Esthetician's reply to your question

Q. Am I able to purchase just this moisturizer alone off of your website?
A. We don’t sell our products ala carte on our website – we want to be able to give our clients an entire acne program to get them clear. We would be happy to recommend a moisturizer that's appropriate for you - you can call us if you would like us to do that for you. (www.facerealityskincare.com)

Q. Are there any other ones you recommend, such as ones that can be found in stores?
A. Aveeno Active naturals Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer, Aveeno Radiant Moistruizer

Q. Also, how do you feel about Aloe Vera as a moisturizer? I here a lot of people see good results with this, not to mention it sometimes helps there acne and or red marks.
A. That really depends on what else you are using on your skin, how oily your skin is and also what climate you live in. If you are not using strong acne products which tend to make the skin dry, then aloe vera might be enough to keep your skin hydrated. If you are using salicylic, glycolic and/or benzoyl peroxide, aloe probably will not be hydrating enough. If you are very oily, aloe might be hydrating enough. Also, if you live in a humid climate, aloe gel might be hydrating enough – if you are in a dry climate I would not recommend it. As you can see, there are just too many variables to adequately answer your question.

Q. Lastly, staying on the moisturizer line, I just bought a new one that I figured i would try and se how it works. Its Shikai's Borage moisturizer. It contains Borage seed oil and Shea butter. Could you tell me if either of these 2 are comedogenic? Thank you much for your time.
A. As far as I know borage seed oil and shea butter are not comedogenic.

Esthetician's reply to your message
Q. I was wondering if you could recommend a really good moisturizer that you can buy from a drugstore or supermarket.
A. Aveeno Active Naturals Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer, Aveeno Radiant Moisturizer

Q. I also see you suggested a water-based moisturizer for oily skin, where can you find such moisturizers because now as the weather gets more humid, my face gets more oily and shiny and I need something to control the shine.
A.You could use Aloe Vera Gel as a water-based moisturizer.

Q. During my cycle, i always break out in the worst zits! it's so annoying, even when i'm on my daily regimine. what can i do to control these stubborn breakouts and balance my hormones?
A. I tell my clients to do a “pre-emptive strike” with their home care regimen. If you track your cycles and you know when you usually break out, then use your benzoyl peroxide more than once a day, and/or add in some stronger benzoyl peroxide for a few days before the time that you usually break out. Then back your regimen off to the original routine when you are past that stage of breaking out.

Esthetician's reply to your question
Q. Does BP have any bad effect on your skin internally? i read a research that says that BP releases free radicals in your skin on contact, and that’s why it makes red marks and hyperpigmentation fade much slower... i don’t know what to believe these days.
A. Yes, benzoyl peroxide does release free radicals, but so does cardiovascular exercise. Are you going to stop exercising because of free radicals? I believe that you need to calculate the benefit to loss ratio and make your decision from there. If I knew of a “natural” way of getting acne under control I certainly would be doing that in my clinic. I do not believe that red marks fade more slowly with benzoyl perioxde use – red marks and hyperpigmentation (from acne) do take time to fade no matter what.

Q. Does AHA and other moisturizers have any contact or interaction with the pores or the sebaceous gland? does BP have any interaction with sebaceous gland also?
A. What AHAs do are loosen “the glue” that holds dead skin cells on the skin. When you use an AHA the dead skin cells just fall off much more quickly because of this. There is conflicting information on whether AHAs do penetrate inside the pore, so I’m not sure about that. Benzoyl peroxide definitely goes down inside the pore, peels inside the pore and also kills acne bacteria with the release of oxygen. I don’t know if either of them have any interaction with the sebaceous glands.

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Q. Is acne bacteria contagious? Over a year ago I broke out in small pustules on my face and they spread to my body. It seemed like if I touched one and then touched another part of my body or face, a new pustule would appear there two days later. Then I noticed my husband has them on his face and neck too, and he very rarely had acne before. I've never had this problem before and now it is taking over many of my habits, like I always have to wash my hands after I touch my face and I have to use separate applicator brushes to apply concealer to different affected areas to prevent spreading. Is this common? What can I do about it?
A. Research suggests that acne bacteria is not contagious; however, I have read that you can spread bacteria if you squeeze the pustule and rupture the follicle wall down inside the pore. This can be one of the factors in cysts forming.

