YOU can't pop pimples, but SHE sure CAN!

Despite her mantra of "DO NOT POP PIMPLES!", when it comes to treating acne Naomi is definitely a "do what I say, not what I do" type of individual. 

While she emphatically reminds her patients to not even think about attempting extractions at home (its the number one cause of preventable acne scarring!), what she really means is anyone aside from herself (or Dr. Sobel) should refrain from at-home pimple-poppings.

Naomi's weapons of mass acne destruction consist of a metal extractor and the Isolaz acne laser. Ironically, these two tools are as different from each other as night and day. The Isolaz acne laser is a large, expensive photoneumatic device that can only be operated by a specialist, and the extractor is an inexpensive, simple little tool sold over-the-counter at every drugstore. 

The biggest similarity between the two?  Both should be left to the professionals. 

If an ill-equipped person tried to use the Isolaz, they wouldn't even be able to figure out how to power it on. If an ill-equipped person attempted to use a metal extractor, it is very easy for them to unintentionally worsen their existing acne, while marring and scarring their face for the future.

After personally attempting to use a metal extractor on myself years ago, I can vouch for it's deception... that unforgiving piece of metal does NOT want to do what you want it to! However, my own personal experience makes watching Naomi in action that much more impressive-- because she just makes it look soo easy. 

Don't forget to brush your face?

The Clarisonic is just like an electric tooth-brush... but for your face. (It actually is made by the same company that invented the Sonicare toothbrush.)

Consisting of an electronic spinning brush, the Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System uses revolving brush bristles to uniformly exfoliate your skin. It feels good, massages your skin, and when you are done-- your face feels smoother and because of the massaging nature-- you are left with skin that is slightly glowing. (Depending on the Clarisonic model you have, there are even different brush attachments so that you can exfoliate your various body parts in addition to your face.)

Promising to remove 6x more makeup and dirt than washing your face with just your hands alone, an added benefit to using the Clarisonic face brush is that afterwards, your skincare products will work more efficiently because they can be absorbed into the skin more easily thanks to the removal of the layer of dead-skin cells.

If you have normal skin, this is a perfectly fine product that will not cause any harm, and can be an enjoyable way to exfoliate your skin.

Those that should avoid this product, however: anyone with very dry skin, or acne prone skin.

Even though the Clarisonic works off a timer so that no facial area can be too aggressively scrubbed, the revolving bristles may still rub away too much skin for those suffering from dry, flaky skin. Uncomfortable, raw skin can result, and the Clarisonic is supposed to lessen the amount of skin care products needed-- not cause extra usage to combat the excessive drying that will occur.

You should also definitely avoid using the Clarisonic if you are suffering from any sort of Acne breakout. The revolving bristles will be too abrasive for the delicate, inflamed skin, and will interrupt the healing process--potentially causing scarring. (Can you imagine scouring the skin pictured to the left? A bloody, infected mess would be the end-result!) In addition, by disrupting active Acne with the Clarisonic, you may inadvertently make the situation worse by adding new bacteria (that is on the brush bristles) into the wound.

Another type of person who should avoid the Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System: those who want to avoid the $150-$225+ price-tag. If you have normal, healthy skin and are looking for an easy, inexpensive way to achieve similar results, invest in a $3 baby hair brush instead. The soft bristles, combined with your regular face wash (or body wash), will achieve the same massaging/exfoliating effects as the electronic Clarisonic face brush, for a fraction of the cost.

A couple of good uses for this product that Clarisonic doesn't seem to have tapped into yet, are the other benefits derived from a good exfoliation. Whether on the face or body, a thorough, even exfoliation is a great precursor to a smooth shave. Also-- especially relevant with the warmer weather approaching-- the Clarisonic could be a great tool for evenly exfoliating the body before applying sunless tanner. 

The bottom line is that there are some benefits to using this device, however, those with sensitive skin should keep the Clarisonic use to below the neck, only.

Elle Fowler, a huge supporter of Isolaz acne treatments, had this to say about the Clarisonic face brush:

Isolaz's last "Stop the Pop" video

Perhaps I judged Isolaz's acne treatment awareness "Stop the Pop" campaign too soon... 

Even though some of the tactics seemed juvenile, Isolaz's selection of a YouTube ambassador was spot-on with Elle Fowler, and overall Isolaz deems the campaign a success in regards to introducing the existence of Isolaz's acne fighting abilities to a much wider audience. 

