Afrogal asks…Recently I popped one of my pimples and a big lump formed on my forehead. I’m starting to wonder whether it is going to go away. Are moles genetic or can they appear when you pop pimples or have bad skincare routine? 

The Right Brain responds:

Moles are not caused by popping pimples or by by anything you’re doing with your skin care routine. Cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing the skin only affects the upper layer of skin called the stratum corneum.

What causes moles?

Moles are formed in the epidermis, a deeper layer of skin. There, cells called melanocytes produce the melanin (the brown pigment that gives your skin its color.) Sometimes these melanocytes start to overproduce and grow together in clumps. This over growth of cells is what causes a mole to appear. This over growth can be triggered by combination of genetic factors and exposure to the sun. But your skin care products are not a problem.

Why does popping pimples make skin look dark?

Are you seeing some darkened skin after pimple popping? That could be from hyperpimentation which is, as SarahF pointed out in our Forum, usually flat, not lumpy, but darker than the rest of your skin. It will eventually fade, but you can help it along with fade creams. Some experts think the hyperpigmentation you get from the sun (aka melasma–which is different from moles) and so-called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (what persists after a pimple) are actually caused by the same underlying process, inflammation. (Thanks Sarah!)

Image credit: static.neatoshop.com (Do you like how we continued the “plush microbe” theme from our post on Natural Preservatives? That was where Sarah Bellum got excited about plush representations of STDs!)

Beaners is bothered…I’ve looked everywhere for an answer to this, but can’t seem to find one! Given that retinoids are so good at building collagen, thickening the dermis and making skin texture better, I’d like to use it on my legs (entire circumference of the thighs) to help improve the texture of thinning, slack, crepey skin. I’m worried, though, about absorption into the bloodstream as I’ve heard that retinoids used in large amounts can cause vit. A toxicity. I realize that Tazorac is a synthetic retinoid, but don’t know whether that means it bears no resemblence whatsoever to Vitamin A, or whether it’s simply a synthetic form of the vitamin? And even if it’s not, then could large-scale application of Tazorac still be dangerous? I’d appreciate a response that is backed up by some sort of research (not just laypeople’s opinions).

The Right Brain responds:

We’re cosmetic scientists, not toxicologists, but we did find two interesting references that might help answer your question.

Is Retin-A toxic?

According to the first reference, a study from PubMed (Journal Med Toxicol. 2009 Jun;5(2):73-5), a massive acute overdose of Retin-A (aka Tretinoin) doesn’t seem to present much a problem. In an suicide attempt, a 31 year old man ingested 1000 mg of Retin-A which is about 100 times the normal dose. The only apparent negative side effect he experienced was diarrhea. So it looks like the body can tolerate a high, one time dose of Retin-A and there’s no way you’d ever absorb that much through your skin! But what about a lower dose over a prolonged period of time?

The second reference (Medscape) is chockfull of info on retinoids and it states that very little (up to 6%) of the retinoids you apply to your skin end up in your blood stream. This was based on a study showing that “levels of retinoic acid in the blood are not increased by twice-daily application of 0.025% tretinoin to more than 40% of the body surface area over a 1-month period.” That comment is as close to a definitive answer as we could find.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Based on the studies we found, it seems unlikely that rubbing Retin-A all over your body will kill you. Regardless of what these studies say, however, you should still check with your doctor before using retinoids (or ANY drug) in a way that’s inconsistent with its directions. And remember, there is another danger besides toxicity: pregnant women are warned about using retinoids because of their potential teratogenic effect on fetuses.

Image credit: Things I Love

Palacinka Beauty blogged about Ambi Even & Clear Exfoliating Wash and thinks it’s the the perfect choice if you have sensitive skin. Why oh why is it so good? Let’s look at the label! This is an over the counter acne drug product and it correctly lists the active drug ingredient first, followed by the “inactive” ingredients. Non-drug would be a better term since these ingredients do have function in the formula.

