In psychotherapeutic clinic, patients without visible marks of acne report this experience with great emotional charge, even when it occurred many years before.

This observation arose the interest in investigating the psychological impact of acne, which led us to find out what acneic subjects think of their disease, how they deal with it and, simultaneously, evaluate the beliefs of dermatologists on it. The present work is part of an investigation whose aim is to develop a program for the promotion of skills to deal with acne and its effects.

The inventory of beliefs, behaviours and treatment of acne – ICA – was developed through the content analysis of non-structured interviews to health care professionals and to patients with acne and/or who had it. This inventory was applied to a convenience sample (n = 367), to a university sample (n = 1666) and to a sample of 95 dermatologists – the 16 questions related to the beliefs on acne.

We found general agreement with some statements. Most respondents agree with a group of statements, though opinions are divided. Most respondents “disagree” or “disagree more than agree” with “…ingestion of chocolates or dairy products would cause acne”. Finally, there is no consensus about “…caused by the combination of psychological and hormonal factors”.

Further studies are needed, on the impact of acne in patient's quality of life. We also found great interest of promoting a close collaboration between dermatologists and psychology.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.