Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

People, young and old, who suffer from acne or problem skin, tend to usually ask this question if they’ve tried a few things for their skin to help clear it up and nothing seems to be working. The short answer is, when a few other options that are alternative and natural in nature and lifestyle change oriented, have been attempted by individuals with acne prone skin, then they probably should go seek a professional dermatologist’s evaluation and opinion on what should work for their skin.

I went to a dermatologist for the first time when I was about 13 or 14 years old, when my normally pristine skin began to erupt into painful, under the skin lesions that marred my face – mostly my chin. I had a rough bout with adolescent hormone onslaught, as was evidenced by my wild mood swings, the onset of my period, and the systematic destruction of the skin on my face. I literally seemed to get acne over night. There was no gradual progression of a zit here and a zit there, but rather my face erupted all at once into the worst hormonal acne you could imagine.

My mom’s first instincts were to try to treat it naturally so we cut out chocolate and fried foods from my diet, but this was beyond food, this was hormonally based, and something needed to be done on a medical/professional level. Keep in mind that back then there was no internet where you had the coolest treatment options at your fingertips, but rather word of mouth and natural health shops that mostly sold bogus homeopathic remedies that didn’t work for the majority of people. Nowadays, you have all kinds of options, including my favorite, dermacleanse, and you also have other top sellers like Acnezine and Clear Pores.

I think most people should try a few things before they go to a dermatologist, especially since dermatologists often prescribe antibiotics for acne, and the long term effects of antibiotic use are more and more scary as more things come to light about them. If natural alternatives do not work, and changing your diet to help regulate your hormones, then you may want to consider going to see a professional, but make sure you examine all options first, as more and more people are treating acne with a good amount of success with alternative acne treatments.

I have reported to you my one-time experience with Retin-A, when I was only about 14 years old and struggling with pretty serious acne on my face. I had it the worst on my chin, which would erupt in painful, under the skin, explosive zits several times a week. It seems my hormones were totally out of control, and it seemed that nothing would work to clear my skin up consistently.

One of the products I was given to try which did not work for me was Retin-A. Let me explain though, as I’ve done more research recently and I have decided that Retin-A is really a good thing, I just think that my dermatologist at the time first of all gave me way too high a dosage of it, and they also prescribed it to me in a harsh gel form instead of as a cream, which I think may have helped me with the dryness that it caused.

Retin-A is used not only for acne and acne scarring today, but it is also used as an anti aging product. The reason is that it is a retinoid, which speeds the turnover of your topical skin cells, thereby helping to prevent acne from forming because it helps keep the pores clear, and also helping to shed the older skin layers to reveal fresh new ones, and help prevent and minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles (it’s anti aging purpose, which is it still very popularly prescribed for).

When I was using this product, I not only was using this, which is a drying product if not used properly, but I was also using several very harsh, very drying products on my skin, thinking these were going to help my acne clear up. So I would use a harsh cleaner, and I would keep it lathered on my face way too long, then I would use an astringent, then I would apply the Retin-A.

All this while, I didn’t even think to use a moisturizer! In my youth, I was definitely ignorant of how to care for my skin, so the Retin-A just magnified the dryness and I ended up with flaking, dried, scabbed over skin that looked just awful and was very painful. Knowing what I know now, I think Retin-A is actually an excellent product when used correctly. I’ve read too many people that have had great experiences with it minimizing the pores and helping to keep acne at bay. I’m going to shortly add Retin-A overview page that gives you more information about this product!

I mentioned last time that I has been to my dermatologist to get my twice annual checkup for basal cell carcinomas (a cancerous growth that is not generally invasive, but it’s a good idea to get it removed), and she had noticed that my face happened to be breaking out.

I told her that I usually break out when under stress, but that I was going to begin taking a supplement which usually worked for me to clear my skin up – Dermacleanse.

By the way, it’s already clearing me up after about one week of use, more on that later, but she had told me that if I happened to continue to break out and get one of those large lesions that seems to have a life of its own and almost always results in a scar since it goes so deep and usually causes damage to the skin’s layers when it does finally pop, to come in and see her.

She said that she could give me an injection to make the zit go away within a matter of days. The injections she’s talking about is called a corticosteroid (interlesional, which just means that it’s going to be injected into the lesion to break it up). What it does it is actually breaks up the white blood cells and all the other junk and bacteria in there that are causing all the unsightly inflammation, and it basically “melts” it away within a period of 3-5 days.

That’s much better than the sometimes weeks it takes for a lesion like that to go away on it’s own, and it also saves your skin an almost certain scar, so it’s important to get these taken care of if you possibly can. Usually most dermatologists can get you in fairly fast for this service since it’s literally the push of a needle.

I haven’t gotten this done yet but have always been intensely curious about how it works, and I probably will go get one if I happen to break out in hideous large postules or one giant one before my wedding, which is coming up in one month.

I know myself, and I know that when I’m under a lot of stress or feel responsible for the fun of many people, I usually exhibit that fear and anxiety in my face, so we’ll see. I’m on Dermacleanse now, and that will definitely help me through the stress and the inevitable hormone fluctuations, since I’ve found it helps to balance the hormones.

