Posts Tagged ‘acne’
June 11th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
…it’s just as sweet. And gentle on your skin. Ultra Clarifying Blemish Oil Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil, Salicylic Acid, Calophyllum Inophyllum (Foraha) Nut Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Seabuckthorn) Fruit Oil, Bisabolol, Retinyl Palmitate, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Coleus Forskohlii Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Tocotrienols, Tocopherol, Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Xanthophyll, Thioctic Acid, Beta Carotene, Alpinia Galanga Root Oil, Cedrus Deodara Oil. The idea behind the product That acne is a complex problem with several components. Work on all of them and you can take control of your skin. Discourage and/or kill acne bacteria Keep pores open (no anaerobiosis here!) No food for you, nasty acne bacteria Decrease…
August 3rd, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Whether you are 13 or 31 you still have to think long-term: your skin will be the barrier to protect you from the environment for the rest of your life (which I hope it will be long and happy). Because you have to think long term, you have to be careful when you buy an anti-acne product. Why? Because many companies don’t think long term about your skin when they formulate their products. Many companies only think of making money fast and their interests are unlikely to fit with yours. What should be your objective? To control acne without damaging your skin or aging it prematurely. And yet, many ingredients…
August 2nd, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I am very glad we have antibiotics and antivirals and vaccines. I would not have liked to live in medieval England when the Saxons (and Merlin?) were concocting remedies for various ills. In a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon medical text called Bald’s Leechbook you will find a remedy for eye styes, an infection of the oil gland in the eyelid. Bald’s eyesalve was made of cow’s bile, wine, garlic, and onions, and was meant to cure styes. Did it work? And, if it did, why and how? It works, as a group of scientists found when they made the salve with garlic, onions, white wine (from the area) and bovine bile salts.…
July 31st, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I don’t need to tell you that life has changed. We don’t know for how long but let’s say that it is unlikely that the school year starting this fall will be “normal”. Fortunately, we, humans are very adaptable, so let’s get ready and with a smile on our faces. Smiling helps, even if the others can’t see you smile because of the mask (your eyes still show). You will know that you are smiling and it will make you feel better. Covid19 has changed the world and it will be a while until things go back to normal. But acne is still here. Let’s see how to deal with…
June 20th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The product containing this extract will have a calming, and antibacterial effect. Why? Reason 1 gallic acid (antibacterial, anti-acne) Reason 2 isoquercitrin, a flavonoid with antiviral activity Reason 3 kaempferol, a flavonol with phytoestrogen activity Reason 4 quercetin. Among its capabilities: free radical scavenging, interferes with inducible nitric oxide synthase activity, and inhibits TNF-alpha release, anti-itch. Reason 5 quercitrin, a flavonoid that contains rhamnose Why? Because the benefits of any plant extract for your skin depend on the chemicals the extract contains! Boring? No! Think of the complicated, beautiful chemistry the plant does to be able to obtain these chemicals! They may work as UV filters for the plant that…
October 28th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Porque contiene ácidos grasos esenciales. Pero, podrías preguntarme, ¿qué es un ácido graso esencial? Los ácidos grasos esenciales son, como los aminoácidos esenciales y las vitaminas, sustancias químicas que necesitamos para la vida pero que no tenemos la capacidad de fabricar por nosotros mismos. Por esta razón, deben estar en nuestra dieta y, en lo que respecta a la piel, deben aplicarse tópicamente. ¿Por qué no podemos producir esos ácidos grasos tan importantes nosotros mismos? Durante la evolución perdimos las enzimas requeridas para generarlos. Por eso no podemos producir vitamina C (ácido L-ascórbico). A menos que ingieras ácido ascórbico (en una píldora de vitaminas o en jugo de naranja), te…
July 17th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
T-zone serum is a typical Skin Actives product: complex and different from everything else in the market. The secret is in the ingredients, the way it should be. The actives in T-Zone serum: Seakelp (Lactobacillus/Kelp Ferment Filtrate) Bioferment, Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Epigallocatechin Gallate, Niacinamide, Nobiletin, Fucoidan, Porphyridium Polysaccharide, Arthrospira Extract. Sea kelp bioferment (of magic broth fame), discourages bad bacteria, promotes good skin bioflora and helps with healing. Arthrospira (Sprirulina) platensis extract contains phycocyanin and other actives that enhance cell proliferation and promote wound repair. Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that has antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties. Fucoidan applied to the skin will increase the density of…
June 18th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Once upon a time, people thought that disease was (a well deserved) punishment for sins. That was before germ theory of disease, and before Pasteur and vaccinations, but there is still a superstitious bit in us still believes that, especially when it comes to acne. Acne is a complex condition that includes faulty skin keratinization, increased sebum production, and acne bacteria overgrowth, followed by follicular rupture and inflammation. A complex condition will have a complex relationship with your body and the environment. Avoid people who tie acne (or any other health problem) with “morals”. And avoid people who blame you for being sick or have bad skin! Indeed, avoiding bad…
May 26th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Our Zit Ender should become a “disruptor” in the skin care world. In business, a disruptor is a “theory, a disruptive innovation is an innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market-leading firms, products, and alliances.” Our Zit Ender should end the reign of benzoyl peroxide, a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS*) producer, as a go-to ingredient for acne. “Should” does not mean that it will happen but here I present you the reasons why it should happen. Benzoyl peroxide. How does it work? Benzoyl peroxide is a bully of an ingredient that ages your skin as it…
May 8th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
You may think that drastic interventions like cosmetic surgery, collagen injections and laser are the way to improve your skin, but there are alternatives. With drastic intervention comes a high risk of messing up your skin. Before you take that path, make sure you try the route that involves coaching your skin into making the changes with the help of the actives that we at Skin Actives can provide you. One example? After a couple of months using our Vitamin A Cream and Collagen Serum, you may not need blepharoplasty (look it up in Wikipedia, but skip the horror movie photographs!). Not only is the cost extremely high ($5,000 or…
December 31st, 2014 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Acne is a normal skin condition that makes us unhappy. Acne is a very common skin disorder in the USA, affecting about 85% of adolescents. The number of older people suffering from acne is increasing slowly, affecting 8% of 25-34 year-olds and 3% of 35-44 year-olds. Acne may be normal, but this does not make it any less painful, psychologically, for the people that have it.
December 31st, 2014 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I keep coming back to this subject in our newsletters. Why? Probably half of the emails I receive have to do with pores: blocked pores, or large pores, or ugly, etc. It seems that we, women, are obsessed with pores. This is not surprising. Photography tricks, including sophisticated lighting and editing with Photoshop has convinced women that they can have baby smooth skin. We can’t.