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Are you damaging your skin when exercising?

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

Anne turned 50 recently and decided it was finally time to get in shape. Membership to the local gym was a delightful gift from her husband Bill. After starting her exercise routine, Anne asked me if working out was causing her adult acne. She wrote, “My goal was to look better not worse! Please help me out.”

Many people notice that exercise perspiration causes not only their face to break out, but their body to show pimples, acne, and bumps as well. Science no longer believes that sweating cleans your pores but that it actually causes your pores to become blocked and grow bacteria. This red inflammation is called a pimple.

Anne can follow a few simple guidelines to resolve this situation before it becomes a major problem. Problems could potentially include permanent acne scaring and an increase in lines and wrinkles, as well as an unsightly complexion.

Here are three tips to use to make sure your workout routine does not damage or ruin your skin.

1. NO MAKEUP AT THE GYM

Unlike, her 20 or 30 year old workout partners, Anne always arrived at the gym well groomed, which meant makeup. The first recommendation is to start your workout with a clean face. That’s easy in the morning but what about the days you go after work? No excuses! You must wash your face thoroughly before beginning your workout. An easy trick is to simply wipe the face down with Academy’s Acne Control-10 if you can’t wash.

2. EXERCISE IN MODERATIONyoga

Everything in moderation! Unless your goal is to train for a triathlon, I like moderate exercise including Pilates and yoga. I’ve always believed excessive jogging and fat burning does created an aging, sickly looking face. Fortunately, for those who have abused their faces with extremes, we can offer solutions such as non-permanent fillers and Academy medical based skin care products.

3. CLEAN YOUR BODY AND CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES IMMEDIATELY

Always take a cool shower, shampoo your hair, and change your clothes as soon as possible after exercising. Remember to rinse the conditioner out of your hair thoroughly before washing your face and body. The residue of the conditioner could be affecting your skin. Use Academy’s Gentle Facial Cleanser to cleanse thoroughly and calm your facial skin. Pat dry and wait one minute before applying Academy Hydrolight Plus 15 to prevent breakouts. In the presence of active breakouts, use Acne Control-10 instead.

Also, if your exercising brings you outdoors you’ll be wearing a hat and sunscreen, both of which may cause you to breakout. Sweating under your hat for long periods of time is a likely culprit of clogged pores. Remove your hat as soon as possible and wipe quickly with Academy’s Acne Control when water is unavailable.

Take less than 10 minutes to practice these easy steps to guarantee your face will look as healthy as your body feels.

7 Skincare Mistakes and Misconceptions

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

That expensive, cost-more-than-botox “celebrity favorite” moisturizer isn’t shrinking your pores.

It’s shrinking your wallet.

I have seen tens of thousands of patients over the last 25+ years as a Registered Nurse, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgical First Assistant, and Clinical Specialist for Head and Neck, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

What do many of my patients have in common?

Besides wanting their skin to glow, be as smooth as a baby’s skin, and stop the skin aging process, they have committed some major crimes in the skin care arena.

Here are 7 of the most common mistakes and misconceptions people make regarding their skin care. 

Mistake #1: Believe every advertisement.

The first and foremost mistake is believing everything we read, hear, and see. Commercialism is amazingly brainwashing. Remember, their goal is to sell, sell, sell. So when they tell you that the collagen inside the product will plump your skin, think again. (This is actually impossible.)

Mistake #2: Change skincare products often because your skin adapts.

Good skincare habits should be exactly that: a good habit. A habit means consistency, not a walk through the mall this week to purchase “this” and next week to purchase “that” because “this” wasn’t your miracle, and the new ad promises that “that” will definitely be your magic wand. Stop wasting your money. Use a really proven, effective product and stick with it. You’ll be amazed. Over time, you’ll achieve dramatic improvements.

Mistake #3: Apply a variety of different skincare products to maximize the result.

Applying too many different products is also a mistake. More is not better. Keep skincare simple but effective.

Mistake #4: Food doesn’t affect your skin.

Don’t think you can mistreat your body all you want and that the latest product on the market will fix your damaged skin. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and it protects all the other organs. So let’s protect it by being proactive. Make no mistake, diet plays a very important role in good skin care. Reduce intake of alcohol, sugar, caffeine, and salt. Everything in moderation.

Mistake #5: Smoking won’t age your skin if you use anti-aging products.

Smoking is fine as long as you wash your face well and use an anti-aging cream. WRONG! The effect smoking has on the skin is as damaging as it is to your other organs.

Mistake #6: Only use sunscreen when you go to the beach.

Though we all know how bad the sun is for our skin, we think applying sunscreen before venturing to the beach is all we need to do. Most people give little thought as to how and where to apply this annoying cream that we really don’t want on anyway. First, make sure all exposed areas of the body are covered, including ears, lips, hairline, feet, etc. Second, and very importantly, REAPPLY, REAPPLY, REAPPLY!

Mistake #7: Expensive skin care products work the best. More money = better results.

“You get what you pay for.” WRONG. Believing that the more expensive your product is, the better it must be is a big misnomer. The truth is most often, your dollars are paying for expensive packaging as well as very expensive advertising. Buyer Beware!

Think you’re making a mistake but not sure? Received conflicting advice? Leave a comment or write to me personally to find out at candy@academybycandy.com

How to Make Your Pores Look Invisible

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

This is the million dollar question! So let’s talk about why your pores are big, how to reduce the size, and how to make sure they stay that way.

Why are our pores so big?

When our oil glands make too much oil, our pores enlarge. When our pores are enlarged, they clog. The clogged pores then enlarge even more. This vicious cycle creates an unsightly appearance of large pores, which then often filled with debris—becoming white heads or even blackheads.

How do we reduce the size of our pores and keep them that way?

