Acne ingredients like Vitamin A and Sulfur

Vitamin A (or Retinol as it is sometimes known), is another ingredient that people use for acne. You may also see the terms “retinoic acid” or Retin-A. These can be an effective acne controller if it is stabilized. The problem is that it often is not – especially in over the counter treatments. If the amount of this ingredient is large enough and it is stabilized, you may notice a nice difference in your skin.

Sulfur is another ingredient widely used. It kills some strains of bacteria, fungus’, and parasites. The ingredient “resorcinol” is sometimes paired with sulfur in acne treatments. Resorcinol isn’t well tolerated by people with sensitive skin. It may not be as effective as benzoyl peroxide (which I've found very effective) but for some people, it can be very effective.

Sometimes sulfur is used with benzoyl peroxide (which is a great ingredient in your fight for great skin) but to get a product with the two ingredients together usually means you’ll need a prescription. Please note that sulfur will increase any sensitivity you may have to benzoyl peroxide so this may be too irritating for some people’s skin. Sulfur products may also be great as “on the spot” treatments.

Here again, just be careful what you are buying. Learn all you can about the ingredients that are commonly referred to as “acne treatments” before you buy them. Start with a basic skin care regimen and work up to others if you think you need more. And, listen to your skin. This is where most people fail. They think they need the strongest acne fighters out there without trying the basics. Then, they irritate their skin without giving it time to heal – spending more and more money thinking the next fad will work. In the end, you may not need to spend as much as you think.

I wish you luck in your search for the perfect skin care regimen.

For our FREE skin care guide, sign up for our Newsletter today:  FREE Skin Care Guide
QR code sign up 

Get naturally beautiful skin

If you are in your 30′s and 40′s and are just now starting to suffer from acne prone skin or if it has never gone away from when you were a teenager, you may find relief if you wash with a cleanser that is gentle on your skin rather than those that have ingredients that are too hard on your skin. Anything that has natural ingredients like milk or natural oil ingredients (such as nuts) can be soothing and helpful. Watch out for products that have fragrance. This is especially important because acne prone skin is many times sensitive and this will irritate your skin and cause more breakouts.


Feel free to contact us here:  Contact Nutt So Ruff
If you have specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them!

5 Healthy Skin Habits

Since your skin is the largest organ of your body, you should take care of it. But how?

Here are 5 things you should do right now to start to have healthy skin…

1. Manage your stress – stress takes a huge toll on us and you should take steps to control it.
2. Eat healthy and drink lots and lots of water.
3. Protect your skin from the sun – choose a good sun block with UVA and UVB protection.
4. Stop smoking.
5. Be gentle with your skin. Washing 2 times per day is usually sufficient.

All of these suggestions can take time to implement…either you aren’t ready or you don’t have enough knowledge to do it. But, it can be done. Do it in small incremental steps and you will achieve your goal. Be persistent and think of the end goal. You can do it!!! And, if you slip up, don’t beat yourself up. Just start again and do better next time!



Stress acne

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Are Alpha Hydroxy Acids Effective?

AHAs are commonly found in acne products. You see them as glycolic acid or lactic acid. These ingredients are often used by doctors to treat acne.

But, did you know that AHA's aren’t able to dissolve in oil so they actually aren’t even as effective as salicylic acid? Salicylic acid doesn't work on me.  If salicylic acid doesn’t have an effect on you in treating acne, you probably won’t see much in the way of results with AHAs.  So, save your money!

Don’t waste your money on thousands of products that give empty promises. Learn the fundamentals of skin care:

Wash with a gentle cleanser and exfoliate.
Take care of your skin.
Learn about skin – learn about your skin.
Listen to it!!!
Don’t over do it and you’ll learn how to control your acne breakouts.
Find a simple solution that works for you.

There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on skin care products – just invest in knowledge and you’ll be amazed at the results!!

Good luck and for more information, visit us on squidoo:
FAQs about skin care
Get answers to questions like:
Is acne pimples?
How to treat dead skin?
Learn to exfoliate at home
How to apply facial scrub
How do you do a pedicure?
How do you get blackheads?
What are pores?
What to do about oily skin
Can I tan with a spray tan?
What to do for a spray tan?
Information on acne under skin
Help for pimples...and much much more. So come and visit us for  Help for pimples

Choosing the Right Nutt So Ruff bar

Choose the Face bar if at least one of these are true:
You have facial acne
You have dry or sensitive skin on your face or body
You have an oily face
You have blackheads
You want to exfoliate your face only
You feel you have normal skin (neither oily or dry skin) and just need an overall gentle exfoliator for your face.
You have “combination skin”


Choose the Body bar if:
You have body acne
You have normal or  oily skin on your body
You like to spray tan
You need an overall gentle exfoliator for your body.


