Follow Your Regimen!!

January 23rd, 2010

Research indicates that acne patients, for various reasons, often do not follow the skin care regimen that has been prescribed for them. Studies have also shown that this lack of adherence is one of the main reasons that many acne treatments fail to work.

Clients may not fully understand what they are supposed to do, possibly due to unclear instructions from their skin care provider. Acne treatment products may also lead to unpleasant side effects early on in treatment, if acne clients are not made aware of this; they may use products inconsistently or may just stop using them completely. Also, if the client does not see immediate results from their treatment, they may believe that the skin care regimen is not working. All of these problems – lack of understanding, poor communication by skin care professionals, and misconceptions on the part of the acne patient can all lead to poor adherence and may lead the client to discontinue treatment.

We recently conducted a survey of our clients and found that those who closely followed the skin care regimen we had given them were far more likely to get clear, and were more likely to get clear faster. 92% of clients who followed their regimen completely were clear within 6 months, compared to only 28% of those who did not follow their regimens.

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At Face Reality, we tell our clients from day one how important it is to stick to the regimen that we give them. We explain that the products they are using prevent the new acne from forming and that if they skip their homecare that new “microcomedones” get started inside the pore. Those new acne lesions will make their appearance anywhere from 1 to 3 months later. So, you may think that you are getting away with skipping homecare because you don’t see anything right away, but it catches up to you down the road.

We also encourage them to ask us questions at any time if they do not understand what they are supposed to do or if they are having problems with their skin care regimen. This education about regimen adherence is such an important factor for getting clear; that we also regularly check in with our clients to make sure that they are following it correctly. In my experience, a little nagging from us is well worth it if it helps to get our acne clients clear.

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Anti-Candida Diet Can Help Acne-Prone Skin

January 16th, 2010

This diet will not clear up your skin, but can really support the clearing process when you are using the right products in the right way. For more information about that please go to Face Reality Acne Clinic website.

Recent research has suggested that many people with complex acne conditions could benefit from an anti Candida diet. Candida is an overgrowth of naturally occurring and symbiotic yeast that coincides with other organism including bacteria in our bodies. Candida albicans is a fungal yeast that may overgrow form over use of antibiotics, steroids, corticosteroids and ibuprofen amongst other strong drugs prescribed for chronic and acute conditions alike.

Bad foods can either cause a fungal problem or help exacerbate it, or both. Good foods, on the other hand, can help cure fungal overgrowth. So what’s good and what’s bad? Candida love a sweet environment. Thus all sugars are bad. Dieticians will often say only fast sugars are bad and slow sugars are good. Thus they will advise against white sugar and white flour and will advocate the use of raw cane sugar and whole-grain products. Sorry if you’re a sweet tooth and carboholic, but all sugars are out if you really want to starve Candida.

This means you will have to wean yourself off:

* White sugar;

* Cane sugar;

* any natural sweetener such as honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, rice syrup, date syrup, corn syrup, wheat syrup, etc.;

* White rice;

* White flour and white-flour products;

* whole-grain yeast bread and other whole-grain products;

* Starchy products such as chips, crisps, potatoes, corn, etc.

* Commercial fruit juice from a pack;

* pasteurized milk products;

* Sweet fruits;

* Alcohol;

* Coffee and black tea

* Mushrooms

* Beans and legumes

* Vinegar

* Soy based foods such as tofu, tempeh, soy meats and soy sauce.

* Nuts especially cashews and peanuts

* Foods that contain msg as in “natural flavours”, autolyzed yeast extract, soy extract, soy sauce

* Processed and pasteurized cheeses.

Simply put, the anti-Candida diet is about avoiding all sugars and foods that are very high in fat and fungi.

Instead the following foods are recommended on a long term basis to encourage clear skin

* Only stevia as a sweetener;

* Sourdough or sprouted grain bread;

* Daily salads made up of organic green leafy vegetables, sprouts, and carrots with a dressing of freshly squeezed lemon juice and omega-3 rich oils, such as flaxseed, olive, walnut, sesame and coconut oil;

* Lightly cooked or steamed food;

* Freshly squeezed or blended fruit juices including the pulp and seeds and even some of the rinds of only sour and bitter organically grown fruits, such as lemons, limes, pomegranates, berries, grapefruit and Braeburn, Roman Beauty and Granny Smith apples;

* Organic green tea;

* Organic chicory coffee.

Supplements and herbs and spices

Supplements and herbs and spices to take before, during and after the Candida diet, in no particular order:

* Goji berries

* Vitamin-B complex

* MSM

* Wheat grass juice and/or barley greens

* Chlorella

* Spirulina

* Alpha Lipoic Acid

* High quality probiotic supplement with acidophilus, bifidus etc.