The goal is to first unclog these pores, reduce blackheads, and minimize the appearance of enlarged pores. Next, and most importantly, a good preventative skin care regime must become a routine.

  1. A strong (70%) unbuffered (0.5 pH) glycolic acid peel should be performed first, including a gentle lifting out of the debris, one by one. (No extractor or squeezing, please. This causes scarring.)

2. A daily routine must be implemented of gently cleansing and exfoliating the skin.

3. Use a salicylic acid combined with a low pH (unbuffered) glycolic acid toner. This will be your best preventative solution.

Click here to look at a special kit containing all of these products.

What should we avoid?

Stay away from:

  1. Oily skin care moisturizers
  2. Oily sunscreens

Remember to stay hydrated and healthy, drinking at least two liters of water per day and eating a balanced diet of natural foods. What you eat does affect your skin. Your skin is the largest organ of your body.

Buyer Beware

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

Recently a patient came into my practice, excited about a scientific study she read about. The study compared 10 products claiming skin tightening secrets and rated one as #1. An anti-aging miracle must have been discovered and she wants it! Who wouldn’t?

After a closer look at this lengthy article, it not only contains much incorrect information regarding anti-aging but at the very END finally made this statement:

“THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT AN ACTUAL NEWS ARTICLE, BLOG, CONSUMER REVIEW, OR CONSUMER PROTECTION UPDATE

This website is a market place. The owner has a material financial connection to the provider of the goods and services referred to on the site. The owner receives payment for each qualified sale or payment for each potential customer referral. The owner may be advertising on behalf of a third party advertiser with whom the provider of the products or services also has a material financial connection in that both advertisers receive payment for each qualified sale or payment for each potential customer referral. Information regarding the products and services on this website may be provided by a third party advertising such product and service on the site and therefore the correctness of such representations are unknown to the site owner who does not undertake due diligence to confirm such third party representations regarding third party advertising claims.

Please be sure to review the terms of use and privacy policy on this website. If you are redirected to a third party advertiser’s site and you should review their terms and conditions and privacy policy as they may differ significantly from those posted on this site. The owner is not affiliate with any third party advertiser other than stated above. The owner does not recommend or endorse any product or service on this website.
The Statements on our websites have not been evaluated by the FDA. The products listed here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

And guess who published this article? Surprise, surprise the #1 product itself, of course!

So from me to you, just a piece of advice: “Buyer Beware!”

Is Pollution Damaging Your Skin?

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

Researchers in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA recently published results on the impact of air pollution on aging in a group of 400 women. The aging of the women’s skin was assessed by a well-established skin aging score called SCINEXA (score of intrinsic and extrinsic skin aging), which showed clearly that exposure to environmental pollution is linked to skin aging and hyperpigmentation (age spots).

First, the small carbon particles in air pollution enter the body and stimulate our cells’ production of the pigment melanin. Several ingredients in skin care products have proven to block tyrosinase (the precursor to melanin). The most effective being Licorice Extract when it is combined with low pH glycolic acid. This combination provides a deep penetration which prevents tyrosinase from stimulating the melanin.

Second, and even more important, these polluted particles penetrate into the deep layers of the epidermis and even into the dermal layer of the skin causing inflammation. This increases the rate of collagen destruction, creating aging skin, loss of elasticity, and wrinkles. Remember, by the time we are 30, we will have lost approximately 30% of our collagen cells. So, whether we have skin damage due to the sun, pollution or simply real time aging our goal is to reverse this loss of collagen and slow up it’s destruction. To date the most effective way to stimulate new collagen cells and slow the aging process of the skin is to consistently use a low pH glycolic acid cream at least twice daily.

Third, since pollution actually leaves residue on the surface of the skin and even deeper into clogged pores, cleansing properly is critical. A good fragrance-free cleanser should remove all makeup and debris thoroughly, followed by a gentle buffing of the skin with a cool wet buff puff or sponge to assist in exfoliation.

Fourth, protect the skin from further damage by using a good sunscreen moisturizer daily as well as remembering to reapply when exposed to the sun.

These simple steps, if followed 2 to 3 times a day, will guarantee beautiful, glowing, and youthful looking skin.

Does caffeine in skincare products work?

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

There is much talk about using caffeine in facial skin care products now. Some users are even claiming they are unable to sleep due to the absorption of the caffeine.

The truth is that very few studies have actually scientifically been done. In fact, to date, the caffeine products that have been researched never claimed to be the main responsible ingredient for the product results.

So what is all this hype about? Is it really possible that your skin care product can keep you awake at night? Is it really possible that topical caffeine can make you look younger and prevent skin cancers?

Many of us would like to see some legitimate scientific studies in the future. I personally will be following this subject matter.

Here’s some research that’s been done:

Cosmetics with caffeine: real benefits versus marketing claims

BOAVENTURA, Gustavo1; KRAUSE, Leandro1; QUEIROZ, Natália1; GRANADOS, Carlos1

.1. Cosmética em Foco, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

Conclusions

Thus, we realized that although caffeine has multiple benefits, caffeine products are usually most known for their systemic activities such as CNS stimulation and increasing blood circulation. But those activities are related to oral intake of this composite when cosmetic products are meant to show only topical activity. Most of the products analyzed in this research, even those that claim in the front label the presence of caffeine, explore the intuitive effects of caffeine but it is never claimed to be the main responsible ingredient for the product results. We suggest that more research is needed in order to evaluate topical activities of caffeine and it’s actual benefits on skin and hair. So far, what we have the most of are marketing claims based upon common sense and social representations of this well known worldwide xanthine called caffeine.

References:

Barel, AO 2009, ‘Anticellulite Products and Treatments’ In: Barel, AO, Paye, M, Maibach HI

Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology