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

Adult Acne, Teenage Acne-Why more people are suffering from breakouts than ever before.

According to a study presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting this past  March.  Even though over 50% of adults continue to get acne well into adulthood, if you are over 18 and have acne, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one.  It’s mortifying enough to have acne as a teenager, but to have it as an adult is downright humiliating.  People find themselves hiding from the public or unable to compete for jobs or promotions with clear-faced peers.  

Professionals with acne are not taken seriously – a big problem for those who really need credibility not only with their peers, but with their own clients.  It is tough not to feel like a failure when you have adult acne.  And it’s not just women who suffer there are many adult men who come into our clinic looking for the answer to their skincare woes. 
 
What causes adult acne?
For most people who suffer from acne, they get to blame their family. It is an inherited tendency of the pores to clog up with dead skin cells too quickly, which causes a cascade or acne-forming events to happen. So, some people never “grow out” of their acne until much older.  Other people don’t have acne in their teenage years, but start breaking out in their twenties and/or thirties. Why their acne laid “dormant” for their teenage years is a mystery, but as adults, many things can contribute to the onset of acne problems.  Stress, medications, comedogenic (pore-clogging) makeup, skin and hair products, pregnancy, birth control pills and smoking are just some of the contributors to chronic breakouts.
 
Hormonal fluctuations caused by birth control, Plan B, pregnancy, pms, medications, and menopause can also affect your propensity for breakouts, sometimes causing severe acne flare-ups in women who never got a single pimple as teenagers. If you are acne-prone, choose a birth control method that won’t make your acne worse and learn about the relationship between hormones and acne so you can prepare yourself ahead of time for any changes in your skin that may arise.  A condition called pyoderma faciale which mimics acne is a sudden breakout that happens to women in their thirties. 

 Medical conditions like PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or thyroid disorder can wreak havoc with the skin. 

Medications for bipolar disorder like lithium, thyroid medications, anticonvulsant medications, lo-dose birth control pills, corticosteroids, sobriety drugs, etc, can also cause acne. 

Pore-clogging makeup, skin care and hair care can be a culprit in adult acne.  Even if a product says “non pore-clogging” or “noncomedogenic” on the label you cannot trust it.  I have seen scores of products claiming this and look at the ingredient deck to see pore-cloggers. Even the prescribed acne medication, Retin A (the cream form) has a terrible pore-clogging ingredient in it called isopropyl myristate.  If a doctor is going to prescribe a retinoid for acne, it should never be the cream form of Retin A.  For a list of pore clogging ingredients, head to our website, utahacneclinic.com. 

The difference between adult acne and teenage acne
One of the challenges of adult acne is that skin generally becomes less oily and more sensitive. Acne products and treatments that worked well in your teen years may dry you out or cause severe irritation. If you had acne as a teen, you may have noticed that acne seems to travel down and across your face as you age. You used to break out on your forehead, and now you break out on your cheeks. Then it goes to the jawline and sometimes the neck.  This is because the sebaceous follicles mature in stages. For this reason, adult acne is most commonly concentrated around the cheeks, chin, and/or jawline. It is imperative to use the right strength of acne-clearing products on older skin.  Also, starting slowly with a routine allowing the skin to adapt to strong products is an important strategy.
 
The good news: acne products can also be anti-aging!
People who have had acne since adolescence, may be under the impression that their pimples are unstoppable. Adult acne sufferers have usually tried various prescription medications, over-the-counter products, systems such as Proactiv and Murad, and every spa treatment and facial under the sun. The reality is that effective acne treatments and products do exist!
By virtue of their exfoliating properties, some acne products and treatments can even be beneficial for anti-aging and lightening dark spots and acne scars. At Skintherapy Skincare and Acne Clinic, we advise adult acne sufferers to work closely with our acne specialists for a period of four to six months to achieve a lifetime of clear skin. There is no need for anyone, teen or adult to be embarrassed and inconvenienced by the ravages of acne and the scars it can leave behind.  

 Life is full of enough problems… don’t let acne be one of them.

One of our clients shares her experience.  "I’m 30 years old and have struggled with Acne since I was in high school. I’ve been to a few dermatologists, which continued to prescribe antibiotics. One by one they quit working and I worried about my long-term health since I was continually on antibiotics. I’d been looking for a more natural  approach. I stumbled upon Skintherapy Skincare and Acne Clinics website and am so glad I did. They cleared my face up within 10 weeks and I’m now acne free. It’s a miracle. Jil taught me how to manage my acne. I’m a nursing mother and she has always been careful to use safe products. I have more confidence at work now and don’t wear much makeup anymore because I don’t need to."

Lip Products that Clog Pores

Pore Clogging Products: A Series

Hey there, guess what! We are going to start a new series on the blog! The series is called Pore Clogging Products and Their Ingredients.  We will be taking some time, twice a month to dig into all the products that you can and can’t use if you are acne prone.  

We are starting with lip products, specifically lip balms. Some of you will notice that you are constantly getting blackheads or breakouts on and around your lips. These breakouts are most likely occurring because of the products you use on your lips everyday. 

