9 replies to this topic

[esthetician33]

I'm an esthetician that sees skin all day long for 6 years now and was an acne sufferer myself. I've had so many clients come in fustrated with breakouts and completely irritated from using benzoyl peroxide. For those of you not having success from benzoyl peroxide because acne is not treated by a "one size fits all" concept and those who don't want to advance aging with the free radicals from this chemical, here are some tips for healthy acne free skin. We do know whats causes clogging it's called retention hyperkeratosis, a hereditary condition in which dead cells stick to the surface of the skin and begin lining the inside walls of the follicle. The main factors that can cause acne are genetics, hormones and yes stress. Stress causes the brain to manufacture a hormone that causes the adrenal gland to make more hormones which increases oil. There is no cure for acne but the healthier your skin is the less its going to break out. Vitamin A also known as retinol is key for diminishing acne. It normalizes oil production, speeds up cellular turnover (reduces clogging), promotes healing (reduces the formation of scars) all while giving you great antiaging benefits. Retin-A is vitamin A and that form of A didn't work well with my sensitive skin. I have had great success with retinyl palmitate. Also vitamin C in low levels has been very succesful and you get the antioxidant benefits as well. Tea tree oil (in products not straight) is great at killing bacteria without the dryness. And last but not least AHA's like glycolic in low levels to stimulate the cellular turnover. Benzoyl peroxide wreaks havoc on the skin; I see it everyday. The skin may be free of papules and pustules but its left with rough, scarred tissue. Also I see people get more blackheads because there skin is dried out from the benzoyl peroxide and in turn produces more oil which leads to clogging. It's a vicious cycle that doesn't work for most people and who wants to use a chemical that ages and possibly causes cancer? Using A and C as well as AHA's leaves skin bright, smooth and flaw free. Healthy skin looks dewey and thats what your skin should look like even if you are treating it for acne.

[AKL]

Moved to the Vitamin posts forum. The Announcements and feedback forum is for discussing technical issues on the boards. Please read the forum headings and descriptions before posting. Thanks!

[Kristabel]

I have been using bp in the morning (duac) and topical vitamin A at night (isotrexin).

My skin does look more scarred and rough now because i have been using bp for a couple years.

But i cant stop using it now because i just stopped birth control and need to do everything i can topically to try and minimize the horrendous breakout from stopping the pill

[AKL]

Benzoyl peroxide wreaks havoc on the skin; I see it everyday. The skin may be free of papules and pustules but its left with rough, scarred tissue. Also I see people get more blackheads because there skin is dried out from the benzoyl peroxide and in turn produces more oil which leads to clogging. It's a vicious cycle that doesn't work for most people and who wants to use a chemical that ages and possibly causes cancer? Using A and C as well as AHA's leaves skin bright, smooth and flaw free. Healthy skin looks dewey and thats what your skin should look like even if you are treating it for acne.

Just to correct some things:

• Scars are the result of inflammation within the dermis (as a result of acne, not BP)
• BP does not increase sebum production, as that is regulated by hormones (increased androgen (DHEA-S) production = increased sebum production)
• BP does not cause cancer: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Benzoyl-P...in-forum21.html

[aquarius22]

that is so funny because my esthetician actually recommend BP for my acne prone skin

[esthetician33]

I have been using bp in the morning (duac) and topical vitamin A at night (isotrexin).

My skin does look more scarred and rough now because i have been using bp for a couple years.

But i cant stop using it now because i just stopped birth control and need to do everything i can topically to try and minimize the horrendous breakout from stopping the pill

