Monica David’s Acne Must Do’s
Let’s Talk About Acne
When my colleague Monica David joined the Stu’, I was excited to have our clients experience her incredible hands 🙌 as well as her expertise in treating acne. I asked her to Guest Edit this newsletter and give us her secrets to treating this frustrating skin concern. 🙈
Raquel x
As someone who has struggled with acne since the age of 12, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experience around this mysterious and stubborn skin condition that so many of us struggle with. And while it can be a battle, it is also treatable and can be controlled with diligence and care. It does take time, so don’t get discouraged. Below are some tried and true recommendations to help clear it up.
Monica x
Coming in for facials once a month is ideal for acne prone clients. Consistent deep manual cleaning and professional strength exfoliation will keep your skin healthy and clear. The technologies we use in a professional setting are of a certain strength and caliber, which guarantees noticeable results in your skin’s health and over all healing journey – results that are hard to replicate at home.
Manual extractions, in my opinion, are the most important step in your facial. Once you remove the impurities (which sometimes do not go away on their own, and I do NOT recommend picking at them yourself 😬), your skin finally has a chance to heal from the inflammation. Once the skin is cleansed, exfoliated and extracted properly, I use professional quality High Frequency as well as Red and Blue LED light therapy to kill acne causing bacteria, reduce inflammation and boost cellular energy – all to ensure that your skin heals rapidly post extraction I have many clients who were unable to experience clear skin, regardless of the numerous products and treatments they had tried, until they started coming in monthly for a facial with extractions.
Of course, in between professional treatments, it is crucial to continue taking care of your skin properly. The first thing I always recommend is to make sure you are exfoliating regularly! Oily and acne prone skin needs more exfoliation than “normal” skin and this is the first step in keeping things under control. There’s a common fear of overdoing it, and as a result, many people aren’t exfoliating enough.
PRODUCT PICK: I love Auteur’s Definitive Enzyme Cleanser for safe and gentle daily exfoliation. It’s an enzymatic powder that does an amazing job at removing dead skin cells, which unclogs the pores and rids your skin of too much build up.
Another very important and helpful ingredient for treating acne prone skin is Vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential, as it helps to regulate all of the skin’s functions. Most importantly, it increases cellular turnover and regulates differentiation which helps to keep those pores clear!
PRODUCT PICK: The Environ Concentrated Retinol Serums are amazing, as they are powerful, yet gentle, so they don’t irritate the skin. Retinol is combined with colostrum, which is very healing and anti-inflammatory – I use this product nightly!
Lastly, one of my favorite ingredients in treating acne is Benzoyl Peroxide. It has been around forever, and it truly does the job by killing bacteria and significantly reducing inflammation. I use it as a spot treatment nearly every night.
PRODUCT PICK: There are many options out there, but my favorite so far is Humane’s Acne Spot Treatment Gel. It works!