It’s not rare to hear that eating a bar of chocolate will make you break out. Or if you are of Asian background, like me, a bowl of ramen might do the same thing. In fact, maybe you have personal experience of it. So does your diet really affect your skin and cause breakouts?

Most dermatologists say, “Yes,” or want to say, “Yes.” Unfortunately, there are no significant studies done with enough population size and parameters to truly drive the question home. But having been in the research field myself, I know how expensive a study like this would be as well as the difficulty it would have to execute a definitive study that cancels out all other variables, like exercise, environment, work, etc. Plus, it’s not like a drug or medication would come out of this type of study that would profit a pharmaceutical company, so it is unlikely that an investment for an in-depth study on this will happen any time in the near future.

Although I am all about the facts and research when writing an article or giving advice on anything, this is one of the few times I would go ahead and answer a question without research backing me up. Yes, diet can absolutely affect your skin. For those of you that exercise, you know that diet and wise food intake is half the battle. Well if the food you eat affects the way your muscles and fat react, same can be said for your skin, which is not only your largest but also one of the fastest regenerating and cell dividing organs of your body.

Even without specific research, I can confidently say from simply knowing my anatomy and physiology that our skin is affected by our diet. The food we eat is digested, filtered, and absorbed into the blood stream. That same blood goes and provides nutrients to all our cells which include the ones making up the skin. Although our body has an amazing natural filtration system in both the selective absorption of the intestines and the liver, we know that it can’t filter everything. So if you are eating too many oily foods or maybe too many sugary treats, those fats and sugars will make its way into the blood and to your cells. The skin’s reaction to the various nutrients, if we can even call it that, will be different from person to person, so it is hard to say whether this will cause a breakout or not.

Now, while diet can affect your skin, it is important to remember that there are so many bigger and better researched factors that affect your skin. From sun exposure to bacterial infections, there are so many factors that have been studied to cause skin conditions, whether it is irritation, acne, or even cancer. In order to take good care of you skin, make sure you first cover the basics of cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating, and moisturizing your skin. The ClearLee Clear Skin Set is great for covering these steps. Also, make sure to protect your skin from the sun when going outside.

 And, of course, eating healthy will be an added bonus for good skin care. In fact, it’ll be awesome for your overall health! There are plenty of balanced food charts, recipes, and meal plans out there so I won’t go too much into detail. In fact, my friend Nathan from Quick10Workouts recently came out with a meal plan. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to see it thought it would be awesome to share his hard work! If you have any questions, comments, or experiences of food making you break out, please share below and I’ll do my best to read all of them! Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next time.

“How often should I exfoliate my face?” This is a common question asked by many skin enthusiasts. I’ve read many blog articles and seen many videos written and made by skincare gurus, but none seem to accurately and completely answer the question and most generally lean back on sharing how often they do it. Now, they are definitely not wrong when they share their skin and exfoliation routine, but their answer only applies to THEIR SKIN and NOT YOURS. Then what concerns me, is that there are those who just make up things because it sounds logically correct in their mind. I’ve seen everything from you should exfoliate every day to exfoliating everyday will ruin your face and leave you with scars, wrinkles, and scratches (without taking them out of context).

 So, what’s right? And is there a secret formula? I will do my best to explain the best exfoliation routine for you!

For those that don’t know what exfoliation is, it is the process of removing the dead skin cells on the outer surface of skin. This sometimes involves the use of an exfoliating glove, a cleanser, or a scrub.

 To figure out how often we should exfoliate, let’s begin by understanding how our skin cells grow and divide. Now I don’t want to dive into too much science and biology, so let’s think of our skin growth this way. In general, our skin cells grow from the inside-out. There is a layer deeper down in our skin called a basal lamina where our skin cells are essentially born (they are differentiated into basal cells from a stem cell for those who want more specifics). As they grow older, they start making their journey towards the surface of our skin. Along the way, they lose their nucleus, flatten out, and layer themselves to become part of the skin you and I feel with our hands. Eventually, they die and flake off leaving behind the newer generation of skin cells. They will always grow inside-out like this except for certain situations like when healing a laceration or cut, where the dividing happens sideways in order to cover and patch up the injury. But that is a whole different study in itself.

Skin cells divide and multiply the fastest. I can’t answer how often they multiply because that is different for every person as well as controlled very specifically by the body. But it’s a good thing that I can’t answer the question, since if your body had no control of the growth rate, it would be the definition of cancer. So yes, your body will decide how quickly you need new skin cells and this rate can change depending on the environment.

 Now that we know a bit more about the skin, let’s forgo a couple of misconceptions that people may have.

