Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work

September 26, 2016 LuminosityAcne

Drugstore Acne Products | How to Clear Skin Naturally | Acne Tips Tricks | Acne Treatment Raleigh NC

Have you used every drugstore or over the counter acne product and gotten little to no skin clearing results? If so, just know that you aren’t alone! In today’s blog post I’ll go over the most common reasons why drugstore acne products don’t work.

Before I dive into the 4 reasons why drugstore acne products don’t work, I want to first say that I understand that my opinion on this topic may come across as biased being that I am a licensed esthetician with my own brand of acne products, but the reasons I am about to present are legit!

Ok so now that that’s out of the way let’s get started with the reasons why these inexpensive drugstore acne products don’t work to clear up your acne.

Reason #1 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Pore Clogging Ingredients

Believe it or not, most of these products contain pore clogging ingredients despite the claims that they are making. A product may say that it’s non-comedogenic, oil-free or formulated for acne but none of those claims guarantee that the product is truly acne-safe because the FDA does not regulate these claims.

I put together a previous blog post that talks more in depth on pore clogging ingredients and how to check your current skincare products and makeup to make sure they don’t contain any pore cloggers.

Make sure not to miss it! Knowing if your products are breaking you out is so important!

Reason #2 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Outdated Salicylic Acid

Many of these drugstore products rely on outdated salicylic acid or glycolic acid, but the best alpha-hydroxy acid for acne is Mandelic Acid.

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Mandelic Acid does it all for acne…

It’s exfoliating so it prevents the pores from clogging
It’s anti-bacterial so it kills off the bacteria responsible for inflamed or cystic acne
It’s anti-inflammatory so it helps heal lesions quicker
It has hyperpigmentation lightening properties so it can lighten up those annoying leftover dark marks from past breakouts

Mandelic Acid is multi-functional and is indispensable when it comes to clearing up the skin.

Reason #3 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Using Benzoyl Peroxide Wrong

I know that most of you have tried benzoyl peroxide and it didn’t quite do the trick on clearing up your skin, but believe it or not, benzoyl peroxide is a very important and indispensable component in your skincare routine, along with Mandelic Acid.

There are several ways in which you are using benzoyl peroxide incorrectly. I recently wrote a blog post on it so make sure to read to find out all the ways that you are using it wrong.

Reason #4 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Not Strengthening Up The Routine

You can’t increase the strength of your drugstore products. Acne has an ability to adapt to the products you use on your skin. At our office, to stay ahead of this ability we periodically increase the strength or frequency of our clients’ acne products until they clear up. Once they are clear and there is no more acne under the skin then they can maintain the clear skin at this level of their product routine.

Now I do understand that you can increase the level of drugstore benzoyl peroxide so you can go from a 2.5% to a 5% and then to a 10%, but you can’t do that with salicylic acid, which is the most commonly found drugstore acid. Salicylic acid can only be purchased at a 2% strength when it’s over the counter so your skincare routine is stuck there and for your products to be effective against the acne you need both your benzoyl peroxide and hydroxyl-acid product to be increased periodically or else the acne will adapt and you’ll be back at square one. Also as mentioned earlier, salicylic acid isn’t ideal for acne anyways.

RECAP: Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work

They can contain pore clogging ingredients
They rely on outdated salicylic acid
They don’t instruct you on how to properly use benzoyl peroxide
They make it hard to stay ahead of acne’s ability to adapt to product use

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Does Salt Cause Acne? | Iodine Breakouts

September 23, 2016 LuminosityAcne

Did you know that if you’re acne prone iodized salt can make your breakouts worse? In today’s blog post I’ll cover the connection that iodine has with acne so make sure to keep reading!

Certain Foods Impact Acne

At Luminosity Acne Skincare, it’s very important for us to educate our clients on certain foods that can negatively impact acne so that we can ensure our clients clear up as quick as possible. Before I move forward I just want to mention that you should not make any changes to your diet without consulting your doctor first. This post is strictly for informational purposes only and not a substitute for medical advice.

Iodine & Acne

One of these acne-aggravating foods is actually a mineral known as iodine or iodide and in addition to food, it may also be found in certain medications.

