The Truth about How to actually heal your acne with Brittany Creager

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I know you… you’ve tried alllll the products, the prescriptions, the “TikTok skincare hacks” and, let me guess, your skin STILL isn’t healing?

In this episode, I sit down with Aesthetician Brittney Creager who goes all in on what is actually going on beneath the surface, why you’re doing the most and seeing no results, and how to stop guessing and start healing!

We chat:

• Why your acne isn’t going away even when you’re doing “all the right things”
• The missing piece in your healing journey
• The truth about Accutane, Spironolactone & antibiotics and what no one prepares you for
• How “overdoing skincare” is quietly sabotaging your results
• The difference between a quick fix vs. true skin healing
• Why your gut health, stress levels, and daily habits are showing up on your face
• The skincare industry myths that are costing you time, money, and your confidence
• What actually works to repair a damaged skin barrier (it’s WAY simpler than you think)
• The emotional side of acne no one talks about

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CONNECT WITH BRITTNEY

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Check out Brittney's website & services

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

You're listening to Becoming Her, the show for ambitious women who want more for their health, purpose, and life. Every week, we're diving into real conversations with women who are building impact, healing, and creating lives they're excited to wake up to. In my world, it's about becoming the strongest, boldest, and brightest version of you. I'm Leslie Jackson, your four-time certified functional nutritionist and integrative health practitioner. And if you're ready for the stories, strategies, and truth that actually up level your life, you're in the right place. Today's guest is Brittany, owner of ATX Aesthetics in Austin, Texas, and one of the most trusted voices I know when it comes to acne healing and skin barrier repair. She is an aesthetician with a results-driven, no BS approach to skincare. And in this episode, we're breaking down what actually works, what damages your skin barrier, and why more products does not mean better skin. We also get into cystic acne, trend-based skincare mistakes, healing from the inside out, and how to create clear, healthy, and glowing skin without the overwhelm. This episode is packed with practical insight and real truth. Let's get into it. Brittany? Welcome to Becoming Her. Thank you for having me. Of course. I have watched your work truly transform women's skin. And something that I admire deeply about you is that you have a very obvious passion for educating so that women can really understand their skin and how to meet their skin's needs so that they can really experience that hydrated, glowy, clear skin. And you also just so happen to be the only esthetician in Austin, Texas, that I have ever and will ever trust with my own skin. Thank you, thank you. So I am so excited for you to be introduced to my community. I know that so many women are struggling with skin concerns, whether it's dryness or overhydration or cystic acne. And from like my realm of skin, like I specialize in healing it from the inside out. But something that was a real like realization moment for me throughout my journey of healing my skin was that you can have really great internal health, but really broken skin barrier health. And you have to have both, which is why I've worked with a lot of my clients and helped them to balance their gut microbiome and heal their hormones. But then I send them your way whenever I notice that there's some skin barrier things that really have to be addressed, even externally. So um I'm curious about where the passion for the education really like stems from for you. Um, you know, I I know that you've kind of healed your own skin and had your own journey with your skin. So I have to assume maybe that has something to do with it. But I also don't want to, I don't want to assume. I want to hear directly from you like what is fueling your passion for this work.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Well, first of all, thank you so much. You're so sweet. I admire what you do. And you're right, like everything is so gut related. And I do stem from that, um, refer out when I need to, but it all truly does come from the inside out. Um, where my passion kind of started was, you know, when I was a teen, I was really sick. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. And I was six or I was 15 at the time, and it really just messed with my confidence, you know. My skin was wrecked, my body, everything just didn't, nothing felt right. Um, and so my passion just came from wanting to help other women feel beautiful and confident in their own skin. Um, I think we can all relate to that. It's so hard, especially with social media and just high expectations people have for us nowadays. Um, yeah, I just I want other people to feel beautiful regardless this of the state of their skin or their body because that's so important. You need that. Um, and sometimes it just takes guidance, right? Like, what do I need to do? Like, how do I do this? There's so much information on the that wasn't what it was for me.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Like I was so overwhelmed. Like, you need this product and that product and this product from that brand and that brand over there. And I was like, Yeah, a no way.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