1) “You will damage your new skin if you exfoliate too much.” This is not necessarily wrong, but it’s not true either. By the time your skin is on the surface, it is not really a new skin cell anymore. In fact, it is closer to a dead skin cell and researchers sometime say that they are already dead since they have lost their nucleus. However, it is possible to damage your skin if you exfoliate too much and I’ll get to that in a second. 

2) “Will you run out of skin if you exfoliate too much?” While it might sound funny to others, it is a valid question if you think about exfoliating at a faster rate than your skin divides/multiplies. But now we know that your body controls the rate of skin cell production or differentiation. On top of that, if you are exfoliating too much and start touching the newer not fully developed layers of your skin, your body will tell you to stop because it will be painful. 

3) “What if my skin stops growing but I keep exfoliating?” Fun fact: Your skin will never stops dividing and multiplying in your lifetime. Sure as people get into the elderly age, their skin might get less firm and tight, but skin cells will still be made.

So what is the best exfoliation formula for you? Here are a couple tips and advice to help figure that out.

1) Exfoliate GENTLY! This applies to everyone. Exfoliating is meant to simply remove the outer dead skin cells that are ready to flake off so that it doesn’t block the glow and radiance of your healthy skin. Being harsh with any exfoliator is no different from you rubbing your face on sand paper.

2) Start by exfoliating 2-3 times a week. This is a super safe method. We naturally lose around 30,000 cells every hour and over a million a day. So there will be plenty of new cells to exfoliate every 2-3 days.

3) Start making your way to exfoliating every day by adding an extra day every week. This not only allows your skin to become accustomed to the process, but you also will be able to see if your skin is reacting in a negative way. If it gets too red or feels uncomfortable, take off a day and that is probably where your routine should stay.

4) If you can get to exfoliating once a day without problems, then that is the routine for you. It means your skin is regenerating at a fast enough rate and it also means that you can show off glowing, radiant skin every day since you will have minimal amount of flaking cells.

 Hope that helped not only develop another step in your skin routine, but also expanded your knowledge about your skin! If you have any questions or want to share your skin routine, comment below and I’ll be sure to read them. Let me know if your routine changes when using the ClearLee Mineral Water Mud Mask/Cleanser compared to other exfoliators. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next time.

“How do I get rid of my acne?” “What can I do to cover up acne?” “What is the best acne treatment out there?” These are just a few of the common questions about acne that almost everyone asks some time in their journey through life. Then there are the follow up questions. “Why doesn’t this product work for me?” “How come my friend’s acne is getting better but not mine when we have the same skin routine?” “Do I have to go see a dermatologist?”

These are all really good questions! But, what I find surprising when talking with people or reading other blogs and articles (minus the scientific/research papers) is that most people don’t ask the most important and key question. “Why do we get acne?” By understanding even the basics of acne, so many of the questions above can be answered and may even help find the solution to it. So before you go pay an extreme amount of money at the dermatologist, simply study up a little and try out a couple, more affordable things. Here, I will do my best to explain why we get acne without getting too scientific, so that it can serve as a building block in your skin care knowledge.

Acne vulgaris, or more commonly known as acne, is a chronic skin disease that almost everyone in the world suffers from. In general, we can break down the reason of their formation to four factors:

1) Your outer skin cells grow/multiply too fast that they plug up your follicles

2) Your skin creates excess sebum (an oily secretion that your skin creates to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair) causing clogging 

3) Microbial infection

4) Inflammation

Genetics and stress also play a huge role in acne, which is why your skin might not react the same way to products or environments like your friend’s does. For example, your skin cells multiplying too fast can definitely be due to genes you inherited from your parents (don’t get mad at them!). Or your immune system might be too sensitive and react to every little bacteria and product even if they aren’t harmful! On top of that, how much stress you have and how your body handles it may differ from other people. But don’t worry, there are little tricks around each factor and I’ll do my best to target all of them!

Hopefully by now, you are starting to get a sense of why the same acne treatment or skin care regime doesn’t work for everyone. If not, here is an example. Let’s say the reason you are getting acne is because of your skin cells growing too fast. You decide one day that you are going to treat your acne and start going to the dermatologist to get shots to fight against infection. You can see how this will prove useless and just waste time and money. Of course, I would expect your dermatologist to run exams first to determine the reason(s) for your acne but, it doesn’t hurt to know yourself.

 So here’s a basic guideline you can try at home to try targeting the source of your acne.

1) Try exfoliating. If your skin cells are multiplying too fast (known as follicular epidermal hyperproliferation), exfoliating your skin a couple times a week may help prevent the plugging of the follicles.