Host of the popular YouTube channel "allthatglitters21", Elle herself has received almost 63 million views (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and is clearly a trusted source for beauty advice. Her last YouTube installment for Isolaz's "Stop the Pop" campaign features a wrap-up of her Isolaz experiences, in addition to an overview of her own past acne suffering, and her top tips for dealing with acne. 

As the campaign approaches completion, Isolaz reports success with 1.5 million views of their Elle/Isolaz videos, and 1,600 video submissions to the sweepstakes. (This is extra impressive when considering that the video submissions were supposed to consist of individual's stories of acne suffering, which is a sensitive topic that most would not want to willingly share for judgement.) 

Isolaz's campaign accomplished it's goal by exposing lot of new eyes to the acne miracles that Isolaz can perform, and the company promises to unleash new and innovative ways to garner more exposure for the future. With a new focus on acne treatments for 2011, we at Cosmopolitan Skin Care Solutions will anxiously await to see what they come up with... 


In the meantime, enjoy Elle's last video:

Pimple vacuum: extreme close-up!

It is incredible to see, extremely zoomed in and in slow-motion, what is occurring to your skin as the Isolaz vacuum/laser does it's work. 

The vacuum action sucks the debris out of your pores (as you can graphically see) and once the vacuuming is over, a quick flash of intense light sterilizes the area, ensuring rapid healing. This is the kind of treatment that is perfect for those who have tried everything else, and not gotten the results they wanted. (Isolaz Before & After pictures can be seen here.)

This kind of thing should be gross, if it weren't so fascinating...

Snap, crackle, Stop-the-POP: Acne Q & A in Beverly Hills

And she's baaaaaack. 

For her second Isolaz "Stop-the-Pop" video installment (part of a campaign aimed at helping spread awareness of the amazing acne benefits that the Isolaz laser can deliver), internet sensation beauty-guru Elle Fowler visits a Beverly Hill dermatoligist's office for her second Isolaz treatment. 

After recently relocating from Atlanta to Los Angeles (good for her! She's only 21, and yet has already carved out a lucrative online niche for herself, and her 16 year old little sister Blair), Elle went to celebrity dermatologist Ava Shamban where Dr. Shamban administered her second Isolaz treatment. Elle found her second treatment fairly different from her 1st, but as she accurately explains, different derms use treatment settings differently which result in a varied patient experience.

Amidst her treatment, she asks Dr. Shamban the most frequently heard Acne and Isolaz questions, a tour of Dr. Shamban's med-spa is givem, and Elle's actual treatment is video-taped and shared. 

As "Stop-the-Pop" goes on, and the amount of video applications Isolaz receives from people hoping to be part of this campaign increases, (just go on YouTube, and search "Stop-the-Pop...) the more I second-guess my initial opinion of this campaign. Even though Acne is an extremely sensitive, potentially embarrassing subject matter, the possible rewards seem to outweigh the possible down-falls, and Isolaz apparently picked a great "ambassador" to be the face of their endeavors. 

Very interested to follow this campaign's journey and results...

Too disgusting to miss: watch Dr. Oz pop a monster zit the "right" way

When my sister read our recent "Stop-the-pop" article, she got all excited and called immediately. Apparently Oprah just did a feature on the same exact topic! OMG!!! (My sister's job, which consists of being a professional stay-at-home Mom, allows her to keep on top of the important stuff, such as Oprah topics...) 

Not wanting to miss out on the magic that was apparently created when Oprah, Dr.Oz, and a Monster Zit got together, I quickly Googled the topic and zeroed in on my prey. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to post the actual clip here, but this link will take you to it, and I promise... it's too disgusting to miss. (The zit he demonstrates with is bigger than a donut. EWWW!)

But... at least Dr. Oz's example is less disgusting than this guy's... (despite his 6+ million views and counting...)

Isolaz's new acne campaign includes zit popping ninjas...

Puster. Grimey. Slick. These are just a few of the evil Pimples you have to defeat in order to become a bonafide zit-killing Ninja... 

The marketing department behind Isolaz, the acne laser treatment that acts as a vacuum to suck out and sterilize your pores, developed a whole "Stop the Pop" campaign, complete with zit popping video game, that is geared towards kids, tweens, and teens to try and prevent them from popping pimples in the future. 