And then you got no way. Your influencers here and there and TikTok and everything. And there's there's good information out there, but it's like, who do I trust? Who do I trust is the real question. Yeah. And I'm sure it's the same for you. Like, you want women to trust you and to see results. We're not doing it for the money. We're really not. We're doing it because we want to see others thrive and survive and just really get to the goals they want to get to without having to go through all these different loose ends and like wasting money and just all the things. So I think it just truly comes from a passion of wanting to help other people, like just being a natural empath and seeing other people happy. That's that's my goal every day.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

I love that. Thank you. I love that. And I also feel like it's really hard to watch people struggle with something that is so irresolvable. Yeah. You know, like watching people suffer is really hard for an empathetic soul.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

And I know like I have seen some of your work um as in people that come in with some of the like deepest and widespread like full facial cystic acne. And I've literally watched you be able to completely transform their skin. And that has to take like a mega skill set. So I I want to hear, like, maybe just for starters, how have you watched it change their life? Because I know, like in my world, when my clients are like really struggling, I notice that they are like hiding from the camera. They're, you know, like shrinking their life because they don't want to be seen, they don't feel confident, it affects their relationships. How have you seen your clients' transformation work actually change their experience in their life?

SPEAKER_00 6:17

Yeah. Um, it's it's a it's up and down, you know, it's not a linear process. You know, we have highs, we have lows, we have to get through what we call purging, is when you start to break out at first when using new products and your skin has to adjust and acclimate.

SPEAKER_03 6:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

So, you know, I've had my girls come in, cry, laugh, all the things, and truly just being someone for them to lean on and ask those questions. And that's what you get when you come into ATX aesthetics. You get that shoulder, you get to send us text messages and ask us. And really, it's it's really difficult in the beginning because we do have that, you know, that uphill battle. But once you get over the peak, I mean, I've seen women like I get invited to weddings, like I am so close with these girls because we share such a personal bond. Like it is so vulnerable sitting down and having someone look at your skin. Like bare skin.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Yeah. Yeah. Cause I feel like we've really leaned into like the concealers and the, you know, like the foundations to hide it. Yeah. Which, like, no shame there. But I can when you say vulnerably, like walking in and like really letting your your true skin condition be seen. I can only imagine how vulnerable that feels.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

You're like naked, you know, and you're sharing your struggles with someone else. And that's hard within itself to talk about problems and struggles. And, you know, I get closer to these girls. We're talking about relationships, life, and and everything. I get so close with them. And it's just, it's really beautiful to watch them grow and flirt in the confidence, like you said, like shrinking. And then they come in and they've got a coffee in their hand and they're bouncing and they're ready and they're more just energetic. Yeah. And their light shows a little bit more. Yeah. Um, I think that's why we do it. And I think that's my favorite part is when you get in, they're like, I haven't broken out in a month, or you know, I have this is the first time I felt confident. You know, my wedding's in a week, like, thank you so much. Like those, those are the stories. Those, like, that's why, that's why I do it.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah. I love that. Yeah. So across your healing journey, is there anything that really stuck out to you that obviously did not work to help you heal your skin?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

You know, I never went down the accutane or spiralactone or anything like that. And um, I almost did. You know, I almost went into the dermatologist. I think I was in aesthetician school still, and I was like just asking questions, and she was like, Accutane. And I even got my blood drawn and was about to start it. And I was like, you know what, this just doesn't feel right. I'm just gonna wait. Like, no shame in people who who need to get on that. And I always tell my clients, your mental health and your well-being comes first. Always. Always. If it's affecting you back to the back of the stuff, also respect that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

And like because there's side effects to those things. A thousand percent.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

And if we can heal holistically, let's do that. But like if it's truly weighing on your daily life and your mental health, and you've tried every avenue and you don't have the means, you don't have the time to invest in what we offer, then you might have to go down one of those routes. And for me, I just I wasn't there yet. I wasn't, you know, you know, my skin just wasn't in a place where I needed that. Um, and so yeah, I just started doing a lot of research. And that's when I found Face Reality, which is an amazing acne program. And that's kind of what I founded the business off of, just growing and and diving deep into that. And that's when I finally got my skin to a place of a healthy state where I was happy with it.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

What do you see like most commonly that your clients, like maybe first consult, they come in and they share like all the things that they've tried that did not work. What are some of those things that you're like spirolactone?

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Okay. That's probably number one. Um, Acutane does work, but I'll have girls come in like a year or two later saying it's back to the way it was. Um, tretinoin, spirolactone, tretinoin, win levy, um all like pretty much yeah, chemicals. All of the harsh chemicals, all the antibiotics. I mean, I've had one girl come in and tell me she was on antibiotics for three years straight. And that, like, I was like, your doctor like is allowing you to do that. Like, are you okay? Is your gut okay? Like, is your microfine? There's no way. There's no way it's okay. Yeah. And another girl was on Accutane for two years, you know, and it just kind of breaks my heart a little bit because I wish there was more guidance and education on these topics.

SPEAKER_02 13:18

Um I kind of feel like it's somewhat a lack of knowing what, like who to go to for what. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I personally don't recommend to go to your primary care provider for a skin condition. Um, I personally, or acne specifically, I also personally don't recommend going to the dermatologist for cystic acne. Yeah. Like I what and and I'm only speaking from my own personal experience, I found so much more uh uh dedication to my healing journey from aestheticians. And could you maybe break down like the difference in like approach between a dermatologist and an aesthetician?

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Because that's something that I had to learn on my it's it's it's completely different. And you know, and that's why a lot of girls will come to me from the dermatologist because they've tried it and it just doesn't work. And, you know, dermatologists are so needed and so important. They're, you know, skin cancer, right, uh lesions, just all the things. Um, there is a place for different things, and that's where it kind of goes. And I've had dermatologists tell this was one in a few, but you need to go see an aesthetician. I'd recommend that for your acne, slash start there. Um and I think that's where it gets a little blurred, blurred, right? Because you want to heal holistically, go to an aesthetician. If you want a quick fix and you don't have the means and you don't have the time or money, maybe a dermatologist is your best option through insurance. Right. Um, but I think looking for an esthetician for your skin is probably the best option if we're not talking about like skin cancer, moles and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Or like cysts. Yeah, like there's a difference between a cyst and like cystic acne.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And I mean, yeah, that's really like skin health esthetician, right? If we're looking to make the barrier healthy, just reduce inflammation. Aesthetician. If you're looking for quick fixes or scan cancer screening, skin cancer screenings, other lesions, things like that, definitely go to your dermatologist always. I always recommend everyone needs to get seen by their derm at least once a year for skin cancer screenings. That's so important. Right. Um, because it does go unnoticed and things like that. So that is a big one. Um, but yeah, there's a time and place for each. I agree. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. But if you can save a little bit of money and you're trying to heal your acne, I'd recommend finding an acne specialist going through Face Reality. There's a locator online that will show you whatever area in. If you're not in Austin, Texas, um, you can find one on there. There's just so many different avenues now where you don't have to go to TikTok and find, you know, over-the-counter products to heal your acne that could eventually make them worse, strip your barrier.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

What kind of products are you hearing people use from TikTok?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Um, a lot of Korean skincare, which can be great. I I have Korean skincare at this ball, but it's professional grade. Korean skincare can be a big one. Um, a lot of things over-the-counter Sephora. I don't want to knock anyone's products, right? But I'm an ingredient nerd, and there's just some that, you know, are false advertising. The FDA does not regulate the ingredients on the back of these bottles, right? So they can advertise organic, chemical-free, whatever the case may be. But it's when you flip that bottle over and you go through that ingredient list what truly matters in the formulation and also who's formulating these products. It could be me or you in the lab cooking up these products and being like, come on, girl, come put this is gonna curioracne, you know? And what, you know, professional grade, what you're getting is scientists and doctors and clinical trials, tested ingredients, stable formulated ingredients that are gonna yield results. And that's why professional grade can typically be a little bit more expensive because that's where all the money's going.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Um, so that's why your$10 ordinary hyaluronic acid may not be working, or it might even be drying you out more because the integrity of the ingredients just aren't there.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Yeah. Yeah. I have a little side story to share about a client of mine that came to me with a TikTok product that was being raved about on TikTok for parasites. Um she we got on the video call and she showed me the picture of this product that she was like, everyone is raving about this parasite cleanse from TikTok. And I look at it, it is a picture of a horse on the front of this box. And I realized that this is a horse parasite cleanse. Okay. And just to put it into perspective, ladies, like how off TikTok recommendations can get. And not only is it a waste of time, but it is an extender of suffering. You know, like I think that it is so important to not try to be the expert in every different area of your health and like be able to allow yourself to accept support and guidance so that you can collapse the timeline of how quickly you get to relief and to results. And you're not wasting money on things that are not clinically proven to be worth spending a dollar on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

You know what I mean? So that you said that. Like it's okay to not know. It's okay to not know. It's okay. It's okay. I used to use spot treatment, a toothpaste as a spot treatment. I'm saying we've all thanked. Yeah, we've all been there. You've got to start somewhere, you know. It's we're not all experts in every area. And that's why it's so important to go find um people that are so that you can be more educated. I think that's so important.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Absolutely. Like it's okay if you don't know everything. And there are people that really want to support you and guide you. Yes. Yeah. So I do want to talk a little bit more on the spirinal lactone and the accutane too, because I see that in my practice quite a bit too. And I I support with healing the side effects of those things, which is like a severely damaged gut microbiome and a lot of side effects like brain frog, chronic thirst, bloating. Um, and what really gives me the ick is that there is not enough education or proactive communication about the side effects of these drugs. And in my professional opinion, I don't think that they're a product that anyone should be on long term. So, like maybe we, you know, maybe we get on it short term until we get to like a root cause focused, like true, true healing approach. But we need to clock that being on these intense medications, I think can cause a lot of damage. Um, so what like what kind of damage, like maybe even specifically to the skin barrier, have you seen with your clients being on these medications?

SPEAKER_00 20:36

I'd say about 90% of my acne consultations were either on spherolactone or have been told about it, have thought about it. Um these are band-aid, what we call in that industry band-aid results, right? Like they're gonna help for a little bit and then your problems are gonna be worse or they're gonna come right back in about a week, two weeks, a month, three months, four months, a year. Um, so the main side effects that I probably see dry skin, uh, flakiness, irritation, eczema flare-ups, rosacea. Um, yeah, a compromised barrier, those are your your main kind of cues. If you're putting water or moisturizer on and it's burning, that's what we call a compromised barrier.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

So that's like a signal.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Like if you put just water on your skin and it burns, that means that you're more than likely having a compromised barrier issue going on, which is pretty much that's what spiroctone or accutane, accutane draws out all the oils in your body. That's why a lot of people have osteoporosis or bone problems after it, because it's drawing all those oils out. And our bodies they they need oils to function. I have all my acne clients on omegas for a reason, right? So we're introducing natural sebum flow and natural oils into the skin. So when you're taking all that out, and then boom, you get off of it, all that starts to rush back in. So, like you said, it's like this backwards effect that starts to happen. And yeah, the compromised barrier is the main, the main one. And a compromised barrier can be very, very irritating. It can be very comfortable. It's kind of painful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Yeah. And inflammation thrives on dry skin and it thrives on a compromised barrier. So it's really hard for me. You know, I always have to tell my girls that are coming and they're on spherolactone, I can't medically tell you to get off of this. Right. But I do recommend to talk to your doctor. This is what I've seen in the past. Um, and you know, if you do want to continue on the acne journey with me, you know, we do need to pause this medication so that way we know the integrity of your skin can handle the products I'm going to be prescribing. Yeah, so it can heal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

So you can something that I see in my practice is that women are trying to um kind of, especially when it comes to like the metabolism, they're really focused on like giving it the least amount of fuel and like burning calories, burning down the body in order to like get thinner or get skinnier. But really, like my message to my client base is we need to nourish the metabolism. We need to build up its strengths and its resilience. And a kind of like mirror that I'm hearing you kind of explain here is that it sounds like these medications are weakening and stripping the skin barrier. And your focus is to strengthen and nourish the skin barrier.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

That's that's literally it.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Yeah. We want to go in and just give her some TLC. She just needs some love. You just need some love. Just need some tender care and love and attention. Yeah. And, you know, we don't need five different exfoliations. And you do not need a 12, you know, step routine to yield results. A comp or um getting a barrier back to being healthy could take four products.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

See, that's what we need to talk about. Yeah. We need to talk about this.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

