EP #80: Atlanta Acne Specialists - What is Corrective Skincare with Teri Eastin

Discover the secrets to flawless skin as Teri Eastin, the esthetician extraordinaire from Atlanta Acne Specialists, returns to the Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta for a revealing discussion on corrective skincare. Delve deeper than ever into the world of active ingredients with Teri's expert insights, learning how to strike the perfect balance to address skin concerns without provoking irritation. Say goodbye to the confusion of drugstore aisles—Teri guides us through the importance of product strength and the art of personalized skincare regimens. Whether you're battling scars, hyperpigmentation, or the natural signs of aging, this episode will arm you with the knowledge to transform your skincare routine into a targeted, effective arsenal.

As we age, our skin demands new strategies, and Teri is at the forefront with innovative solutions. This episode explores the evolution of her skincare line, now embracing anti-aging treatments with the introduction of corrective, custom facials. Embrace the 'less is more' philosophy as Teri explains the beauty of starting with gentler products to prevent irritation and the profound impact of consistency in your skincare journey. With guidance tailored to each client's unique needs, discover how a professional touch can lead to lasting results and confidence in your skin. If you're looking for the roadmap to a youthful glow, Teri's professional advice is the compass you need.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Risley.

Speaker 2: 0:12

Hello friends and neighbors, welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor podcast. Today I'm here with Terri Easton, licensed esthetician and founder of Atlanta Acne Specialists. Hi Terri, how are you? Hi Stacey, thank you so much for having me back. I am so happy to have you back, our listeners. If you don't know already, terri is our expert contributor for her specialty in Dunwoody Neighbor's Magazine. We're here today to talk about her latest article that will be in the March issue of Dunwoody Neighbor's. It is titled what is Corrective Skincare? Terri is going to answer the question for us today. Terri, what is corrective skin care?

Speaker 3: 0:55

In my mind, corrective skin care is having enough active ingredient in the product to make changes in the skin, like reducing scarring, reducing hyperpigmentation, working on fine lines and wrinkles, but not so much active ingredient that we are causing damage or inflammation in the skin, like irritation and peeling and extra dryness.

Speaker 2: 1:18

Well, I imagine that's a pretty fine line, or that's a hard balance to maintain, especially for those of us who are not acne specialists like you and licensed estheticians. So how do you help clients achieve that fine balance?

Speaker 3: 1:37

So it's interesting because it is sometimes difficult even for estheticians who have a lot of knowledge in skin care. I look at it kind of like not always, but the vast majority of drugstore products they are selling to everyone. So there's going to be a very small amount of active product in those sorry active ingredient in those products to help make a difference. You might see some improvement in the skin, but it's not going to be so strong that you might have a reaction.

Speaker 3: 2:07

Same for some prescriptions or more you know stronger or professional products. They can be too strong for the skin if you start out using maybe a stronger strength than you actually need too soon. So a lot of clients think more is better and sometimes it just drives you out and makes your skin really angry. So it's finding the fine line, and part of my job in creating our skincare line was to make sure that there were a variety of strengths of different products so that we can start out low for certain skin types or acne types and go stronger as needed, versus only having one strength of a product that your skin might get used to and it's not being as effective as it used to be, or have something really really strong that we have to somehow figure out how to you know, water down so that it's not too active for the skin.

Speaker 2: 3:00

So yeah, so so you guys have at Atlanta acne specialists. Y'all have a very, you know a variety of different products for treating, you know the, the severity of acne or the severity of, you know, hyperpigmentation. Like you said, you have a variety of lines that your clients are able to that you you could Do you like, not prescribed, because I know you're not, you don't prescribe, but do you Create a custom solution you know for for each individual client, based on their needs, with different product lines.

Speaker 3: 3:37

Yes, absolutely it's so. We only have one skincare line. It is our custom Private line, you know for, created for Atlanta acne specialists. But we do have multiple strengths of acne gels, multiple strengths of serums of one specific kind of serum as well as other serums and not to be down on drugstore products, because I think for certain skin types they're totally fine. But it's making sure that you have enough active ingredient that's going to make the change that you want to see in the skin is Really the most important component of the corrective skincare.