So iodine is a mineral that we do need because our bodies need it to function properly. However if you’re acne-prone and you take in an over-abundance of iodine then some of the excess amount that your body has no use for can be excreted through the pores. As it excretes it can irritate the already sensitized follicle and create more inflammation which leads to worse breakouts.

According to Dr. James Fulton iodine can create acne-like eruptions for even those that are not acne-prone if they ingest very large amounts of iodine. So if this has the potential to effect those without acne then it will certainly effect those of us who naturally breakout.

How Much Iodine Do We Need?

The RDA or Recommended Daily Allowance for iodine is 150 mcg per day. That’s micrograms, not milligrams, so it isn’t very much at all. In fact most of us get plenty of iodine without even knowing it and it can be very easy to go overboard which again isn’t a good idea if you are acne prone. I do want to mention though that there are some medical conditions or disorders that require you to take in an excess amount of iodine to maintain your health so as I mentioned earlier do not make any dietary changes without consulting your doctor first.

Is Salt The Same Thing As Iodine?

Now when it comes to iodine most people immediately think of salt. But not all salt is iodized meaning not all salt is bad for acne. Try to stay away from using iodized salt or table salt. These salts undergo a process where all the minerals are stripped away and then excess iodine is added back in which is also known as being fortified. This practice began because decades ago people in certain regions that didn’t have access to iodine rich seafood began having iodine deficiency issues so we started fortifying salt with iodine. Although this is no longer an issue in today’s times, the processing of salt still continues.

A good substitute for iodized salt or table salt would be an unrefined salt. Unrefined salts can still contain iodine but they will be the lower amount that is naturally found in the salt instead of the heavy amount added in most table salts. Many clients ask if sea salt is ok to use. I tell them to check the label and see if it says it’s been iodized because I have seen iodized sea salt on the store shelf.

Eating Out & Acne

When eating out it’s important to know that most restaurants or fast food chains use iodized salt because it’s much cheaper than unrefined salt. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ever eat out, but I recommend sticking more to grilled options than fried because fried foods tend to be salted much heavier than grilled foods. So if you want a chicken sandwich, choose the grilled one rather than the fried one.

Processed Food & Acne

Iodized salt also finds itself into processed deli meat and canned vegetables so when grocery shopping for these items look for labels that say “low sodium” or “sodium-free.”

Seafood & Acne

Seafood also contains iodine but its amount varies by the type of seafood you consume. At Luminosity Acne Skincare we caution our clients to mainly be aware of seaweed or kelp as those contain the highest amount of iodine and will be the most problematic for acne-prone individuals. The main sources of these that we consume would be in seaweed paper snacks and sushi.

Now don’t panic about the sushi! I personally love sushi and still eat it but I don’t have it weekly because the seaweed can flare me up if I overindulge. I’ve mentioned this in my other acne foods videos and blog posts, but at our office we don’t tell our clients they can’t have any acne-aggravating foods, we just ask them to consume them in moderation because unfortunately over-doing it will result in more acne. So enjoy your sushi but don’t make it a weekly thing.

Sodas & Acne

A hidden source of iodine that may be surprising to most is dark sodas. Most dark sodas get their rich, dark brown color from a red dye that contains iodine. And remember that iodine isn’t salt itself…it’s simply a mineral that is most commonly found in salt but can also be found in many other foods, including this red dye. If you consume dark sodas on a regular basis then try switching to sodas that aren’t dark. Now of course I am not advocating soda drinking but I understand not everyone will want to give up their sodas so instead just switch to a more acne-friendly one.

Supplements & Acne

And finally a last source of excess iodine could be in your supplements or vitamins, more specifically your multi-vitamin. It’s easy to check for iodine. Just flip the label over and look for iodine or potassium iodine. If the supplement contains it then opt for a multi-vitamin without it. Some multi-vitamins or superfood supplements can also contain kelp. Make sure to avoid those as well. To play it safe I would look through the ingredients list on every single supplement or vitamin you take to be safe.

