What’s Preventing You From Having Glowing Skin & How to Fix It

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

Frustrated. Embarrassed. Hopeless.

You ignore looking in the mirror so you can avoid these feelings.

Have you ever wondered what you’re really looking at when you inspect your skin in a magnifying mirror?

SKIN.

Skin is the largest organ in your body.

But did you know that skin cells die in 30 days?

They don’t disappear. They stay there. And they are not pretty. They look ugly and old.

How do you get rid of dead skin? Exfoliation.

Exfoliating the dead layer of skin keeps you looking younger and healthier by exposing the beautiful alive layer hiding underneath the dead layer.

What’s the best way to always have glowing skin? To remove the dead layer? To bring your beautiful skin out of hiding?

Using a product that can exfoliate while boosting collagen.

Academy glycolic products are formulated to do just that. Glycolic acid exfoliates and stimulates. It’s two steps in one. Use Academy Glycolic Creme-10, Acne Control-10, or Hydro Light Plus-10 twice a day and they will gently remove the dead skin, preventing it from building up and insuring you’ll always have a healthy, youthful, live collagen layer.

I promise, when you look in the mirror, you’ll like what you see.

From an Academy customer: “I’ve been using Glycolic Creme-10 for over a year and have seen tremendous results. My face feels tighter and my fine lines have been shrinking. I use a small amount of the cream in strategic places of the face twice a day and then smooth it out all over the face before applying a moisturizer. I love that fact that the Glycolic Creme-10 is fragrance free and absolutely natural. It has been very effective for helping me look healthier and more youthful. I highly recommend Glycolic Crème 10 for a better looking skin. It definitely is working for me.”

What’s your Academy story?

How to Banish and Treat Dry Skin

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

Winter is coming and the drop in temperature can wreak havoc on our skin. Many of us notice our skin becomes dry and flaky when it’s cooler out. How do we fix this so we can have glowing, hydrated skin?

Just today, one of my patients asked me exactly this—how to treat her dry skin.

Before I can answer, I must assess her skin type and ask what her skin care regime is. This combination of information enables me to make recommendations personalized just for her. In this patient’s case, I discovered that she was using too many products on her skin, totally confusing herself as well as her skin.

More is not better. My advice has always been to keep skin care easy yet effective! If you’re loading up on products, it’s time to reevaluate.

Here are my 3 general tips to beating dry skin:

Candy’s Tip #1: No matter what your skin type is, all skin types must be cleansed thoroughly twice a day. Morning and evening works best.

Candy’s Tip #2: Follow with a collagen & elastin stimulator that also exfoliates.

(Hint: Academy’s Glycolic Crème-10 is perfect for this. It has the correct formulation for glycolic acid—beware of the claims of other products out there. Always ask questions.)

Candy’s Tip #3: Follow with a compatible moisturizer or moisturizing sunscreen.

(Hint: Academy’s Compatible Moisturizer softens and moisturizes your skin without it feeling thick or oily.)

Three easy steps:

Cleanse, Exfoliate & Stimulate, Moisturize.

Why do we need to exfoliate and stimulate before the moisturizer?

Applying moisturizer alone is not enough, for no moisturizer can penetrate through the (dead skin) layers of dry skin. First, your exfoliator and stimulator, Academy Glycolic Crème-10, must be used to take off or slough off the dead dry skin. Once you do this, the Glycolic Crème is able to deeply penetrate the skin and stimulate the production of new healthy, living cells! Now, the Academy Compatible Moisturizer has a direct route to moisturize these cells–creating a glowing, healthy, youthful look.

When the moisturizer can’t travel deep into our skin layers, it can’t work. That’s why exfoliating and stimulating is so important.

It may be time to reassess your skin care routine. Leave a comment below or email me at candy [at] academybycandy [dot] come and tell me your skin care routine. I can personalize it for you so you have more results and less work.

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More Than Skin Deep – My Journey in Founding Academy by Candy

Posted on by Candy Langan RN
APP photo
Candy Langan, owner of Academy by Candy Medical Skincare, works with patient Diana Antholis of Middletown at Langan’s Freehold Township office. (BOB BIELK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Over 30 years ago, a woman came to me and my husband, a Freehold facial plastic surgeon, asking us for help. She needed surgery that no one wanted to perform. Why not? Because her age and advanced cancer of the face and neck would require very complex reconstruction.

Together, we performed extensive surgery removing the cancer and reconstructing her face. However, in addition to extending her life, I wanted to do more for her appearance and self-confidence. This experience set the foundation for my business.

As a registered nurse specializing in head/neck cancer, reconstruction and facial plastic surgery, I decided to use my past experience in modeling and cosmetics to help many women who are concerned about their appearance.

Initially, I used camouflage makeup on my post-operative patients. Then I taught them how to take care of their skin to look and feel better and improve their self-image. Helping patients look and feel good after surgery was as important to me as curing the patient. I strongly believed that other physicians needed to offer the same. But how?

Click here to continue reading my article on the Asbury Park Press to find out about my research on glycolic acid and how I starting selling to physicians plus the real reason I started the Academy by Candy medical skincare line. 

How to Have Beautiful Skin, From Head to Toe

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

With summer approaching quickly, we suddenly remember that we will be baring more skin than usual. We start sizing up our bodies, wanting to lose weight, tone up, and get rid of our dry, winter skin.

