No, we’ve helped clients near and far get clear skin. Local clients benefit from being able to get acne facials at our Lafayette, CO, location. However, we can ship our products and provide support and guidance so you can follow our strategies even if you live across the country.

You should expect it to take between 4-8 months, but you will see your skin get clearer as time goes on. How long it takes will depend on your acne type and how well you stick to our recommendations.

We do not recommend the medical model’s approach of antibiotics, diuretics, or isotretinoin (Acutane) unless there is an immediate need for the suppression of inflammation. 

The reasons for taking any of these prescriptions might be to minimize the stress on the skin if there is a likelihood of scarring.  But, acne is not curable, so taking antibiotics or diuretics for years at a time just doesn’t measure up to good strategy in the long run.

This is one time where you get to blame your family. Acne is an inherited disorder of the hair follicles that want to sludge up with dead skin cells, much like a clogged drain in your sink. 

Normal hair follicles shed about one layer of dead skin cells each day inside the follicle. Acne-prone follicles shed up to five layers of dead skin cells each day, and the follicle just can’t keep up to get rid of this buildup. These extra skin cells combine with oil and build up into plugs (microcomedones). 

We refer to this as “sticky skin,” which can then form blackheads or can trap bacteria to create red inflamed pimples. The scientific name for this “sticky skin” is Retention Hyperkeratosis. This is an inherited skin condition. It is not a skin condition that is caused by diet, hormones, stress, or bad skincare habits…but those things all contribute (or influence) inflammation and often trigger this skin type into action.  

Our Clear Skin Strategy is one of the most effective, long-lasting solutions for acne. Since 2012, we’ve effectively applied this strategy with clients of all ages, from mild to severe acne, and with different skin types and colors. 

We combine both products and our unique process to create a long-term solution to acne. 

Learn more about our Clear Skin Strategy.

There is some good logic behind Proactiv skin care products and with a lot of skincare “kits” that are promoted for acne treatment. These companies try to simplify skincare down to a few key products which often include antibacterials (Benzoyl Peroxide), exfoliants (silicone grit, and/or salicylic/glycolic hydroxy acids) into these key products.

While having a 3-step routine is admirable and it does include acne prevention ingredients, what it doesn’t do is factor in the type of acne, age of skin, or dry climates. It also doesn’t deliver enough hydration for skin to tolerate all the active ingredients, nor does it offer diversity to prevent adaptation. It’s hard for skin to get clear when it is always being stressed out and dry. It’s also hard to keep skin clear when it is always doing the same routine.

For a small percentage of people, it is just the right combination, but for most of us, it just won’t work because it doesn’t follow what we at The Acne Lab call the Clear Skin Rules. 

At The Acne Lab, we teach our clients the Clear Skin Rules so they understand how to get clear skin and stay clear.

Our first step with new clients is to teach them The Acne Lab’s Clear Skin Rules. Following these rules are essential to not only getting clear skin, but for maintaining it. 

If you break or bend any of these rules while trying to get clear skin, you will find that it’s hard to get the results you want. 

The Acne Lab’s Clear Skin Rules

• Avoid pore cloggers: Avoid products with pore-clogging ingredients
• Switch makeup: Only use pure loose mineral makeup (we like Priia)
• Build consistent habits: Follow skincare routine 2x a day to cleanse, hydrate and protect skin
• Address and prevent acne: Add skincare products that clear acne
• Maintain your skincare and habits for life: Skincare doesn’t stop when your acne clears.

Visit our page about our Clear Skin Rules to learn more.

Antibiotics work by killing bacteria, but it doesn’t do anything to unclog your hair follicles. Because most of the bacteria are killed by the antibiotics, your acne often subsides. However, after discontinuing antibiotics, the bacteria that survives will breed a population of bacteria that is stronger and resistant to antibiotics. Plus, your follicles are still clogged, so the conditions are still right for acne to return. 

