We have all been there as parents of teens. In adolescence, where everything seems amplified and complex, acne is an additional unwelcome complication. Acne has the capacity to cause low self-esteem, with many feeling ashamed or becoming withdrawn. Targeting acne as early as possible is a piece of advice we would like to share with other parents. However, not all acne treatments are equal.
When my young teenager started getting acne, I desperately combed the market to find alternatives to the prescribed antibiotics. This is our story and the story of how we decided to create Skin Diligent, a skincare range of products specifically formulated for young skin and target acne.
The current medicated options
The current acne treatments have been formulated and researched more than 40 years ago, before the inflection point of the Human Genome Project and the Human Microbiome Project. So, it is safe to say that these treatments pre-date the more advanced understanding of human endocrine, nervous, immune, and bacterial systems that scientists have accumulated since.
- Globally, the first line of acne treatments are topical antibiotics (for example clindamycin) alone or mixed as a cream with either hydrocortisone, retinoid or benzoyl peroxide. A prescription for a retinoid cream is also offered (Adapalene or Differin, for instance).
Antibiotics are highly controversial due to their misuse or overuse in the world. The problem of antibiotic resistance is so serious, that WHO has set up a global monitoring task force. Antibiotics disrupt the microbiome of the skin (if used as a cream) and the gut (if taken orally). There are several studies now that show the inefficacy of antibiotics in treating acne, as the antibiotic resistance to clindamycin, for example, is upwards of 90% in certain parts of the world.
The retinoids and the benzoyl peroxide have the potential to sensitise young skin and in the case of benzoyl peroxide, it is a bleaching agent and a pro-oxidant ingredient.
- Your child could also be offered oral antibiotics or oral retinoids like isotretinoin (Accutane or Roaccutane). When isotretinoin came out in the early 1980s, it was meant to be prescribed to the most extreme cases of acne. But nowadays, it is regularly prescribed. Its printed side effects are serious and long. Anecdotal side effects include extremely dry skin and lips, mood swings, back pains, and other debilitating effects. Some require a second or third treatment as acne returns. Isotretinoin is considered the closest to a cure today. But as a parent, it is a treatment I would not be able to consider for my own children.
- For young ladies who have acne, birth control pills are also offered. It has been 60 years since the pills came to the market, but we still don’t have an accurate picture of its long-term effect on women’s health. The pills have a status as the paragon of female emancipation and questioning them has been perceived as anti-woman. But if the women who use them don’t question the safety, the pharmaceutical firms certainly won’t. There are so few studies published on their safety, compared to a multitude of other health publications. A young lady of 14 and her mother should understand what they are signing up to when pills are offered as an acne treatment. Unfortunately, we often sign up without a full understanding.
Anecdotal evidence shows that women who use birth control pills to control acne have good success rates. However, acne comes back when they stop the pills.
Skin Diligent as an alternative
Against the current medical backdrop, Skin Diligent was born. First, as a skincare to care for ‘young skin’ and second to target acne in a natural, effective and safe way.
- You may wonder how a skincare brand could tackle acne when medically a treatment doesn’t really exist? Science has evolved in a significant way as we highlighted at the beginning of this article. And behind the brand, there are about 4 years of research and a team of scientists consisting of a biologist with over 15 years of experience at Pasteur Institute in France, an ethnobotanist, a green chemist, a cosmetic chemist, and myself bringing the Korean cosmeceutical knowledge (advanced delivery system of active ingredients). Skin Diligent is the combination of all our know-how with the latest scientific developments.
- Acne is a complex skin condition that has pathways to many hormones, from the microbiome of the gut and the skin, to the products used on the skin. It has links to the brain and emotions, to our diet and the gut, and to the local activity on our skin. This is why a multi-approach is best.
‘Young skin’ is not a category in skincare
- You will find skincare specially formulated for babies and toddlers, then it jumps to adult skincare. Defining the young skin was an important step for us as we knew the skin, the mind, and the body of teens and young adults were different from toddlers and adults.
- As a starting point, there are sex hormones that are in full gear. Androgens are known to be the main conduit to acne. The body and all its organs are also under more pressure. New substances like alcohol, caffeine, and fast foods use up more nutrients and antioxidants. The colonisation of the gut and skin microbiome is in full swing. The skin turns over at a faster pace than adults which is good and bad for acne. At puberty, the body is also more susceptible to hormones and to endocrine-disrupting chemicals or EDCs. EDCs mimic hormones and either block the cell receptors or enter the cells with divergent messages that differ from the DNA’s.
Young skin is approximately between 12 and 25
- We started the formulation with one child in mind, that of my teenage daughter. Effectiveness and safety were key pillars in our development. We knew that acne had to be targeted from inside and out. For this reason, Skin Diligent’s Acne-Prone Skin kit contains 1 food supplement and 3 skincare products. The skincare has a simple routine, with numbered steps for ease of use and formulated for 1-month use. Our list of NO ingredients (absent in our formula) is very long, formulated to be clean and natural.
- But perhaps what makes our products stand out in the market is that we have tested all our skincare for oestrogenic endocrine disruption, something that practically no other brand does. The test is cutting-edge technology and very few labs in the world can carry them out. Young people may only care about efficacy. But as a parent, you can relax knowing that Skin Diligent products have no side effects and can be used at any time without damaging, irritating, sensitising, stripping, or aggravating the skin. And yes, they work. Our early testers have proven and approved them.
- For mild to moderate acne or just starting to get acne, you will need about 2-4 months of our kit to see results. These are photos of one of our 14-year-old testers.
- For moderate acne, it could take approximately 4-5 months. The following photos is a tester who saw dramatic improvements on his 4th month (21 years old). But each person is different, and the length of time depends on the person’s health condition and how diligently the routines are followed.
- We have noticed that early-targeted acne resolves quicker. If the young person has had acne for several years and no other treatment previously worked, we recommend a protocol of Skin Diligent Acne-Prone Skin kit plus Omega 3s and certain probiotics. This protocol has worked really well on moderate to severe cases and on older testers.
Your pharmacist can recommend you the best Omega 3s and probiotics for your child’s age. You can also contact us for more information. You can order the kit by clicking on https://skindiligent.com/products/acne-prone-skin-solution. We currently have an introductory offer on the kit where the serum is offered.
Wishing you healthy skin, Tule Park.