While our skin is different on all parts of our body, we can use the same basic skincare routine and treatment in all areas. You simply just have to change how often you apply products to the different areas of skin.

For example, let’s compare lower eyelid skin to the skin on the heels of our feet. They seem drastically different, but you would use the same principle.

Ultimately, you want to remove the dead skin cells and firm the living skin layer.

The normal transition of skin from being a living cell to a dead cell in approximately 21 to 29 days. This dead layer (or keratin layer) is not pretty—it’s usually clumpy and dull looking.

In order to create pretty, glowing skin, we must slough off these dead cells. Then, we want to thicken the living layer (or inner dermal layer) of the skin, firming it to look more youthful.

As you can see, our goal for both areas of the body is the same. Therefor, the treatment is the same, with certain variations determined by how delicate or coarse the area. One quick look at the areas and you’ll know. In this case, the lower eyelid skin is much more delicate than the heals of our feet. We have to use “smart” ingredients that can penetrate the skin to the targeted cellular level, but at different rates based on the type of skin.

Basically, if the goal is the same then the effective treatment ingredient and product should be the same.

The difference in the treatment of these two areas may simply be the frequency with which the product is used and the strength of the effective ingredient. You may want to apply the product less often to your lower eyelid and more often to the heels of your feet. Notice how your skin reacts and use the product accordingly. If there is redness and irritation, use the product less often.

My preference has always been unbuffered (low pH) Glycolic Acid as my main “smart” ingredient. Read more about Glycolic Acid here.

Academy Glycolic Creme-10, Academy Hydro Light Plus-10, and Academy Glycolic Body Creme-10 are the favorites. You can see results before you finish one jar.

How to Remove and Treat Acne, Plus What You Should Never Do to Get Rid of Pimples

Posted on by Candy Langan RN

We’ve all been there. You wake up in the morning and do a double-take when you look in the mirror.

You see it staring back at you. It takes over your face. It’s swollen, filled with a foreign substance, and hurts.

It’s a pimple. It’s a zit. It’s acne. No matter what you call it, it’s unwelcome.

While many teenagers develop acne, so do adults. It is extremely embarrassing no matter how old you are. It’s embarrassing to have acne on your face when you want to ask the cute girl to the prom. It’s embarrassing to have a pimple show up on your forehead on your wedding day. 

So let’s break down acne together. We’ll discuss what acne is, how you should treat acne, what you should never do to the pimples on your face and body, and what you can do to get rid of a pimple before a big event. Plus, how to prevent acne from showing up at all.

What is acne? 

Acne, a pimple, or a zit is excess oil trapped in your pores. Inside your pores, there are sebaceous glands that produce sebum. When the outer layers of skin shed, the dead skin cells left behind may become glued together by the sebum. This causes blockage in the pore, especially when the skin becomes thicker at puberty. Then the sebaceous glands produce more sebum, which builds up behind the blockage. This sebum harbors various bacteria. The bacteria causes infection and inflammation.

How to Treat Acne

Medications that contain glycolic acid, salicylic acid, benzyl peroxide, and antibacterial agents are best to treat acne. These can be found in over-the-counter products. Using products that contain any of these ingredients helps the skin slough off more easily, which helps remove bacteria faster.

Overall, practice good hygiene, use warm compresses to open pimples up, and for severe cases, you may want to speak to your doctor about taking an antibiotic.

How to Get Rid of Acne Fast (Before Your Special Event or Treat Acne Overnight)

  • Use a warm compress to open up the pimple and reduce swelling
  • Apply salicylic acid, glycolic acid, or benzyl peroxide medication (Academy Acne Control-10 has salicylic acid and glycolic acid) to treat the bacteria
  • Use over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream (1%) to reduce swelling and redness
  • Using ice can also be applied to reduce redness and swelling
  • Avoid sugary foods
  • Drink adequate amounts of water (approximately 8 glasses per day)

What You Should Never Do to Acne

You guessed it–you should never pop a pimple. Why? Popping a pimple causes scarring. Acne scars happen because what is under the skin is bigger than the hole you are trying to squeeze it through. When you squeeze or pop the pimple, you burst through the skin, causing the skin to break in a jagged line. When the skin grows back together, these jagged edges or lines create acne scarring. 

Treat acne scars with glycolic acid or with a skin lightening cream. Using a glycolic acid product (like Academy’s Glycolic Creme-10) removes dead skin, lightening scarring. Using a skin lightening product (like Academy’s Hydro Light Plus-10 with the 4 major skin lightening ingredients that exist today) can help lighten scarring.

How to Prevent Acne

  • Keep your face clean.
  • Use a good cleanser (no soap).
  • Keep your hands off your face. Keep your hair off your face too. (Try to notice when you touch your hair and then touch your face.)
  • Keep your pillowcases clean.
  • Eat a clean diet, avoiding fatty and sugary foods.
  • Stay hydrated.
  • Use the over-the-counter medication, such as Academy Acne Control-10.
  • Keep your face and body exfoliated. Glycolic acid products removs the layer of dead skin, leaving skin smooth and clear. Getting rid of the dead skin gives you a better chance for your pores to stay clear, and not become clogged.

Now that you know how to treat and prevent acne in all situations, pass this along to someone you know who could benefit from it! Everyone deserves clear, smooth, clean, and beautiful skin. We have so much going on in our lives that stressing over acne and pimples is not worth it. I’m here to help.

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