“Acne and Aging Skin” by Jane Dudik

Okay, so you’re a grown up and you outgrew your acne years ago, but all of a sudden you are starting to see acne blemishes again. You’re too old for this! You may even have grandkids. What is going on?

Acne is an inherited disorder of the sebaceous follicles (pores) in which they shed too many dead skin cells at a time, creating tiny plugs that grow larger as they work their way toward the surface. If you have the inherited tendency for inflammation, you get pustules and papules and sometimes cysts. If you don’t, you get blackheads and whiteheads.

During puberty, when our hormones are raging, our androgenic hormones act on the sebaceous (oil) glands causing them to produce a lot of oil. Androgenic hormones are the male hormones—testosterone is one. However, girls produce them too, just not as much. Oil added into the mix of dead skin cells makes them stickier and more likely to clog up the pores. The extra oil backs up behind the plug, making a breeding ground for the naturally occurring p. acnes bacteria in our pores and they run wild.

The effect of androgens on the sebaceous glands is why boys usually get worse acne than girls do. The estrogenic hormones have a mitigating effect on oil production, so sometimes birth control pills that are high in estrogen will be prescribed for acne.

If you had acne as a teenager, but outgrew it, you outgrew your production of oil, but not your tendency to shed extra skin cells. The skin does slow down the production and sloughing of skin cells as we age, but those of us with acne tendencies still shed more than our non-acneic counterparts.

You may have noticed in your twenties and thirties that you would get breakouts around the time of your period. It is those hormones again. Your body produces a lot of estrogen leading up to your period as it builds the lining of your uterus and prepares an egg for release from the ovary, but then the estrogen level drops off if the egg is not fertilized, causing the lining to shed and you get your period. Without the protection of the high estrogen levels, a woman’s androgens can cause extra oil production, leading to the blemishes you were getting around your period.

As you go through perimenopause and menopause, the estrogenic protection is lost for longer periods of time, until finally it is lost permanently. In some women who had acne when they were young, this can lead to a recurrence.

For those you in Vancouver Washington, go see Jane Dudik at the Acne Treatment Center. They have treatments and home care that will work for more mature skin, and, many of their treatments are wonderful at reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It is a win-win situation. Good-bye blemishes and so long wrinkles!

“Lifestyle Issues That Can Affect Your Skin” By Kathryn Leverette

Here is an all inclusive list of life style issues that can cause acne or inhibit treatment of the skin condition. Written by one of the top Acne Experts in the field of Esthetics and also a long time user of LEROSETT products in her clinic, Kathryn Leverette has many more informative articles on all types of skin conditions at www.urbanskin.com.

Lifestyle Issues That Can Affect Your Skin

Reduce your stress. Do whatever it takes. Stress, a major acne aggravator, is caused by the wear and tear of day-to-day living and changes that take place in your life, both good and bad. Moving is comparable to the death of a child in its ability to cause extreme stress.

Sleep seven uninterrupted hours per night on a consistent basis. Night shift jobs, broken sleep, late night time management, insomnia, hormonal changes in mid-life, long plane trips and crossing time zones causes severe physical stress, making it harder to clear acne and lighten dark circles.

Laundry products must be FREE of perfumes and dyes: Cheer Free & Gentle, All Free & Clear, Tide Free & Gentle, Tide Cold Water Free, Tide 2xUltra Free, Arm & Hammer Free of Perfumes/Dyes, Purex Free & Clear, CVS Free, ShopRite Ultra Free & Clear, Rite Aid Free, Seventh Generation Free & Clear, Safeway Select Free and Costco Kirkland Free & Clear Ultra. Safe bleach: Clorox2 for Colors Free & Clear.