2) Don’t wash your face with just water but use soap. Washing your face with just water will only dry out your skin. If your skin is already producing excess sebum, the last thing you want to do is dry out your skin to make your skin think it needs to make even more! Washing your face with soap can also help prevent bacterial infection.

3) Use a mud mask or something that will suck out and absorb excess oils on your skin. This will help your acne by preventing the clogging of pores with excess sebum.

4) Try using a couple of essential oils known for anti-inflammatory or astringent properties. Lavender, Frankincense, Rosemary, Ginger, Carrot Seed, Juniper, and Patchouli are all great examples but there are many more! If you have already oily skin, try putting 1 or 2 drops into an oil free lotion and moisturizing your face with it.

Now, unfortunately the world is not perfectly linear and more than one of the factors can be causing your acne. So to target all the factors, David and I created the Clear Skin Set by ClearLee. The Mineral Water Mud Mask/Cleanser not only exfoliates but also draws out all the unwanted oils of the skin. Factors 1 and 2 down! It even has rosemary and lavender essential oils to help with inflammation. Then the Mineral Water Toner comes into play to rehydrate and condition your skin. It has tea tree oil, which is known for its amazing antiseptic properties. Factor 3 down! Finally, the Mineral Water Moisturizer not only moisturizes your skin, but also has jojoba oil, which mimics your natural sebum. It will tell your skin there is enough sebum and to slow down production, which is awesome if you are producing too much sebum. On the other hand, if your skin naturally does not produce enough sebum, it will act in its place and help the lubricating process. All three products also have essential oils with anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. Factor 4 down!

I’m not against going to the dermatologist. In fact, I encourage it! Dermatologists are experts in the field of skin care and I know how hard each and every one of them worked to get there. However, I also know that it is not feasible for many people today, so hopefully I provided a little knowledge as to how to go about targeting your acne without destroying your bank roll. If you have any questions or comments, please mention them below and I will do my best to answer! I will also be coming out with video segments answering all these questions so stay tuned at our Youtube channel. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next time.

There are so many cosmetic products out in the market today and both men and women are on the lookout for the perfect regime for their skin. What does this mean? It means that people are always trying out new products at an attempt to piece together the perfect formula for their skin. This is a great thing and more people in the world should treat their skin with such care! However, from this, arises a question that every cosmetic lover will face during their journey.

Will my skin break out with every new product I try?

Cosmetic gurus already know there is an acclimation period and most know what that timing is for their skin. But for those of you who are new or just now starting to dive deeper into the cosmetic world, the acclimation period may catch you off guard! Many people decide to try a new product out only to find out it makes them break out, and ditch the product forever saying it’s not for them. Now while this may be true for certain products, the more popular case is that the skin is simply in the acclimation phase.

An acclimation phase is a period of time where your skin is adjusting to the new products. Your body is amazingly built and has a natural defense system that will react to anything foreign. For example, one of the many reasons you can get a pimple is because your body is fighting against a bacteria or some other microbe so that it does not infect your body. (I'll dive deeper into acne in a future blog article!) While this is an awesome mechanism to keep you safe from harmful infections, it backfires just a bit when it comes to cosmetics.

When you try a new product, especially one with different ingredients from your regular regime, your skin has no idea what it is. So it takes the “better safe than sorry” approach and begins a defense against it. And WHA-LAH, it looks like you are breaking out. But if you give the product a chance and keep at it, your skin will quickly learn that there is nothing to worry about. Typically, this acclimation or adjusting period lasts anywhere from 3-7 days. If after 7 days you are still breaking out or getting a rash from a product, then that is your skin telling you, “Nope, this ain’t for us.” So unless that happens, don’t be so quick to throw out new products!

Another reason people breakout from a new product is simply because they are using a product that draws out impurities. I’ll use our Mineral Water Mud Mask/Cleanser as an example. The mud mask is specifically designed to draw out impurities and unwanted oils of the skin so that your skin is healthy and radiant! Now while the oils on the surface will be quickly absorbed or washed away by the mud, the deeper impurities will need some time to be drawn out. As the Mud Mask/Cleanser does its job, the oils and impurities buried deep in your skin will slowly come towards the surface. This will appear and look the same as a breakout. However, this is a necessary process in cleansing the skin and your skin should clear up afterwards. How long this process takes will depend on the skin type. Some skin types will take only a few days while others, such as oily ones, may take weeks to months.

Hopefully, this was helpful to all the new and upcoming cosmetic lovers out there! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment below. You can also request a topic you want to know more about! Thanks for reading and keep loving your skin!