2 Steps to New Skin
by Ole Henriksen 
It was my own encounter with cystic acne as a young man residing in Indonesia, that awakened my interest in skin care When my own skin responded favorably to the lifestyle changes I made, and the treatments I received by my Esthetician in Jakarta, I quickly en roiled at The Christine Shaw College of Beauty in London. Skin care became my passion, and especially helping people conquer acne. As a matter of fact it was an article in the LA Times Sunday Magazine featuring my approach to treating acne, with impressive before and after photos, that over-nite made me a much in demand skin care expert early on in my career in Hollywood.
Facts are that acne is strictly lifestyle inflicted, including adult onset acne, which has become more of a problem than ever before for many people, based on poor eating habits. Japan is such a great example of a country where extreme dietary changes suddenly impacted the populations skin for the worse Prior to the Second World War the Japanese diet consisted strictly of sea food, various vegetables, roots and unprocessed rice. Step by step, after the end of the war, fast foods filled with saturated and hydrogenated fats, and refined sugar became commonplace in all the big cities in Japan and in its aftermath acne began flourishing. When stress is blamed for acne, especially by the medical profession, I firmly disagree. Stress however causes people to look for comfort foods that have no nutritional value that are loaded with sugar and salt. To much food is ingested in a rush in today’s world, which make people grab for the wrong foods. Fast foods are quick and easy to obtain, and brilliant advertisement have brainwashed us to believe that these foods actually have nutritional value.
The biggest change I see in my client’s skin is when they, on my recommendation, stop eating junk foods and all forms of sugar. Studies have shown that when insulin levels in the blood peak, a series of hormonal events increase the production of testosterone several growth factors. Testosterone stimulates sebum, or oil, production in the pores. The growth factors cause and overproduction of cells lining the pores, which creates a plug keeping the oil in. It is like a balloon with no outlet that then becomes infected, resulting in blemishes. High glycemic foods that affect the skin negatively include white sugar, honey molasses, and concentrated fructose found in energy bars, protein bars, sodas and juices. In metabolizing sugar, combined with other dietary imbalances, is also the cause of modern day skin disease like rosacea, and skin rashes in general. So the message is loud and clear, if you suffer from erupted skin and rashes, cut out all fast and refined foods, including sugar. So it is obvious that correcting problematic skin is an inside-out job. With a balanced diet in place, skin responds faster and permanently to the topical advise I am about to share. 
Cleansing AM - PM
A gentle touch is top priority when cleansing enflamed and erupted skin. Emotional skin readily flairs up and turns red from the slightest wrong doing. When choosing a cleanser for blemished skin, I recommend a foaming gel filled with calming and anti-septic botanicals like chamomile, aloe vera, comfrey and eucalyptus. My aloe vera deep cleanser fits that description, and it should strictly be messaged into the skin with the hands, no sponges etc..
Hydration AM:
In treating erupted skin, including acne, the aim is to calm, sooth and purify with an oil free moisturizer. For acne I recommend my blemish attack daily defense gel because of the antiseptic, calming and cell renewing ingredients. Oily skin with minor eruptions’ should use a moisturizer with antiseptic and cell renewing ingredients like my sheer transformation crème containing sugar cain extract, sugar maple extract, orange and lemon fruit extracts.
Special care at night:
After cleansing at night, skin tonic is not necessary. I recommend the application of a warm facial compress, just as we do it at my spa, when treating erupted and acneic skin. Additionally, I recommend the use of my blemish attack mask two to three times a week however, please note that you should avoid even gentle scrubs on acne or severe eruptions.
At my spa we blend warm water with my skin inhalation therapy formulation, based on eucalyptus, tangerine and peppermint essential oils. Next, we drench a small towel with an aromatic blend, and place it over the face. The essential oils have anti-inflammatory and purifying benefits on the skin. As a part of home care I recommend that my clients fill their sink1/3 with warm water, and blend a teaspoon full of my skin inhalation therapy into the water, another choice maybe pure eucalyptus essential oil. Drench a terry face cloth with this refreshing blend and firmly press the cloth against the face and hold in place for a moment. Repeat this ten times. For each time the process is repeated, there may be a slight sting in the skin, which merely indicates that the anti-bacterial benefits of the essential oils are going to work below the skins surface. Do this faithfully every night. Results are amaz
ing.
Clients like Halle Berry have raved about my roll on blemish attack on her website, which I recommend to be applied across all erupted areas, after the warm facial compress. Key ingredients include tea tree oil, bentonite and salicyclic acid.
Acneic skin, or excessively oil skin with eruptions, should avoid any crèmes at night, and strictly stick to gel based formulations’. Algae an lactic acid is very soothing and calming on the skin type, while glycolic acid provides rapid cell proliferating benefits and greatet tissue oxygenation. Glycolic also helps with eliminating inflammation in the pores, while simataniously constricting them. I recommend that my clients make my invigorating night gel the last step after my roll on blemish attack.
I recommend professional complexion treatments for acne or erupted akin twice a month. And yes, the correct complexion treatment approach can make a huge difference in fine tuning this kind of problematic skin. During the treatments we keep an ongoing dialogue with our clients about their life style, with a focus on motivating them to live clean and healthy.
For more information on Ole Henriksen products, please visit
http://www.olehenriksen.com/
To visit the Ole Henriksen Face & Body Spa
8601 W Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA
(310) 854-7700
