Exploring your expectations is crucial to ensure the best quality outcomes. When you can establish a baseline with every step of your skin journey, your expectations can continue to increase. Therefore, a satisfactory balance should be achieved between your goals, lifestyle , professionals’ perception and services, budget and priorities set by healthcare planners. When you receive a thorough consultation, professionals can review your concern, cultural background, health beliefs, attitudes, level of understanding, medical history and so forth. Some of the general expectations you may have can include:
Some examples of unrealistic expectations can include:
For consumers, know:
For professionals, know:
To make meaningful progress in enhancing care, safety, satisfaction, and quality, both parties must listen and have open communication in a timely manner. Treating patients as individuals, managing their discomfort, and providing adequate information on treatment are all crucial, as are patient safety elements. The best approach would be to communicate well and try to develop a trusting relationship. Providers should be honored that patients trust you with their health. At all times, we must strive to ensure patients understand the rationale for treatment and what to expect e.g. duration of therapy, side effects, costs, etc. Finally, we must always leave room for them to question, especially if there are concerns not addressed.
Now lets get into the expectations of quality skincare and high performing ingredients...
Amongst the retinoids, tretinoin possibly is the most potent and certainly the most widely investigated retinoid for skin therapy. Although retinoids show promise in the treatment of skin health, irritant reactions such as burning, scaling or dermatitis associated with retinoid therapy limit their acceptance by patients. This problem is more prominent with tretinoin and tazarotene whereas other retinoids mainly represented by retinaldehyde and retinol are considerably less irritating. In order to minimize these side effects, various novel drug delivery systems have been developed. In particular, nanoparticles have shown a good potential in improving the stability, tolerability and efficacy of retinoids like tretinoin and retinol. However, more elaborate clinical studies are required to confirm their advantage in the delivery of topical retinoids. Lets discuss these well known anticipated reactions, which are commonly misinterpreted as allergic reactions.
Duration (depending on treatment program strength)
Aggressive 6 wks - Moderate 8-12 weeks - Mild 12- 20 wks
Normal Skin Reactions - varying levels 1. Redness 2. Dryness 3. Flaking, peeling
4. Burning, stinging
5. Slight itching
Overall Appearance 1. Normal (in mild programs) 2. Existing wrinkles, spots, rosacea may appear temporarily worse. (i.e. “crows feet” may appear more prominent initially, due to temporary dryness)
3. More reaction may occur in sensitive areas -Eyes, mouth, neck, chest
How to Adjust to Fit Lifestyle 1. Use less product at each application 2. Decrease the frequency of the application
3. Use Hydration + Calming products
PRODUCTS THAT MAY CAUSE SHORT-LIVED ANTICIPATED REACTIONS The following products may cause short-lived reactions. Initial skin reaction indicates normal repair response.
• At home peels • Retinoids and/or Retinoid brightening blends • Benzoyl Peroxide
• AHAs BHAs
Application of less product will result in less anticipated skin reaction, but slower repair. The reactions will disappear after tolerance is established and skin health has been restored. Reactions can also be reversed in 4 days. If you need to stop the skin’s reaction (e.g., for a special event), stop using the products at least 4 days before the event.
Duration (depending on program strength) 6 weeks -Skin is becoming stronger and more tolerantSkin Reactions(what to expect)
1. Less severe than in repair phase (fading in intensity) 2. Continuous reactions in some individuals indicate that repair is not yet complete
Overall Appearance -Skin improvement is apparent. Redness is gradually fading.
How to Adjust to Fit Lifestyle As noted in “repair phase”, skin will be tolerating the program better at this point and any need for Hydrating & Calming products will be less
Duration (depending on program strength) -6 weeks -Skin is at maximum strength and tolerance
Skin Reactions (what to expect) - Minimal to none
Overall Appearance -Skin looks its best
How to Adjust to Fit Lifestyle - Skin reaction stops when healthy skin layers replace all the damaged ones
It is normal! It’s the sign that your skin is acclimating to a new active ingredient. It means the product is working. Vitamin A therapy's primary action is to stimulate cell turnover, which by nature means flaking as dead skin cells are pushed to the surface and sloughed off. The natural cell cycle is about thirty days. Vitamin A accelerates that process to about 10-14 days. Because it’s rapidly pulling everything to the surface, it’s going to create the flaking that you are seeing. It is basically a mini peel. Once your skin has acclimated, the benefits will continue, but the flaking will diminish. If your skin is irritated, red, or feels tight and dry, back off to every other day and gradually increase back to daily usage.
