Tag Archives: body acne

Body Acne Instructions

January 22, 2013 Stephen Wills 2 Comments

Even though you may be suffering from facial acne just as much as back acne, you may be surprised how much thicker the skin on your body is. The thicker skin on your body requires slightly more effort in ridding spots on your body of acne and skin irritations. This method is most likely is too strong for your face where the skin is much thinner. This will help you save money when treating large areas.

Instructions for Body Acne:

Take two clean, dry wash cloths into the shower
Wash lightly using your hands with the natural soap and rinse. This conditions the skin for the acne treatment
If you are doing both your face and body, scrub your face first with your hands and rinse
Turn off the shower head and apply the Clear & Smooth to a dry wash cloth
Scrub for 30 seconds with the dry wash cloth and treatment. This will remove more dead skin cells and allow the treatment to get deeper into the skin. Don’t scrub so hard as to make the skin raw. After a few treatments you will get a feel for how hard to scrub. After your skin becomes healthy you will find the extra exfoliation is exhilarating. This method also helps you cover more area with less of the treatment, to save money.
Turn the shower back on, rinse, and then lather up the second clean wash cloth with the natural soap and wash thoroughly all treated areas. Rinse

Any other time you wash just use our natural soap and a clean wash cloth.

If you are experiencing skin irritations on your outer arms and thighs then you are likely suffering from keratosis pilaris. Here are instructions for clearing your skin of keratosis pilaris.

Tips and Tricks

The Biggest Mistakes Acne Sufferers Make

September 13, 2012 Stephen Wills 4 Comments

You aren’t washing off enough after your acne treatment
Use a lathered wash cloth after treatment to get rid of all traces of the acne solution. If you see any staining of towels, wash more thoroughly! Any product containing benzoyl peroxide needs work to take off the skin. If you leave benzoyl peroxide on the skin you may as well be leaving the products on permanently as the skin will adapt to the ingredient. Instructions and video here.

This also applies to using an acne treatment over the sink. This is hard to get the treatment right when it’s hard to lather and wash off correctly over the sink.

You are using acne treatments more than once a day
Never! Once again, exposing yourself to too much benzoyl peroxide risks roughening up your skin. Once a day treatment is ideal for long lasting clearness. As far as the natural soap and other products go, use as often as you like!

You are using spot treatments
A spot treatment will probably clear you up for a brief period of time. The problem is that these treatments are usually acidic, full of harsh ingredients and terrible for the long term health of your skin. Try the Kick Start Method for those tough areas.

You aren’t using enough product
Just like some use too much there are many that squeeze every drop of life they can get out of a bottle. Some try to get six months or a year out of a bottle. Until your acne is completely under control, you can only get three to four months max for facial acne. The first bottle should last no more than three months. Body acne? One to two months per bottle due to the thicker nature of the skin and more surface area. If you’re still not clearing up, use more.

You mix and match skin products
People often believe that if they mix and match products that they will get the best results. As with most things in life, shooting for a solution like a shotgun will usually not work. You need to focus on each individual product you try to see which one you get the most of.

Almost all skin care products today are acidic. Any liquid ointment should be avoided until you are clear. One by one add them back in to your routine and see how your skin reacts. For cover, our powdered mineral foundation works well (or a store bought foundation with as little ingredients as possible). For maximum cover, a paste can be made with the foundation and the daytime moisturizer. Apply the treatment with a makeup sponge. If it doesn’t say pH neutral, don’t use it!

You aren’t scrubbing hard enough
Your skin has many layers. The out layers are dead skin cells. Removing these dead skin cells opens up your pores and encourages new skin growth. This also aids the products into penetrating the skin. Do not be afraid to scrub hard. Most acne sufferers have tender skin. This is due to the products they’ve been using. Start out gently and gradually increase the effort you use to scrub. As your skin gets healthy, you will be able to take more exfoliation. Exfoliation is the secret to youthful healthy skin. It is exercise for the skin.

You’re using a toothpaste or shampoo that contains SLS
If you get breakouts around your mouth and chin you could be allergic to SLS (Sulfates) or something else in your toothpaste. There are SLS-free toothpastes on the market that are great such as Biotene and Closys II. Others might have problem ingredients such as Papaya. If breakouts are around your hair line it could be due to the SLS in your shampoo. If you Sulfate seems to be the issue, avoid store-bought liquid soaps. Our body wash is liquid and contains no Sulfates of any kind.

You aren’t spending enough time in the sun
With the advent of sunscreen and better communication about the dangers of sun exposure, we’ve actually seen a rise in Vitamin D deficiency. With the fear of skin cancer people are shielding themselves from the sun with sunscreens. To the point of not getting any Vitamin D. According to studies up to 37 percent of caucasian adolescents are deficient and over 82 percent of African Americans are. With a large enough deficiency, the skin struggles to heal as fast and acne may be triggered.

The only way to get Vitamin D naturally is to spend about 15 minutes in the sun daily. Morning sun works best. Keep track of your time in the sun as you can burn fast when unprotected. Here is a sunscreen guide for natural ointments that are healthy for your skin.

The water quality in your shower is poor
Maybe it sounds like we’re reaching here but the quality of your water can make a huge difference for some. If you aren’t seeing results six months in it could very well be the quality of filter you use. Water is an element that affects your skin greatly. It also varies depending on the area you live. My son used to notice his acne staying clear when he away from college. After noticing a few instances of the same by our customers we looked into it. After customers got a soft water system their often skin cleared up. Could hard acidic water be the cause?

