Wellness Wednesday: Clear Skin

I recently visited the Dermatologist in hopes of getting my skin back on track (full disclosure-I've been going to the Dermatologist for the last 15 years). I decided to stop taking my birth control pills about 3 months ago. BIG MISTAKE!  The Physicians Assistant (PA) confirmed my breakouts were hormone related (isn't everything). Raging hormones cause glands in your skin to produce more oil than they should, called sebum (oil). The result is acne/breakouts. Birth control pills help reduce the sebum production, so going off really sets your body into shock!

Here's some advice I received from the PA at the Dermatologist office:

1. Use a face wash that removes your makeup and cleans your face. This is why you're washing your face. It's easy to loose sight of this. I was on this parbaen free kick for a brief minute. While my face wash contained all natural products, contained to parabens, mineral oil, or artificial color, it was terrible at removing all my makeup. Not cleaning your face well can lead to clogged pores, which leads to acne. Also be mindful of your skin type- dry, oily, or normal, when selecting your face cleanser. The PA recommended Neutrogena Fresh Cleansing Foam. I also picked up a pack of the wipes so when I'm really tired or heading to the gym, I can clean my face.

2. Use a white towel to dry your face. This will not only ensure that you are removing all makeup and pollutants from your face, but some ingredients like benzyol peroxide, can bleach your towels and clothing if not completely dried.

Thomas O'Brien 3-pc towel set, Target, $21.50

3. Use mineralize makeup. The PA asked me if I used mineralize makeup. I'm a MAC addict as a result of my friend Courtney, so of course I responded with a resounding YES! Maybe in the future makeup artist will be like pharmaceutical sales reps, and provide free samples to the Dermatologist LOL. Back to the subject at hand- mineralize makeup allows the skin to breath and doesn't clog pores as easily as traditional makeup. My personal faves:

MAC Mineralize Foundation and Skinfinish

3. Don't touch your face! Doing so can spread the oil from your hands to your face, which cause pores to become inflamed and irritated. It's important to wash your hands before applying anything to your face. This includes acne treatments and moisturizer. My friend Courtney strongly suggest using a flat brush to apply moisturizer. Also avoid resting your palm on your jawline.

MAC Cosmetics Foundation Brush, $32

4. Use a pea size amount of prescription topicals. Unlike $$, a little goes a long way. Don't mistake topicals for face moisturizer. Topicals spread once applied to your face, so a pea size amount to the four quadrants of your face is all you need. Dr. Scales normally gives me an adequate supply of free samples, so I rarely have to get a prescription filled more than once.


5. Birthcontrol can be an option to help regulate your hormones. I understand this is a touchy subject, so it's important to do research for yourself. I spoke to my doctor, and made the decision to go back on the pill.

6. GO TO THE DERMATOLOGIST! If you have insurance, it's worth the co-pay, and if you don't, it's about $80. So skip a weekend from going out, and go to the Derm. instead. Sometimes you need a couture face routine prescribed my a medical doctor. Not saying there is anything wrong with your mothers wisdom or over the counter products, but they triage the problem instead offering a long term solution. Prescriptions are much stronger than over the counter products, so you can see noticeable improvement in 2-3 short months!


 P.S.-Not sure if this fits into Wellness Wednesday, but I wanted to talk about it LOL!