Avoid laundry additives, enzymes and fabric softeners, including fragrance-free dryer sheets, which leave a waxy residue that can clog pores and irritate skin. Instead, try dryer balls, which are chemical-free, last forever and are good for the environment. Use 25% less detergent, and wash 25% less clothes at a time. If possible, run an extra rinse cycle. Imported designer jeans and scarves are sprayed with toxic fungicides, pesticides and formaldehyde, and must be washed multiple times before wearing to avoid body acne, skin infections, rashes and discoloration. Victoria Secret bras, shown to contain the carcinogen formaldehyde, have been linked to toxic skin reactions, even after they’ve been washed.

Avoid dietary iodine: Dairy products (milk in coffee beverages, cheese, ice cream, sour cream), processed foods, take-out food, frozen dinners, fast food, canned food, soft drinks, salty snacks, salted nuts, canned, packaged and restaurant soups, ramen noodles, tomato juice, V-8, seasoned salt, iodized salt, salty condiments, Gatorade, Propel, PowerAde and other high-sodium sports drinks (Vitamin Water is OK), energy drinks, seaweed, Chinese food (salty sauces, MSG, soups, soy sauce), Mexican food (cheese, sour cream, refried beans and salted tortilla chips), processed meats (lunch and deli meat, hot dogs, bacon, franks, hot links, sausage) and condiments containing kelp, MSG and/or iodized salt.

Peanuts, peanut butter and wheat germ contain hormones and can cause breakouts. You can enjoy other nuts, as long as they’re unsalted. Try almond and cashew butter. Cold and flu meds with sodiumand bromide (Alka-Seltzer® and Bromo-Seltzer®) can aggravate acne. Avoid kelp, sodium, iodine, seaweed and spirulina in nutritional supplements and green detox programs. Take with meals: GNC iodine-free Women’s Formula Multi, zinc monomethionine (with meals), enteric-coated fish oil, flax seed oil, MSM, probiotics (Align®, Culturelle®, Jarrow®) vitamins C and B-complex. Can’t sleep? Estrovan PM®, Alteril®, valerian root and melatonin. Hormonal? Estrovan Maximum Strength®.

Skip the dairy: Cheese, milk, ice cream, sour cream and dairy-rich coffee drinks. Dairy is linked to acne, allergies, weight gain, digestive problems, water retention, high blood pressure, bloating and many other health problems. Concerned about calcium and vitamin D? Eat lots of dark green veggies and take supplements with calcium citrate, magnesium and vitamin D. On cereal, try ice-cold naturally good-tasting almond or rice milk. Soy milk is better than cow’s milk, but is processed to taste better, contains hormones, sugar and fat, and can be difficult to digest.

For more information, see: http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

Caution: Fish and seafood from “questionable” sources, can cause persistent skin problems, including a rash-like acne. This doesn’t seem to happen in better restaurants. If your acne is treatment-resistant and rashy, try eliminating fish and seafood from your diet for a month or two.

Avoid seasoned salt, which contains iodine and MSG. Try a blend of iodine-free sea salt, Mrs. Dash Table Blend, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper.

Get professional treatments including enzyme peels with steam, light chemical peels and tune-up peels formulated for acne, dark spots, scars, ingrowns and razor bumps. Professional treatments exfoliate the skin evenly and help home care products penetrate better. Power bleaching and other skin-smoothing “boosters” will enhance the results dramatically.

Irritated? Constantly flaking? If so, you may be dehydrated from low water intake, gotten too much sun, over-scrubbed your skin, or applied your products too thick or too often.

Do not scrub off dead skin cells. Don’t use a washcloth, spa gloves, abrasive scrub, brush or buffing pad, or rub with a towel. Over-exfoliation causes excessive irritation, darkening and even more flaking.

Follow directions carefully. Don’t overuse or underuse your home care. Ask for help if you need it.

Don’t slack up on prescribed home care. If we help you get clear, don’t think you’re so cute that you can quit using your products. You might stay clear for a while, but skipping home care products will allow the microscopic beginnings of pimples and ingrown hairs to form deep in your pores, causing more breakouts, which will lead to new dark spots.