You have a gluten or food sensitivity
Sensitivities to food can cause a skin condition similar to acne. There is a simple (but challenging) test. Give up all wheat products for a week. You have to read labels. Gluten is in pizza, bread, pasta, beer and many distilled spirits. These kinds of wheat may even be found in cosmetic products. Sometimes it’s not the products your using or should be using, it’s simply your diet.

I’m a big believer in Karma. What goes around comes around. Our goal is to help people to have clear skin. Whether that’s with our products, a competitor’s or some other reason – all the power to you. Follow the directions and use some detective work!

Tips and Tricks

Regular or Industrial Strength Treatment for Acne?

August 21, 2012 Stephen Wills 1 Comment

Most acne products on the market use Benzoyl Peroxide as the primary clearing ingredient. It may seem smart to use higher and higher amounts of this essential ingredient but we recommend less. Much less for healthy skin.

We use BP in our acne treatment like most others but in smaller quantities. This is why we we offer an Industrial Strength version for those with more severe acne as well as the Regular Strength.

Drying, Sensitivities and Overuse
Benzoyl Peroxide acts as an oxygen generator for your skin. When massive amounts of oxygen are absorbed into the skin, this disrupts bacteria. Acne is prevented from even forming if done right. Problem?

Benzoyl Peroxide is overused in today’s market. It’s easy to throw BP at the problem and create a quick fix. In today’s quick-fix-world where people demand instant cures it is hard to practice patience. But that is exactly the way to achieve not just clear skin but healthy skin. Clear skin done quickly may not stay clear for long. Healthy skin stays permanently clear!

The drying effects of BP are well documented. Not only can the ingredient dry the skin too much but the skin can adapt to BP. It begins to take more and more treatments to stay clear as the body adjusts to such harsh conditions.

A small portion of the population is actually allergic to Benzoyl Peroxide. This creates a rash on the skin when used as an ointment. That doesn’t mean these people can’t use products that contain BP. This just means they need to carefully monitor the amount they use on their skin. Here is a guide about using BP for people with skin sensitivities…

Regular Strength or Industrial “Kick Ass” Strength?
The goal is for all acne sufferers to be able to take the regular strength to stay clear. The “Kick Ass” formula uses a higher amount of BP (about 5%) to keep severe acne sufferers and teens clear. The regular strength uses about half that amount which is far lower and milder than other products on the market (and yet works more effectively!).

If you are a severe acne sufferer or teenager with acne, use the Kick Ass treatment. This formula has the right amount of BP to effectively clear the skin. Not only can this product better handle skin more oily and prone to acne but it isn’t full of heavy chemicals that most products marketed towards teens and severe acne sufferers do. For the hard to treat spots or lagging results, try the Kick Start Method. For body acne sufferers, skin on your body is less sensitive than your face. You can apply a more liberal amount on the body so the Kick Ass treatment may be for you.

As your skin becomes clearer, switch to the Regular Strength. If you have a pimple here or there, start with the Regular Strength. The Regular Strength has the ideal amount of BP for long term health. Not too drying, not too harsh for sensitive skin. Like Goldilocks said, just right!

The solution to your acne woes may appear to need extreme measures but they really don’t. If you have a history of acne ointment “abuse” (because that’s almost what it is!) your skin will take longer to adapt to milder treatments. All of those heavy acidic products so pumped full of terrible chemicals did long term damage to the skin. The skin will take time to heal. Don’t even think about an acid wash! You may as well pop pimples yourself and hope for the best.

Tips and Tricks

What are those Bumps on My Arms?

July 25, 2012 Stephen Wills

As explained in our exfoliation guide, the body produces uneven amounts of skin cells in different areas. The reason your lips are red is due to the relative thin layer of skin you have there. The same holds true for the soles of your feet and palms. Alternatively, areas such as the outer arms and thighs are thick. With thick often comes problems such as keratosis pilaris.

Keratosis pilaris (or KP) is an incurable skin condition that produces rough, red bumps on the body. Most often seen on the arms, this condition is characterized by unsightly rough patches. Usually mistaken for body acne, we’ve found exfoliation and the acne treatment to help with both body acne and keratosis pilaris. Skin growth proteins (called keratin) block the hair follicles and form these bumps – usually in this area.

Body Acne or Keratosis Pilaris?

If you are suffering from body bumps in areas like the chest and back you probably have body acne. These are areas especially to susceptible body acne and should be treated just like facial acne – with a bit more exfoliation.

Instead of individual bumps you notice that your skin irritations look more like a patch. The skin is rough and forms goosebumps on areas previously mentioned – like the arms and thighs. Dry conditions seem to make it get worse unlike acne. You likely have KP.

Treating Keratosis Pilaris

This condition is incurable but we’ve had customers raving about how our products help. Though slightly different than eczema, we recommend similar ways to treat the skin.

Use the body acne method. Quick start instructions can also be a good guide for the right way to lather and apply the treatment.
Use the eczema cream on the areas. We’ve found this to be the best cream in treating the sort of dry, irritated skin that you get with keratosis pilaris.
Keep the skin moisturized. A moisturizer that absorbs easily such as a dimethicone-free one works best.

Many sufferers of keratosis pilaris will not even see conditions in the humid summer months. Just following some of these steps has done wonders for many of our customers.