We see many clients struggle and become frustrated when it comes to acne, and we have created this page to help teach you everything that you need to know about treating acne from the inside out. The first and most important thing to know about acne, is that it can be controlled, not cured. There is so much more to treating acne than a series of treatments, just like sun damage, we can control it, but it can/will always come back as soon as you stop treating it.
Skincare isn’t an instant gratification service like getting your hair or nails done is. It takes time and commitment. If you’re ready to commit to the best skin of your life, then our professional service providers are here to help, support and guide you through the right direction. You need to be willing to trust the process and know that healthy skin doesn’t happen over night, we’re talking 6-12 months of work until we move into maintenance care!
"You usually have to wait for that which is worth waiting for"
What is Acne?
To treat ACNE, it is important to understand what it is. The common blemishes, flare-ups, and scarring are easily recognizable, but what exactly causes them? Acne occurs in the skin when there is an over abundance of oil, dead skin cells, dirt or bacteria clogging up the hair follicle. That is why it is so important that we control those with oily skin first and foremost before considering correctives and professional treatments. If we do not, you are more at risk for treatment failure or undesired outcomes. Oil feeds skin diseases, and we need to control that immediately!
Other factors, such as hormones, stress levels, and increased oil production in the skin can trigger acne. Types of acne range from, but are not limited to, whiteheads, blackheads, nodules, and cysts.
PURGING is a SIGN of SUCCESS
Purging of the skin is very similar to when you are sore after a workout. If you haven’t worked out before or are just getting back into it, then you are most likely to become sore after. It’s not a fun feeling but it is a sign that you are working out the right muscles and are closer to your workout goals.
When introducing active ingredients such as ZO Regimens to your skin for the first time, you are very likely to purge. Purging isn’t a sign that something is wrong or your skin is sensitive or doesn’t like the products, it’s a sign that we are closer to your skin goals!
What is Purging? This is when you experience multiple breakouts all at once. This is your skins way of detoxifying itself, and the breakouts that you are experiencing during the purge were already there brewing up under the skin. Think of our “roach theory”… acne is like a roach infested house, we could kill one roach at a time as we see them (like pimples), but there’s still roaches infesting inside of the walls that we can’t see (the brewing of your breakouts under the skin). BUT if we roach bomb, they all come out and die (thus, the purging when introducing your skin to active ingredients). We are roach bombing the skin when we introduce it to actives, some experience purging and some don’t.
Pardon our odd comparison, but it’s the best way to put acne purging into perspective! Skin purging is a sign of SUCCESS NOT FAILURE. We are initiating the clearing process to clear the skin quicker. You do not get results by keeping stagnant, which means when nothing changes, then nothing is changing.
Ask yourself this when experiencing purging when starting on our protocols… would you rather a LIFETIME OF BREAKOUTS…. Or 3-6 months of breakouts? Yep you read that right… healthy skin does not happen over night, or weeks, this is months of hard work!
Your skin needs time to adjust when starting on active ingredients, have some patience and trust your esthi!!
MEDICATIONS that are BAND-AID approach for ACNE
ACNE IS CONTROLLED, NOT CURED. REREAD THAT AGAIN.
Medications such as CLINDAMYCIN, SPIROLACTONE, DOXYCYCLINE, ACCUTANE, + BIRTH CONTROL can offer temporary relief but do not address to true root cause of acne. There is many contributing factors that contribute to acne, and 90% of clients that have tried these medications have noticed their acne return after completing one or multiple rounds on these medications…. Why? Because they are a band-aid for acne, not a treatment. Not to mention a lot of these medications can provide terrible side effects and damage your body while on it. Managing hormones that be done without taking a medication, and can be done holistically.
**If you take any of these medications and they work for you then that is awesome! We just believe in a more holistic approach when treating acne in teens and adults.
reality of expectations when targeting ACNE.
When achieving healthy skin, it is important to strengthen your skin barrier first and foremost. Without a healthy skin barrier, you will NOT ever achieve healthy skin. How is this achieved? Through skincare, 80% of skincare is done by you at home, and the other 20% are in studio treatments performed by us. If you have no desire to properly care for your skin at home with professional grade skincare (ZO… duh!), then you will not achieve the results that you are searching for!