Q. How many times a day is it ok to wash your face? I only wash once a day because I heard that too many times it will cause more oil to be produced. I wash off my makeup in the evening and and rinse my face in morning to remove BP. Should I be washing more?
A. I tell my clients to wash twice a day – morning and evening. Overwashing your face can really dehydrate your skin and you don't want that - it can stimulate more oil production.

Esthetician's reply to your question
A. I do not know of any acne specialist in San Francisco or the Peninsula. Our clinic, Face Reality Acne & Skin Care Clinic is in the East Bay and is close to Bart. We specialize in acne, so if this is your challenge, we would love to help you!

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Q. Can glycolic acid be helpful for closed comedones?
A. Absolutely. I recommend it for homecare for my non-inflamed acne clients in almost all cases. What is even better for closed comedomes is Vivant’s Vitamin A proprionate serums – Derma A Gel, Exfol A and Exfol A Forte. Starting off slowly with these products and working up to stronger potencies (along with benzoyl peroxide) as your skin adapts is the key to getting clear

Q.What about inflamed acne?
A. This is a thread that is talking about noninflamed acne – Dan Kern’s Regimen works really well for inflamed acne.

Q. O use a 2 % lactic acid moisturiser, but I’ve got inflamed acne
is this ok?
A.I would check the moisturizer for pore-clogging ingredients http://www.facerealityskincare.com/img/Por...Skin%20Care.pdf
If it doesn't have pore clogging ingredients you should be ok, but I would recommend using benzoyl peroxide at night, not a moisturizer. Check out Dan Kerns Regimen for your acne – you really need to be using benzoyl peroxide to get your acne under control.

Q. Also what do you recommend for people who swim often? as in 4 5 times a week?
A. That’s a tough one – there are some swimming pool disinfectants that can pose a problem for acne-prone skin. I would say do Dan Kern’s Regimen and see if your acne will stay managed. If you are still having a problem, I would put a very thin layer of Vaseline on your face before you swim. Wash it off after swimming.

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Q. How beneficial can retinoids (such as Differen cream or Tazorac cream) be in surpressing acne outbreaks, smoothing the skin, and fading redmarks?
A. Most of my clients have tried the retinoids before they come to me and it didn’t get their acne under control. I really believe that benzoyl peroxide used along with exfoliants (AHAs and BHAs) are the best way to manage acne. Once your acne is under control, the red marks will fade on their own in about 8 to 12 weeks.

Q. For teenagers, is there a way to tell whether your acne is hormonal or not?
A. Hormonal activity is present is acne no matter what your age – hormonal fluctuations cause more oil to be produced by the body. This is only a problem if you have the inherited tendency of acne, which is dead skin cells being shed inside the pore at a much faster rate of speed than “normal” pores. When you have the combination of too many dead skin cells being retained inside the pore along with hormonally–induced oil it activity creates acne problems.

Q. To your best knowledge, how does ones diet correlate with their acne?
A. We tell our clients to watch out for two main food categories: 1. Foods that are high in iodides (salty food which includes fast food, seafood, seaweed, milk and dairy products, organ meats), and; 2. Foods that are high in an androgen hormone (peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil, shellfish and organ meats). I have personal experience with taking Kelp as a supplement. My skin had been clear for at least two years and I started taking kelp which is extremely high in iodides. In about two weeks, my face broke out horribly - that's when I remembered the iodide connection to acne - a lesson I have never forgotten! (this was before I was an esthetician).

Esthetician's reply to your question
I know that it is extremely upsetting to have acne. And it is equally frustrating that the antibiotics and the Differin that the doctor gave you aren't really clearing up your skin. This is very common - most of our clients have had this same experience. I recommend getting on Dan Kern's Regimen as soon as possible. You can also start icing the big acne pustules that you have. Do this after cleaning, then put Dan Kern's benzoyl peroxide on for the night. It will take a while for your acne to clear but stick with a regimen of benzoyl peroxide and you will get clear.