* Zinc monomethionine

* Pau d’ arco tea

* Grapefruit seed extract

* Raw pure virgin coconut oil

* High quality fish oil (liquid or capsules)

* Flax seed oil (liquid only)

* Turmeric

* Ginger

* Cayenne Pepper

* Mint

* Garlic

* L-Ascorbic Acid

Highly recommended Brands: Candi-gone, Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics, Udo’s choice Oil Blend, Carlson’s fish oil, Flora Now Critical care probiotics, Just Barley- All available at Whole Foods.

Zinc Monomethione available at Face Reality.

Please remember to inform and consult your physician about going on any extended or restrictive diet such as this one. Please use common sense and do not eat foods that you are allergic or sensitive to.

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Supplements That Help Acne-Prone Skin

January 16th, 2010

Keep in mind that these supplements will not get your skin clear. You need the right homecare products used in the right way to achieve that. But here are some supplements that can support your skin.

Recommended Supplements:

Zinc Monomethionine: People with acne have been shown to have lower than normal levels of zinc in their systems. Zinc helps with the immune response and exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. Do be careful not to exceed total 100mg with all zinc sources. Rec Brand: Source Naturals 30-50 mg

Probiotics: These supplements are high recommended for people who have long term antibiotic use in the past. Probiotics help to repopulate the gut with “friendly” bacteria thereby encouraging better digestion, improved immunity and optimum nutrition absorption. Rec Brand: Flora Smart or Ultimate Flora by Renew Life. Dr Ohirra’ which is available at Amazon.com and Whole Foods. Take as directed.

High Quality Fish oils and High Quality Flax oil: These oils are absolutely essential for hormone regulation and thus directly affect sebum regulation. They are also incredibly important for almost every other regulation system in your body. Rec Brand: Artic Pure Source Naturals (we carry this one), Renew Life’s Fishsmart ultra or Nordic Naturals’ Cod Liver Oil and Barleans’s flax oil (liquid). Take as directed and please note that these oils may not be warmed or cooked with. One caution: avoid flax oil supplements labeled as “high lignin” as this type is not compatible with anti-acne regimens.

Barley Powder: Barley has been shown to have many trace minerals that the body needs to build a healthy immune system has many enzymes that help “alkalize” the body. This alkalization directly impacts inflammation that is always associated with acneic skins. Rec Brand: Just Barley, 2 tablespoons in water or unpasteurized orange juice.

MSM also known as methylsulfonylmethane: This mineral has a high bioavailable sulfur content that the body uses to build collagen and cartilage. Excellent to heal scars, detoxify tissues and wonderful as an anti-inflammatory compound. Rec Brand: Rich’s MSM torpedo caplets.1000mg. Take as directed.

A good Multi vitamin is always recommended for obvious reasons. Consider getting an iodine free brand as iodine can exacerbate acne conditions. Rec Brand: Dermavites and GNC ultra women’s mega multi without iron and iodine.

Pea Protein Isolate or Hemp protein: For those of you who work out religiously or want to bulk up, please consider switching to the above powders instead of your typical Soy or Whey based formulas. These are more easily assimilated by the body and do not aggravate acne. Recommended brands: Olympian Labs Pea Protein Powder and Ultimate Greens with Hemp, Rice and Pea protein available on Amazon.com, Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl.

For more information about having and keeping clear skin, please go to our website.

http://www.facerealityacneclinic.com

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Acne Scars and Dark Spots

November 13th, 2009

Acne can be a devastating disorder – not only is it frustrating to have active acne in the form of spots, redness and pustules, these lesions can leave their mark in the form of scars and dark spots.

In this article I will address the difference between scarring and dark spots. When people call our clinic they will ask me about their acne “scarring”, but quite often what they really mean is the dark spots left over from an acne breakout. This is called hyper-pigmentation - also called post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH).

Actual scarring is where the skin is pitted or depressed. These types of scars usually take a more aggressive medical modality to see results. For more in-depth information about medical scar treatments go to;

http://www.acne.org/scars.php.

We have had some limited success with clients, using a strong peel solution in the scar itself done bi-weekly for at least 8 treatments. However, seeing a cosmetic surgeon, in most cases, would be necessary.

Let’s talk about dark spots – that is something we definitely can do something about. Post Inflammatory Hyper-pigmentation, or PIH, is the medical term given to discoloration of the skin that follows an inflammatory wound. PIH presents itself as a flat area of discoloration on the skin ranging from pink to red, purple, brown or black, depending on your skin tone and depth of the discoloration.