Remember when Wal-Mart first rolled out it’s dirt cheap prescription drug plan, where you could get the most common prescriptions for just $4, which, depending on what medication you were taking, could save you hundreds of dollars a year? Well, apparently they are expanding this program greatly to include drugs that are used for fertility, birth control (including Orto Tricyclen, one of the only proven acne fighting birth control pills), and also certain drugs that are used to treat acne, although the article I read did not specifically say which ones.

I suspect it will be the least expensive ones, like antibiotics such as erythromycine and tetracycline, both of which are not all that expensive to begin with but which I believe have negative long term health effects, so I encourage people to try different methods for getting rid of acne if they are encouraged to go on antibiotics long term.

This program, while met with the usual anti Wal-mart criticism that complains that they take out all the competition and created monopolies, actually spawned a lot of competition from other pharmacies, so maybe in the end, although the entrepreneur in me says that Wal-mart is bad for small business, it will be better for the consumer who ultimately benefits with reduced health care costs and better complexions due to lower prices, as well as reduced overall living costs which helps them to perhaps spend more and stimulate this dismal economy.

I’m sure that more expensive acne drugs like say doxycycline and accutane are not included, as these are more expensive to make, and may even have patents on them as far as I know. Accutane is also a very tightly controlled medication due to it’s ability to greatly increase birth defects in fetuses, and it’s current status as a controlled medication with a watch list for current patients, as well as the requirement to go on birth control if you are not already.

Yes, unfortunately there is some bad news that has developed that all of us who are skin-aware and have either struggled with acne in the past or are currently still struggling with acne will want to know.  You hear in the news all the time about illnesses that are cause by bacterias and viruses are always evolving to become more and more resistant against the treatments that are prescribed for them.  I mean, bacteria and viruses are built to survive, just like any species is, and since it is the survival of the fittest, they usually will adjust to any hurdles thrown their way, becoming stronger and also unfortunately for us humans, harder to treat with conventional medicines and treatments.

That’s why you’ve seen so many antibiotics done away with.  What used to be taken care of with a little bit of older antibiotics is now only going to react to stronger, more potent ones like Zpac and other stronger strains of antibiotic.  Likewise, it appears that the bacterium that specifically causes acne vulgaris, which by the way is called the p. acnes bacterium (yes that’s the name of the little buggers that have been the bain of your existence all these years), has evolved into a much stronger, and much more antibiotic resistant bacteria, which is making acne a lot tougher to treat with antibotics.

This of course doesn’t mean the acne is untreatable, it merely means that antibiotics don’t work as well since they actually work on the bacteria part of the problem, there are of course other acne treatments that get the job done, just in a different way.  Typical antibiotics that have been used as a traditional weapon against acne are tetracycline and erythromycin, both of which I had a lot of my friends had experiences with growing up.  Turns out that we may have outgrown those treatments and are now only going to respond either to tougher antibiotics for acne, or a whole new approach to acne treatment all together.

Another problem added to the pot is that since antibiotics have been used for so long on acne patients, this fact alone has contributed to the acne bacteria’s ability to mutate and become immune to them, making it much harder to kill these bacteria using these traditional treatments, so the fact that we are using them alone is actually hurting us.  The other problem is that using antibiotics long term causes issues of it’s own. I’ve written before about how some believe that long term antibiotic use is linkd to breast cancer.  This doesn’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside either, especially since I was on tetracycline myself for many weeks, even months at a time when I was a teen for acne.

I’m fascinated by this topic, and the topic of antibiotics being used for acne, simply because I strongly believe there are so many better and more long term effective ways to fight acne out there, that I’m going to write the next post on this as well.  Coming soon!

If you read this blog, you know how I feel about some conventional acne treatments, and I’m not one to give any of them a very ringing endorsement, some more than others.  Well, you also may know that I’m against long term antibiotic acne treatment, or even sometimes short term I think is unnecessary and can cause problems.  The BBC has recently reported that a young teenaged boy of 14 years died suddenly after taking antibiotic acne treatment tablets.

The family has declined to name the actual brand or type of antibiotic acne treatment until the inquest into his sudden and untimely and obviously devastating death has been completed.  The upsetting part is that it was his first dose of the medication.  The medication is labeled with a warning that warns of possible breathing problems from taking the medication but also does say, and rightfully so, that risk of death is extremely rare. 

As soon as the boy was seen having trouble breathing, he was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late and doctors were unable to revive him.  Can you imagine the devastation and utter horror this family feels? And it’s really no one’s “fault”, but more than likely just a freak accident, a very severe allergic reaction, but that is yet to be found when the inquest (the name for British investigations into deaths) is completed or there is more information to be had that can be more conclusive evidence about why and how he died.

The father of said that the whole family is still in a state of shock because one moment he was here and the next he was gone to them.  He also says that the doctor that prescribed him the medication for his acne is completely devastated, but that the family does not blame him, it’s just one of those things that no one knew, and how were they to know?  My heart truly goes out to this family.  It sounds like their son was a really good sportsman, and will be sorely missed by his family and friends. A life taken too early that is this bright just never seems fair or right in any way, accident or not. 