Get refills (ask us about product upgrades) before you run out. Stock up before you go out of town. Don’t stop your regimen because you run out of one or two products.

Use sunscreen (with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide) and reapply often when exposed to direct sunlight, including overcast skies, and when driving. Avoid direct sun and wear sunglasses.  Sunscreen use helps keep dark spots, blotchy skin tone, and dark circles from darkening even more.

Drink more water to maintain healthy skin, fight fatigue, plump up fine lines, reduce dark circles, brighten your skin tone, and keep your skin from getting dry and irritated from active products. Drink at least half your body weight in ounces.

Stop picking, scratching and skin tampering! Women, get a set of acrylic nails, file them blunt, and maintain them every two weeks. Leave “stop picking” notes to yourself on mirrors, day planners, briefcases, desk drawers, rear view mirrors and in lockers. Picking pushes bumps deeper into the follicle, slows the healing process, invites secondary infection, introduces airborne bacteria, causes thickened, dark dead skin build-up and scarring, and turns tiny bumps into huge brown, black or red blemishes that take forever to heal and fade.

Tell us about changes in your skin, health, medical history, medications, lifestyle, home address, email address and phone number.

Use ice to reduce inflammation. Rub ice cubes in a circular motion on red, inflamed pimples and hair bumps twice a day for two minutes. This really helps!

Avoid fragrance, including skin care, hair and body products, scented aftershave, aromatherapy products, perfumed detergents, soaps, lotions and fabric softeners. Sunburn, rashes, acne, dark blemishes and dark “staining” of the skin can develop, especially on sun-exposed skin.

Severe “photo-sensitivity” can be caused by prescription medication, which leads to skin darkening, unsightly brown patches, blotchiness, hyperpigmented acne, darkening of existing scars, and uneven skin tone on the outer cheeks, neck, eye area, forehead, temples, knuckles, chest and other areas. These meds include all hormones: birth control pills, Depo-Provera® shots, NuvaRing®, OrthoEvra® patch, Mirena® IUDs with hormones and hormone replacement, oral anti-diabetic drugs, diuretics, blood pressure meds, antihistamines, antibiotics, Accutane®, retinoids (Retin A®, Differin Gel® and Tazorac®) and anti-depressants. Weight gain can also cause darkening of the skin tone.

Some medications cause acne including lithium, hormones (oral contraceptives, Provera®, DepoProvera®, PremPro®, progesterone, Lupron Depot®, Errin®, Ortho Mictronor®, Mirena® IUD, Nuvaring ®, OrthoEvra® patch), systemic steroids and anti-rejection meds (prednisone), testosterone precursors (androstendione, DHEA) and anti-convulsives (Dilantin, Tegreto®l).

Medical conditions: Thyroid, liver and kidney disease, diabetes, lupus, scleroderma, sarcoidosis, RA, MS and other auto-immune diseases, hemochromatosis (storing too much iron), obesity and rapid weight gain, menopause, peri-menopause, pregnancy, PCOS, hormonal imbalances and changes, anemia and smoking can cause delayed healing and sun-sensitivity resulting in darkening of the entire face or outer cheeks, forehead, upper lip, neck and orbital eye area, and slow-to-heal skin lesions, including acne and dark blemishes.

Acne mechanica is caused by (a) friction (rubbing), (b) pressure and (c) occlusion (restricted air flow), which results in deep acne and ingrowns, scalp bumps and severe darkening. Avoid friction, like leaning on your hand or phone, sleeping on your hand or arm, wearing tight doo-rags, wave caps, sleeping scarves, hats, caps, visors, headbands (and moving them up and down on the forehead). More trouble: Poor-fitting glasses, football helmets, tight bra straps and bands, leaning and putting more pressure on one side of your butt as you sit, heavy shoulder bags and backpacks, clothing with chemical additives, over-scrubbing and rubbing with a towel. Use a Bluetooth® device, headset, speakerphone or ear bud.