Keeping your fingers away from your face is sage advice when dealing with acne. Although it is SO tempting to pick and prod, trying to excise acne, blackheads, and/or whiteheads yourself usually results in a bigger mess, and is the number one cause of acne scarring. 

Isolaz's "Stop the Pop" campaign is an interesting attempt to curb such "popping" behavior, and they are trying to reach their target acne audience in their home liar: the interwebs. Isolaz is using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and email blasts to utilize social media as much as possible to help drive their point home.


To encourage participation they are following all the SM guidelines; giving away great prizes, creating compelling content for YouTube, and yes... they even created a game where YOU can be a zit popping ninja. (If you beat the game, you can go so far as to upload a picture of yourself and create your very own personalized "Stop the Pop" ninja image.)

It's a good idea to try and reach those that are most likely suffering from acne in the forums they are most likely to frequent, and it is for a great cause-- because Isolaz is a system that really does work for treating acne and not enough people know the amazing results that can be achieved. 

However, I believe that today's youth is a little more sophisticated than this campaign gives them credit for, and it will be very interesting to see what kind of results and feedback Isolaz receives from this endeavor. (Isolaz is asking for contest applicants to submit personal videos that plead their case as to why their acne situation deserves to win free treatments. A look at the "Stop the Pop" YouTube channel reveals minimal outside activity.)

New study shows that severe acne more likely to lead to suicide

Just this past week I saw another one. At well over six feet tall, this athletic looking teenager (only 16, despite his size) was unable to look me in the eyes as his mother (who looked like a peanut next to her son) discussed his acne problem. With his eyes firmly planted on his feet, his mother told how he used to be involved with every sport team in the area, and kids would flock to their house to play with him. And then puberty stuck, hard. 

Pimple after pimple erupted onto his young face, and little by little he ended his involvement with his sports teams, and the friends stopped coming over. Seems so strange to think that pimples could take down a hulking young-man such as this. As I heard the same story coming from a different mother's mouth, the same heart-rending sorrow mixed with hope fluttered in my veins, and I promised them both that we would become partners, and together he would get his life back.   

After the hundreds and hundreds of families I've seen who have a loved one suffering from severe acne, the article recently published by the Los Angeles Times is not incredibly surprising. Almost every parent I see relays the same stories about how their once social, outgoing child, became withdrawn and reclusive upon the onset of severe acne. It is always painful to hear about, as the entire family suffers along with the acne patient... but it is all the more rewarding when the patient becomes to come out of their shell again as the acne dissipates with the proper treatment.

Although heart-breaking to read the article below, it is beneficial to society for it to be well documented how much a skin condition seemingly as trivial as acne, can affect the overall mental state of the sufferer, and consequently their entire families.

Karen Kaplan, from the Los Angeles Times, reports on the newly found suicide rates and depression associated with acne:

Acne -- not acne medication -- is probably responsible for the mental health problems of sufferers, study says

September 17, 2010

One of the problems that doomed the acne drug Accutane was a widespread perception that – along with other problems, like birth defects and inflammatory bowel disease – it made patients more prone to depression and suicide. As my colleague Shari Roan reported in a story last year explaining why drug maker Roche Holding pulled Accutane from the market:

“The drug has been publicly and emotionally linked to an increased risk of depression, including suicides, and some families of suicide victims have pressed the Food and Drug Administration for its removal – among them Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), whose teenage son committed suicide after taking Accutane.”

But the link between Accutane and mental health problems is debatable, with studies producing conflicting results.

The latest study to address the matter was published online Thursday in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. An international group of researchers collected questionnaires from 3,775 Norweigian teens (most of then 18 or 19) and looked for an association between acne severity and mental health.

Overall, they found that 11% of the Oslo teens experienced episodes of suicidal ideation. But those who reported having “substantial” acne were 80% more likely to report suicidal ideation compared to teens with clearer complexions. In fact, the researchers found that the worse one’s acne, the more likely they were to contemplate suicide.

Severe acne was also linked with other psychological deficits, including not thriving at school and having fewer attachments to friends. Those problems have also been linked to depression. Here’s how the researchers put it:

“Acne almost certainly causes embarrassment, stigma, shame, guilt, and low self-esteem, which are likely to cause psychosocial problems. Acne may cause depression, which then results in impaired social functioning and suicidal ideation.”

Bottom line: It is probably unfair to blame Accutane for depression in teens instead of the severe acne that led them to seek Accutane prescriptions in the first place.