Choose the Foot bar if:
You like to give yourself pedicures
You have foot callouses

Find your skin type

Purchase your bar today!

Why did I start to exfoliate?

You and I may be very similar in regards to skin.  I hit puberty and I get acne like most teenagers.  However, I thought when I hit my 20′s and then my 30′s, that it would disappear.  I wasn't so lucky.  I cleansed my skin repeatedly.  In my teens, I used products like Noxzema.  What happened?  I still had acne.  Finally, after all the frustration, I decided to learn more about skin - which happens to be your largest organ.  I learned everything I could - I even read labels on products.

Here's what I found out:  you can get breakouts from excess oil from the subaceous glands in your skin, an imbalance of hormones, bacteria, and dead skin cells that haven’t sloughed off on their own. It would help to drink more water.  Also, I figured out to eat better to be healthier.

I also eventually learned it was unnecessary to harshly scrub my skin every day-  twice a day.  The only reason I did it was because I thought my skin must be dirty if I kept breaking out.  Actually, doing this made my skin worse - but I didn't know it.  I needed to learn how to clean my skin effectively.

And, I learned – believe it or not, Fish Oil and Vitamin E oil actually help your acne by helping hormone imbalances.(You can find them in capsule form.)  Also, exfoliating your skin helps to remove dead skin cells, helping to unclog your pores…but it’s not necessary to do it everyday – it all depends on you, your body, and your skin type - everyone is different.

So, I learned:  cleanse with a gentle cleanser, exfoliate according to your skin type (see our information page for more information on how often you should exfoliate - access link below), then use a daily benzoyl peroxide treatment in low concentration to help fight future breakouts.  And, watch what you eat.

It’s not necessary to spend a lot of money on skin care products.  What is necessary is learning how YOUR body works, being gentle with it, and learning patience in your skin care regimen.  You'll get there!

http://nuttsoruff.com/info

Is Salicylic Acid Effective at Treating Acne?

Salicylic Acid gets rid of the proteins in skin cells.  This is why you see this ingredient in common acne treatments such as soaps and spot creams, as well as corn and callous removers.  In acne treatments, it tries to get rid of the debris that form pimples but it takes a long time for it to work – about 90 days for the debris to be removed.  90 days is a long time to wait for clear skin.  Most of us want results right away.

If you have problem acne or very large comedones, it’s not worth your time or money on products that contain salicylic acid for existing acne.    However, if you want to help future breakouts by keeping the skin follicles clean and helping to prevent further breakouts, you may want to consider using it – but you’ll have to use it everyday.

So, it’s best to only use this ingredient if and only if you have very mild acne.

There is one big benefit to using salicylic acid: it is an anti-inflammatory agent and it can help with redness of pimples.

Did you know that over the counter acne treatments that contain salicylic acid are usually referred to as a beta hydroxy acids?  This isn’t quite true, though.  It’s really an “aromatic compound”.  So, don’t be fooled.

It’s very difficult to find a good salicylic acid product that works for you and won’t irritate your skin.  Because this ingredient will not dissolve in water, many will contain a lot of alcohol which will make acne-prone skin worse.

For acne treatments to be effective, it should have 2% salicylic acid with a pH of 3-3.5
But, try finding a product that lists both the % of salicylic acid and the pH.  It won’t be easy.


Get more skin care guidance FREE by signing up for our Newsletter:  Sign up here! 

5 Tips for using Acne Products Effectively

How do you use Benzoyl Peroxide products to gain the most benefit?

1.  Because it can be hard to the skin (causing redness and dryness), you have to know how best to use products that contain this ingredient.  Find the product that works with your skin.  There are a lot of different products that contain benzoyl peroxide:  like “spot treatments”, face washes, and masks.  Choose one to try – don’t buy a whole medicine cabinet full of products.

2.  You may have used it before and have not found it effective – this can be because you either used it every now and then instead of on a more consistent basis or you found it too drying.  You should always start with the lowest dose available – usually 2.5%.  See how this works first before you go to the 10% solutions.  Use it every second day anywhere you usually have acne issues.

3.  Work up to using it once per day without any redness or dryness issues.  Then, move to 2 times a day.

4.  If your skin responds well to an application of 2 times a day at the 2.5% level, stay there – there’s no need to move up to the higher concentrations.  If you have really oily skin, you can  try the 5% solution.  Most people don’t need to try the 10%.  Stop use all together if you have any signs of a true allergy to it:  burning, itching, swelling, etc.  Then, talk with your doctor.

5. Maintain your fundamental skin care habit:  wash your face twice a day, exfoliate, moisturize, if needed.  Next, have beautiful skin!!