Unlike oral antibiotics, the famous “last chance saloon” acne drug accutane hasn’t gone down the dumper at all recently. If anything, accutane (isotretinoin) has clawed back its popularity over the last decade, as its famous side effects are dismissed as scare stories. From 2006 to 2016, isotretinoin prescriptions in the UK rose six-fold, from 6522 […]
It’s amazing to think that 100 years ago, scientists were still debating whether oily skin causes acne. These days, sebum’s (oil) pore clogging powers are so established that we barely think about it anymore. However, there’s another possible rabbit hole to venture down: what about the ingredients of that oil? As it pumps out of
Compared to horrors such as BPA or fluoride, potassium sorbate has a shining reputation as one of the kindest, gentlest cosmetics ingredients. In internet articles bashing artificial preservatives, potassium sorbate is commonly recommended at the end as a safe one. But is it? My main recommendation is to avoid chemical concoctions with 100 ingredients anyway, but
In the acne canon, two of the most unresearched bonus supplements are undoubtedly burdock root and fenugreek. These herbal remedies are strangely similar. They are both widely used in folklore, including for acne, but had no studies directly on acne. They both had some promise when examining the root causes of acne, like inflammation, but
Free radicals are the chief among invisible acne villains which are covering every corner of our civilisation. We’ve discussed their main acne dangers numerous times. Firstly, and most importantly, there’s oxidation of squalene, which forms 26% of your skin’s oil (sebum). This creates squalene peroxide, a mutant compound which clogs pores like there’s no tomorrow,
