In this blog post and featured video below, I share with you my absolute BEST acne advice, tips, and tricks, based upon 13 years worth of experience in working in the skincare realm of the cosmetic industry as a licensed esthetician and acne solutions specialist! It’s been especially rewarding over the course of my career to have had the pleasure to have been able to successfully help others overcome their struggles and insecurities with their skin. It’s s a topic that’s always been close to my heart as a life-long acne sufferer, that much to my dismay, for much of my teens and well into my twenties, I never felt pretty, confident and assured with myself; mostly to due to my complexion and extreme insecurities surrounding the condition (and scarring) of my skin. It was a horrible and traumatizing period of my life feeling hideous and wanting to hide my face from the world. This is why I made the decision pretty early on to turn my pain into my passion so to speak, and help guide others in achieving clear, healthy complexions they could feel proud of!

I really hope this blog post and video I’ve created really clears things up a bit (no pun intended : ) and offers you some insightful advice that can really enlighten the way you’ve previously thought of acne; and broaden your understanding making for a marked difference in your complexion and confidence!

So, here we go..

Tip #1. Always Double Cleanse

It’s very important that you understand and remember this one crucial tip (if you forget everything else), removing make-up is different from cleansing the skin! When you’re dealing with oily skin, stubborn, acneic skin, you need to cleanse the skin twice in a process called “double cleansing”. It’s actually one of the first tricks they teach you in esthetician school! And it REALLY makes a huge difference alone!

First and foremost, you must take the time to use an actual make-up removing cleanser (if you’re a make-up wearer like me) Try our all-natural, luxuriously silky Botanical Cleansing Cream and Make-Up Remover-, in slow, rhythmic, circular motions until that mask of make-up and debris is emulsified and ready to be gently toweled-off with a cool, dampened wash-cloth. (Make-up removing towelettes in my opinion are not sufficient for thoroughly removing that day-old, caked-on layer of foundation and grime!). After you’re done getting your make-up off,..you literally cleanse the skin again, but in this second cleanse, you’re not just rubbing and recirculating day-old make-up around your face, you’re truly deep-cleaning your skin’s pores, and that my friends is how you get down to business–deep down into the pores that is! I recommend a cleanser specifically formulated for aiding oily & acneic skin types like our Purifying Peppermint Cleansing Gel– which contains peppermint, white willow bark, and  bacteria-blasting essential oils to gently kill bacteria deep within the pores in a wonderfully invigorating cleanse! 

Tip #2. Exfoliation is KEY

Gentle, but aggressive exfoliation is the truly the key to a clear, beautiful complexion! Reason being that: when you’re dealing with acne, essentially, you have a layers of dead skin cells that are mixing with your skin oils, and stacking on top of, and lining the inside of your pore follicles. This accumulation of excess dead skin cells and oil forms into ultra-sticky, viscous, masses–ultimately clogging your skin’s pores (you cant always see if and feel it, but it there)! These nasty plugs set the stage for acne by creating a VERY unfriendly environment where bacteria begin to grow and breed like rabbits inducing infection, inflammation, and pus (thus the anatomy of the acne lesion)! It’s imperative to ensure that the skin stays  continuously cleansed and exfoliated in a well-balanced, radically religious home care regime! I recommend gentle exfoliation in the form of a powdered enzyme. An excellent pick would be our Skin Smoothing Exfoliating Powder 4 oz-, that can be mixed with equal parts of your cleansing gel (about a dime to quarter size of each) along with a little warm water and circulated into the face during the cleansing lather for a little non-abrasive exfoliating boost in an easy 2-in-1 step!

Tip #3 Blast Bacteria with Benzoyl Peroxide 

Yes folks, this is how you murder acne..Benzoyl peroxide truly works wonders, you’ll just need  it in higher concentrations than what’s typically available over the counter–and not get too carried away with using too much too soon! It WILL irritate and dry out your skin if you don’t follow directions and ease your skin into it. A little bit at a time (starting with one pump every-other-night) over a little light moisturizer is the correct way to acclimate to BP. Being smart in knowing when to increase the percentage, and when to back-off a little is the name of the game. Try our Purity Elixir 5% 1oz -(mild-moderate acne) and Purity Elixir 10% 1oz-(moderate-severe acne). Ease yourself into it slowly and watch miracles happen as your complexion clears-up leaps and bounds as the days and weeks pass by!