PIH develops when a wound, rash, pimple, or other stimuli like picking at your acne lesions causes skin inflammation, which triggers the skin to produce too much melanin. Melanin is the protein in the skin that gives the skin its color. The excess melanin darkens and discolors the wounded area. This discoloration remains even after the wound or rash has healed.

PIH is very common among acne sufferers.  It can occur in all skin types, although it is more common in darker skin tones. It affects both men and women equally. Luckily, PIH is not a true scar and therefore can be treated in the clinic quite effectively.

We use chemical peels solutions in various strengths to not only help with acne clearing, but lift the dark spots as well. The acne usually goes away first before the redness or the darker spots go away. It usually takes another few months for the dark spots or redness to completely clear. We also give our clients homecare routines that contribute to the lightening of hyper-pigmentation. The right home care and consistent treatments will clear the acne and lift the dark spots simultaneously. Understand that improvement takes time.

For more information about how we clear acne and the dark spots left over from acne, go to Face Reality Acne Clinic.

Below is the result of four months of chemical peels and home care that lightened this client’s PIH.
alison-before-and-after1

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Don’t Trust Those Labels!

November 3rd, 2009

Those of us who are acne prone understand how difficult it can be to find moisturizers, sunscreens, and makeup that are safe to use and won’t clog your pores. To help us make the decision of what is okay to put on our faces we often rely on those safe, scientific-sounding words on the labels like “non-comdeogenic” and “dermatologist approved”. These labels suggest to the buyer that the product has been tested by skin care experts who have found the product to meet certain levels of standards. But, what do these labels really mean?

Unfortunately, it turns out that these terms really don’t mean much of anything. These product claims used by manufacturers are not regulated in any way by the beauty industry or by the FDA. There is no official standard against which these terms can be measured or tested - so essentially, any company can claim that their products are non-comdeogenic or dermatologist approved, regardless of what is actually in the products or how the products were tested. For an interesting read on what “Dermatologist Approved” actually means, go to this link:

http://www.skinterra.com/newsletter/winter09_zoskinhealth.php

There are a number of other phrases used on product labels that are not regulated either - including “allergy tested” “fragrance free/unscented”, “hypoallergenic”, “non-irritating” and “sensitivity tested”. The Consumer Reports website contains a very helpful database where you can search common terms used on product labels to determine whether or not they are industry verified and meaningful to consumers:

http://www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/eco-home.cfm

So, if you can’t trust these claims on product labels, how do you decide what products are safe to use? Here are our suggestions:

• Check the ingredients yourself. Our website has a list of pore clogging ingredients that you can use to check the products you buy:

http://www.facerealityacneclinic.com/pore_clogging.html

• Read product reviews by other consumers - especially those written by those who have acne prone skin. These websites have been very helpful product review pages:

http://www.acne.org

http://www.makeupalley.com

• It may be difficult for you to determine what ingredients are causing you problems. Using your own experiences with products can be tricky since it may take several months to see the effects of pore clogging ingredients. It’s probably not the product you started using three days ago that is causing you to break out, but more likely one that you have been using for several weeks or longer.

• Seek the advice of a qualified skin care professional. Estheticians who are trained to treat acne can be a great resource for helping you select the right products for your skin. However, not all estheticians are knowledgeable about acne, so choose carefully.

At Face Reality, we sell cleansers, toners, moisturizers, and sunscreen - all of which are safe to use on acne prone skin. You can even check our ingredient labels yourself!! See our website for a list of products available for purchase:

http://www.facerealityacneclinic.com/products.html

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Those are not blackheads in your nose

August 8th, 2009

…..most of the time.

Almost every day I get clients at my acne clinic that think they have blackheads on their nose. I know that what they see in their nose looks just like blackheads, but it is not.  Those are what is called sebaceous filaments. They are basically the oil glands on your nose and in the chin area just below the lower lip. They are meant to be there and will never go away. Even if extracted, it still looks the same and it fills right back up again a week later.

Once in a while, someone actually will have blackheads in their nose. The picture below shows a client of mine who has blackheads in between the sebaceous filaments. Those definitely need to be extracted.

img_4227

So, my rule of thumb is, if all the so-called “blackheads” in your nose are all the same size, then they are not blackheads. If, however, you have a “blackhead” that is bigger than the rest of the other “blackheads” in the nose, then it really is a blackhead and not just another sebaceous filament.