That's$100. That's$100. You're going to Sephora, you're buying four or five hundred dollars worth of the skincare. That is not clinically or trials. There's nothing. The science isn't there. You come to me, you're spending$150,$100 for professional great skincare, no parabens, no sulfates, no fragrance, yeah. That are going to yield you beautiful results, healthy barrier, and probably two to, you know, everyone's different, two to five weeks, depending. But yeah, it's uh, it's it's just again educating and getting our word out there and trying to let everyone know, you know, it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be this hard.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Yeah, exactly. Like I do think we're overcomplicating it. So to like strip back all the bullshit, what is like a few of the your number one top priority go go to products when it comes to like an AM and maybe a PM skincare routine. Well sunscreen's number one. Number one.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

If you're not on sunscreen, we need to get on sunscreen yesterday. Okay. We want to protect against skin cancer. That's my main thing. We also want to, you know, we all want to look young forever. Age management. When our husbands look 80 and we look 50, it's because we were using sunscreen. Exactly. So sunscreen's my number one always if someone comes in and they're not using sunscreen and they can't go home. Like even if we can't even finish the service, I'm like, look, girl, if you can't afford the service, let's skip service, sunscreen today, come back and see me in a week. Wow. That's most important. That's how important it is. Yeah. Like it is, and I will do that if someone can't budget something, we won't do the treatment today. Let's do the consult. Let's get you on products because in the long, you know, that's gonna what's going to yield your results. 80% is your home care, 20% is coming in to see me.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Yeah. And that's something I've heard you talk about that I think it just like makes sense. Like if we aren't able to prioritize the products that we're putting on our face multiple times every single day going in for a facial like once a month or every other month, it doesn't make sense to think that that is going to make up for what we can be doing consistently all throughout the month.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

We want to sweep before you mop, you know? We want to get all the dirt, we want to get a nice foundation there. So all those treatments can just take you further and work even better.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

So yeah, main products sunscreen, uh retinol. We love a good retinol as long as your skin can handle it.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Yeah. What do you use retinol for specifically? What's the purpose behind it? Cell turnover.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Okay. So it's gonna speed up your cell turnover. Okay. Um it's gonna help with age management, pore size, um, just getting the skin healthy so that way all your other products can go deeper as well. Work better. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

So that's like laying the foundation. Sunscreen and retinol.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Yes over the age of 25. Over the age of 25 yet you don't really need to jump into a retinol yet, especially no teens, you don't need a retinol yet. Sunscreen, retinol, a really bomb moisturizer, keep the skin hydrated. I mean, those are your you know your simple your simple things. Uh like if someone comes in with a compromise barrier, right? My go-tos are a cleanser, a toner, a hydrating serum, a moisturizer, and a sunscreen. Five products. Love. Notice how I didn't even throw an exfoliant in there. Okay because we want to repair the barrier before we throw in an exfoliant. Chemical exfoliants are like retinols, physical exfoliants are going to be like your scrubs, something with a little grit in it. Yes. So once my clients come in, I get them on a routine those five products to help their barrier um strengthen it. Then when they come back in, then we're ready for retinols, then we're ready for scrubs, we're ready for mandelic acid.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

So it's a process.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah. Yeah for sure.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

That I love to hear that that's acknowledged. Yeah. Um and I think that that like that is why you invest in guidance so that you understand what is priority. Like where if if we have like X amount of budget for this for this focus, let's make sure that it's going to the thing that's gonna move the needle the most.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

And if you're going to an esthetician and she's pushing products after you've told her your budget, find a new one. Because that part um it does not need to be that it doesn't need to be like that. Yeah. And you truly need someone in your corner that is prioritizing that.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

And that's gonna meet you where you are yeah always talk about budget.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

Yeah. Always because I get UT students, right? I get student I get clients that are young and struggling with acne. They're full-time students have a part-time job. They can't afford a$400 routine and spending$400 a month with me. So you know I really like you said meeting people in the middle in this profession is very important. And it's just coming from a place of love and caring. It's not coming from how much money can I get off this client. It's how can I help you get to where you want to be at and they see it. They feel it. So it's important.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