Tip #4 Find the Balance

When using professional-grade skin care products, many of which are quite “active” with a high concentration of quality ingredients which can be a bit stimulating, you must go SLOW and acclimate your skin carefully over time. All skin types are so very different and you need to follow the directions precisely and listen to your skin when you begin using these highly beneficial, “active” products. Sometimes when we get really excited about working a new product into our regime, we use too much too soon, and the skin becomes irritated and dry as a result. So, please PLEASE start slowly with your products using only the recommended amount. With most benzoyl peroxide and exfoliating products (AHA’s, retinol, etc.) begin every-other-night to and don’t over-do it. Find the balance that’s right for your skin and stay consistent in your regime.  YOU WILL see desirable changes happen over time that only gets better!

Tip #5 All skin needs hydration

Having oil in your skin if different from having water in your skin. Most people skin seems to suffer from dehydration to some degree, so it’s important to give back and balance-out your skin’s barrier with a hydrator (aka moisturizer) appropriate for your skin type. Many of my acne clients like the ultra-light, lotion-feel of the Esthetic Arts Sheer Hydration Oil-Free Moisture 2oz -or, even lighter is the ultra-absorbent, gel-feel of Esthetic Arts  Hydration Repair Gel 2 oz-Both options are completely non-comedogenic, and won’t clog your pores. A little supplemental hydration will also act as a moisture barrier between the benzoyl peroxide product (which can be drying if you’re not careful) and your skin! ; )

Tip #6 Paws off!

Compulsively picking at your face is a dead-end street to rebound acne, scarring, and post residual hyperpigmentation “dark spots”–that could take MONTHS to go away (if you’re lucky)! Chronic picking just makes matters a hundred times worse and will make you feel all around yuckier and ashamed for doing it in the first place. It’s a vicious cycle! Think of it this way: it’s like cheating on your diet everyday. PLEASE, please please, if you’re going to take some of my expert advice and even possibly invest in a few key pieces that can truly clear you complexion, you’ve gotta “pick-up some better habits” (no pun intended), and keep your dang paws off  your face! There’s a time and place to have your skin carefully “extracted” by a professional esthetician in facial treatment, in which I’d be happy to elaborate on in another blog/vlog topic. Know this: you’ll never achieve a clear, healthy complexion as long as you’re a “picker”, so make a pact with yourself to get the picking under control for once and for all  so you don’t set yourself up for failure from the get-go!

Tip #7 Be aware of Diet, Hormones, and Stress

I want to start off by saying that I’m not a medical doctor, dietician, nor a nutritionist. Please consult an expert if you’re thinking its necessary to make dietary changes to help improve you acne condition and overall health. With that being said, I’m am a firm believer that there is a HUGE connection between what you put into your body and what’s coming out of your skin. The skin in my opinion is a window reflecting outward what’s going on inward within the body environment. Acne is very much an inflammatory “dis-ease” that seems to be linked to not only our skin-type and genetics (a given), but exasperated by a poor, high-glycemic index diet high in simple sugars, starchy carbs, and not enough nutritionally dense foods. Stress as you’ve heard also plays a huge role in acne as well as many other “dis-eases” in the body.  Please be an advocate for your own skin and health and start doing a little research and self-educating of the link between diet, hormones, stress and acne. A wonderful book that has helped me understand this complexity that I often refer to my clients is, The Acne Prescription, by Dr. Nicolas Perricone. Every person suffering from acne and serious about doing something about it needs to read this book!

Once you begin to understand at acne as not just a superficial exterior condition, but a systemic disease that stems from imbalances within our body environment: we can truly begin to change our complexion, increase our confidence and change our lives from the inside-out! One day at a time..

Hope this blog and video has helped to “clears things up a bit”! Always feel free to email me for a free email consultation if your have questions pertaining to your skin and which products/regimes would be optimal for you!

Kristina