What even is Acne? Simple Acne Explanation + My Fav Products for Acne!!!
Happy New Year!! A year full of new beginnings and so much potential. This year it is a goal of mine to invest in expanding and sharing my education with my beautiful clients! For my acne sufferers, I know how draining it can be trying product after product to help heal acne. Starting off, let's talk about what acne is and how it's caused.
Acne is an inherited condition of the pore. It all starts as retention hyperkeratosis, AKA the overabundance of skin cells that shed rapidly. These skin cells are known as corneocytes, AKA abnormally sticky skin cells. These super sticky skin cells, sebum, and hair can clump together which forms a plug in the pore (AKA an open comedone or blackhead). This plug can get infected with acne bacteria, which then causes swelling, AKA a red & inflamed pimple!
The solution to this problem lies within products that penetrate the pore and prevent dead skin cells from building up. It is also very important to note that acne can also be caused by lifestyle habits.
There are 2 main types of acne, inflamed and noninflamed.
Inflamed acne can look like red bumps that are often times painful, sometimes pus filled, and can even be under the skin (cystic). Inflamed acne skin is often warm to the touch and fairly sensitive.
With inflamed acne, it's best to start slowly with products. A great place to start is with an enzyme mask. Anti-inflammation, exfoliation, and hydration are the main uses for enzymes in skincare. This is a holy trinity when it comes to treating inflamed acne. Be sure you're properly cleansing and toning before the mask and applying a moisturizer for your skin type afterwards. Steer away from pore-clogging ingredients.
Noninflamed acne looks dull, sluggish, and has a pebbly appearance with lots of open and closed comedones, which will look like congestion and bumps under the skin.
With noninflamed acne, I recommend a few different things! Number 1 being exfoliation! Glycolic acid is great for smoothing out texture, and it's very effective because of its small molecular size. For blackheads, I recommend salicylic acid or willow bark extract added into your mask or moisturizer. This ingredient does wonders for penetrating past those sticky skin cells and clearing the pore right up. Aktiv's willow bark is not for sale and is for professional use only, so if you're interested in this additive, we'd love to add it to your product as long as you're a good candidate. To do this give us a call to set up a consultation or book a facial with us since every facial includes a skin analysis!
This is the year to invest in yourself and your skin! Your estheticians are here to help you through it, you will never be alone on your skincare journey. I hope this blog was helpful and informative!
Ally