Acne News

Heard about the mineral makeup craze? By now, probably.

How it doesn’t block pores, how its great for acne prone, oily and sensitive skin etc. But before you go out and grab your minerals, here’s one thing to look out for before you fall for pretty packaging. Hey, if you’re looking, you might as well go for the good stuff. continue

accutane is banned

Remember our warning on Accutane? This latest worldwide move practically bans accutane.

If you’re looking for effective acne treatment, the good news is there are plenty to go with.

accutane is not a good acne treatment

We’re frequently informing our clients during our Skin Type program consultations, using Accutane as an acne treatment is a really bad idea.

Here’s why.

It doesn’t actually stop acne. Rather,  it reduces your skin’s oil glands and hence the amount of oil your skin produces. The acne causing P. bacteria needs this oil to survive so the logic is that less oil, the less likely P. bacteria is to thrive.

So what’s the problem?

Accutane works on hormones and they get told to stop producing oil by means of suppression. This “suppressive” nature has been shown to cause bouts of depression in teenagers and birth defects and deficiencies and fertility complications.

Accutane was invented in ‘79. Last century.

It just isn’t clever enough to choose how the hormones are suppressed hence the complications.

There are now easier and safer ways to treat acne, and we eliminate the guesswork by getting on the Skin Type program, it shows us what your unique Skin Type is and it shows you, what products and treatments you can do, very often without spending more than you would need to.

There’s more than one way to deal with skin saboteurs like blemishes, puffiness and redness. Check out our top tricks to neutralizing the most persistent problems plus how to prevent them from erupting in the first place.

Acne

Breakouts aren’t caused by dirt or too much chocolate,  not at all.

They may accelerate the appearance of pimples, but the real problem starts when pores become clogged with a combination of dead skin and oil.

Breakouts don’t always stop even after our school days, although adults are more likely to get red bumps rather than black or white heads, and these usually develop on the nose or cheeks.

Prevent:

Pimples radiate pain to the surface of your skin as they start rising. Here’s a trick you may already know, once you feel it, use Benzoyl Peroxide on it, but keep the concentration to 5% or less.

This helps stops bacteria from brewing and will reduce if not prevent, eruption. Keep it to 5% or less, reason being any more may irritate certain Skin Types.

Use a salicylic or glycolic cleanser, the exfoliating features will also go a long way in reducing eruption by reducing the amount of dead skin.

We also like to finish that off with a light, oil free moisturizer, this is the step that a lot of people with acne concerns, skip and what it does is to only cause  skin to pump out more oil, and more oil means happy days for acne bacteria.

Counter Strike: What to do when they erupt!

Hands off.

Don’t pick, poke or puncture, this only makes the marks more noticeable, last longer and leave scars. All scars are resulted in this manner and it is always very expensive to treat acne scars.

If you must pick, learn to do it the right way with a sterilized tool but such things are really best left to the professionals.

Use spot treatments with a high dose of salicylic acid, sulfur, or even my personal fav, Retinol. Be careful, though, you won’t want to be using Retinol after the pimple has erupted, this usually worsens the redness that comes with the eruption.

Watch for the next edition where we give counter strike tips for Ingrown Hairs, you won’t want to miss this if you/re waing, shaving or epilating at the moment.

Someone had to figure this out; why does it seem like everyone around us is having loads of skin complaints at a time when there are more skin care products than ever before?

Well someone did, no not us but a dermatologist came with the Baumann system that we have been using to stunning effect at our location.

Have you noticed dark spots on your skin after sun exposure or as a cut heals? If you borrow a friend’s cleanser, will you end up with irritated skin? Great skin results from addressing those questions and  the four parameters that really define your skin type:

• Dry (D) vs. Oily (O)

Oily skin appears shiny, and those who have it may prefer gel- or powder-based cosmetic products, as moisturizers feel greasy. Dry skin may appear dull and rough; dry skin types find moisturizer soothing and gravitate toward creamy makeup.

• Sensitive (S) vs. Resistant (R)

Sensitive skin flushes easily and may become red and irritated at the slightest deviation from its standard routine; it may also be prone to acne and eczema. While resistant skin sounds like an unqualified blessing, people with this type often need to use stronger products to penetrate their skin and achieve the desired effect.

• Pigmented (P) vs. Non-Pigmented (N)

Some people believe that pigmented types are always dark-skinned, which is absolutely not the case. Anyone who experiences unwanted dark spots (melasma, sun spots, or freckles, for example) is a pigmented type.

• Wrinkled (W) vs. Tight (T)

Short of a crystal ball, this parameter is the best indication of how your skin will age, based on both genetic tendencies and lifestyle. You can’t do much about your genes, of course, but your daily routine can significantly affect your score on the wrinkled-tight scale: sun exposure, smoking, and poor nutrition, for example, all contribute to skin aging.

Put them together, and you get 16 skin types instead of three or four – a far more realistic picture that we can work with.
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Hi, I’m Deborah Chan, technical director of the Skin Type Solution programme at Spahaven. Like what you’re reading?

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