I wish I could see your skin but here are some hopefully helpful tips. If the bp is not working for you anymore I would stop it. If your skin does well with the prescription vitamin A continue with that. If not try a lower retinyl palmitate product. The medical line Enivron uses different levels of vitamin A to slowly buildup tolerance and avoid irritation. The line uses levels of A equivalent to prescription levels. A new study was just released using the antioxidant reversatrol topically and it reduced 66.7% reduction in acne lesions. Reversatrol is also used in Eviron products along with antioxidants grean and red tea. Unfortunately you can't but their products online but if you go to their website it will direct you to the closest retailer where an esthetician or doctor can better choose products for you. Using a glycolic or lactic acid product would help the scarring since it stimulates celluar turnover. You may want to do an intensive peel with dermatologist/plastic surgeon or esthetician but if this is too expensive for you try the at home peel kits. I recommend doing them at home once a week. Most important is keeping the skin balanced. Using an oil free moisturizer doesn't work for all and there are many noncomdogenic oils used that are helpful in maintaining balanced oil levels such as sesame oil and safflower oil. Of course these are my opinions as are all recommendations for treating acne are because there is no cure for acne yet. Hope this helps let me know if you have other questions.

[esthetician33]

AKL Really? You can't correct someone when you don't know how the skin works and your mediating on a site that lacks information on how the skin works. For example listed under what is acne - "For reasons no one completely understands, follicles, often called pores, sometimes get blocked." Yes we do know its called a hereditary condition called retention hyperkeratosis. There's more. The site does a disservice to people of color by not informing them of the potential risks of hypo or hyperpigmentation resulting from BP because Dan wouldn't want to lose sales on his products. This site should be called benzoylperoxide.org. It's not helping people to focus on one ingredient that obviously is not effective for all people. I can cut and paste from the internet too but that doesn't qualify anyone to give skin care advice. My point about BP and scarring is that BP does not help prevent scarring vitamin A does because it promotes healing and stimulates cellular turnover. Also BP drys out the skin which in turn causes the oil glands to produce more sebum to replenish the lipid barrier. And here's a little study done with benzoyl peroxide: Investigations on fifteen patients with acne showed that at the end of 1 and 2 months of treatment 5% benzoyl peroxide increased the sebum excretion rate by 22.5%. This rise in sebum excretion is probably due to the comedolytic activity of benzoyl peroxide which will influence the pooling of sebum in the upper reaches of the pilosebaceous duct. This site is doing again a disservice to its members by only featuring information that supports BP because it needs to make a profit off Dan's skin care line. I'm not making a profit off the informaton I provide and I'm here to help those who don't have success with BP since this site doesn't offer any. My advice on skin care is just that advice, just like the advice given by this site. So you can't say what's wrong and what's right especially when you don't have all the information.

[Gators_Fan]

esthetician33, you will have a tough time arguing against BP to the administrators on this site for the exact reasons you mentioned. This website endorses it, because it's what keeps it running.

Most people who have been active on these message-boards know that BP is not good for your skin, and is not the cure for acne. Some people experience good results from it, but as you said, it will not work for everyone.

[Wynne]

AKL Really? You can't correct someone when you don't know how the skin works and your mediating on a site that lacks information on how the skin works. For example listed under what is acne - "For reasons no one completely understands, follicles, often called pores, sometimes get blocked." Yes we do know its called a hereditary condition called retention hyperkeratosis. There's more. The site does a disservice to people of color by not informing them of the potential risks of hypo or hyperpigmentation resulting from BP because Dan wouldn't want to lose sales on his products. This site should be called benzoylperoxide.org. It's not helping people to focus on one ingredient that obviously is not effective for all people. I can cut and paste from the internet too but that doesn't qualify anyone to give skin care advice. My point about BP and scarring is that BP does not help prevent scarring vitamin A does because it promotes healing and stimulates cellular turnover. Also BP drys out the skin which in turn causes the oil glands to produce more sebum to replenish the lipid barrier. And here's a little study done with benzoyl peroxide: Investigations on fifteen patients with acne showed that at the end of 1 and 2 months of treatment 5% benzoyl peroxide increased the sebum excretion rate by 22.5%. This rise in sebum excretion is probably due to the comedolytic activity of benzoyl peroxide which will influence the pooling of sebum in the upper reaches of the pilosebaceous duct. This site is doing again a disservice to its members by only featuring information that supports BP because it needs to make a profit off Dan's skin care line. I'm not making a profit off the informaton I provide and I'm here to help those who don't have success with BP since this site doesn't offer any. My advice on skin care is just that advice, just like the advice given by this site. So you can't say what's wrong and what's right especially when you don't have all the information.

