…..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.

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, ask me how to remove the blackheads on the nose.   I reassure them that everybody, even people who have never had acne, have them and there is no getting rid of 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…… these pictures are just not real; and I tell my clients that they are just going to have to accept their nose the way it is.  There just is no “getting rid of blackheads on your nose”.. unless they truly ARE blackheads.

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

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

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.
©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

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

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

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.

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

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

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

It’s a common fact that pregnancy can make acne-prone skin worse. The hormonal fluctuations can really wreak havoc with the skin.  As far as using products to help keep the acne at bay, we require a list of ingredients that they should avoid while pregnant from the client’s ob/gyn. We have found that most doctors will allow the use of benzoyl peroxide.

Another area of consideration besides topical products however, are the pre-natal vitamins that women are required to take while pregnant. Many of them have high levels of iodides which can really irritate the follicle walls and make acne worse. Two brands of pre-natal vitamins that do not have iodides are as follows:

• Duet DHA – Rx only along with Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements
• Stuart Natal Pre-Natal Vitamins (which are over the counter).

As far as in-clinic acne treatments are concerned, since we cannot use our mild chemical peels solutions on pregnant women, we now have microdermabrasion treatments that can give the exfoliation needed while treating acne.

For more information about acne and getting clear go to our website.

Face Reality Acne Clinic

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

Recently, I had a client who was taking the drug phentermine to help her achieve her weight-loss goals. She had a combination of inflamed and non-inflamed acne for which we had given her an aggressive home care routine. Even though we were treating the acne aggressively and strengthening her home care every two weeks, her skin just wasn’t making any progress.

She then decided on her own to stop taking the  phentermine. It was amazing how quickly the inflamed acne subsided. Really, within just a few days of stopping, her skin looked completely different. We now are working to clear up the little bit of non-inflamed acne she has left.

Always let us know if you are taking any medication, or start taking any medications while you are working with us. It can make the difference between clear skin and not.

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

a typical case of folliculitis that looks just like acne.

There is a skin condition called folliculitis that can look just like acne. It looks like small, non-inflamed bumps that frequently shows up on the forehead, but can be anywhere on the face or body.  This skin condition fooled me for years; and I remember being so frustrated that this “acne” wouldn’t respond to acne treatments or products. Oftentimes, people can have a combination of both acne and folliculitis.

What is folliculitis?
It is an inflammation of the hair follicles most often caused by a fungal or yeast infection. It can remain dormant for long periods of time and then flare up with humid weather. There are bacterial forms as well and one must be tested to know which it is. (However, trying to find a doctor to test for it has been extremely exasperating – they think it’s acne too….). We can tell that is folliculitis by the way it extracts much differently than an acne lesion. Also, if it’s a condition that “comes and goes” then that is a clue that is folliculitis and not acne.

It can be caused from the extended use of antibiotics, the use of steroids, oily skin, humidity, occlusive clothing, heavy moisturizers and the use of hot tubs/spas.

How to treat folliculitis

• Mandelic cleansers and serums are great as an anti-fungal remedy.
• Keep the affected areas dry – applying “Gold Bond Powder” can help keep the skin dry (on the body).
• Avoid sugar and yeast containing foods (bread, alcohol, processed/frozen foods, sandwich meat and dairy).
• Cotton clothing and cotton sheets are best. Avoid use of fabric softener.

For more information about this condition and for acne, go to our website.

Face Reality Acne Clinic

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

Research and anecdotal evidence suggests that many of us who suffer from chronic inflammatory acne may benefit from taking relatively higher doses (1000-1700mg) of purified omega-3 oils present mostly in wild ocean fish such as salmon, mackerel, cod and herring.

Omega-3 oils are anti-inflammatory and the body utilizes them in many ways. Of particular relevance to acne sufferers, they may help regulate hormones and in addition help to shorten the intensity of your breakout.

Our estheticians have found the supplements to be particularly helpful with the hormonal breakouts around the chin and jawline area that women suffer during their cycle.

Please note: that although there is no known toxicity associated with using fish oils over long term, you should check with your physician particularly if you have a chronic underlying illness or are pregnant.

We now carry a high-quality fish oil supplement – Source Naturals to help with your acne. Our fish oil capsules are of therapeutic quality and are enteric coated to help assimilate the omega-3′s in the most efficient way possible. In addition they are formulated not to have a fishy after taste and are guaranteed burp free.

Please take 1 capsule/2 capsules with the lightest meal of the day.

For more FREE information on how to have clear skin go to Face Reality Acne Clinic

©2009 Face Reality Acne Clinic

Welcome to Face Reality Acne Clinic Blog! We are excited to bring you up-to-date information on getting your skin clear and keeping it clear. We will be touching on other aspects of skin care as well – healthy skin is our passion and we want to share it.

If you have stumbled across this blog without seeing our website first, know that we also have tons of articles there that are of interest to the acne sufferer.  Face Reality Acne Clinic

We welcome comments on our posts – we are looking forward to dialogueing with you about your skin care concerns.

Cheers

Laura