Quick Skincare Tips for Your Acne Prone Tween or Teenager

It’s no surprise that most individuals first taste of acne is at the start of puberty.  As puberty arrives bodies go through many different changes.  One change is the increase in the gonadotropin hormone levels in both girls and boys.  This triggers a cycle in those who are acne prone -of more sebum, excessive skin cell production which clog’s the pore and creates a perfect place for bacteria to grow.  This is where acne starts and the cycle from the beginning of a zit to when it reaches the surface of the skin can take three to four months.

Since most acne appears during puberty.  Typically age 9 for girls and age 11 for boys, I suggest teaching your child some healthy skincare habits beforehand.  when the acne hits you’ll have a teenager who has a good foundation of following a simple skincare routine which can help immensely in controlling their acne.  

Cleansing

Get your kids cleansing their face on a regular basis.  Clean hands and a very mild face wash is all they will need. Start by having your child cleanse in the morning either in the shower or after they brush their teeth.  Once they are consistent with cleansing in the morning add a night cleansing to their routine. 

No picking

Picking at pimples can become a bad habit quickly.  I’ve seen lot’s of “pickers” in our clinic.  One of my first priorities is to get that client to stop picking because it spreads bacteria and can cause scarring. If it seems that your child or teenager is picking maybe inquirer about the reason behind this activity.  We see picking in our clinic attributed to boredom anxiety or embarrassment over their acne. 

Moisturizing

Keeping skin moisturized is important for everyone.  I always suggest moisturizing in the morning and at night. This step would follow cleansing.  However, if this is too many steps for a younger child to follow just moisturize at night.  Reason being is that the next step “ Sunscreen” can double as the morning moisturizer.

Sunscreen

Teach your child and teenager to always wear sunscreen during the day as the last step in their skincare routine.  Sunscreen helps prevent sun burns which can lead to skin cancer, wrinkles and premature aging later in life.

Have more questions about clearing acne and helping your tween or teenager have clear skin?  Visit our website at UtahAcneClinic.com or call us at 801-800-6602

Fish Oil for Acne

             What do fish oil and cod liver oil have to do with acne, anyway? 

 

 In a nutshell, fish oil – or rather, omega-3 fatty acids – appears to help some people clear up their skin faster.  This is because omega-3s reduce inflammation in a few different ways. At our Acne Clinic we suggest clients get on a high quality Omega 3 fatty acid when treating their skin problems. You may wonder why and how fish oil can aid in clearing acne so let's take a closer look.

  

Inflammation is a major contributor to acne, so it’s tempting to think it’s a good idea to start taking fish oil.  Fish oil contains a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, which interact with omega-6 fatty acids to reduce or end your body’s inflammatory response. 

  

When you have a really skewed omega-3:6 ratio in your diet – as in, way too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3 – your inflammation levels skyrocket. 

 Not good! 

 And for some years now, people have been using large doses of fish oil to treat inflammation by balancing out those pesky omega-6s. 

 How does inflammation relate to acne? Well, It’s responsible for the redness and swelling that makes acne so embarrassing. Reduce inflammation, and your acne won’t swell up so much (or get so cherry-red). 

 Cod liver oil, on the other hand, works to heal acne mainly because it gives you a big boost of vitamins A and D. While it also contains some omega-3s, the dosage is far smaller than what you’d get in a dose of fish oil. 

 Fish oil is basically oil that’s extracted from fish bodies, while cod liver oil is taken from the livers of codfish. Pretty simple. 

And like we said above, fish oil is a powerful source of omega-3s, and omega-3s have anti-inflammatory effects. 

What’s the big deal with inflammation? 

You see, these days, most of the common Western diet is highly  

Inflammatory. 

  

What does that mean, exactly? 

  

Well, it means that most people are eating way too many foods loaded with omega-6 fats, sugar, trans fats, and gluten, all of which are pro-inflammatory. 

  

These inflammatory foods drive your immune system to do insane things, like causing swelling where you least want it – arthritis, for example, and of course, acne. 

  

When your immune system is on constant red alert, and it stumbles across a clogged pore on that lovely face of yours, it dives in for the attack! The clogged pore becomes inflamed, red, and swollen. 