Tetracycline, ah, now there’s a name from my acne fighting past.  Back when I wasn’t even old enough to drive and my face started breaking out worse than any of my friends and from there became quite a real problem thanks to my raging hormones, my mom took me to the dermatologists and I was put on the antibiotic tetracycline, which back then was one of the most popular acne treatment medications on the market. 

This was even before Accutane came onto the market – that was just a few years later that it came bursting on to the scene as the savior of those with acne who had tried everything and anything.  That was also before many of the problems that are now associated with the medication were known.  It was also before any of the potential long term problems with tetracycline were known as well. 

There has been some evidence, and I’m not sure how strong, that long term use of tetracycline, or any other antibiotics, may lend a helping hand to the development of breast cancer in women.  I remember the first time I read this and it scared me because although I wasn’t on it for years and years, I was on it for a while, at least a year, and wondered if that could potentially increase my risk for developing breast cancer down the line.

Add to this the fact that my aunt, on my mom’s side, who passed away from breast cancer years ago, was on tetracycline for years as a teenage for very bad acne, and I thought there could definitely be something to this link.  Then I also thought, maybe it’s just an unrelated fact, since women with bad acne who have been put on tetracycline or other antibiotics also typically have hormonal imbalances, and this may be a risk factor for breast cancer in itself.  What do you think? 

Well, I saw a demo of what this new tool for clearing acne and creating gorgeous, clear pores can do, and it is one of the most interesting and novel concepts in skin care that I think I’ve seen to date (and I’ve seen a lot, but this one is very advanced, although I’m sure they’ll keep blowing our minds with this new stuff for skin care).  It’s called the Isolaz (pronounced Iso-Laze) laser, and the treatment has a twofold approach to help clean the pores and prevent further acne breakouts from occurring.

When I watched the demo video for the treatment, the device itself had a brand name of Aesthra.  The treatments are incredibly expensive though, at 500 bucks a pop (they say you need about three treatments, and may need maintenance treatments here and there as well), so this is definitely not for lighter wallets, and of course it would take some thought before spending this type of treatment, no matter how effective. 

The cool thing is that the treatment can be used for all four types of acne and be successful in treating all four, and it is supposedly painless and comfortable.  I went online and saw some before and after pics of patients who had Isolaz treatments, and a lot of the results were truly remarkable.  However, you do have to be careful with some before and after pics because of course any product or service is going to show their best results, and nothing works the same on everyone.

How it works :  Isolaz laser treatments, as I had mentioned before, work on a two pronged approach.  The device first goes all over the face and uses a gentle sucking motion to clean out debris and bacteria, all of which cause whiteheads, blackheads, and general acne bumps and roughness, and then it goes in and zaps the pores with an IPL (intense pulsed light) laser, which helps destroy bacteria and creates an ideal environment for the pores to stay clean and clear for a long time. 

They also say the Isolaz treatments may help to shrink the pores, which is a quality that we are all envious of, because small pores make for a beautiful complexion as we all know.  If this treatment does all it says it can, it probably is worth the price, however of course we wish they’d bring the price down a few notches so it’s more affordable to those in need of treatment. 

 

Hmm, good question.  I just was reading up on what some of the newer acne treatments are that might be showing some promise as the new wave of next generation in alternative acne treatments and medicines unrolls as it assuredly was expected to, seeing all the interest in treating acne and our complexions and the attention to skin in the media lately.

I’m sure you’ve heard of light therapy, or red light therapy, which is a gentle pulsed light that is supposed to heal acne and speed overall skin healing before, and I know that we did talk about that type of alternative acne treatment here on this blog before, but this photodynamic treatment is a little different from that, and it is admittedly not for everyone according to its practitioners.

A medication that is called Levulin, which I had never actually heard of, is brushed on to the skin and kept on for about 30  minutes prior to the light therapy.  Then, after the Levulin is washed off of the face, the patient then sits in front of a blue light for about 10 minutes to allow the Levulin to penetrate deeply. 

What does it do though?  Well, Levulin, combined with blue light therapy is supposed to actually help minimize the oil glands below the surface and prevent them from doing so much damage to the acne patient’s skin by reducing their ability to over-secrete the oil that is wreaking havoc on the patient’s face. 

Practitioners say that patients should expect to clear up after about four treatments, which will run them around a little over $1,000, depending on where they live, since geography definitely dictates what one will pay for cosmetic skin care and other cosmetic procedures.  Patients are also not allowed to go in the sun right after treatments, as their skin may be hyper sensitive to the sun’s damaging rays, but this is the same as with chemical peels, many acne antibiotic treatments, Retin-A, and quite a few other acne medications as I understand it, so it is no different in that regard. 

I have to tell you, really quick, that this Friday I’m going in for a combination chemical peel and microdermabrasion at a local medical spa the performs several different esthetic and physician administered skin care treatments. By the way, medical spas are kind of a new wave or new generation of combo medical facilities and esthetic facilities.