Breakouts are not uncommon when you start a new treatment regimen. The products are pullingblackheads and whiteheads to the surface that have been forming underneath the skin. A
pimple takes an average of thirty days to form, so what you are seeing is the breakout that was
already brewing being pulled up and out. This is how comedones get cleared, and follicles
flushed.
When you experience a breakout after using medical grade products that are designed to
accelerate cell turnover, the breakout is not the result of the product, but rather, the result of cell
turnover drawing out comedones that were already forming under the surface.
Please do not stop using the products. Excess pigmentation gets removed from the surface of
the skin in much the same way that pimples do. The pigmentation forms in the deeper layers of
skin and as we exfoliate and stimulate cell turnover, the pigment rises to the surface and
eventually sloughs off. Be patient. With melasma, it can take at least four weeks to begin to see a
difference.
During exfoliation, your skin is slightly more sensitive because new skin is being exposed. The
salt in your sweat can sometimes irritate this new skin. It should be very minor and will not
continue beyond acclimation. Be sure to shower with the right cleansing products immediately
after working out to avoid the irritation and also to keep pores clear of sweat, oil, and cellular
debris. Swimming in chlorinated water can also have an irritating effect when skin is acclimating
to vitamin A or hydroxy acids.
Sometimes it’s all a little too much too fast for the skin. If your skin is red, if it feels really dry and
tight, if you feel sensitivity and/or irritation, back off from your application by dropping down to
every other day. If it still feels too aggressive, go to every three days and work back up to daily
application. Do not make this a habit, as you will impede your results and cellular training.
Some people see a difference in as little as a week. Depending upon the extent of the damage
to your skin, it may take 3-4 weeks. During that time, consistency is key. If you don’t stick to
your routine consistently, you will not see the results you’re seeking. Because a complete cell
cycle takes about a month, we always recommend waiting at least that length of time before
evaluating your results. Don’t give up. Be consistent with the use of your products. If you are not
consistent, you will not see the results you’re seeking. Understand that what you may think is a
reaction is the catalyzation of cellular regeneration and real change in your skin. It’s the sign
that your skin care is doing its job and know that you are on the way to smoother, clearer,
firmer, brighter skin.
When dead skin cells build up, they block the moisture barrier, making fine lines appear more
visible, and keeping your products from delivering their effective ingredients. Exfoliating (with constraint)
removes the dead skin cells allowing moisture into the skin and enhancing absorption of
products. More isn't always better however, exfoliation can loosen up the build up and allow for more moisture and better results from products. Using products like a multifunctional hydrating and exfoliating toner is a great start!
GIVE IT 30 DAYS
Why thirty days? Because that’s the natural skin cell cycle, making it the optimum amount of
time to see your best results. It allows time for your skin to acclimate to the products and for
anything that may have been brewing under the skin prior to starting your new regimen to come
to the surface and be cleared away.
ACTION VS. REACTION
Depending on formulation, using ingredients the highest USP (United States Pharmacopeia) standards, you will see and feel the difference. Period.
Sometimes those changes can be confusing but don’t mistake action for reaction. The changes
you see in your skin are the sign that your products are working. We’ll walk you through some
common questions.
No. The fact that you don’t see the same reaction you did initially doesn’t mean that the product
has stopped working. It means that you have reached optimum product benefit. Acclimation is
maintenance mode. You’ve hit the peak. Your skin continues to benefit from the product
Certain ingredients - antioxidants, emollients, sunscreen, don’t require acclimation in the skin
and therefore, don’t reach that maintenance plateau. With some, like retinoids (Vitamin A) or
alpha-hydroxy acids that do have an acclimation period, you can move up to a stronger
concentration if you want to push your results further, but it is not necessary in order to continue
to see benefit.
It is important that you feel comfortable in your skin journey! Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!. Our office can be reached anytime for a consultation, or you can request a customized routine with our Product Concierge.
#faq #acne #faqacne #reactions #allergies #medicalgrade
Reference:
Vivant Skincare
Lateef, Fatimah. “Patient expectations and the paradigm shift of care in emergency medicine.” Journal of emergencies, trauma, and shock vol. 4,2 (2011): 163-7. doi:10.4103/0974-2700.82199