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Benzoyl Peroxide Mistakes

September 13, 2016 LuminosityAcne

A lot of people will pick up the highest strength benzoyl peroxide they can find, which is usually is 10%. This leads to several mistakes.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #1
First is that they will dry out their skin really quickly to the point where the dryness becomes unbearable so then one would think that the logical next step would be to slather on a thick moisturizer to combat the dryness. Unfortunately heavy moisturizers interfere with the benzoyl peroxide’s anti-bacterial properties so it becomes less effective against the acne.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #2
The second issue with jumping straight away into a high strength benzoyl peroxide is that you have no room to strengthen it up. You see acne has this crazy ability to adapt to the products you use on your skin. That’s why if you’ve ever tried a new acne product you may have noticed that it works a little bit at first, but then before you know it the improvement stops and you’re back at square one with the same amount of acne. This occurs because you never strengthened up your routine to stay ahead of the acne’s ability to adapt.

At Luminosity we remedy both of these issues by starting our clients out on a low strength benzoyl peroxide and strategically increasing it every couple of weeks. This allows the skin to slowly adjust with it and while some dryness will still occur, most will be able to avoid the extreme uncomfortable dryness that occurs with the higher strength benzoyl peroxide, thus eliminating the need for a heavy moisturizer which as I mentioned can interfere with the benzoyl peroxide doing its job properly. For those clients that still need a bit of moisture we recommend out Hydra Boost Gel which is a light weight hyaluronic acid gel serum that can be used in conjunction with the benzoyl peroxide without stopping it from working.

Starting out with a low strength benzoyl peroxide will also allow us to steadily increase the strength of it over time so that we don’t allow the acne to adapt. I also want to mention that we aren’t increasing the benzoyl peroxide forever. We only need to increase it until you clear up. Once you are clear we can keep your routine the same to maintain the clear skin result.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #3
Another issue that occurs when making the mistake of starting off with a high strength benzoyl peroxide is that many will stop using it or cut back on how much they are applying to their skin at the first sign of dryness. While we don’t want your skin uncomfortably dry, it’s important to understand that dry and flaking skin is normal to occur.

Benzoyl peroxide has this great ability which allows it to peel or exfoliate the inner lining of the pore wall. You see on a daily basis your pores are shedding up to 5 layers of dead skin cells, and on a side note non-acne-prone pores shed only 1 layer of dead skin cells per day so the difference is huge. These daily 5 layers of cells first cling to the sides of the pore wall and then they start to continue piling up and clogging the pore. Benzoyl peroxide comes to the rescue by exfoliating that liner of cells clinging to the pore wall so some of the flaking you are seeing is just exfoliation at work which is a great thing if you want clear skin!

But if you back off of your benzoyl peroxide at the first sign of dryness or flaking then you are allowing these 5 layers of dead skin cells to get a hold inside of the pore again and create a clog which will only continue to result in breakouts. So remember not to skip your benzoyl peroxide and not to use less of it and that dry skin isn’t the end of the world, in fact it’s a good sign as long as it’s not extreme.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #4
Another mistake I see people making with benzoyl peroxide is by exclusively spot treating their individual pimples rather than applying it all over. I’ve written a previous blog post on this subject and you can click here to read it.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #5
Another mistake is by not rubbing it into the skin thoroughly enough. Make sure that you really work it into your skin so that it can deliver its anti-bacterial properties properly.

Benzoyl Peroxide Mistake #6
Finally the last mistake we see people making with benzoyl peroxide is that they don’t pair it with a good exfoliating serum. While benzoyl peroxide does have the ability to peel inside the pore, your skin will clear up much quicker and better if you pair it with a serum that is designed to exfoliate. That’s because as I mentioned earlier acne-prone skin sheds up to 5 layers of dead skin cells per day so it’s important to really focus on exfoliation so that we don’t allow those cells to create clogs.

Now many people opt for salicylic acid or glycolic acid, but the superstar at our office is our Mandelic Maven Serum which contains Mandelic Acid. Mandelic Acid is superior to any other acid on the market because it tackles every aspect of acne clearing. It’s anti-bacterial to kill the acne causing bacteria, it’s exfoliating to prevent dead skin cells from clogging the pores, it has anti-inflammatory properties to bring down cysts, and it has hyperpigmentation lightening properties to speed up the fading of any leftover dark marks from past breakouts. It really does it all for acne, but it’s important to always pair it with benzoyl peroxide in order for each of these products to work to the best of their abilities to fight acne.

So those are all the mistakes that I see people making when it comes to using benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide can be amazing at fighting off acne but you need to use it properly or else it won’t be effective.