Acne Treatments
What is Acne?
What’s going on with those pores?
2) In most acne cases, the sebaceous glands – those oil glands inside our pores – are secreting a lot of oil. This is especially true during puberty when our raging hormones act on the sebaceous glands.
In people who don’t shed those extra skin cells, this extra oil production just results in a shiny nose. In those who do shed extra cells, the oil mixes with the dead cells and causes more cells to stick to the microcomedones as they work their way toward the surface. The microcomedones grow larger with the extra cells, becoming what the scientists call “comedones.” If you’ve ever heard the word “comedogenic” it means producing comedones.
It can take 90 days from the first formation of a microcomedo until it reaches the surface. So any product that promises to clear acne overnight is lying. The blemishes you see today started back quite a while ago.
3) Everyone’s pores, acne and non-acne alike, harbor naturally occurring bacteria. Unfortunately, the scientist who first discovered these bacteria discovered them in an acne sufferer and concluded that they caused the acne, so named them for the disease. To this day that bacteria has “acne” in its name (p. acnes bacteria), which reinforces the idea that it causes acne. It doesn’t. But in the case of acne sufferers, the combination of oil and dead skin cells creates a perfect environment for the bacteria to grow rampantly, which contributes to the acne problem. However, if it weren’t for the dead skin cells and the oil, the bacteria would be harmless.
So if you think about this trio of factors, you will start to understand why so many acne treatments don’t work. To conquer acne, you have to deal with all three, but which one do you think is the most important to deal with? It’s the excess skin cells. You have to figure a way to get them out of the pore without forming those plugs.
Natural Acne Treatments
So when we hear the word “natural” it fits with all these expectations. Natural equals good, right?
Natural does not equal Safe
There are two reasons for this. First, while we have assumptions about the word “natural” there are no regulations of how it is used in labeling. Anything a manufacturer wants to label as “natural” can be. But even if there were regulations, how exactly could you define “natural”? Is olive oil natural? How about mineral oil? Most people would say yes to the former, but no to the latter. Yet mineral oil comes from the earth just as much as olive oil does. Even the ingredients in plastic come from the earth.
Second, botanicals, substances derived from plants, are the major ingredient in most skin care products labeled natural. Botanicals in natural acne treatments are far more likely to cause allergic reactions than their synthetic counterparts. Botanicals also break down faster than synthetics and the very plant material that is considered natural harbors fungi and bacteria, and therefore requires more preservative ingredients to keep natural products stable.
Botanical oils are also comedogenic – contributing to the development of comedones, those plugs that lead to acne lesions — so have no place in acne treatment.
Do Natural Acne Treatments Exist?
There is no single product, natural or synthetic, that will get rid of acne. In fact, not even a single group of products, natural or synthetic, will be the ultimate remedy for acne.
Instead of looking for a natural acne remedy, look for a remedy that works. What works is working with an acne specialist: someone who understands acne, knows your skin, can monitor your condition, can determine which products your skin needs and can coach you on how to adjust your home care as your skin adapts and gets used to products.
Looking for simple, natural acne treatments? They don’t exist. But we will coach you through the process of getting clear. If you are tired of all those bogus remedies for acne and you are willing to put in the effort, we really want to work with you. Our clients get exceptional results. Give us a call today and let’s get started.
Why Some Acne Treatments Don’t Work
Retinoids were originally developed to address the excess skin cell problem. They cause the outer layers of skin to slough off and the cells to be less sticky in the process. Used correctly they will help lift those impactions right out of your skin. But if used incorrectly, they will irritate the heck out of your skin, and do nothing for your acne. Some formulations will even make your acne worse.
A brief detour here: If you are an inflamed retinoid user, or you tried retinoids and had to stop because they made your face too uncomfortable, I am not saying you did something wrong. You simply had no way of knowing how to use a retinoid correctly. Most doctors prescribing them don’t take the time to explain, or in some cases don’t know, the proper way to use retinoids. And it certainly isn’t written on the package! Take a look at the article on this site about retinoids, and you will find a description of the proper way to use them. You have to use a slow break-in period to allow your skin to adapt to them. And make sure your retinoid doesn’t have isopropyl myristate or one of the other notorious pore-cloggers. The cream form of Retin-A does!
But even used correctly and in the right formula, retinoids do not address the oil or the bacteria part of the problem. There is one product that does a remarkable job of addressing all three factors that contribute to acne. It’s called Benzoyl Peroxide.
Benzoyl Peroxide dries up oil, and like it’s cousin, Hydrogen Peroxide, it kills anaerobic bacteria by flooding them with oxygen. But unlike its cousin, which stays on the surface, the Benzoyl portion of the molecule draws the Peroxide portion deep into the pore where it can flood those anaerobic p.acnes bacteria with oxygen. But most remarkably of all, Benzoyl Peroxide, or BPO, causes mild exfoliation and makes those sticky dead skin cells unsticky! It is amazing to see how those plugs soften right up after a couple weeks on BPO. Used consistently, BPO stops those plugs from forming in the first place.
