying causes," continued Dr Kluk, "those being excess oil production, blocked pores and bacterial inflammation. One bacteria in particular, the P. acnes bacteria, is thought to be responsible for the cascade of bodily responses that cause acne to form. However, around 60% of the skin carries this bacteria, without necessarily causing breakouts. Where the 'vaccine' shines is that they seem to have been able to isolate the toxin in the bacteria, and neutralise that." Basically, for the same reason that loading up on antibiotics when you’ve caught a nasty infection can leave you running low on 'good' bacteria and reaching for the Yakult, just attempting to smack out all the P. acnes might not work. "So far, they’ve tested it on skin biopsies from acne sufferers and mice. Not on live people," added Dr Kluk. This is an important distinction to make; we still know nothing of the side effects, or whether it’s effective or even safe in humans.