Yeah I think that like as practitioners like a huge like number one priority for us is to be trustworthy. Yeah and that's earned from likely our perspective is what it sounds like and um I do want to pause because I've I've heard you say skin barrier multiple times. And for anybody that has no idea what you mean by skin barrier what does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Just like your skin like the the surface of our skin so we have the epidermis and then you have the dermis. So your epidermis is going to be the top layer of the skin.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Okay. So if that epidermis isn't functioning properly then that's what we call like um your skin barriers compromised right it's something so it's like not protecting the under layer. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

So we want that uh epidermis upper part of your skin to be healthy so that way everything else can work properly and so we're not feeling that stinging that burning that irritation all skin conditions come from inflammation which I'm sure is the same in your practice right whether that's eczema, rosacea, acne all these things are coming from inflammation which are you know root causes are typically gut heat stress stress is so so so so big in both of our professions um it can change it can change your life inside and out. So yeah skin barrier is really all those things into one you know inflammation stress gut health microbiome all those things play a role into your skin barrier products you're using at home yeah yeah I always start with um especially with my acne consultations we start with talking about the gut and I don't go too much into it you know I just give them basics and what we need to know and what you know what you're using at home what can help and things like that. So that way we can figure out what type of skin you have and how to better treat it. Yeah yeah so di there are different skin types that you what are a few of like the common different skin types and like how do you approach those differently so you have like dry skin you have oily skin um you have aging skin um so really it's finding that balance so for someone who's dry it could be a whole sort of different things that we need to look at right are we overexfoliating are we not exfoliating are we using moisturizers are we not using any moisturizers there's so many different things that can play in a role into dry skin yeah um a lot of people don't know this but dry skin needs to be exfoliated so if you think about it if you have dry skin and you're just layering on moisturizer every single day which is probably common in the wintertime right now your skin is just going to layer that moisturizer it's not gonna go anywhere because there's nowhere not like penetrating yeah because there's so much stuff built up that it can't go through the barrier there. Oh so you need to like exfoliate the dry skin so that the moisture can penetrate into the barrier yeah um so that's a good way to know that you need to add in a scrub maybe three times a week okay um a gentle exfoliation chemical mandelic is a great gentle um chemical exfoliation also pregnancy safe um or say if you're oily a lot of people don't know this too it's a little um thing I run into all the time oily skin is actually most of the time lack of hydration your body will actually start to overproduce oils trying to compensate for the oil it's not receiving so a lot of times it's just switching to a better hydrating serum. Yeah finding that balance right yeah hydration exfoliation and again gut yeah your gut yeah absolutely so there are a few like specific um foods that I in my practice that I do see trigger people with acne prone skin and from my perspective those top ones are sugar dairy and eggs those are like the top three go-tos is that something that you notice as well same yeah yeah same chocolate right chocolate as well yes process sugars process foods like okay maybe not let's eat Whataburger four times a week you know um just small things like that or you know and I also have to be cautious because um I want people to feel safe and it's hard sometimes talking about food and so I always start off by saying if you want to eat the ice cream you eat the ice cream girl like I don't want you to be minimizing yourself so much that it's hurting your own mental health or causing an eating disorder or anything like that. So I think that's really important too and I and I do try to touch on that. It's all in moderation though. And that's what it comes down to like if we're eating Chewies and What burger and all these things five times a week then yeah let's let's cut that back. But if you're gonna spoil yourself and do that. Have fun go on the date you know don't not order something because you're scared it's gonna break you out. Like I want my clients to live their lives. I just want them to be cautious and and moderate those things when they can yeah so I have a different opinion on that.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

