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Natural Treatments for Hormonal Acne

18 Apr

 What is Hormonal Acne?

Hormonal acne is acne that is triggered by an excess of androgenetic hormones in your body and is characterized by blemishes that tend to appear in monthly cycles- typically one week before and two weeks after menstruation- and is not highly responsive to topical treatments.

Hormones and Acne, what’s going on in your body

Acne is an androgenic disorder, which means that it is set off by the effects of the family of hormones called androgens. These include testosterone, DHEA-S and others. Testosterone is the most important of these. While androgens are often thought of as male hormones, this is misleading because adult women have active levels in their blood (but women’s levels are only about a tenth of those found in men).

Many women with hormonal acne have excess testosterone, which stimulates the sebaceous (oil making) glands. The pores plug up and trap the oil inside and then bacteria grows in the trapped oil, causing the production of pimples. Finally the body’s immune system comes into play, causing the redness, swelling, pus-like fluid and later scarring which make acne so unsightly.

Natural Remedies for Hormonal Acne

Since hormonal acne is triggered by your body’s internal functioning, you must adopt a holistic, inside-out approach to treat it effectively. Here are the 4 main things you can do to treat your hormonal acne naturally: Continue reading →

The Oil Cleansing Method

7 Mar

olive oil skin

Most people with acne prone skin have it programmed in their heads that they need to avoid oil at all costs. Oil is the enemy. Because excess oil is what’s causing your acne, right? So they go out and buy oil-free everything and most don’t even moisturize their skin.

Well here’s the truth. Most common — especially drugstore brand — products strip the skin of it’s natural oils. This triggers your body to produce excess oil to compensate, thus clogging your pores and causing acne. 

Here’s an important fact: oily, acne prone skin still needs moisture and oil! Stripping your oily skin down with harsh products is actually making your skin worse and triggering more oil production!

Now here’s where the oil cleansing method comes in — you can actually use oil to fight oil and CLEAR your skin.  Here are some of the benefits of the oil cleansing method

  1. Oil dissolves oil
  2. It will dissolve the oil that has hardened throughout the day and stuck in your pores
  3. Naturally keeps your skin supple and moisturized
  4. Easily removes make up
  5. It’s a cleanser, make-up remover and moisturizer all in one!
  6. Helps even out skin tone
  7. Natural and pH balanced

Switching from your harsh cleanser (almost all cleansers on the market contain parabens and sulfates which strip your skin) to our ultra gentle, pH balanced Olive Oil Cleanser will clean, balance and restore healthy oils to your skin.

By using our power combo of  Olive Oil Cleanser and Mandelic Acid Serum (ultra gentle and powerful acne treatment) you can completely clear and even your skin tone in just a few weeks!!

Mandelic Acid — All-star Acne Treatment

22 Feb

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Mandelic Acid Serum contains Mandelic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid.  Derived from bitter almonds, it is highly effective in treating acne without drying out the skin. The reason for this is that it’s molecular structure is larger than the better known alpha hydroxy acids (such as glycolic acid and lactic acid), which means it  penetrates the skin more slowly and is more gentle on the skin.


Mandelic Acid Skin Benefits:

–Rapidly exfoliates dead skin cells and surface debris from the skin.

–Antimicrobial/antibacterial: kills the bacteria on the skin that feeds acne.

–Helps repair sun damaged skin.

–Reduces fine lines and wrinkles without redness or irritation.

–Loosens blackheads for easy extraction.

–Inhibits the growth of melanin, the cause of brown patches, freckles, uneven skin tone and other sun-related skin care issues.

How is Mandelic Acid Serum different from Reveal 10?  Reveal 10 is stronger and is a combination of glycolic acid and lactic acid.  It can penetrate deeply into the skin to help with fine lines and wrinkles as well as pigmentation and acne.  On the downside, in individuals with sensitive or dry skin, Reveal may cause dryness or irritation.  Reveal 10 is a product for those with oily or non-sensitive skin only – for those who want the strongest product available and want to feel the burn.

How is Mandelic Acid different from Benzoyl Peroxide (Benzoclear 5 or 10)?  It is similar in that it helps kill bacteria and exfoliates the skin, but it is non irritating, and it also helps with fine lines and wrinkles and pigmentation (only when paired with careful sun avoidance). It also will not stain your pillowcases as benzoyl peroxide can do. These products work very well together, and if you have moderate to severe acne, it’s best to use Benzoclear in the PM and Mandelic in the AM.

Mandelic Acid Serum was launched last year and is already one of our all-time client favorites, we typically sell out of it every month!