• First, you were probably using the wrong BPO. Most formulations of BPO have ingredients in them that will clog the pores. By nature BPO is drying, and manufacturers worry that people won’t like to have their skin feel dry, so they add creams or lotions to counteract this effect. Many of the creams are clogging, and of those that aren’t, most contain fatty acids that prevent the BPO from getting into the pore to do its work. So just because a product contains five or 10 percent BPO does not mean it will help your acne.
• Second, even with the right formula, you have to be religious in your use. The night you skip is the night a microcomedo forms. You may think you got away with it, because the lesion won’t surface for weeks or even months, but it will surface.
• Third, your skin will adapt to the BPO. So even the right BPO used consistently will stop working over time, and you need a way to increase its action, probably more than once.
• Fourth, while BPO is the best acne medication ever developed, it isn’t the whole answer to acne skin care.
To the second scream I’d say, less than 1% of the population is actually truly allergic to BPO. Were you ever patch tested, or do you think you’re allergic because your face got red and irritated when you tried it? Chances are pretty good, in fact I’d say it’s 99% likely, that you are not allergic to BPO.
If you were patch-tested and really are allergic, we can still get you clear without it at The Acne Treatment Center, but it might take a little longer. If you only think you are allergic because your face got red and irritated, you probably didn’t use a break-in protocol (who knew?) to allow your skin to adjust.
Our Story
Our story is about our daughter Molly. Molly has very sensitive skin and has to be very careful about what skin care products she uses on her face. Like most women, Molly began taking care of her skin at an early age. As a teenager she suffered with terrible acne so we took her to see many dermatologists. Unfortunately all of them prescribed medications full of chemicals that actually burned and scarred her skin.
Adolescence is a tough time in a girls life and having acne makes it even more difficult. During those troubling years she tried every cream, lotion or serum that was supposed to be safe for her type of skin. Before she tried any of these products, we would read the labels and do our own research about every ingredient; the benefits and the side effects. We quickly became scared to try anything. The majority of these so called best products use preservatives that are the primary ingredients of anti-freeze which is very toxic and damaging to the skin.
About the time she started high school we noticed that the acne was beginning to permanently scar her face. Soon the relentless teasing began. My husband and I wanted Molly’s high school experience to be something she could fondly remember for the rest of her life. We wanted her to have fun with her friends, date a boy or two, go to football games and be asked out to prom. All she wanted to do was hide in her room. It was breaking our hearts. So we decided to take her situation into our own hands. We couldn’t sit by and watch our sweet, beautiful fun loving daughter… disappear.
So we started learning everything we could about skin. My husband is a Doctor and I am a biochemist by day, and by night we read every skin care book we could get our eyes on. After 6 months of research, we felt like we had enough knowledge to make our first natural safe skin care product. An acne scar cream. A natural product that could heal her skin, kill the acne bacteria and remodel the scar tissue. I’ll be honest It wasn’t easy. Our first product had 34 ingredients and getting them to blend together, absorb into the skin, and smell good was tricky. After we perfected the formula, Molly agreed to try it and within one week she noticed that the redness, the dry flaky skin and the acne was so much better. She was hooked, and soon all the girls in her class were begging her to try it.
That was 14 years ago and now we have over 20 natural skin care products. In order for our skin care products to achieve the best standards possible, we spend thousands of hours doing our homework. We searched the entire globe and discovered the finest organic farmers from over 50 countries. To keep our products the purest and most natural possible, we import the best fruits, flowers, oil, herbs, and extracts fresh from these growers every week. We also wanted our products to stay truly all natural, so for over a whole year we tested over 100 different ingredients that could be used as safe natural preservatives. To control our quality, we make all of our skin care products in house every day.
At our Skin Care Clinics, we take pride in providing the most professional services possible. How do we do this? By establishing personal relationships with our clients and their families. Getting to know their personal likes and dislikes and how we can better serve their needs. We also incorporate a business style that recognizes each employee as a valuable member of our team. It is important to have a blend of positive, supportive people who can help us all see our strengths and our weaknesses. People who want to help make the world a better, healthier place. Together, we believe that the best in each of us, enriches all of us.
Our favorite way of expressing our gratitude is by giving back to women’s organizations. We donate a percentage of all Pelle Dolce sales to charity. Organizations whose primary goal is to help support women and girls from all of over the world. At Pelle Dolce we love to improve the lives of everyone we touch, now and into the future.
Our mission at Pelle Dolce is to enhance the beauty of all women with quality natural skin care products made from organic ingredients that are safe for all skin types. Welcome to the Pelle Dolce family, please enjoy our website. It is a great source of accurate information and the truth about skin care products. We want to help you make the best informed choices about your skin care. Thank you and always be well.
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