How To Treat Your Acne Scars At Home

To be clear, this is not an article on how to torture your skin with house hold products...if you've read my previous blogs you may know I'm not exactly the biggest fan of baking soda masks, lemon juice peels or apple cider vinegar in place of toner.

Instead this blog is about how to get the most out of your home care routine (with the correct products that were made for human skin) to lighten scars from acne.

To start off, there are actually two different kinds of scars that acne can leave behind.
The first is called Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH for short) and these are the scars that appear pink, red, purple or brown in colour and are flat, not indented in the skin.

The other kind are scars that are pitted and indented in the skin, and these can come in different shapes and have different names such as "box car" or "ice pick" scars.

These types of scars cannot be fixed with home care, so this blog is addressing the PIH scarring only.
I'll quickly say that to treat indented scarring you need to look into things like laser resurfacing, needling,  injectables and skin care as these scars are the most difficult to treat. It is do-able however so those with indented scars should no be deterred by this article.

Do your research and look into someone who has experience treating different types of scars on different types of skin (...hi!!) and go in for a consultation to get all the details.

Now as for those PIH scars...I have to say this is a very common concern as these scars can stick around for a very long time, can be embarrassing and a pain to try and cover with make up on a daily basis.
As someone who has been there and done that, I know how frustrating it is to constantly be reminded of those breakouts from the past and wondering when the spots will finally fade away.

Good news is the spots do tend to improve in most people over time, bad news is that it can take years and ain`t nobody got time for that, am I right?

First thing you have to do is ditch all the skin care I'd bet you're currently using that is slowing your progress down and likely damaging your skin. Make the switch to high quality effective products and once you start to see a difference, you'll be so happy you did!

Astringents

Sometime these products hide behind the word "toner" when they're actually full of alcohol and medicated ingredients such as peroxides, tea tree oil and salicylic acid.

While I don't have anything against those last two ingredients on their own, when formulated into an astringent with a bunch of alcohol it really does suck the skin dry of all moisture and hydration.
You know that tight, squeaky clean feeling it gives you?
Ya, that's not a good thing!

When you strip the skin of all its natural oils and moisture you're removing the protective barrier on the surface which leaves the skin open and vulnerable to environmental damage. It also stimulates the oil glands to work extra hard and produce more oil to replace what was lost. Excess oil can also contribute to more breakouts, and therefor more scars.

Replace your astringent with a real, proper toner. A true toner should balance pH and instead of taking away, it should give back to your skin.
Environs Moisturizing Toner was my first true love and what ultimately got me hooked on the rest of Environs incredible products.
The toner has vitamins, botanicals and lactic acid which all work together to even skin tone, lightly exfoliate, balance pH and add hydration. The product should be used morning and night after cleansing.


Scrubs

I don't care what brand it is or how much you paid for it, all scrubs are evil.
They increase inflammation, strip the skin, spread bacteria and will actually slow down how quickly your skin renews itself, which means it's slowing down how quickly those scars can start to fade away.

Use the rest of your scrub up on your feet, knees and elbows and switch to an exfoliant that will do much more for you. Environs Revival Masque, or Teoxane's Perfect Skin Refiner are both wonderful options.

Environs Revival Masque has lactic, malic and asiatic acid to dissolve dull, dead skin cells, kill bacteria, stimulate a faster renewal rate of the skin and prevent future breakouts at the same time.
I like to think of the Masque as a mini at-home chemical peel. Used 1-2 times a week and left on for 25 to 45 minutes at a time, it really helps to fade pigment, even skin tone and gives a beautiful dewy glow!

Teoxanes Perfect Skin Refiner has hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid to deeply hydrate the skin while the acid goes to work. This is a great option for anyone with severely dry skin, or those who want a product where you can put it on and forget about it as it's used as a night time lotion 2-3 times a week. Men usually love this product!


Skin Bleachers

I know it's easy to become frustrated and want a quick easy fix no matter the product or cost, but please don't go the skin bleaching route!
Hydroquinone or "HQ" has been banned in several countries around the world as it is considered a potential carcinogen, or cancer causing.

The chemical works by poisoning the pigment producing cells in the skin, called melanocytes.
Long term use of the chemical risks melanocyte death, and once a melanocyte has been destroyed there is no coming back.
This means you can be left with permanent white patches in the skin where there is no pigment at all. If however, you stop using the product before you get to that point the melanocytes often rebound after usage has stopped and produce way more pigment than ever before.
So, the problem comes right back and can even be worse than it was before!