Pore-clogging chemicals: Avoid products with the fatty acid IPM (isopropyl myristate) and its chemical cousins, including isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl lanolate, myristal myristate, isopropyl isothermal, isostearyl neopentonate and more. Other cloggers are sodium chloride (salt), algae, potassium chloride, decyl oleate, oleic acid, oleyl alcohol, octyl stearate, octyl palmitate and isocetyl stearate and PPG myristyl propionate, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium laureth sulfate, laureth-4, lanolin and acetylated lanolin, sodium chloride (salt), algae, most natural butters and oils, except fragrance-free safflower, sunflower and mineral oil.

Evaluate all hair products, wefted hair and loose hair if breakouts are concentrated on the hairline, forehead, temples, sides of the face, neck and jawline, sideburns, scalp, behind the ears or upper back. Whatever you put in your hair will migrate onto your skin. You perspire when you toss and turn in your sleep, get stressed, rush through your day, climb stairs and exercise. Human hair should be shampooed before your weave or braids. The chemicals in synthetic and human hair can cause itching, rashes and acne. Hairspray must be light and unscented; cover your face with a cheap paper plate before you spray. This trick won’t work with oil sheen, braid spray or scented hairspray.

Avoid: (1) pressing creams, butters and oils; (2) oil-sheen, hairspray and braid spray; (3) mousse; (4) locking wax (except hard bees wax); 5) curl activator; (6) scalp grease; (7) brown gel; (8) scented gel; (9) keratin treatments and protein conditioners; (10) aromatherapy oils; (11) oil (see below).

Problem oils:  Coconut oil, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, carrot oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, palm kernel oil, argan oil, Moroccan oil, vitamin E oil, grapeseed oil, wheat germ oil, aromatherapy oil blends, fragranced oils and many other oils.

Safe oils: Fragrance-free sunflower oil, safflower oil, petrolatum and low concentrations of jojoba oil.

Avoid these product lines if you’re acne prone: Abba, Affirm, African Pride, Argan Oil, Aussie, Aveda, Avlon, Bed Head, Bee’s Wax hair products, Biosilk, Blue Magic, Bone Straight, Botanicals, Bumble & Bumble, Care Free (except Care Free Lite), Carol’s Daughter, Carrot Oil, Circle of Friends, CitreShine, Crème of Nature, Curl Junkie, D’arcy’s Botanicals, Dark & Lovely, Davines, Design Essentials, Deva, Doo Gro, Dr. Miracles,  Dove, Dudley, Duke, Enjoi, Enjoy, Garnier Fructis, Glover’s, Goldwell, His Mix (Mixed Chicks for Men), IC, Isoplus, Jessicurl, JLife, JML, Joico, Kemi Oyl, Keracare, Kerapro, Kinky-Curly, Kiti Kiti, Let’s Jam, Luster, Mane and Tail, Marrakech Oil, Matrix, Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding, Mixed Chicks, Mizani, Mop, Moroccanoil, Motions, Murray’s, Neutrogena T-Gel, Nexxus, Nioxin Protectives, Olive Oil products, One Better “Instant Shine” Finishing Gloss, Optimum, Organic Root Stimulator, Pantene Relaxed & Natural, Paul Mitchell and generics, Philosophy, Phyto, Pink Oil, Proclaim, Proline, ProStyle (except Clear Ice), Purology, Redken, S Curl, Sensitive by Nature, Soft Sheen “Optimum Oil Therapy”, Sportin’ Waves, Suave, Sulfur 8, TCB Hair Food, Talijah Wahid, Tresemme, Warm Spirit and Wen.

Safe hair products: Neutrogena T-Sal Shampoo, Pantene Pro V “Smooth”, “Color”, “Classic Care” and “Curls” conditioners, Care Free Lite Gel Activator, Clinical Formula Self-Emulsifying Oil, Gabriel Correctives shampoo, conditioner and laminate, Free & Clear shampoo, conditioner and gel, Original Formula Infusium 23 leave-in, L’Anza leave-in, ProStyl Clear Ice, American Crew Firm Hold Gel, Vanicream, Vaseline, sunflower oil and safflower oil.