Here is a bit of a guide to safe and unsafe lip balms for those that are acne prone.

The most important thing when picking out lip balm is to make sure to check the active and inactive ingredients before you start wearing it. Some lip balms will be okay with their active ingredients, but will contain pore clogging, non-active ingredients.

Below, we have listed some of the most popular types of lip balms and their active and non-active ingredients. You will notice that the pore clogging ingredients are all listed in the non-active section of these product’s ingredient lists. They are highlighted in red for you to notice.

Eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balm

 

Inactive Ingredients:

Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax/Cera Alba (Cire D'abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor (Aroma), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Cucumis Melo (Honeydew Melon) Seed Extract*, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract*, Limonene**, Linalool**. *Organic. **Component of Natural Flavor. Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth.

 

ChapStick Classic Lip Balm SPF 4, Original

Active Ingredients:

Contains: Padimate O (1.5%) (Sunscreen), White Petrolatum (44%) (Skin Protectant)

Inactive Ingredients:

Arachadyl Propionate, Camphor, Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax, Cetyl Alcohol, D&C Red 6 Barium Lake (CI 15850), FD&C Yellow 5 Aluminum Lake, Fragrance, Isopropyl Lanolate, Isopropyl Myristate, Lanolin, Light Mineral Oil, Methylparaben, Octyldodecanol, Oleyl Alcohol, Paraffin, Phenyl Trimethicone, Propylparaben, Titanium Dioxide, White Wax

Burt’s Bees 100% Natural Lip Balm, Classic Beeswax

Active Ingredients: 

Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Lanolin, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Comfrey (Symphytum Officinale) Root Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Canola Oil

Carmex

Active Ingredients: 

Octinoxate (6.4%), Oxybenzone (5.4%)

Inactive Ingredients: 

Beeswax, Camphor, Cetyl Esters, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Flavor, Lanolin, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Menthol, Ozokerite, Paraffin, Petrolatum, Phenol, Salicylic Acid, Theobroma Cacao (cocoa) Seed Butter

 Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Lip Moisturizer SPF 15

Active Ingredients: 

Octinoxate (7.5%), Oxybenzone 4%

Inactive Ingredients: 

Castor (Ricinus Communis) Seed Oil (Ricinus Communis), Corn Oil (Zea Mays), Ozokerite, Petrolatum, Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Stearyl Alcohol, Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax (Copernicia Cerifera), BHT

 Blistex Medicated Lip Balm, SPF 15

Active Ingredients:  

Dimethicone (2.0%, Lip Protectant), Oxybenzone (2.5%, Sunscreen), Padimate O (6.6%, Sunscreen)

Inactive Ingredients: 

Beeswax, Camphor, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetyl Palmitate, Euphorbia Cerifera Candelilla Wax, Flavor, Isopropyl Myristate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Isopropyl Stearate, Lanolin, Lanolin Oil, Menthol, Methylparaben, Mineral Oil, Ozokerite, Paraffin, Petrolatum, Polybutene, Propylparaben, Red 6 Lake, Theobroma Cocoa Seed Butter

I know what you’re thinking, if all of these products have pore-clogging ingredients, what am I supposed to use on my lips? We highly suggest using simple vaseline or aquaphor on an everyday basis for your lips. Vaseline (not the lip therapy though it has shea butter)or aquaphor really is the most helpful thing for dry lips anyway. So keep it simple and throw all your other lip balms away. We guarantee you will see a difference around your lips. No more blackheads.  

Make sure to stay tuned for our next post about Pore Clogging Products. If you’d like to learn even more about safe products for acne sufferers and other acne fighting techniques, call the Skintherapy Skincare and Acne Clinic of Salt LakeCity to schedule an appointment today.

The Rundown on Clear Skin: Lifestyle Changes to Deal with Acne / Part 2

In our last post, we introduced the first set of lifestyle changes that you will need to achieve clear skin. In this post, we will go over the last 4 changes you need to make in your everyday program to keep your pores clean and skin clear. We urge you to start practicing these habits every day, as soon as possible - but we do warn you that these lifestyle changes are not enough to clear your skin. You also need to start a guided regimen of extractions and product use right away. When you pair these lifestyle changes with our clearing program, you will achieve clear skin.

1. Make sure you are using the correct birth control.

While many people assume that birth control will automatically clear your skin, the reality is that many birth controls can actually cause your skin to break out. Overall, it is best to avoid low-estrogen birth control pills. Please see our post on Acne and Birth Control to learn more about the safest birth control methods for acne sufferers. In general, we suggest staying away from IUD’s, implants and birth control shots. Please consult our list of safe birth control methods before choosing your pill. 

2. Always, always, always check the ingredients of your cosmetics.

If you suffer from acne, you cannot use cosmetics OR hair products that contain pore-clogging ingredients. Products that contain pore clogging ingredients will absolutely make you break out. Please see our list of pore clogging ingredients and make sure to check the products you are buying every time you purchase them. 