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Reveal 10 versus Mandelic Acid Serum: What to Choose?

22 Jun

One of the most common questions that we get from clients is whether they should use Reveal 10 or Mandelic Acid Serum.

Both products are chemical exfoliants that work to remove the dead cells from the outer layer of the skin to expose fresher  living cells underneath. Exfoliating has a number of skin benefits: it gives you fresher, brighter looking skin, it reduces skin buildup that leads to acne and also reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Chemicial exfoliants use alpha hydroxyl acids that cause dead skin cells in the epidermis to separate from one another, allowing new skin cells to resurface. Studies have shown that alpha hydroxy acids also encourage elastin and collagen production, two components that contribute to firm, smooth and toned skin. Skin benefits associated with alpha hydroxy acids include wrinkle reduction, increased smoothness, reduction in skin discoloration and sun damage. They also help prevent the development of acne by removing skin buildup and bacteria from the skin.

Key differences between Reveal 10 and Mandelic Acid Serum

Reveal 10 contains a cocktail of alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs): lactic acid, glycolic acid and mandelic acid. Because it contains all three AHA’s it is very potent and can cause mild tingling when applied to the skin. USE REVEAL 10 IF: You have normal to oily skin and are looking for faster results on reducing fine lines, clearing acne or enhancing your overall complexion. If you have sensitive or dry skin, Reveal 10 can cause dryness, redness or peeling.

Mandelic Acid Serum, by contrast, contains only mandelic acid, which is a larger molecule that penetrates the skin slowly and is less likely to cause irritation. USE MANDELIC ACID SERUM IF: you have sensitive or dry skin. When using mandelic acid wait at least 30 minutes before applying any other skin product, as it takes 20-30 minutes to fully penetrate the skin.

A Note on Acne

If you have mild to moderate acne, it’s best to use Reveal 10 or Mandelic Acid Serum if you have small bumps on your skin versus red, inflamed pimples. If you have the latter, it’s recommended that you use a benzoclear and kiss zit goodbye combo.

If you have any questions about what products are best for your skin, you can ask your question to our skin experts via email by using this link.

Your Pillow is Causing Wrinkles: Sleep Wrinkles 101

16 Apr

Where Do Wrinkles Start?

Just as your mother warned you, “If you make your face like that, it will stay that way,” sleeping a certain way on a pillow can leave your face just as it is when sleeping: Creased and wrinkled. This skin is made up of three layers: The epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. As the skin gets older, the skin gets thinner and the subcutaneous layer manufacturing the cells needed to fill in the thin skin decreases in turnover.

What Causes Wrinkles?

The natural process of aging isn’t the only thing that causes wrinkles. Wrinkles are also caused by sun damage, free radicals, hormones, muscle use, and gravity.

Gravity Effects

Just as gravity pulls our feet toward the ground, gravity can pull the face down and accentuate wrinkles in the face. For this reason, sleeping on the face only increases the gravitational pull. Sleeping on the face affects how the muscles in the face contract overnight. If the face is smashed into a pillow, this creates sleep wrinkles on the forehead, cheeks, or chin that are difficult to unwrinkle during the day. What makes reversing these lines even more difficult is that they are not the result of muscle contractions, so typical wrinkle treatments, such as Botox, are ineffective in fighting against sleep wrinkles.

A person spends more than 1/3 of his or her life asleep, and the more years a person sleeps on his or her face, the more wrinkles that are likely to accumulate.

Solutions to Sleep-Related Wrinkles

The most common suggested solution to prevent sleep wrinkles is to sleep on your back — but unfortunately, about 75% of the population finds back sleep uncomfortable and prefers to sleep on their side. The Vasseur Beauty Pillow is a specially-designed pillow that allows you to comfortably sleep on your side while keeping your delicate facial tissues away from the pillow, thus preventing sleep wrinkles. To learn more visit www.beautypillow.com.

Is your skin stuck in a rut? Try this simple trick

1 Mar

Seasonal transitions can send your skin into a tailspin. The skin on your face is constantly exposed to the environment and is very sensitive to change –so the change from the cool and dry winter air to the warm and breezy spring often results in dull, lifeless and blotchy skin. If you’re feeling like your skin has lost its luster then it’s time to kick your skin care regime up a notch by adding a serum under your moisturizer in the AM and PM.

Serums contain highly concentrated ingredients chemically formulated into molecules much smaller than those in creams, and are absorbed more quickly and deeply into the skin for a highly intensive effect. By applying a serum closest to the skin after cleansing it is able to penetrate the skin more deeply. Following this immediately with a moisturizer will lock the nutrients into the skin.