My clients tend to have a very disappointing reaction to my assessment of their “blackheads” on their nose. They, most often, desparately want them to go away.  I reassure them that everybody, even people who have never had acne, have them.  Everyone but the most oil-dry of skin does have them. When you are standing a couple of feet away from someone, which is the normal “space” between people, you can’t even see the pores on the nose.  We are all so used to looking at air-brushed pictures of models in fashion magazines that have absolutely perfect skin with no pores showing at all.  Unfortunately, this sets up an expectation and fantasy that our skin should look just like this.  Sorry…… it’s just not real and I tell my clients that they are just going to have to accept their nose the way it is.

For lots of FREE information about acne and how to have clear skin,  go to our website Face Reality Acne Clinic.

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Why you DON’T want to take Accutane

July 17th, 2009

Many of our clients at Face Reality Acne Clinic , have been on Accutane (isotretinoin); but what’s surprising is that so many of them have been on it for two or three courses to get their acne under control. One client admitted to having gone through the Accutane regimen seven different times. Some of them didn’t get any benefit at all; however most of them experienced significant clearing, but to their dismay, started breaking out again within months of stopping the medication. So, how disappointing is that?? They took huge health risks (again and again) for only a short term benefit? I don’t think most people know what the risks really are from taking “the tane,” so that’s what I would like to talk about here.

Just three weeks ago, Roche Holding AG, pulled Accutane acne medicine from the U.S. market after juries awarded at least $33 million in damages to users who blamed the drug for bowel disease. Many have been relegated to using colostomy bags for the rest of their lives. This is one of the multitude of side effects attributed to Accutane. Let’s talk about the others.

The FDA posted an alert in 2005 that said all patients taking accutane should be closely watched for serious symptoms including depression, suicidal tendencies, sadness, short tempers, anger, loss of social interaction, psychosis, loss of motivation and changes in appetite. If any of these symptoms begin to appear, the patient is advised to stop taking accutane and to seek professional advice. In 2002, a director for the FDA told a congressional committee that they received over 3,000 reports of adverse psychiatric symptoms and over 170 reports of suicide attempts connected to the use of Accutane.

There is such a high risk of birth defects, miscarriage and fetal death, that women of child bearing age are only allowed to get a one month supply (even though the prescribed regimen is for 5 months) and cannot receive another until the doctor has determined that the woman is not pregnant and is on at least two forms of birth control. Accutane can cause other severe and even tragic side effects and psychiatric problems, including Crohn’s disease, central nervous system injuries, skeletal damage, liver damage, cardiovascular injuries, bone and muscle loss, ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis, immune system disorder, depression, and suicide.

Heard enough? Well how long after you’ve gotten off Accutane are you going to feel confident that you’ve dodged the bullet and haven’t caused irreparable damage to your body. Will the side effects show up in months, years, twenty or thirty years. Who knows?

Most cases of acne can be cleared up with using the right products in the right way, none of which have side effects more than maybe some dry skin every now and then. Even the cases of acne that Accutane works best for, inflamed acne, is the easiest to control with products. I know that most people suffering from acne just want to be done with it and have tried every product under the moon. They may be using some good products, but it is mainly how the products are used that makes the difference in clearing your skin and not.

Coaching clients in how to use safe products correctly is what Face Reality Acne Clinic excels in; and helps people to get better results than Accutane, often in less time. If you are at the end of your rope and are desperate enough to consider taking such a dangerous drug as Accutane, please call or email us first to let you know what your alternatives are.

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Breakouts from Skin Care Products

June 10th, 2009

Perhaps you have an acne problem or maybe you just break out from time to time. Regardless, when you go to the cosmetics counter and you want to buy makeup, moisturizer or anything to put on your face, you look at the label. If the words hypo-allergenic or non-comedogenic make you feel confident that the product is good and safe for your skin, then you may very well have been duped. Many of the products that bear the label of some of the most trusted, most recognized cosmeceutical companies in the world, have ingredients that are bad for your skin.

Every day we check ingredients of the products that our clients have bought elsewhere. In fact, each new client at the clinic is requested to bring in all of their skincare products because so often, those products are clogging their pores and causing or exacerbating their skin condition. List of pore clogging ingredients

You may believe that you are safe with a specific product because it was a prescription from your dermatologist. Wrong. A prime example is Retin-A, originally formulated by Dr. James Fulton to combat acne. Unfortunately, the present owner of that patent is formulating the cream form of that product with isopropyl myristate, an extremely pore clogging ingredient. Several of our clients came to us with severe acne because their condition became considerably worse following their prescribed use of the cream form of Retin-A. The real tricky part about “acne cosmetica” as it is called, is that you might not see skin problems for up to six months after using the offending ingredients.

