Acne: Cosmetologist vs. dermatologist

Question: “Acne: Cosmetologist vs. dermatologist”

Hi Mads. In November of 2008, my skin disorder was determined as acne.

It started with a lot of flesh coloured bumps, which turned red. I didn’t know what it was and of course I covered them up with a thick crème powder from Lancaster. Some weeks later they became even bigger and infected. First, I went to see a cosmetologist in October, and she started an AHA treatment, which made it even worse. A friend said to go to the doctor, which I did in November, and he became mad because the cosmetologist had “picked at” my skin.

I received a referral to a dermatologist. I received a prescription for tetracycline, which I should take for 6 months. My skin cleared up in April and I was so happy. But now I’m worried that it might be coming back :-( I have some small flesh coloured bumps on my cheeks, you have to feel your way to find them.

I use skinoren, which I hope can keep the worst away…. Because I don’t want to go through that nightmare again.

Do you think I should book a new appointment with the dermatologist? I’m really afraid that those bumps are going to be infected!

Answer to: “Acne: Cosmetologist vs. dermatologist”

Dear Joy,

Thank you so much for your interest in my experience with acne, I am looking forward to passing on my knowledge to you.

My experience is that cosmetologists and dermatologists are 2 very different kinds of specialists. Dermatologists are scared of the cosmetologist’s methods and vice versa. My personal view is that a combination of the knowledge of both is the right one.

First of all, I would like to have you look at your own habits when it comes to your diet and nutrition. It is not a proven fact that diet has anything to do with acne, but for me it is obvious that the condition of our body and skin disorders can be tricked in both a negative and a positive direction by our diet. This is supported by my experience.

The very best thing that you can do for your skin is regarding skincare is cleansing your skin with a mild cleansing product. It will not help your skin by using a cleanser, which contains harsh ingredients, which will only make the acne worse.

Besides cleansing your skin, you should also use a product containing exfoliating/peeling ingredients. This could be either an AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) or a BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid), where BHA will definitely be the better choice of treatment, because it penetrates the deeper layers of the skin. Unfortunately, there are not many BHA products on the market, so an AHA can be used instead. Danish Skin Care carries a BHA peeling “Perfect Skin Power Treat”, which in addition to BHA also contains a lot of ingredients that are good for your skin.

If your skin has breakouts with big infected blemishes, Benzoyl Peroxide is the best and most effective ingredient that you can use. Unfortunately, this ingredient is forbidden to use in skincare products, but it is still available in Basiron, which you can buy in pharmacies. Basiron is a great product, which comes in both 5% and 10% solutions. It can be tempting to jump to using the 10% solution, but do not do that. Use 5% instead, it has been scientifically proved that 5% is just as effective when removing bacteria from the skin and it is less irritating for the skin.

I would also recommend you to read my cure for acne, which is my simple and very effective step-by-step programme for curing acne and blemishes. Among other things, you will receive:

• Documented knowledge in a language that is easy to understand
• An easy step-by-step guide
• Video guides where I will tell you and show you how to do the different steps
• A list of products where you can see which products to use when treating your skin

See my cure for acne here.

I hope my answers can help you in your battle to have better skin.

May you have a successful future!