Category Archives: Spot treatment

SPF update plus what to do in the meantime

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Update: A few of you have been asking for an SPF update. I’m working on getting it feeling just right with ingredients that are uncompromisingly high quality yet within financial reach. The bottom line is that it will come out when all of this comes together but I can’t guarantee when that will be. It may take some time since SPF is quite a tricky brew. I know it’s been a very long time, and it may still be longer. I can promise you one thing–that I am working on it and will let you know the minute it’s done.

In the meantime: A couple of options:

1. Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with a 5-6 drops of jojoba oil added.

2. If that doesn’t work well enough to take care of flakiness, you can mix equal parts Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with Acne.org Moisturizer, and then add 5-6 drops of jojoba oil.

3. Another option is Philosophy Hope In A Jar SPF30. I love this stuff but it is zinc based like so it is a flake promoter, much like the Olay. Since I use benzoyl peroxide and need something to combat flakes, I often mix equal parts Philosophy Hope In A Jar SPF30 with Acne.org Moisturizer plus 5-6 drops of jojoba oil. This gives me an SPF of around 15 and keeps me pretty good on flakes. The only downside is that the Philosophy SPF is very expensive (around $35 for 2 ounces). But since I mix it with Acne.org Moisturizer it goes twice as far.

Spot treatment: Someone asked about the spot treatment as well. This project is on the back burner at this point. In the meantime, the AHA+ works so well for spot treating that it is definitely a suitable alternative.

Goings on – keeping you updated

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SPF: We have been painstakingly sourcing each ingredient from around the world in an attempt to keep the price on the SPF within reason and within reach. We’re making good progress, and it’s my goal (perhaps I should say prayer since it’s not entirely up to me) to put a sample into FDA required stability testing soon so it can be out for at least part of this summer’s season. No promises, but we’re working on it every day. Depending on certain ingredient lead times and availability, my fingers are crossed that we can make this happen sooner rather than later.

Spot Treatment: The last spot treatment we designed seemed to have everything going for it, and then wham, our testers tried it under BP. It balled up and looked like mini cottage cheese curds on the skin. At the same time, my mind got piqued regarding other potentially beneficial ingredients, and I have been reading about some of them while having a team of people gather research on others. The spot treatment appears to be more of a long term project at this point. I want to launch a spot treatment only when it is revolutionary and amazing since the AHA+ already works so well for me. However, it is very much on the radar.

Moisturizer: For quite some time now, because of my extreme schedule and inability to read through the message boards as much as I would like, Brandy and C’est La Vigne have been updating me regularly on your posts. Rest assured that if you express your concerns to C’est or Brandy, they are likely to be expressed to me. Lately, Brandy and C’est have been telling me that several of you would like me to bring the old moisturizer back. I am hearing you and understand your frustration. However, with my apologies, I’m afraid this is not possible. First, since I would not be recommending it or mentioning it on the web site, I would need to produce it in very small amounts. This is an extremely expensive proposition on several levels–small label runs & small production runs would run the cost into an entirely new “private label” placement in which prices would reflect expensive boutique brands. Next, our full-time team is swamped with current products, and we do not have the resources to relaunch a product at this time. Finally, I feel more comfortable with people using the new moisturizer. While the new formula requires more generous application (at least 3 pumps), the increased gentleness and soothing ingredients that the new moisturizer keep me steadily on board with strongly recommending it over the previous version. For those of you who are experiencing increased dryness with the new moisturizer, please read this post for my recommendation on how much to use, but keep in mind that our current batch of pumps dispense a bit less, so you will need at least 3 full pumps, not 2.

Update on SPF and Spot Treatment

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SPF: We’ve nailed a formula. The good news. And it’s really good news because it’s taken about 128 formulas, and several years to get there. The bad news is that I’m finding it is super expensive to produce. The quotes I’m getting from suppliers are so high that I don’t feel right passing it on to you guys. We want products that are the very best in the world, but also affordable. I’m determined to make it happen, and we will launch this, but I want to do it affordably. I’ll keep negotiating with suppliers until we get the price into an acceptable range–while compromising nothing in regards to quality of course.