Speaker 2: 4:10

Well, I have a question. So I am a you know for lack of a better term, a Product hopper. You know, like I jump from product to product, I don't get maybe like what's on sale, because I'll I tend to do get more expensive stuff, but not, you know, not top of the line things either, and definitely not custom skin care like what you have. But I will, you know, get with on sale and I can't imagine that that's a good, a Good way to go about it, because I would. Even it already has that low amount of an ingredient and then I'm switching ingredients.

Speaker 3: 4:42

I'm sure yeah, I mean it totally depends. It depends on if you are just looking for basic skincare, right, I don't think there's anything wrong with switching from this cleanser to that cleanser, this moisturizer to that moisturizer. But if you are really looking to make changes in the skin, it's better to focus on one line, because everything is kind of synergistic. They, you know, certain products work really well with each other. Um, I, and then you know, is this change that you're trying to make in your skin? Do you need a vitamin C, or do you need a retinol or do you need a benzoyl peroxide? You know, that sort of thing is really where you know guidance from a skincare professional would be beneficial.

Speaker 2: 5:26

Yeah, that's kind of where I was going with that was. You know, I'm sure that they have just totally different active ingredients, all of which would be good if I stuck with that, stuck with something. But yeah, I definitely I want to make changes to my skin and I need to commit to taking care of my skin.

Speaker 3: 5:44

Right, like you know you might. Let's just say, for instance, you started with a vitamin C serum that you got somewhere and it had, you know, 20% ascorbic acid, and then you got another one and that one only had 10%, but you didn't know, because you don't know what's inside, and so it is kind of flip-flopping and so you may not see consistent changes, whereas if you stuck with the first thing all the time, then you're going to get that full 10% or 20%, whatever it is, consistently, and similarly to changing from product to product or product topping, like you said.

Speaker 2: 6:17

I'm going to coin that term, I think Right.

Speaker 3: 6:20

I think I need to See. I guess I haven't gotten the download yet, but I think she just bought product when it was on sale and she stuck with one line, which was great. But I was asking her she's been a client for a minute and I was like, would you be interested in, you know, trying our skincare? And she's like, sure, I'd love that. So I said, well, send me a picture of the products that you use and then I'll, you know, put together something custom that's very similar to what you currently use. So she's like that would be great. This lovely friend of mine, who is so dear and wonderful, sent me 14 pictures and it was not one product in each single photograph, it was multiples I 30 or 40 products that she was using. And so it's like, in ways, makes me so super happy that you are, you know, have so many products but you can't, possibly they can't be effective because you're not using them daily. There's no way you can't have a, you know, 40 step routine.

Speaker 2: 7:22

I mean I wish you could have she did to every hour, all night long, even when she's sleeping.

Speaker 3: 7:28

It's like, oh, I might use this today and I'll use this tomorrow and this other thing. So I put you know? I said okay, we're going to simplify everything. And she said yes, please, because I'm so overwhelmed. And I think she had four or five different vitamin C's and she had a couple different repinals and all the stuff. So when I put together this routine for her, I asked her the week or two later I'm like how's your skin doing? What do you think? And she said, oh my gosh. Number one it's so simple and I love it. And number two my skins never felt so good. So something about diversity is great too.

Speaker 2: 8:00

What a great testimonial. That is because I don't. I wouldn't have. If I had to send you pictures, it wouldn't be that many, but it would be quite the variety. So how much did you? Just out of curiosity, and I know this isn't super scientific, but I'm just curious. How many did you? How many products did you get her down to this, dear friend?

Speaker 2: 8:20

of yours like around Six or seven. Six or seven, so that's doable Like right From the morning, you do this in the evening? Absolutely yes, that would be. That's very doable, absolutely Well. So, terri, there was one. There was a piece of the article that I kind of would like to touch on. You talked about the reduction of scarring, acne scarring and I just know I have had friends who have dealt with acne scarring as adults that they had from their teenage or early 20s and they are having to seek out ways of trying to mask that scarring and all of that. But there was a part of the article that talked about reducing the chances of scarring. You want to touch on that for us a little bit Sure.