There is alot of free information on our website that could help you. (www.facerealityskincare.com)

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Q. Can anything be done about the appearance of large pores? My cheeks have smooth normal looking skin, but my nose and the sides of my nose have giant looking pores - gives my skin the texture of a golf ball. I'm using Paula's Choice BHA but I swear it's only making them look bigger. Any way to tighten this up?
A. The pores on your noses are always bigger than the pores on your cheeks and there is no way to change that. If someone tells you that they can “shrink your pores” I would not believe them. The pores that look like blackheads on your nose are not acne – they are sebaceous filiments and are there to stay. Sorry.

Q. Is there any good way to treat inflamed acne AND blackheads? I think a lot of people here have trouble with both at the same time.
A. Yes, this is Grade III type of acne – I give my clients the strongest exfoliant (AHA or BHA) that their skin can tolerate and have them use that every other morning for the first two weeks. I also give them at least a 5% benzoyl peroxide to use (and use the timetable listed in my noninflamed acne regimen thread). I would probably switch them to a 10% benzoyl peroxide once their skin has acclimated to the 5%.

Q. I know that after assessing someone's skin you give them a daily regimen to use at home. I think many of us have had the experience of something working great for us for awhile then seemingly it just stops working and the acne comes back. I know that bacteria can become resistant to such things as topical antibiotics, but can your skin become so accustomed to things like BP or SA that even those stop working? I feel like my skin is the type that will always need maintenance to keep it clear, have you had success with people who use the same skin regimen for years and it continues to work for them on a consistent basis?
A. Yes, the skin does adapt to products so one does have to change their regimen. We change our clients’ homecare every two weeks for the first three months while we’re getting their acne under control. Then we put them on a maintenance home care regimen. If they start to break out again after a few months, we strengthen their home care by either giving them stronger products or having them use their products more often.

Q.Do you think mineral make-up is a good make-up choice for those with acne prone skin?
A.Yes, I think that mineral make-up is great for acne prone skin.

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Sorry, I actually don’t know that much about jojoba oil, but it is not on the list of comedogenic ingredients.

Esthetician's reply to your question

It is back up on our website (www.facerealityskincare.com) - we were in the midst of updating it when you tried before. Lanolin is definitely pore clogging. Just be warned that alot of products will actually say "non pore clogging" on the label or advertisment and will have pore-clogging ingredients in them. Buyer beware!! Good luck.

Esthetician's reply to your questions
Q. I am using a moisturizing lotion containing 2% natural colloidal oatmeal and I was wondering what it is and if I should be using it.
A. Sorry I’m not that familiar with colloidal oatmeal except that it can be very soothing to the skin.

Q. After applying BP and before applying that moisturizer I apply something call RA lotion and I was wondering what it is and if I should be using it.
A. Sorry, I don’t know what RA lotion is.

Esthetician's reply to your question
It looks ok to me, but a mask alone will never get your acne under control.

Esthetician's reply to your questions
I’ve never encountered what you are talking about. When you shave you may be getting shaving irritation. I tell my male clients to shave in the direction of the hair growth so they don’t irritate their skin. You can also try using a single-edge razor instead of a double or triple-edge razor. I don’t think that you increase the sebum by shaving.

Esthetician's reply to your question
Sounds like the tiny white bumps are the start of a pustule and if it’s gotten that far to the surface it will most likely (definitely in your case) mature to a full-fledged pustule. I would recommend doing Dan Kerns regimen religiously to keep the white bumps from forming in the first place. The benzoyl peroxide in his regimen prevents new lesions from forming in the first place, so you must use it every day in order for it to work properly. When your skin has adapted to the once-a-day regimen, then go to twice a day. If you skip even a day, then acne lesions will form and come to the surface sometimes 30 to 90 days later.