Okay yeah I in my practice keep it really real with my clients about the true true consequences I was curious about that too because I I actually don't support the moderation recommendation as in the thing is like when my clients come to me and they're like is this thing okay? Is that thing okay? And I'm like listen I can sit here and tell you that and I can give you permission to consume this thing but my permission isn't going to save you from the consequences of consuming this thing. I love that. So I want you to know that I can't save you from it. And I have to be honest with you about the fact that if you have acne prone skin and you consume dairy and eggs and sugar and like chocolatey things on a regular basis, you're gonna have cystic acne. Yeah. And I had somebody ask me the other day like one of my clients was like well is this just like how it's gonna be forever for me and the answer is you have acne prone skin babe. Yeah and these foods cause inflammation in your lymphatic congestion in your face and it causes inflammation. So can we reduce the intensity of the response oftentimes I see yes if you have you know like clinical based clinical based products that help to like reduce that inflammation but your reality is that is a part of your genetic code and how your body actually expresses its challenge. Its challenge is that it's trying to metabolize a food that is inflammatory to your body. So you know what I try to do is to kind of reframe that when we're celebrating and when we're like doing something fun, that we find something else in replacement of like the inflammatory thing that's going to cause symptoms or consequences and use that as a new way to celebrate. I love it. You know, like oftentimes in our culture I think that it's really common to celebrate with sugar and alcohol or you know weed or like whatever like the thing is that like feels self sabotagey enough to can we stop using things that are self-sabotaging to celebrate. Yeah like why don't we celebrate over a fat steak? Why don't we celebrate over like a massive like beautiful garden spread? Why don't we celebrate with a vacation or community and family and I think that when we only allow ourselves to think of a way to celebrate through things that cause our body inflammation it's self-deprecating. Almost like a setback and it's 100% and it's it's like that is just the reality. Yeah. We have to find something like we need to to celebrate and we need to have fun and joy in our life but it doesn't have to be something that causes our body harm. Yeah. There's a lot of other ways to like something that I'll do with my clients and I'll I'll have them uh go to ChatGBT and be like hey I'm going to like celebrate X, Y, and Z. Can you give me five recommendations on what I could do to celebrate instead of these XYZ things right now pregnant.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

I'm like what do we do here? Yeah yeah absolutely this time in this culture I mean you go out and you have drinks and you party and you have friends you know but when it comes to like just being healthy that's that's just not it. And yeah like you said you're always going to be acne prone.

SPEAKER_02 38:06

Yeah if you have acne prone like I have acne prone skin. So like listen babe like I'm with you. Yeah yeah yeah I have to keep my like I have to protect my skin with the decisions that I make every day. Yeah and I have to just own the fact that my reality is that those things can't be a consistent part of my life unless I want to deal with the consequences of how my body responds to them.

SPEAKER_00 38:31

I loved I loved your opinion on that I like to I like to see that side of it. Yeah because that's it is hard and it's a harsh reality of it though. And it is the truth and again we're we just want to help.

SPEAKER_02 38:40

Yeah we just want to help and also I think sometimes our clients can come to us and hope that they'll get a different answer. Yeah. But like the reality is the reality and my responsibility to use to keep it 100. Yep. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Like if my girls are like well can I still drink the Celsius and Alani's and I'm like I'm gonna be I wouldn't no no I wouldn't no like bloom there's alternatives now like bloom is an okay one I mean green tea anything but like no more Alani please one yeah Alani hard now.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

Celsius hard now. Yeah um especially anything with artificial sweeteners like all the zeros and the diets and everything like that like much worse for you. Yeah 100% and if we're talking about like the gut microbiome artificial sweeteners wipe out your microbiome.

SPEAKER_00 39:32

Which my husband that part taught me and I didn't even know but like leaving because your microbiome and your gut brain connection rely upon one another.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

So like your serotonin and your dopamine a lot of those neurochemicals that support your memory load are it's all connected they're disturbed because that artificial sweetener is coming in and wiping out the bacteria that helps to produce those neurochemicals. Yeah. So science um yeah we love her we love her. We love her. Yeah so I want to uh just take a second to chat through like how long does it take to heal your skin because that's another area in my practice that like I have to kind of adjust expectations sometimes because so many things in our life I feel like has primed us for instant gratification and like you take this medication and the symptoms go away and it's just like everything's linear. But in true like root cause healing oftentimes like the expectation has to be maybe we're gonna have to have some patience and commitment to the process so that we can get better results than we've ever had before. Like it's so worth it.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