Speaker 3: 9:10

So it depends on how you look at it. So, with our clients because we are focusing specifically on acne our goal is to get the skin clear first, depending on the client. Sometimes there's some purging, sometimes there's some we call it pie or post-inflammatory erythema left over, and once we get that clear, then we can focus on the scarring. If we focus on scarring at their first appointment, which is what most of them would like to have done, it would be constantly chasing breakouts and then making more scarring. So our goal is to get the skin clear and then we start working on the scarring. And so mandelic acid is really fantastic for reducing that redness in the skin. Retinol is really fantastic for resurfacing the skin and it also is great for anti-aging because it's thickening up the epidermis from the dermal layers. So it helps with fine lines and wrinkles and it helps with the turning over the dead skin cells and focusing on resurfacing the skin.

Speaker 2: 10:09

So if I have a friend, for example, who has acne scarring and they are trying to deal with that, but they are now adults, I mean, their acne was years and years ago, so they don't have the redness per se but they kind of have some of the well, actually she does have a little bit of redness, but just more like the divots. I guess you would say Is that something that you at Atlanta Acne Specialists do? You see patients that they no longer are struggling with acne but they are still struggling with the consequences, I guess you could say, of acne.

Speaker 3: 10:46

Sure, we don't see it as much. Usually people find us when they have active breakouts that they're trying to get under control. But yes, retinol would be my first go-to for any kind of pitted or diverted scarring, because it is going to turn over those dead skin cells and thicken up the epidermis. So I like to start clients on that first before we do any kind of treatments. Microneedling is fantastic for scarring and and hyperpigmentation, so that's a really great option After you've been on a retinol for a little bit, to kind of let the skincare do a little bit of work first and then it makes the micronataling more effective.

Speaker 2: 11:25

Awesome. So you guys are. I mean, I know that you are linked to acne specialists, but you also treat people who don't necessarily have acne, that maybe are just wanting to focus on the anti-aging aspects of corrective skincare correct, because I would fall into that category. I have tons and tons of tons of sun damage, like I thought that tanning beds were the best thing in the world in college and I layed in them all the time and I am a very fair freckly complexion and I am paying the price of it. I'll turn 48 next month. My wrinkles aren't too, too bad, but I have just tons of sun damage and it's really frustrating. And I've already admitted and come clean and coined the phrase of being a product hopper, so would you be able to help someone like me as well?

Speaker 3: 12:20

Definitely, our products have always been what I would consider corrective, but we had focused strictly on acne for the last 10 years. And we get a lot of moms who come with their teenagers and are like, well, you've done amazing things for her skin. Like, what can you do for me? And we're like, all right, let's get you on a vitamin C, let's get you on a retinol. Have you ever used any kind of exfoliants at all? And kind of put them in the right direction.

Speaker 3: 12:46

And so, after talking to some of those clients and parents, I was like, why are we not helping people who need anti-aging benefits as well?

Speaker 3: 12:55

So yes, we could absolutely do that. We added a corrective, custom facial to our treatment menu and so, unlike acne prone skin, we would do like a 45 minute consultation and we tell you how our program works and go into all the details of what needs to happen if you're an acne prone person. For anti-aging it's a little bit different. So we might consult for 10 minutes in the beginning, find out your needs, what's been going on with your skin, and then do a treatment it's more of a traditional type of facial and then we would put together a custom skin care routine for you. We do ask our clients to work exclusively with us for at least six months so we can see what changes are possible to be made in the skin and then, if it's not what they expected or hoped for, then we can certainly they can move on to other things, but we do like our clients to follow our advice, use our products consistently so that we have for lack of a better word a little more control over the results they get.

Speaker 2: 13:54

Yeah, that makes sense completely, and to be able to track the progress and see which products are working for which types of skin and which. I love that y'all have your own product line designed specifically for you, and that's really a nice perk to be able to offer your clients. And I love what you said about that. You get a lot of moms with their. They come in with their teenagers and then they want to see what you can do for their skin as well. So very much so. That's a great way to focus on that anti-aging piece. Well, is there anything else? I know that in the article two you talked about specific products that could do. You want to touch on those, the specific products to avoid or was, I don't know if it was to avoid or if they were to use, but what? Or not products, but ingredients. I think it was.

Speaker 3: 14:57

There's not anything that I would say should never use, because they're not going to put ingredients necessarily that are going to be harmful to you although some people might debate toxic ingredients and whatever but as far as you just don't want to start out with the strongest thing you can find, let your skin acclimate to something so that it doesn't get peely, red and irritated. A lot of times clients will use too many active products and thinking again that more is better, and then they're dry and peely and the skin is the barrier stripped, and so then we have to work on correcting that. Excuse me, there was something that I thought of and now I can't remember it. My agent is picking up on me, but no, I think, if you know, less is more sometimes.

