Good afternoon!
First of all, I absolutely love your products, and your commitment to the environment.
I've been using your Prevention Complex Cleansing system for a couple of weeks now, and my skin is showing vast improvements.
I've been suffering from acne since I started birth control about 8 years ago (I suffer from endometriosis, and the pill helped
with some of my symptoms, but created some new ones). I've used certain products that seem to work for a time, but always
fail, leaving my skin worse off than when I started. I'm only 27 years old, but am already starting to see fine lines
and wrinkles, which I am certain is the direct result of nearly a decade of harsh acne treatments.
I wouldn't
say that I have severe acne. I would call it mild to moderate, but I have very sensitive fair skin, so any blemish I
get stands out like a traffic light. During pregnancy my skin got much worse, but I was granted a glorious reprieve
of perfect skin during the first few months of breastfeeding. I know it gets worse during times of stress, and am working
on changing my lifestyle to accommodate that, but I am still looking for a wonderful, natural, healing product that I can
use long-term.
I've had only one breakout in the last few weeks of using your products, and I'm
certain that it was due to some stress that I'm currently experiencing. I took a little more time to massage the prevention
cream into the effected areas, and my lesions healed quickly.
I have since purchased your lip
balms (love them) and your honey buns cream for my toddler (fabulous). I am looking into some of you other products,
but admit to some confusion. You have MULTIPLE products that state they help with eczema (something my daughter and
I both suffer from in the winter), so I'm not certain which one to try. Also, same with your acne treatments.
Should I stick with the prevention on a daily basis, or try the hive isolates (to help fade my scars). For more targeted/emergency
healing, should I get the acne healing balm, or try the high-potency lemon balm? I'm sure if I did a little more research,
I could probably find the answer, but I figured the easiest way to get an answer is to go right to the pros.
Thank you for your time, and your wonderful products,
Christina
Dear Christina,
I
know this sounds odd coming from one of the Formulators of these products,however, it gets confusing for us at times as well.
Each product can be effective for a variety of skin conditions. This is due to the healing properties of raw honey.
Honey has been used alone as a healing agent for over 4000 years. When honey is combined with the varying strengths of medicinal
herb tinctures the healing effect is more potent than honey alone. Products of various strengths are then recommended depending
on the severity of the skin condition and its symptoms.
I have seen severe
psoriasis and eczema respond most rapidly to the P & E Night-time salve. I believe it is because the salve acts
as a constant skin barrier protecting the skin so it can heal. I recommend it be used over the affected area and then covered
with a soft cloth. When it is impossible or impractical to have the thick salve applied (when at work, or out in public) customers
have used P&E Daytime Cream. It needs to be applied more frequently, perhaps every 4 hours in order to continue assisting
the body to heal. If you research the herbs used, one of them is chickweed. Chickweed has similar qualities to steroids which
are trypically prescribed to treat such skin conditions. Chickweed it is gentle and lacks the long term side effects of synthetic pharmaceuticals
like steroids. With children, it may only be able to be applied before school and then when they are home. If you could purchase
only one of these products, I would make it the nighttime salve.
As far
as acne treatment, the acute care recommendation would be the target cream especially if your immune system seems weakened
and if you experience infection in the lesions (puss) or redness surrounding the acne pimple. For isolated pimples
(a simple small breakout that does not seem inflamed) the salve is a good spot treatment. I use both interchangeably.
Your scars should respond to the Prevention Complex you have been using. If the scars you are referring
to are due to acne, continue to use the Prevention Complex.
If you were talking about stretch marks, new or old, I would recommend the Hive Isolates
Cream. If you are still having breakouts you would be benefiting from the Lemon Balm and Echinacea in the Prevention Complex.
The nurse in me thinks you are breaking out with stress, so your immune system is weak for whatever reason. Stress alone can
be the culprit. It sounds like your hormones may still be in a flux after having a baby and lactation. I've seen some woman
requiring a few years to re-balance after giving birth. My GYN told me that it takes as long as 5 years to shake
off the effects of birth control pills, so that may also be something to consider. Since you are fair skinned the Prevention
Complex will also keep inflammation down which can contribute greatly to scarring.
