Your skin is clear. Do you need to keep going?

Your skin is finally calm and you would love to stop everything. Sometimes that is possible: maintenance treatment is not always needed. Whether continuing is wise for you depends partly on how often your acne has come back before. So do not stop on your own, but discuss it with your dermatologist.

Written by the 247dermatologist editorial team, medically reviewed by Dr A.M. van Coevorden, dermatologist

Reviewed on 29 September 2026About 4 minutes to read

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Treatment needs time

A course of acne treatment needs time. The guideline advises evaluating a treatment after 12 weeks: have your symptoms reduced, and are you having side effects? So give a treatment time before you draw conclusions. If it has not worked well enough after 12 weeks, you discuss a different approach with your dermatologist.

After treatment: maintenance and recurrence

If your acne has improved well, maintenance treatment is not always needed. Do keep taking good care of your skin.

If your acne has come back repeatedly after treatment, your dermatologist may suggest maintenance treatment. This is also evaluated after 12 weeks.

If acne does return after a good treatment, the same treatment can be given for another 12 weeks, or your dermatologist chooses a different treatment.

Why acne sometimes comes back

The treatment suppresses the process in your skin, but does not take away the predisposition. As a result, acne can come back after treatment. How likely that is differs from person to person.

What maintenance involves

Maintenance treatment is not always needed. Your dermatologist may suggest it if your acne has come back repeatedly after previous treatments. Maintenance is then usually a light continuation of your treatment: often a product for the skin, such as a retinoid, at a lower frequency than during the treatment phase. The goal is to keep the calm you have built up. Maintenance treatment is also evaluated after 12 weeks.

Tapering off is something you do together

If you want to reduce or stop, do it step by step and in consultation with your dermatologist. If the acne flares up while tapering, get in touch early; adjusting at an early stage is easier than starting over.

When stopping is really possible

For many people acne calms down over the years, and sometimes the treatment can truly be concluded at some point. You assess that together, after a longer calm period. That conversation can simply happen online too.

Not sure whether you can taper off?

Not sure whether you can taper off? Ask a dermatologist; within 12 to 48 hours you know where you stand.

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Frequently asked questions

How long do I need to continue maintenance?

This varies from person to person and will be explained in your treatment plan. Your dermatologist evaluates maintenance treatment after 12 weeks and then discusses with you whether to continue, taper off or stop.

My skin has been clear for months. Can I stop?

Possibly, because maintenance treatment is not always needed. Discuss it with your dermatologist, who will look at things such as how often your acne has come back before, and whether tapering off step by step is sensible.

Is long-term maintenance bad for my skin?

Maintenance is usually done at a low frequency. Your dermatologist tunes it to what your skin can handle and evaluates it after 12 weeks.

Sources

NVDV Acne Vulgaris guideline
NHG Practice Guideline Acne

Last revised on 29 September 2026

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