Date: 01/06/2015

Author: Ingrid Katz (Pure Aesthetics)

We celebrate Youth Day in June, so let’s talk about teenage skins and their concerns.

At Pure Aesthetics, we see and treat many different skin concerns but the one that has a whole lot of emotion attached to it is, is teenage acne. As if puberty itself isn’t bad enough, we then have to see these skins suffer – some more severely than others. The confidence knock teenagers with acne take is so unfair, but thankfully, it can be minimised or even avoided.

The most common mistake is when medication like Roaccutane and antibiotics are sort after for cases that don’t necessarily require it. Whilst being effective medicinal treatments, they also have some adverse side-effects which are often overlooked or ignored. Let’s for a moment look at what is happening to the skin at this time:

• Increased testosterone levels in both male and female during puberty, which leads to increased oil production in the skin
• Increased oil production means excess oil that is not easily eliminated from the skin and so a surplus builds up in the follicle
• Follicle becomes inflamed, irritated and sensitivity occurs
• Excess oil creates an alkaline environment for bacteria to grow
• This combined with inflammation creates breading ground for bacteria and so the acne worsens

Most often, patients make the mistake of trying to dry out the skin by using products like soaps or drying agents to remove the excess oil. This in turn dehydrates the skin of water and as the skin cannot produce water itself, its only resource is to produce more oil to try and lubricate and protect itself – and so the cycle sets in.

Our main objective is to treat the inflammation first, as the skin is then able to operate in a more balanced and calmer environment. We do this by introducing a simple homecare routine - pH balanced cleansing and an oil free, hydrating moisturiser. In some cases we may also suggest the use of a gel or serum to reduce the inflammation. Where we have excessive oil build up we can introduce a weekly homecare treatment to the routine to help further reduce this. The above in combination with in-salon medicated treatments or superficial peels will go a long way to building the skins strength and maintaining a healthy structure. Of course, this has to be supported by drinking at least 1 litre of water a day.

We recommend following this course of action before heading along the route of antibiotics, Roaccutane or the contraceptive pill. In June, Pure Aesthetics is making it really affordable to take the first step towards a clearer, healthier teen skin.