You did not mention a pregnancy mask. If you ever have uneven tone like this try the
Flawless. Once you are clear for a year or more you can certainly try the Hive Isolates for daily facial care. Different times
of the year, changes in humidity, etc., may make one product more desirable. Experiment.
Thank you for your loyalty. We value your input and feedback more than you
can ever imagine. Good luck and if anything is still unclear email me and I will try my best to give you more information.
God bless, and have a wonderful Holiday season.
Warm Wishes,
Judy
Hi,
Could someone please help explain
something to me. I have been using the Lemon balm targeting cream for almost a week now and my skin looks terrible.
I normally have problems w/cystic acne- but I seem to be breaking out worse. A LOT of white heads, black heads(
pores look congested ) and more cystic like bumps coming out everywhere.
I am aware that the skin needs an adjustment period of about 2 weeks, but is there a solid way of knowing
if the cream is simply just not working for my skin and is actually making me break out. I have been researching each
ingredient to find out if anything is pore clogging- but I am 38 and on the edge of tears with how bad I look.
I so desperately
need a moisturizer that works for both acne and anti-aging. I would really love for this to work, but would not be the
first time I just can not use a product no matter what is says for acne. Thanks again for your time.
Heidi
Dear Heidi,
Your experience with
cystic acne and skin irritation sounds like a difficult personal journey. From what you have shared regarding your condition
it is chronic in nature. In other words, there is not a "silver bullet," that is going
to be able to eradicate this condition from your life rapidly or with exacting specificity.
With the severity of your ailment, I wonder
if you have been able to find a single physician champion, who can act as your compass to navigate the causal factors precipitating
your complex condition. By complex, I am referring to the often multi-system dynamics that influence chronic symptoms. A skin
condition such as you are describing can have many contributing factors reeking havoc on an individual. After all, we humans
are complex in nature and because of that their is hardly ever one path in our lives that is single handedly responsible for
our illnesses.
Bear with me as I try to explain using the actual medical history experienced by someone
in my life.
Target was developed for someone very close to me suffering from chronic
outbreaks of herpes simplex I, known to the lay world as cold sores. The infection would cycle
as often as every 3 weeks. A fellow nurse, she was forced to work with patients having bacterial and viral infections. A break
in her skin was all that was needed for the viral infection to settle in and lie dormant in her nervous system. She was then
in her early twenties, had had a problem with acne breakouts all her life, which worsened with stress, both good and bad,
as well as her menstrual cycles which tended to be irregular requiring hormonal supplements.
When exposed to the simplex virus the infection traveled into her eye and
caused corneal scarring. When pregnant with her first child it manifested in a paper cut on her hand and she was unable to
hold her son without gloves at his birth.
Further complications
included a compromised her immune system secondarily induced by the Acyclovir and antibiotics used to treat her lesions. My
friend now suffered from chronic Staph infections because the normal flora on her skin was now attacking her weakened immune
system. Nothing seemed to work. I could expound more on her ailments.
My friend had a medical education
and shared my believe that the body is a complex system that must be treated as a whole and not by specialists who treat one
symptom and leave the rest to someone else. She enlisted the help of a like thinking physician. They looked at her lifestyle,
nutrition, medications, environmental factors, stress relief, (like meditation), hormonal influences in her life cycle, allergies
on and on.
With this map of herself, she was able to
identify triggers in her life that were contributing to her bacterial and viral outbreaks. May you also find a like minded
medical champion that can work with you on improving your well-being. Use our products as a tool, one of many to enhance your
healing.
Warm Regards,
Judy R.N., B.S.N.
Family Herbalist
Three weeks later here is Heidi's outcome...
It has taken this long, but my skin has balanced out in ways I have never seen. Almost
no cysts now, and the Target is not causing breakouts. I am very pleased and look forward to incorporating the other products
for a complete skin care program. Thank you so much!
Heidi