Here’s what to do: Continue reading →

Power Product Combinations for Dramatic Results!

10 Feb

They say two heads are better than one– well, in skin care, often times two products used together can be even more powerful in getting you results for your skin.

All of the following power product combinations came directly from our clients- and our clients know better than anyone what works for their skin.

FINE LINES AND WRINKLES: Idebenone + Hyaluronic C Serum.

  • In the evening apply idebenone cream and then Hyaluronic C serum. Let the products set for 5 minutes and then apply a damp warm towel to your face for 15 minutes. This will increase the penetration of the products and give you even more dramatic results.

STUBBORN PIMPLE: Ice Zit + Kiss Zit Goodbye + Benzoclear 5 + Reveal 10.

  • This is our ultimate pimple fighting combination and will annihilate any problem area in 1-2 days. First, wash your face with Foaming Cleanser and ice the area using our Ice Zit tool or an ice cube for 3 full minutes – this will decrease the inflammation and allow for better product absorption. Then, apply Reveal 10 and Benzoclear 5. Let this set for 5 minutes to penetrate and then cover with Kizz Zit Goodbye and leave on overnight.

OILY SKIN: Exfoliating Cleanser + Reveal 10.

  • This is one of our favorite skin tricks. Apply your exfoliating cleanser by rubbing a quarter size amount over your face in gentle circular motions. Don’t rinse – leaving the cleanser on your skin apply Reveal 10 to your face. Next, place a warm damp towel over your face and let set for 15 minutes. Then rinse off your skin with warm water. You will be amazed by how soft and oil free your skin is!

DRY SKIN: Healing Serum + Supermoist or Day 25.

  • Whether your skin is peeling, you’re experiencing harsh weather conditions or you just have extremely dry skin, this combination will kick your moisturizer up several notches. Take a nickel size amount of either Day 25 (daytime) or Supermoist (PM) and add 3-6 drops of healing serum. Mix together and then apply to your skin. The ultra concentrated Healing Serum will mix well with your moisturizer to increase the penetration and hydration delivered to your skin.

DULL SKIN: Foundation + Day Glow.

  • With this combo, you are guaranteed to get compliments on your skin. In the AM, apply your skin care as usual then apply your foundation (we recommend youngblood or Vasseur’s non-pore clogging custom foundations). Let set for one minute and then apply your Day Glow cream. Day Glow contains a gentle shimmer that when applied on top of your make up will give you a tangible glow.

EYE AND MOUTH WRINKLES: Gold Serum + Eye Q Gel.

  • Your eye area and mouth area are different from the rest of your skin – the skin is thinner and contain less oil glands and thus these areas need special treatment. To get started, prepare some chamomile tea and then take the used tea bags and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. When these are ready, apply Gold Serum, let set and then add your Eye Q Gel on top (this also works on the mouth area, don’t be fooled by the name!). Wait 3 minutes and then apply the cool tea bags to the eye area for 15 minutes, this will both decrease any puffiness and soothe the area.

Do you have any other Vasseur power combo’s that work for you? Please share below!

Melanie Vasseur’s Daily Skin Care Routine

21 Jul

As the face of Vasseur Skincare, my very livelihood depends on how my skin looks (you wouldn’t buy skin care from a woman with facial skin sagging down to her waist, would you?) So, I am extremely diligent in taking care of my skin every single day— no matter how sick, tired or busy I am. I’m proud to say that at 56, my skin is in excellent shape. Here is what I do every day to take care of my skin…

Continue reading →

Glowing Skin vs. Greasy Skin: The Secrets to Achieving the Perfect Glow

26 May

For those with oily skin, there tends to be a fine line between greasy and glowing skin. Greasy skin is typically the result of excess oil and incorrect skin management (using products that make oily skin worse rather than better).  So, to achieve the perfect glow with none of the grease, here are the four most important  principles to follow:

Continue reading →

How to Prevent Thinning Hair

18 May

Most people don’t think about their scalp until their hair starts to thin or fall out. Such was the case with my partner of many years, whose hair started to thin a couple of years ago. When I noticed the thinning, I went out to the store and bought him Rogaine and a few other products that promised to help his hair grow back. But, after several months of using the products he had not shown any improvement whatsoever. I decided at this point to do some research on hair loss and apply my knowledge of cosmetic chemistry create a solution myself. This is what I learned, which led to the development of Vasseur Skincare’s Hair Raiser treatment:

Continue reading →

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