Spot Treatment: The last group of testers gave me mixed feedback. We have good news and bad news again. The good news it that most people are saying this is a spot treatment which actually works. The bad news is that it’s not working well when it is applied before benzoyl peroxide. When people put it on before BP it can become very slightly curdled. So I went back into the lab this week and made a few more iterations in all different types of bases: creamier, more water-y, and more serum-esque, in an effort to remedy this. I kept all of the important active ingredients in there. In the meantime, if you want a spot treatment, the AHA works really well for me and lots of people on Acne.org. Just be certain to catch a zit at the very earliest stages.

OK, I think we may have nailed the spot treatment

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I think we may have nailed the spot treatment. It’s got:

12% AHA at a 3.5pH, so it’s extremely powerful and stings to high heaven. You’ll need to use only a very tiny amount each time.

2% Salicylic Acid, to bump up acne fighting properties. Even though we all know sal acid isn’t good enough on its own, I thought it would make sense to put the legal limit of it in here just to cover all of our bases.

10% Willow Bark, which is a way of getting more natural aspirin/sal acid into the product, and hopefully helping out a bit with analgesic (pain killing) properties, even though, to be honest, this product isn’t the great topical pain reliever I wanted it to be. To get that effect, I’ve found you need to go with lidocaine or benzocaine, and they don’t work in an acidic base. I tried topical ibuprofen, ketoprofen, aspirin, and other similar topical pain killers and it turns out they just aren’t great for epidermis (surface) pain killing. Supposedly they work deep down on joint pain, but quite frankly I didn’t find that to be the case either.

0.1% Licochalcone, ‘cuz we all know it and love it.

Ayurvedics, like Neem, Boswellia, and Turmeric because even though all the bases were already covered, might as well double cover all the bases :)

I’ll be sending samples out to the moderators to get their response and if they OK it, we’ll make it a Go and get it out to you guys to see what everybody thinks. I’m not sure about price yet, or size for that matter. You need to use only a minuscule amount of it each time you use it, so it will be small. I’m making these decisions as we move forward. It is considered an over-the-counter acne treatment, so it must enter into FDA required stability testing before it goes for sale. This process takes months, but at least hopefully we can get the ball rolling…

Spot treatment and New & Improved Non-SPF moisturizer update

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Spot treatment: I’m thinking about calling this product, “This stuff works about 70% of the time.” How’s that for an honest name of a product? :) Seriously though, it is not a miracle. Nothing is when it comes to spot treatments. But from the feedback I’m receiving I’d estimate success hovers around 70%. And for me, I’ll take that when it comes to a spot treatment. I find it’s really nice to have something around that I can use as a weapon should I need it. I’m still awaiting some more input from the people I sent some to, but it’s looking good for this sample.

New & Improved Non-SPF moisturizer: After lots of formulating and testing, I decided on a potential winner for the New & Improved Non-SPF moisturizer. It should have little or no sting, little or no tackiness, and still take care of flakiness if all goes well. Plus it has licochalcone so it should be particularly soothing to acne-prone skin. I sent out 30 moisturizer samples to moderators and a few product testers. I didn’t have enough to send it to all product testers this time. Feedback is coming in, mostly positive. I personally adore it. I do notice I have to use a little more of it than the current Non-SPF moisturizer, but my skin looks and feels great. If the moderators and testers give it a green light I’m ready to switch it over. This is a lengthy process which includes stability testing, reprinting labels, etc., but I’m eager to get that ball rolling.

Product updates

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New and improved moistuizer: I’ve been in and out of the lab a few times and we’re making some fantastic progress. I’ll hopefully be sending out samples to moderators and product testers soon to see if they prefer it to the current moisturizer. I prefer it quite a bit myself. The samples I’ve been developing have no tack, take care of flakiness, and feel amazing.

Spot treatment: I’m on the second round of spot treatment now and I’ve sent it out to some moderators and testers to see what they think. I’ll let you know when I get a response from them. I’m not settled on this sample, but wanted to get some feedback before taking it back for improvements.

SPF: I’m waiting to nail down the new and improved non-spf moisturizer first in the hopes of using that base for the SPF. The SPF is still a ways away.

Spot treatment update

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spot treatment

We received the first spot treatment sample. It’s kind of a yellow gel/cream.

First the good stuff:

- It seems to be working for the people who have tried it so far.

- It’s packed with good ingredients.

And the challenges:

- It’s balling up. Gotta fix that.

- It is a 3.5pH and STINGS to high heaven. It’s kinda nice because it’s obviously doing something, but it’s pretty hardcore.

I should be receiving a revised sample soon and I’ll let you guys know how it pans out.