Cold and hot water for treating blemishes

Question: “Cold and hot water for treating blemishes”

Hi Mads,

First of all, I want to say thank you for your effort to help people with skin disorders. It’s really big of you. I have some problems/questions, which I hope can be helped and answered by you.

A little background info on me: Boy, 16 years old, have had blemishes/acne since the beginning of the 9th grade, seen a dermatologist and went through a 3 step cure (only finished 2) – Tetralysal cure and then Epiduo cure, and lastly I should have gone through a cure with another type of pill, which required that I should drink alcohol for 5 months and so on.

I exercise a lot, drink plenty of water, have completely removed dairy products from my diet, eat healthily and varied (no junk food) and then take the necessary precautions for people with acne.

My first question to you is: You say that you shouldn’t subject your skin to high temperatures. But it’s said that you should take a steam bath at least twice a week as well going to the sauna once in a while. What should I believe?

My second question is: You say that you shouldn’t subject your skin to extreme cold either. But in an article written by Karoline Saysette, it says that “a roll-on spot stick is the best weapon for sore blemishes. First, take an ice cube, wrap in a hanker chief and press against the blemish, until you can’t feel it anymore – and repeat 2-3 times a day. The blemish will disappear completely!” What should I believe?

My third question: In your own cure, a spot stick is not included, which should be the best thing for treating spots. Can you recommend a good one, or maybe a gel like basiron or something with the same effect?

My fourth question: Apart from the cure from the doctor, I’ve used some off the shelf products from the pharmacy with a 300 DKK price tag like Acnicyl, Avéne products and now I use a mixture of products from Matas (the acne series) and the Tea Tree series. But I’m considering switching to your brand – but it’s a little more expensive than the others. It’s not that I don’t want to spend money on my skin, but why are your products better than a Ole Henriksen series or some of the others with the thousand DKK price tag?

My problem: Right now, I’m struggling with acne, but also with an ugly redness on my cheeks and chin. It all started when I – stupid as I was – received the Epiduo and smeared it on my cheeks and chin for 3 days straight (it’s recommended that you only put it directly on the blemish regularly every other day up until once a week). Which resulted in me not only having blemishes, but also redness next to the blemish. (I hardly ever use my cell phone, so that can’t be the reason why the redness is still there).

I think the reason why I still have rough/dry skin is because I’ve treated my skin a little harshly. So, I’m strongly considering buying your mild cure for acne. It’s said that not all cure work for all skin types, so just because it’s working for you doesn’t mean that it’ll work for me. Is that true for this cure?

Thanks in advance. Br,
Kristian

Answer to: “Cold and hot water for treating blemishes”

Hi Kristian,

Thank you for your email and the kind words. I am so happy to hear that.

Question 1 and 2: If you do not believe me, try both methods. However, it is documented in scientific studies that heat and cold causes the skin to be irritated. And irritation will cause even more blemishes. So in theory, IF cold could remove a blemish, the skin surrounding the blemish would become irritated and that would result in new blemishes.
Heat and blemishes are typically explained like this: Because of the heat, your ski will start sweating and so it will cleanse the pores. But sweat does not come out through the pores, because they have their own glands.

Question 3: Whether it is called spot stick, mask, lotion or skin tonic, it all comes down to the ingredients in the product. It can be fine to treat a blemish with a “spot product”, you can still use for example Basiron or an exfoliator a couple of times a day anyway.

Question 4: Really good question, Kristian! The rule is: If you use products that gives you the skin that you want, then do not switch! There are an incredible amount of products on the market. Many of them good and just as many that I would never recommend. I have really focused on creating products that does not contain dyes, perfume, ethereal oils, alcohol and other irritating ingredients (like menthol, eucalyptus, camphor, lavender, etc.) – these are often used in skincare. At the same time, I have really made skincare simple, so you will not have to buy 7, 8 or 12 products to treat your skin well.

In conclusion, I can only agree with you on the fact that there is no magic pill or cure. Something works for some people and something else for someone else. BUT, as long as you stick to the basic principles with the products that you use (as I have mentioned above), you are on the right track.

Your redness definitely sounds like you have over-treated your skin.

Have a super day!