Ingredients

Active Ingredients:

Salicylic Acid (0.5%)
Acne Medication

Inactive Ingredients:

Butylene Glycol
Primary solvent or carrier for the product. (Normally that’s the role of water. Products made without water are called “anhydrous.”)

Cetearyl Alcohol
Emulsifier, thickener, bodyifier (is that even a word?)

Citric Acid
Adjusts pH

Fragrance
Sniff sniff

Glycine Soja Protein (Soybean)

Menthyl Lactate
Gives a cool tingly feeling. Sort of like listening to Kenny G. 

PEG 16 Soy Sterol
Emulsifier aka “mixing agent.”

Polyethylene
Gentle little scrubby beads. Many people prefer polyethylene beads to ground up walnut shells or bits of broken glass.  Also mentioned in a Beatles song as “Polyethylene Pam.” 

Polysorbate 60
Fragrance solubilizer

Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, PPG 15 Stearyl Ether
More emulsifiers.

Salicylic Acid
Did we talk about this already? Not sure why it’s listed twice.

Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C)
Hey, who doesn’t love vitamins! But they won’t really do much from this rinse off product. It may be present to help protect the product from oxidizing. 

Steareth 21
A classic emulsifier. Used in a lot of hair conditioners. 

Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E)
See Vitamin C. (The ingredient, not the music star.)

Water
Probably carried in with another raw material at trace amounts because it looks like this is an anhydrous products. 

Xanthan Gum
Thickener. Or a chewing confection from outer space, not really sure. 

Image credit: Drugstore.com

“It’s like having lots of gasoline…and a match.”

That’s how the lead researcher describes his team’s break through in skin research.

Rosacea revealed

Dr. Richard L. Gallo, M.D. Ph.D. of the University of California’s San Diego School of Medicine and his team of researchers have found the cause of rosacea, a condition also referred to as adult acne. (You can learn more about the red-faced regret of rosacea here.) They discovered that unlike real acne, which is caused by bacteria, rosacea is caused by a combination of two abnormal factors.

A protein menage a trois

According to Science Daily, Dr. Gallo’s team found that when too much of two different inflammatory proteins are produced, they interact and boost the levels of a third protein. It’s this unusual protein triple play that produces the red-faced features that characterize rosacea.

Is there a cure?

Currently there is no good treatment for rosacea. Antibiotics can help but the underlying cause is not bacterial so they usefulness is limited. Dr. Gallo hopes that this research will lead to a brand new therapeutic treatment for this condition. Now if they can only find a cure for bacne!

Joolia’s just asking…There’s a product called Dr. Ci:Labo Basic Black Blemish Control Gel that uses charcoal to treat acne. Does it really help?

The Right Brain simply says:
It’s tough to find much information on this product, but according to the product info on Amazon.com Dr.Ci:Labo’s Basic Black Charcoal Gel “contains charcoal that absorbs excess sebum and helps maintain clean skin.”  The company doesn’t seem to be directly claiming that charcoal is good for acne, but the formula does contain salicylic acid which is an active drug that really works.

What causes acne?

As you know if you read our post on the causes of acne, there are three different factors that cause your face to populated with pimples. Excess skin oil (sebum) production is one of the causes, but if just getting rid of oil could cure acne, all you’d have to do is wash your face. You also need to beat back the bacteria and regulate the speed at which your skin cells are sloughing off.

Can charcoal really help?

But back to Dr. Ci:Labo. Does charcoal really regulate skin oil? Highly unlikely. The idea that tiny charcoal sponges could soak up oil off your face and make it magically disappear is a bit hard to swallow. Besides, the oil level of your skin is self-regulating. Drying up the surface just triggers the layers beneath to produce more oil. And finally, we searched the technical literature and couldn’t find ANY mention of charcoal having any beneficial skin properties. But if anyone in the Beauty Brains’ community has any seen any references to this, let us know and we’ll look into them.

The Beauty Brains Bottom Line

Even if charcoal does have oil absorbing properties, that alone will not stop acne. Fortunately, this product contains a proven anti-acne ingredient (salicylic acid) so it can actually have an effect on zits.