  

You see, if your immune system were healthy and normal, a clogged pore wouldn’t cause a big fuss. Your body would heal the ruptured pore pretty quickly and then go on functioning normally. No big deal! But when your body is in a constant state of hyper-immune-activation and inflammation, any little thing sets off your immune system. 

  

How do omega-3s affect inflammation? 

  

Before we get to that, let us explain a few things about the essential fatty acids: omega-3s and omega-6s. While there are many different fatty acids in the omega-3 and omega-6 families, only a couple are actually really useful and needed in the body. These are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3, and arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6. 

  

Arachidonic acid is critical to the initiation of an inflammatory response, which is why it gets a bad rap. However, AA also turns on the cellular machinery that activates DHA, which helps to bring that inflammatory response to an end. 

  

Together, these two fatty acids are a part of an intricate chemical dance in the body that starts an inflammatory response when it’s needed and then stops it when it isn’t needed anymore. 

 (Another omega-3 found in fish and fish oils, eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, reduces inflammation mostly by interfering with AA… and therefore with the whole process of inflammation and its resolution.  

  

As you can see, omega-3 fats – namely DHA – have an incredibly powerful role in quickly helping inflammation. 

 The key here is your ratio of these omega-3s to pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats. The rub is that if the inflammation-initiating omega-6 fats aren’t balanced by sufficient omega-3s, your immune system can get vigilant.  

 Now, if you were eating like a hunter-gatherer of yesteryear – e.g. wild game, nuts, vegetables, the odd beehive – you’d have an omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of around 1:1. 

  

But in this day and age, omega-6 fats are in everything – canola oil, safflower oil, vegetable oil, corn, soy, wheat – basically most of the JFBBs (Junk Food Building Blocks) in today’s fast-food world. Most cookies, crackers, snacks, breakfast cereals, and granola bars are made primarily with these JFBBs, which, again, are highly inflammatory. 

 That’s bad news for acne! 

 In short, you’ve got to optimize your omega-3 to -6 ratio if you want clearer healthier skin. 

  

The common wisdom goes like this: fish oil gives you a huge blast of omega-3s (EPA and DHA), which is good because it balances out your omega-6 intake, reducing inflammation. 

  

And if you’re not convinced already, here’s a roundup of the key benefits to improving your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio (by reducing omega-6 consumption): 

Improving this fatty acid ratio can help… 

• Reduce redness and puffiness of acne lesions. 
• Moisturize your skin naturally, making your skin softer. 
• Reduce stress, preventing excess acne-causing sebum production. 
• Slow down skin cell over-production, keeping your pores open and free. 

• Balance hormone production, making your skin less oily. 

In addition to helping clear your skin, a healthier omega-3 to -6 ratio can also provide the following benefits: 

• Reduced joint pain. 
• Improved mood.  
• Improved brain performance.  
• Stronger hair. 
• More energy. 
• Improved cholesterol levels.

Taking fish oil can definitely help with inflammation in the body and skin. However, just taking a high quality Omega 3 fish oil will not cure your acne.  If you need help with getting your acne under control our Clinic can do just that. Visit us a UtahAcneclinic.com to see how.

Pore Clogging Products: Why you can’t use just any blush or bronzer.

photo credit fashiontribes.com

Guess what? Checking the ingredients in your blush and bronzer is just as important as checking the ingredients in your foundation. If you suffer from acne, you simply cannot get away with putting anything on your face before ensuring there are no pore-clogging ingredients involved in your product. 

Some might argue that bronzers or blushes do not go directly on your face, they are a second layer after your foundation and therefore do not need to be completely acne safe. This argument is incorrect. 

We know, NARS, MAC, Laura Mercier and Bare Minerals all make really beautiful shades of blush and bronzers. Trust us, we defiantly understand why you want to wear them, but you simply cannot. The pore-clogging ingredients will find their way into your pores and cause breakouts no matter how many layers of other products lie under them. 

Please read on to see why these products are likely to cause breakouts. 

NARS: Unfortunately all of NARS blushes and bronzers are a no-no for acne suffers. The Bronzers contain Ethyhexyl Palmitate, which is on the pore-clogging list. NARS blushes contain Laureth-4, which will make you break out. 

MAC: MAC pressed Blush is made with D&C Red #30. Don’t waste your time hunting through the pore clogging list to see if this is safe, it’s not. D&C Red #30 will aggravate your acne.