Scalp issues: Scaling, inflammation and/or itching on the scalp, hairline, ears, brows, forehead or side of the nose? You may have seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis, common genetic conditions that are easy to treat. Part of an oily, acne prone, sensitive skin profile, they worsen dramatically (a) in cold weather, (b) during stressful times, (c) when using harsh soaps and perfumes and (d) with infrequent shampooing.

Ignoring these issues can lead to moderate-to-severe dandruff, unsightly scaling, reddening of the inner cheeks, forehead and hairline, hyper-sensitive skin, a pink or light-pigmented patchy rash, tiny red bumps on the face and scalp, an itchy scalp, thinning hair and hair loss (brows, scalp and eyelashes). We can help you with this.

Toothpaste can cause small breakouts and darkening around and below the corners of the mouth, especially if it contains sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), tarter control, fluoride and aromatic flavors. Keep toothpaste in your mouth, where it belongs. If it gets on your skin, use cleanser to remove it. Look for SLS-free toothpaste.

Workout wear should be cotton and laundered in fragrance-free detergent with no fabric softener. Shower after perspiring with sulfur soap or BPO wash.

Warning: Don’t use a brush, scratch your scalp (or let a stylist do so), pat or rub your scalp. Thinning hair, itching, dead skin build-up, inflamed sores and bumps will only get worse. Low thread count pillowcases can thin fragile hair on the side you sleep, so switch to satin, silk or high count cotton. Pick white if you’re using benzoyl peroxide (BPO).

Avoid recreational drugs, especially marijuana, cocaine, X and speed, which can aggravate acne, especially if you’re a picker. Alcohol consumption doesn’t cause your acne to worsen unless you’re too drunk to apply your home care products.

Avoid oily cosmetics and skin care products: FD & C red dyes in foundations, blushes, lipstick and powders, MAC foundations and powders (especially Studio Fix), Shiseido, Lancôme, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, Chanel, Flori Roberts, Fashion Fair, Posner, Iman and other cosmetics. Re-evaluate your cosmetics and moisturizers if breakouts continue. Oil-free products may be free of natural oils, but contain “synthetic oils” known as fatty acids. Avoid make-up that sticks to the sink when you wash it off. Safe FD&C red dye alternative: Iron oxides. Safe make-up: Dermacolor Cover Cream, bareMinerals Matte line, Everyday Minerals, PRIIA and Jane Iredale. Mineral make-up should be free of fragrance, oil, fatty acids, red dyes and bismuth oxychloride.

Hormones are linked to breakouts and hyperpigmentation, including low estrogen birth control pills, Norplant®, OrthoEvra® IUD, Provera, Depo Provera®, Lupron Depot® (testosterone), progesterone-only pills (Errin®, Ortho Mictronor® and others), Premarin®, PremPro®, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), hormonal changes, fibroids, imbalances, irregular periods, PMS/PMDD and obesity (fat cells can boost the body’s estrogen production). OrthoTricyclan®, Yaz® and Yasmin®, advertised to help clear acne, don’t live up to the claims, and can cause breakouts, dry eye, sun sensitivity, melasma and other major health problems. HMOs routinely make contraceptive substitutions that are cheaper for them, but not true generics. Want an IUD? Choose the hormone-free T-shaped copper IUD over Mirena®.

Pregnancy, post-partum and menstrual cycles can cause hormonal flare-ups. Use a calendar to chart your cycle. Practice diligent skin care and suncare throughout the month. Pay close attention to your lifestyle to counteract problems during these times. Avoid direct sun. Protect your neck (which darkens) and face (watch for dark melasma patches). Pregnant and lactating women should discontinue retinoids, antibiotics and hydroquinone, and discuss nutritional supplements and recent Accutane® (isotretinoin) use with their physician.