COMPLIANCE IS KEY, we will provide you the tools (skincare) and your AM + PM routine, with monthly follow ups to track your progress. If you are not completing the skincare routine as provided twice a day, then you are NOT going to get results It is up to you to put in the work when caring for your skin. We get asked a lot :but it’s ok if I miss a day here or there right? Sometimes I’m use too tired to do my routine” if you have time to brush your teeth (which I hope you do twice a day), then you have time to do your skin routine! Missing days, means you are not following your regimen 100%, which means you will not achieve 100% results. As we say all the time.. good skin is HARD WORK.
EXPECTATIONS when it comes to skincare is VERY important and we discuss this with every client. Expectations come back to your compliance, if you are not doing your skincare, you will be disappointed. You cannot expect your skin to be cleared up, acne free in a matte of weeks. I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to happen in most cases. We aren’t here to sugar coat it for your or paint you this picture perfect skin in a month. Your cellular turnover is 90 days… that’s 3 months. As you continue to care for your sin, you will continue to see results. It takes MONTHS of hard work, not just 4 weeks on the core 4, and then after your 6 weeks on retinol you’re good to go… unfortunately it doesn’t work this way. There is not one magical treatment that you can complete a series of 3 and be done. Just like working out, when you stop working out daily and eating properly, that 6 pack will turn back to a 1 pack!
We understand the frustration when it comes to acne, we are here to help, but please remember that it gets worse before it gets better and you need to trust the process!
Cleansing is the MOST important part of your routine.
Acne friends… 50% of your skin regimen is CLEANSING!!! I repeat.. 50% of your skin regimen is cleansing the skin. We do NOT recommend makeup removing wipes, if you own these, immediately throw them away please! Makeup wipes aren’t a thorough method to remove makeup, oils, dirt and debris that have built up on our skin throughout the day.
Makeup wipes are very stripping of your natural oils, which effects your skin barrier, which can also lead to early signs of aging!
Double cleansing is important, it’s like sweeping before your wash the floors. The first cleanse is to clean the makeup, dirt and oils. Then the second cleanse is to clean the skin itself.
FORMULATION is so much more IMPORTANT than INGREDIENTS.
We see many carry on about ingredients of products, and although it is important, the FORMULATION is the recipe of that product. We can have the same tool box, doesn’t mean we’re building the same house. Same things go for skin products. A product can have exact sam ingredients, but the formulation of those ingredients is what makes the product.
Formulation is a mixture of ingredients prepared in a certain way and used for a specific purpose. Just because a product is both advertised as 0.5% retinol, does NOT mean it will perform and deliver the same results. This is why there are no “DUPES” when it comes to skincare products. I know it’s expensive, and if there’s a cheaper alternative to a specific product, we would recommend it, BUT our skin is NOT a sponge. Products from Sephora + Drugstores sit on the top layer of your skin, and won’t go down to the layer of skin that we need it to go to produce results.
And THIS is exactly why professional grade products are priced higher and held at a higher standard, because there a clinical studies conducted to ensure that the ingredients are penetrating the correct depth in the skin to actually WORK!!!
So the next time you go to purchase your $20 retinol from The Ordinary, keep in mind that just because the word retinol is in the name, doesn’t mean it will work the same as professional retinol products. We are not saying that The Ordinary or Sephora products are BAD FOR YOU, it just means that they aren’t always doing what they are claiming to do for your skin.
REMEMBER… DELIVERY SYSTEM (DEPTH THE PRODUCT IS RELEASED INTO THE SKIN) IS IMPORTANT IN TERM SOF ACHIEVING RESULTS!!!
TIPS for skin purging + sneaky ACNE TRIGGERS.
As frustrating as breakouts can be, as mentioned above, it happens, and there is always a chance breakouts can happen, and it’s a normal human thing to experience. What you eat, your water intake, washing your pillow case weekly, touching your face, popping your pimples, hormones, medications….ALL CONTRIBUTE TO ACNE BREAKOUTS. We will provide you the foundation in treating acne (remember NOT curing), but we cannot truly know what you are doing outside of the studio being diet, and additional acne triggering habits. You cannot solely rely on skincare products alone to clear up your acne. You need to make the effort to drink more water, stay away from greasy foods, cleaning your makeup brushes, etc.
A few things that can help when your skin is purging is the FOLLOWING:
OUR ACNE SAFE
TREATMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
OxyGeneo Facials
OXYBALANCE POD
$165 per facial
This is a great place to start when getting into facials. These facials are recommended every 6 weeks as maintenance once you have cleared up any breakouts, and have targeted scars.
Questions?
Request a Consultation
Click the link below to Get in Touch