Actually, you're avoiding (completely) the points that AKL raised. Carry on. Those in the know will be able to make their own decisions. Have you even noticed there's a Nutrition and holistic health forum? A bunch of regimen logs for those who don't use BP, who even have holistic means for remission?

If acne.org were only about BP, there'd not even be this message board and your comments would be invisible. Gosh, it's much harder to castigate this site when you look at the whole picture and not just a tiny portion of it. Same for you Gators-fan.

I myself don't use BP. I use glycolic acid. And yet (oh my gosh) I'm a moderator. I also use a retinoid. Because I'm fighting aging!

[AKL]

AKL Really? You can't correct someone when you don't know how the skin works and your mediating on a site that lacks information on how the skin works. For example listed under what is acne - "For reasons no one completely understands, follicles, often called pores, sometimes get blocked." Yes we do know its called a hereditary condition called retention hyperkeratosis. There's more. The site does a disservice to people of color by not informing them of the potential risks of hypo or hyperpigmentation resulting from BP because Dan wouldn't want to lose sales on his products. This site should be called benzoylperoxide.org. It's not helping people to focus on one ingredient that obviously is not effective for all people. I can cut and paste from the internet too but that doesn't qualify anyone to give skin care advice. My point about BP and scarring is that BP does not help prevent scarring vitamin A does because it promotes healing and stimulates cellular turnover. Also BP drys out the skin which in turn causes the oil glands to produce more sebum to replenish the lipid barrier. And here's a little study done with benzoyl peroxide: Investigations on fifteen patients with acne showed that at the end of 1 and 2 months of treatment 5% benzoyl peroxide increased the sebum excretion rate by 22.5%. This rise in sebum excretion is probably due to the comedolytic activity of benzoyl peroxide which will influence the pooling of sebum in the upper reaches of the pilosebaceous duct. This site is doing again a disservice to its members by only featuring information that supports BP because it needs to make a profit off Dan's skin care line. I'm not making a profit off the informaton I provide and I'm here to help those who don't have success with BP since this site doesn't offer any. My advice on skin care is just that advice, just like the advice given by this site. So you can't say what's wrong and what's right especially when you don't have all the information.

Funny how you only address the sebum excretion issue and forget about the other (unfounded) claims you make about BP. However, you did correct the scarring issue, as in your first post you made it sound like BP caused scarring, which isn't true. That's something completely different than preventing it. There is indeed one study I know of (from 2006), showing that BP increases sebum excretion. But it's only one study, with 15 patients and a 5% BP solution. This website doesn't advocate using 5%. And this study doesn't even conclude that the increase of sebum excretion is for sure due to BP, mind the word "probably" that you used in your quote from that study. Also, sebum excretion is not the same as sebum production. You said: "there skin is dried out from the benzoyl peroxide and in turn produces more oil". It doesn't work that way, your skin does not "compensate". There have been similar studies, with tetracycline, for example. One study showed increased sebum excretion, while others didn't. In reference to your accusation that this site lacks information: "The exact cause of acne is unknown", taken from http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Acne/default.asp. Also, like you, I'm not making any profit off the information I provide. This website has many forums, most of them not even about BP. Please don't accuse people before knowing them. Thanks!

esthetician33, you will have a tough time arguing against BP to the administrators on this site for the exact reasons you mentioned. This website endorses it, because it's what keeps it running.

Most people who have been active on these message-boards know that BP is not good for your skin, and is not the cure for acne. Some people experience good results from it, but as you said, it will not work for everyone.

Err...I don't even have acne, so I don't use BP, and I have no interest in endorsing it either. You're right about the fact that it doesn't work for everyone. That's the case with every single treatment out there. It doesn't mean that BP is a bad choice, on the contrary. The OP was making false claims about BP, without any evidence, and then accused others. I don't criticize the regimen that OP suggested, as I think she made some valid points, I only corrected her statements about BP, simply because they're not true.