3. Wear your sunscreen!

While the best way to keep your skin safe from the sun is to limit your exposure, we do understand that sun exposure is just a part of life. Really though, the sun is great and the best things happen outdoors, so if you can’t limit your time in the sun - make sure to wear sunscreen every day. We ask you to do this because sun exposure damages the follicle, causes hyper pigmentation, skin cancer and premature aging. Too much sun exposure can also cause “solar acne” later in life. Acne sufferers also see more breakouts in warm climates with heat and humidity.

4. Protect your skin when you swim!

When swimming in pools make sure to protect your skin with Aquaphor. Most pools will contain Iodides and Chlorine because of their disinfectants. The Iodides and Chlorine can remain in the water and cause breakouts for swimmers. If you protect your skin with a layer of Aquaphor, you are less likely to breakout and irritate your acne prone skin.

 Remember that you should be making these changes while working with a Skincare and Acne Specialist who can guide your journey to a clear complexion by implementing deep cleansing treatments and finding the right product for your acne type. Skintherapy Skincare and Acne Clinic in Salt Lake City can help.  Give us a call

How to Cure Acne

 

You’ve dreamed of having clear skin but are still suffering from acne. You may have been a teenager when you got your first pimple and it may very well have followed you into adulthood.  You have probably tried products and programs which promised a cure to your acne but that promise never happened. You may have gone as far as taking some crazy prescription drugs such as Accutane, but those pesky pimples came back. Let me tell you why.  Acne can never be cured, but rather managed.  Think of diabetes as an example for comparable treatment patterns as acne. With the correct lifestyle choices, skincare and treatments, your skin can maintain a clear complexion, just as blood sugar can be maintained with the correct treatments and dietary habits. Although acne cannot be cured, an acne specialist can help you achieve clear skin by helping you control the acne with a personalized treatment plan.

Is there an Acne Cure?

Acne stems from genetic traits therefore it cannot be completely cured. If you are prone to acne, it usually runs in your family and unfortunately you can’ just throw out these traits.  A person without the acne trait sheds skin cells once a day in each pore, while those of us with the acne trait, shed skin cells up to seven a day. These skin cells clog our pores, ultimately causing acne and leaving us without an absolute cure.  

So if we can’t stop our skin cells from shedding, how do we maintain clear skin? This is a great question which many professionals, even dermatologists haven’t figured out.  However, an acne specialist just treats acne, and is an expert in the field of controlling acne.  An acne specialist will never offer you a cure.  Instead, they will clear out your pores and then use the correct products to keep the pores clean and your face clear.   

Here is what an acne specialist can do that’s different from a doctor, dermatologists or any other acne option available.  How do I know this? I’m an acne specialist. I’m also a previous employee of multiple doctors and dermatologist who haven’t had time in their busy schedules to really give their acne patients the attention they need. Most doctors see up to 40 patients per day so spending about five to ten minutes with each patient is the norm. But as an acne specialist we have the time to spend with our acne clients. In fact, we talk about everything that could be impacting their acne problems.  We start with a few lifestyle changes, to eliminate the use of any product or food that will intensify acne. This includes using shampoo, makeup, lotion, and laundry detergent without pore clogging ingredients. It also means staying away from milk or anything high in salt, among other things. Then, we start a routine of bi-weekly extractions and chemical peels, as well as a routine of using the correct products at home. Depending on one's progress every other week, we make subtle changes with product to ensure the safest and most successful clearing process. Eventually, pores are all cleared out and the habitual product use keeps them that way!  

For most people, the clearing process takes about 12 weeks, but every case is different and it can take various versions of the same treatment plan to get your skin clear. Using an acne specialist, who has worked with many skin types and acne types, is the best way to ensure the most successful plan for you! Without an absolute cure, the help of an acne specialist is the surest way to achieve results and treat your acne! 

To learn more about starting your successful acne treatment plan, call the Skintherapy Acne Clinic of Salt Lake City.  We are Acne Specialists we care and we can help!

 

What Parents Should Know About Teen Acne

Acne is a touchy subject to address. It can be very personal, embarrassing and even isolating for some people. Take a teenager who suffers from acne and put in the mix the pressure to fit in, date and attend social activities and you have a disaster waiting to happen.  Yes, more acne from the stress but also a teenager who may be calling out for help!!

Studies have shown that people who suffer from acne are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, social isolation, mood changes and even have a loss of interest in hobbies and activities due to their acne.  Therefore, as a parent, helping your teenager find a way to control their acne will help keep your teens self-esteem intact through these tough years. There are also changes you can make around the home to help your teenager stay clear.  As a skin and acne specialist this is what I suggest. 
-Replace your peanut butter jar with almond butter.
-Replace the milk jug with almond milk.
-Buy Goat Cheese and clean out the other types of cheese.
-Buy iodide-free vitamins
-Stop giving your teen money for fast food.  Instead fix them a healthy lunch or dinner that is
low in salt and high in healthy proteins and greens.
-Find them an Acne Specialist that will work one on one with them to get their skin clear.

Acne can be controlled without medication or harmful prescriptions so visiting your local dermatologist is NOT the only answer!  Skintherapy Skincare and Acne Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah can help.  We can also provide referrals for out-of-state clinics who provide the same Acne treatments and solutions.