How long have you seen like on average you know it's different for everybody depending on the grade for talking specific acne. It depends on the grade of the acne and also everyone's healing journey is so different that the ups and downs that we go through finding those triggers, taking out those triggers I hate giving someone a timeline. Typically though, I'd say six months to nine months to 12 months depending on the severity. You know six to 12 months someone could clear in five months someone could clear in four someone could clear in two it just depends on the type of acne I'm dealing with there's so many different avenues and lifestyle changes and choices and this is why a lot of people not a lot but I'd say some people give up because they're not ready to commit to that lifestyle change um or they're like they come and I feel stuck okay well let's that's when I go back to lifestyle and that's when I go back to gut and that's when I go back to okay what are we doing at home that we're missing here um and typically it's it's the gut biome it's it has a lot of stress diet gut biome if you're a randomly a lot of my client uh acne clients have been consistently nurses and it's crazy though they have the most stressful job girl yeah so demanding yes and they're so for our nurses me too oh I love them my queens yes um but yeah you know I've cleared so many of them but it's hard you know it the so a lot of it does come from stress and and finding ways to regulate your stress and because obviously you love your job if you're a nurse you love what you do and you do it for a reason. And so it's it's a tug and pull. It's a tug and pull and finding meeting people where they're at in my profession is a big thing and and helping them find ways to regulate.

SPEAKER_02 42:26

Yeah yeah well I think it's good for people to hear like true true like if you really do actually want to heal the root cause of your cystic acne it's not a one pill solution it's not an overnight solution but if you want to heal it and keep it healed and if you want to have like the brightest clearest glowing hydrated skin babe it's gonna take work but it's gonna be worth it.

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Heck yeah yeah it is absolutely yeah it's always worth it and that's when they come in and they're hugging you know and we're hugging and we're we're joking and we're laughing and um that's when you see it it's it clicks you know even after the third appointment they're like my skin feels so different. I feel different. Yeah of course and that's like the strength and you see it and you feel it and I love it. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

Okay. So I want to play a little rapid fire game with you. Are you ready? Yeah I love let's go so because what I think might be a little challenging here is these are simple questions. And so for our listeners know that her responses aren't going to always be able to take into consideration all nuance and all different skin types and all different conditions. But we're gonna have a little fun with it. Okay. So it's just five questions and I'm gonna run it. Okay. Okay, let's go. All right ready?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Yeah physical exfoliation yes or no yes popping pin popping pimples confess or deny confess your SE but don't pop them most underrated skincare step oh choose one thing um cleansing double cleansing double cleansing okay we didn't talk about that one product acne prone skin should not use um coconut or shea butter best advice you've ever received about skin oh that actually from my DMK training this might be a lengthy answer but that's okay um our body is like a factory our cells are factories and if one cell is out of whack they're all out of whack we got to get that mitochondria functioning properly so that way it can tell all our mitochondria is energy pack of the cell so that way it tells all of our other cells hey girl get back in place do your job so that we can all work and function together.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

Oh I love the factory analogy for that clicks yeah it really and that's something that truly like I could just tell from our first conversation I was like this girl gets that this is like an ecosystem. Yes you know and I just respected that so much and it made me trust me referring clients to you so deeply because you're willing to have the deeper conversation. Same same you know so I am just so grateful for you and that you have this like deep passion for helping women like actually heal their acne and get clear hydrated dewy glowy skin. Yes that's always the goal confidence confidence yeah loving how you look yes and being bright and bold so um where can people find you yeah learn from you or work with you yeah so you can find me on Instagram at ATX aesthetician I am the owner of ATX aesthetics we are moving to a new location off South First Street in 290 into kind of like a beauty house.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

So it's gonna be beautiful we're gonna have a big space it's gonna be awesome I also have three other amazing aestheticians that work under me who are absolutely so talented and amazing to work with as well.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Oh amazing well congratulations not only on the work that you do but the business success that you've had of also been learning about you know how much your business has grown and how many women you've helped and now you're training other aestheticians and you're mentoring other estheticians and educating and like really spreading a high quality Quality of skin education.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

So you're making your mark, babe. Thanks. I do it for my girlies. Yes. For everybody. I love you so much. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for having me. Yeah. I love working with you.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

It's so much fun.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

We could do this all day. No, literally. Well, I was just really excited to introduce you to my community because I know that you're a truth teller and I think more women uh needed to discover you and your work. So thank you so much. Thanks, babe. Glad to be here. Of course. If you love this episode, share it with a friend and leave a quick review. And if you want to go deeper, everything you need, resources, programs, and ways to connect is in the show notes. And don't just save this episode. Pick one thing, apply it today, and let it compound. I'll see you next time on Becoming Her.