Isopropyl myristate is just one of dozens of ingredients used by skin care and pharmaceutical companies that clog pores and cause acne. So, if you want to take charge of your own skin care, you need to get a list of those ingredients and always check the label.

The good news is that, below, there is a link to where you can get a fairly complete list of pore clogging ingredients. If you would like to speak to a live person, feel free to call us at the clinic. (510) 351-1842 or email us at info@facerealityacneclinic.com

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Five Reasons NOT to Take Antibiotics for Acne

May 28th, 2009

Reading over the questionnaires of our acne clients, reveals some disturbing trends. Most have seen dermatologists and most dermatologists prescribed antibiotics as the first course of action. I have clients, previous to being treated at my clinic, took antibiotics for years! My question to them was, if it was going to work to control your acne, don’t you think it would’ve worked by now? I understand the desperation of wanting clear skin and the dearth of information about getting clear skin, so I hope that this article will help those of you currently on antibiotics to consider other options.

The first thing I want to say is that antibiotics do not get your acne under control in the long term. Acne is not a bacteria problem - it is an inherited tendency of too many dead skin cells within the pores. Antibiotics do NOTHING to address this underlying cause. According to Dr. James Fulton, co-developer of Retin A, even if you had an antibiotic that killed 100% of the bacteria, you would still have an acne problem.

So, now that you know why they don’t work, let’s also explore why it is not a good idea to take them.

1.MRSA - if you haven’t heard of the superbug MRSA, you need to know that this is a very dangerous type of staph infection. One main reason MRSA is so dangerous is that it is resistant to most antibiotics. Doctors run out of options for treating it and the result is death. Experts believe that MRSA evolved because of the overuse of antibiotics; and dermatologists treating acne primarily with antibiotics is a prime contributor.

2.Now acne bacteria is becoming drug-resistant. Resistant acne bacteria won’t kill you, but it will be much harder to control and achieve/keep clear skin.

3. People who use antibiotics are more than twice as likely to catch colds according to a study in the September 1005 Archives of Dermatology. The common cold is a virus - not directly affected by antibiotics; but antibiotics not only attack the harmful bacteria, but also the beneficial bacteria that are part of the body’s defense system. This results in increased frequency of viral infections.

4. According to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, heavy use of antibiotics may increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. The study looked at 10,000 women over eight years and found that those that took the highest amounts of antibiotics the longest, faced twice the risk of developing breast cancer than those that didn’t.

5. The results of a study published in The Lancet asserted that several prescription antibiotic regimens for facial acne vulgaris were not better than over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide.

The best way to treat acne is with an at-home regimen that includes the topical use of an alpha or beta hydroxy acid that is strong enough to exfoliate but not so strong as to irritate or burn the skin, and an antimicrobial that delivers oxygen into the pores. Because skin types and conditions vary greatly, different topical products need to be tested on the individual to check for sensitivity and efficacy. Some skin types and conditions can get noticeable results in just several days and get totally clear in just a couple of weeks. Some will take several weeks and need to have their regimen changed as their skin adapts, but less than 10% of the cases are difficult to treat and may take 6 months or more to really get under control.

The only possible risk of this course of treatment is temporary skin irritation. If you have acne, seek out a professional who specializes in treating acne and doesn’t just dole out prescriptions. Efficacy is higher and the risks much more benign. We, at Face Reality believe the best and most efficient way of clearing acne is through the systematic use of non-presciption topical products. For more information go to our website. Face Reality Acne Clinic

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Treating Acne on African-American Skin

May 1st, 2009

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Treating African-American skin can be one of the trickiest skin problems to encounter as an esthetician. As you can see in the before picture, this client needed really aggressive peels and homecare in order to get the acne and the resulting severe hyperpigmentation under control. However, we needed to be extremely careful not to make her pigmentation worse.

The darker the skin is, the more “active” the melanocytes are. These are the cells in the dermis that create pigment. They are just waiting for any kind of stimulation in the way of picking, rubbing, heat, acne, or just about anything to form more pigment. So, in treating this color of skin, we had to be extremely careful to go very slowly in getting her skin used to products.

We use products that include vitamin a proprionate, kojic acid, hydroquinone and benzoyl peroxide in a systematic way to exfoliate the skin, keep the acne from forming and lift the hyperpigmentation.

As you can see by the progress picture (the second one), we still have some work to do. Her acne is gone, but some darkness still remains. I just showed her the before pictures today and she about fell over in amazement when she saw them. She had forgotten from whence she came…..

For more information on how to have clear skin, see our website.

Face Reality Acne Clinic

Cheers

Laura

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