Bare Minerals: Now this is probably going to come as a shock to most of you, because Bare Minerals have long been considered pretty close to completely acne safe. In fact, before the arrival of our favorite make up line - Priia Cosmetics, we recommended all Bare Minerals products to our clients. Now, we know that the Everyday Minerals Blush and READY Blush both contains Lauroyl Lysine, which is a pore clogging ingredient. You can also find Bismuth in some Bare Mineral blushes and bronzers, this will irritate acne suffers skin. 

The most important thing to understand about your blushes and bronzers is that they need to be acne safe products before you put them on your face, this means you need to ensure that they do not contain any pore-clogging ingredients. Do this by consulting our pore clogging ingredient list every time you buy a new product. 

If you want to skip the hassle of all that, use Priia Cosmetics. These products are made specifically for acne sufferers, so you never have to worry about ingredients. Priia really is a saving grace for those of us who tend to breakout, you can trust these blushes and bronzers. Visit priia.com to learn more about all of their makeup or

If you would like to learn more about managing your acne and ultimately achieving clear skin, please call SkinTherapy Skincare and Acne Clinic of Salt Lake City. We would love to see you for a consultation.

Coconut Oil - Don’t Let The Hype Fool You-Pore Clogging Products: A Series

Coconut oil has exploded in the beauty market this year and while you probably have some friends that swear by the stuff for moisture, smell, etc. - it is a no no for acne sufferers.

With the popularity of coconut oil, many people have preached that this creamy oil can clear acne among all it’s other uses. Unfortunately this claim is not true. The thought behind coconut oil and clearing acne is that coconut oil contains acids with antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial properties that help kill yeast and parasites. This boosts your immune system to fight infections. In theory, this fight against infections would also fight against acne breakouts. 

We know, it would be such a simple fix if coconut oil did help acne sufferers, but this theory is flawed because of the molecule in coconut oil. It is a very small molecule and it will CLOG your pores. Simple as that -  PLEASE BE AWARE - coconut oil is going to clog your pores, it is highly comedogenic. We have seen clients who have used the oil before coming into the clinic with increased breakouts where they slathered straight coconut oil or products containing the oil on their skin.

You need to stay away from any form of this stuff if you are acne prone! This includes shampoos, lotions, makeup products, etc.  Do not use coconut masks for your hair and stay away from “off the shelf” products that contain the oil.

We suggest you consult our list of pore clogging ingredients before buying any type of beauty product from the store and never let the hype of coconut oil touch your skin.

Below, we have listed some popular hair products that contain coconut oil. Please notice that coconut oil is in all types of hair products- including masques, mists, leave in conditioners, etc. As an acne sufferer you are required to check all ingredients in all of your products, even if they are the same brand.

Pureology Precious Oil Softening Hair Masque

The Pureology Precious Oil Softening Hair Masque is not safe for acne prone skin because the masque uses coconut oil to repair fading hair color and generally dry hair. This product is a great example of changes in product ingredients throughout the same brand. Pureology does have  acne safe shampoo and conditioner that many acne sufferers use daily. If you would have just assumed that this hair masque was safe because it was made by Pureology, you would have encountered breakouts within a few uses.  Always check the ingredients, even on products you have used before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli Detangler
Coconut oil is one of 17 organic ingredients in this leave-in conditioner that detangles, hydrates, and strengthens hair. But will not be a friend to anyone who suffers from acne.

Carol's Daughter Monoi Oil Sacred Strengthening Serum

The headlining “up and coming” new oil called  monoi oil, comes from an exotic mixture of Coconut oil and flowers. Not a hair oil I would recommend if you’re acne prone.

Kiehl's Amino Acid Conditioner

Kiehl’s is a well known brand that works wonders on most skin and hair, but this conditioner will not work to keep acne sufferers safe from breakouts. This hydrating and lightweight conditioner contains coconut oil and will cause breakouts around the scalp.

Aveda’s Sun Care Soins Soleil

This water resistant spray contains coconut oil, palm oil and shea butter. Again, not safe for acne prone skin even though it’s a hair care product.

If you want to clear your acne, you need to use the correct products for your skin as well as your hair. SkintherapySkincare and Acne Clinic of Salt Lake City can put you on the right path towards clear skin find us at UtahAcneClinic.com and on Instagram at Skintherapyacneclinic.