Speaker 3: 15:50

You know, simplify. You don't have to use 30 products to be able to get a result on your skin and it's probably going to be better if you just use a few. And you know, when you're talking about the active products or non-active products, you just want to. You know, try to keep it basic with a couple of actives and, you know, seek out a professional If you're. You know, like I've done as much stuff I feel like I can do on my own, and now I'm looking for something that's going to be a little more targeted.

Speaker 2: 16:24

Yeah, because I would imagine too that if you are a you know product hopper, like I am, and you are using vitamin C until that runs out and then you find something else that's on sale and it's you know, a different product entirely, you're focusing on two different things for your skin, so you never get the best results, like you said earlier. Sure, oh, I have a question. So what about? So if your typical client, like how often are they coming to see you and then how often you know how much of the of your custom product package that you put together for them based on their needs, like, how long of a supply do you get them, you know, before you increase or I mean because I imagine you are, like you said you might start at this strength and then you can increase as you go up. So how frequent are those? You know those intervals?

Speaker 3: 17:17

Great question. So acne prone clients we usually have them come in every two to four weeks in the beginning. Once they get clear, then we move them out to every, you know, four to six weeks and then sometimes every eight or so, depending on how how they're able to maintain their skincare at home. And then for the more corrective skincare clients, we usually say about every five weeks for treatments give or take. We know that schedules fluctuate and all that kind of stuff. So that's just a good rule of thumb to get a regular treatment. You know we have many clients that say you know, I just love how my skin looks after I have these treatments. It just, you know, blows and it feels so nice. So, you know, regular, consistent exfoliation. That's stronger than you can do at home with some light extractions. It's great.

Speaker 3: 18:08

The products that we will customize. It all depends on the person and which products we have them on. The initial custom kit for an acne prone client, the cleanser and moisturizer sunscreen is going to last anywhere from three to four months, sometimes a little bit longer. But the active products, which are the Mandelix serum and the Acne Gel, are going to run out sooner rather than later because we might need to bump them to a stronger strength and with the more corrective skincare, similar-ish. Some products are going to last longer than others. Expect to spend 175 to 225 give or take for that whole initial kit. And again it's you know. Some things will last up to three to four months, some things are going to last more, like six to eight weeks, and then we usually tell people to budget about 50 to $75 a month to replenish things as they run out.

Speaker 2: 19:08

Yeah Well, that's actually that's not nearly as bad as I would have expected, with it being, you know, your custom line, so a lot of the time, yeah, that's. I mean that really is a very reasonable price if anyone who knows how much you know, quality skincare costs a lot of times it's a lot more than that if you go to, you know, to the department store.

Speaker 3: 19:34

On the person. You know what they've been used to spending. So if you're used to going to, you know Target and getting, you know Sarah Bay or whatever and and dove soap then. But if you're used to using lamar and you know things like that, you might be like oh, I can get good skincare for them.

Speaker 2: 19:55

So we work in the middle. It's funny you said that of my daughter. She got a lamar sample of lotion that she gave to me Because it's for it's for for anti-aging and and it's a tiny little sample. But I was so sad when that ran out.

Speaker 3: 20:15

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 20:16

I mean that, yeah, if you're paying for that, if you're paying for lamar, you, you were gonna be pleasantly surprised. With your prices for sure. Well, terry's, are anything else that you want to touch on before we wrap up?

Speaker 3: 20:31

I think we kind of covered all we do today. I.

Speaker 2: 20:37

Love having a repeat guest that have topics that I'm really interested in. That is it makes it a lot more fun, exactly, girl talk and and coining phrases. So I am looking forward to the next time and we. I really appreciate you being on and for your support of our Dunwoody neighbors publication in the Dunwoody community.

Speaker 3: 21:04

Well, thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to be on and I look forward to next time.

Speaker 2: 21:09

Great Thanks, terry. Well, that's all for today's episode Atlanta. I'm Stacy Risley with a good neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.

Speaker 1: 21:20

Thanks for listening to the good neighbor podcast north Atlanta. Nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show. Go to GNP north Atlanta com, that's GNP north Atlanta com, or call 470 946 7 0 0 7.