A healthy alternative that is even more effective is something like Environs C-Boost Lotion. 
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and helps to lighten and brighten the skin naturally by simply blocking the signals to the melanocytes, so they never get the message to make more pigment!
Besides that it stimulates healthy collagen production, protects against sun damage, evens skin tone and hydrates all at the same time.
The product can be used twice a day for years and it will only make the skin more healthy and resilient.


For any questions or to book a consultation with me you can contact me through my Instagram page which is @Lauras_Lasers or call/text 403 991 1663

Tanning...What Your Skin Is Desperately Trying To Tell You.

We've all heard the saying that a tan gives a "healthy glow". This day and age everyone is after that sun kissed look whether it's by indoor tanning, laying outside or sunless spray tans.

I find this funny since if you think about how back in the 18th century, it was actually more desirable to be extremely fair as this meant you had the means to protect yourself from the elements and did not have to work outside.
Royalty even went to the lengths of applying white powder on their faces to appear even more fair,  almost resembling porcelain dolls along with the white wigs they also sported.

Somewhere along the line the idea of a tan completely changed and it's now viewed as something desirable that makes you appear as if you've just been on vacation in a beautiful sunny destination.

No matter how you view a tan or what kind of impression it gives you, the fact remains the same that tan skin, is damaged skin. Turns out those in the 18th century had it right all along!

I'm specifically talking about tans from UV rays...at least for now. Trust me, I'll get to those spray tans in just a minute.

Have you ever wondered why our skin turns darker from sunlight? Probably not right? Our bodies are so amazing and they do so many different things, who has time to ponder every little purpose am I right?

You might be surprised to learn that this is your skins natural defence mechanism.

UVA rays are the rays that cause tanning and are the more damaging, and therefor ageing rays. They penetrate into the skin much deeper than UVB rays do. They can even reach the subcutaneous tissue (fat tissue) beneath the dermis.

UV rays are from the spectrum of light which is ionizing, the same spectrum that x-rays and gamma rays are categorized in. This means that these rays are capable of altering atoms and molecules by removing one or more electrons from them.
This then creates an unstable molecule or atom (also known as a free radical) and these carry on to cause havoc to others around them, repeating the process.

This chain reaction can eventually lead to DNA damage, which can then lead to mutations of cells...
as in skin cancer! Not to mention the rays will also breakdown collagen and elastin in the process which is the protien fibers in the skin that keep us looking youthful, healthy, firm and plump.

So what does your skin do to help protect you? It senses the damage being done and sends out signals to the pigment producing cells called melanocytes.
These cells create melanin (the chemical that gives our eyes, hair and skin colour) and it rises to the surface.

Aaaaah, there you have it. A tan!

But how is this pigment going to protect you, you might ask. Take a natural red head, with blue eyes and fair skin and a brown skinned person with dark eyes and hair. Make them stand outside on a hot summer day with not a cloud in the sky. Who do you think is going to burn first?

The more pigment (melanin) you have in your skin, the more natural protection you have from the sun since melanin is designed to absorb light. Hence the natural defence of producing more melanin in a state of crisis.

So, that all being said (and I know it was a lot) tan skin is skin that has already been damaged. Period. This is also why there is no such thing as a "base tan". The damage has already been done, you're simply intensifying it and making it happen even faster in a tanning bed where the concentrations of UV light are much stronger than natural sunlight outside.

Now to touch on spray tans quickly...

As a general rule if an at home tanning product, or professional spray tan goes on as one colour and darkens over a few hours afterwards...this is stimulating melanocyte activity in the skin. Not a good thing! This can be a disaster for those who struggle with hormonal pigment problems such as Melasma, or who already have sun damage in their skin. It will darken Melasma and sun spots, making them more noticeable and harder to remove/lighten.

For those products that go on and one colour and remain the same colour...these are ok since they're simply "dying" the top layer of dead cells on the skin to look darker.

In my opinion though...save your money and sport your natural and beautiful skin tone, whatever tone that may be.
Rock the pale, rock the fair skin or naturally sun kissed colour you were born with. Take that money and invest in your skins health by using high quality nourishing skin care, by using sunscreen and get that healthy glow by being...well, healthy!! Rather than frying your poor skin to death!