Comments on: Dangerous Skin Care

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:35:14 +0000

You’re so right about benzoyl peroxide. Many of my friends can’t deal with the redness and irritation. A friend of mine at Rutgers just gave me an extra free sample of a new salicylic treatment that works so fast at getting rid of my breakouts and has natural additives (parapben-free) that after only 4 days has made my skin feeling amazing. The product is called ctrl (control) and when I went to order it on their site at ctrlacne.com, I saw that they actually have a his and her specific treatment.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:10:52 +0000

This article mentioned the dangerous side-effects of a prescription acne treatment, but even over-the-counter treatments can have serious side-effects.

Some 90% of acne treatments contain preservatives called parabens. Parabens have been linked to cancer and banned from European markets. A video at http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/makeup.cfm refers to parabens as “environmental estrogens” because they cause breast tissue cells to divide increasing the likelihood of a mutation.

Also, many treatments use benzoyl peroxide, which I think is a mistake. Benzoyl peroxide is much more irritating than salicylic acid, and a lot of folks are allergic to it. Because it is so irritating, treatments have to include 3 or 4 step systems to compensate for the side-effects. For someone like me, who hasn’t the time for 4 step treatments, this is impractical.

Finally, these treatments fail to address the gender connection to acne. http://campusacnetruth.org/html/acne_gender.html

By: coachwife6

coachwife6 — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:39:27 +0000

That’s some great information. Thanks.

By: Jeni

Jeni — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:23:49 +0000

If what you’re doing is working for now, I’d just stick with it. I was just curious about the KP Duty because I had told a few people about it, but don’t know if it really works. I had a lot of people come into my spa when I worked there and asked about KP treatments, but at the time, I wasn’t sure what to suggest.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:24:40 +0000

A tiny bottle of the glycolic acid cost me $7 and has lasted for several months, and Cetaphil’s pretty cheap. I know that Cetaphil does that for some people… actually, I hated it until I watered it down, which has the added benefit of making the bottle last a lot longer. The KP Duty stuff is a *little* pricey for my budget right now, although I might try it at some point later if this doesn’t work out in the long term. With my sensitive skin, I’m reluctant to switch products unless I have to. :)

By: Jeni

Jeni — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 06:48:50 +0000

Have you tried KP Duty by Dermadoctor? That’s the only product I’ve seen specifically targeted for that condition, but I have no idea if it works. http://www.dermadoctor.com/product.asp?productid=850&WID=%7B8762E105%2D9921%2D4DFF%2DA1A8%2D6E3DE45D905A%7D It contains Glycolic Acid, but I don’t know the percentage. I found that Cetaphil lotion caused me to breakout. I know that’s crazy, but it did for some reason. Oh wait it was the Cetaphil moisturizer – in the green tube.

If I wanted Accutane and my doctor didn’t want to give it to me, I’d go to another doctor, until I found one willing to work with me. But it would be a pain to get the monthly blood tests. A friend of mine was just on Accutane and had to stop after a month for having elevated liver levels, or something like that.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:02:28 +0000

I buy the heavy-duty glycolic acid, but not to do peels at home! I’ve had problems with KP on my upper arms for years, as well as acne on my face that gets irritated by just about every product under the sun. The only thing I’ve ever been able to use as a moisturizer is plain Cetaphil lotion, which I dilute a little because it’s usually too heavy for me.

When someone I knew suggested that a product containing glycolic acid would be good for the KP, I really didn’t want to buy something that was going to irritate my skin more. So instead, I went online, got a little dropper-bottle of 70% glycolic acid, and now every day I mix two drops of it with my diluted lotion. It’s done wonders, and I’m glad it’s available, but I can’t imagine using the stuff straight on my skin.

The accutane thing is tricky, especially for women. If your doctor just plain won’t give it to you, which some won’t, and it’s the one thing that will probably work… there’s a temptation, there. I know that I asked about it once and found the attitude extremely patronizing. I’ve managed not to get pregnant so far in my adult life, I think I can keep it up without eight forms of birth control, constant pregnancy testing and dirty looks. I felt like a junkie asking for methadone or something. I can see how, faced with a physician like that, if you were desperate enough you might look online. (I opted against it anyway, after hearing that it can aggravate KP.)