According to Dr. Fulton (co-inventor of Retin A and author of Acne RX), “The normal action of the bacteria in the pores does play a role in acne, but a relatively minor role. In truth, only a small portion of the tetracycline filters its way into the skin. That portion kills only a relatively small percentage of the bacteria. Even if some magic antibiotic could control 100 percent of the bacteria, you would have attacked only a fraction of the acne problem.” 

The real problem lies in the clogging of the hair follicles  of too many dead skin cells.

Accutane is the commercial name for isotretinoin, which is basically Vitamin A “on steroids.” Topical application of Vitamin A speeds up skin cell turn-over, which then prevents the buildup of naturally occurring oils and dead skin cells that can cause acne. Systemic use of highly concentrated Vitamin A (Accutane) creates severe dryness in the skin which is one of the simplest, but also significant, side effects. This extreme dryness affects skin, mucus membranes, and eyes from the reduced oil production caused by the excess Vitamin A that is being stored in the body.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it gets stored up in your body and cannot be eliminated by urination/defecation. The liver is instrumental in processing/eliminating this fat-soluble vitamin, which is why monthly blood work is required when taking Accutane, so that liver issues from toxicity can be managed.

The FDA warns of many other potential side effects, so this should be a treatment for people with extreme nodular, cystic acne (the type that can be disfiguring); and only when all other methods of acne treatment have proven to be ineffective. 

The Acne Lab has successfully worked with clients who “have tried everything,” including multiple failed rounds of Accutane. 

If you are one of those people who have tried everything, often what has been missing is The Acne Lab’s Clear Skin Rules. When our clients stick to those rules, their skin gets clear.

You have natural oil in your hair follicles called sebum, which is what the acne bacteria feed on. An increase in hormonal activity and/or stress can cause an increase in sebum production. This causes your acne to get worse in two ways. It increases the number of follicles that get clogged, and it creates a bigger food source for the bacteria.

Some foods, especially foods high in iodides, i.e. salty foods, sushi, some seafood, etc., can actually irritate the follicle walls and make acne worse.

We have lots of clients with very sensitive skin. 

We also have a lot of clients who think they have sensitive skin, but instead have skin that doesn’t like strong skincare routines that are too drying.

Acne therapy almost always requires the use of exfoliants (hydroxy acids) and antibacterials (benzoyl peroxide or hydrogen peroxide emulsions). These kinds of ingredients are inherently drying. If your skincare routine doesn’t deliver gentle cleansing and meaningful moisturizing when using acne fighting ingredients, skin often gets dry and uncomfortable which is perceived as having sensitive skin.

The Acne Lab builds on a foundation called Skincare 101 which provides 2x/day gentle/hydrating/acne-safe skincare.  Acne therapy then can be introduced gradually and progressively to minimize dryness/irritation (sensitivity) while preventing acne.

Some clients do genuinely have sensitive skin and even the lightest acne therapy is too drying. This makes Skincare 101 and The Clear Skin Rules even more important to follow to eliminate every obstacle that contributes to acne.  Sensitive skin can still get clear, but not if the daily routine isn’t following the Clear Skin Rules.

You will probably have to continue to treat your acne to keep it under control for a while. It’s different for everyone, but some people need to continue treatment for years. Eventually, Retention Hyperkeratosies will burn out, skin won’t produce as much sebum, and follicle walls won’t hyper-exfoliate skin cells, which means the follicles won’t get clogged. Unfortunately no one can predict when that will happen. 

Young men tend to resolve their acne during their late teens to early 20s when testosterone production isn’t as intense as it was during adolescence.

Young women often have acne off and on for many years as women have many hormonal changes that influence acne from adolescence through menopause. Following the Clear Skin Rules to get clear, and maintaining the Clear Skin Rules to stay clear is the best advice to minimize breakouts for the long-term.

No. Every time you pick or squeeze at your skin, you are taking a chance on spreading the bacteria, infecting the lesion, and creating a permanent future scar. So it is much more likely that instead of making it go away quicker, you will actually make it worse and last longer. When you break the skin, and it forms a scab, that will cause a red mark that can last for months – much longer than if you instead let your acne run its course without trying to extract it by picking or squeezing.