KAVI Support

Yes, glycolic acid will exfoliate damaged surface layers of skin, exposing healthy new skin underneath. It will also stimulate cellular synthesis, slowing down the rate of premature aging on the target area. You may also wish to look into incorporating the Advanced Melanin Repair Serum into your regimen. The AMRS’ active ingredient (alpha arbutin) is a tyrosinase inhibitor that helps correct pigmentation variance. You can read more about it at http://www.kaviskin.com/products/advanced-melanin-repair-serum.html.

For the treatment of SK, a high-concentration, low-pH preparation of glycolic acid would be required for optimal results. For application on target areas below the neckline, we typically recommend a starting concentration of 40%, however, if your skin is not sensitive to glycolic acid, 50% may be suitable. Beyond published instructions, there wouldn't be any supplemental guidance for the treatment of SK with glycolic acid. Continuing the use of the 14% body lotion may be ok, though it really depends on that product's pH. If it is lower than 4.0, it may be wise to discontinue its use (at least on days when applying a KAVI glycolic acid mask), as it may lead to irritation and increased sensitivity to weekly peels.

Yes, that should be fine. If you do develop any dryness on subsequent applications of the peel, consider skipping the Toner on days when you administer the peel.

The above sequence is suitable, however the Toner should not be used more than once per day (and we recommend the evenings, to ensure your pores are clean before you retire to bed).

Glycolic Acid 50 and Salicylic Acid 25 are fairly strong products to start with, and if you do feel that these peels will be too strong for you, please contact KAVI Support to arrange an exchange for lighter concentrations. However, if you have had minimal to no irritation using products like RetinA, Hydroquinone 4, etc., and/or if you do not burn easily under the sun, the above peels may not be too strong for your skin type. When administering these peels (we recommend no more than one peel per week), you do have some control over their intensity by way of the length of time you leave them on your skin. For glycolic acid, the window for a full-length peel is 4 to 12 minutes, and for salicylic acid, it is 20 to 90 seconds. For the initial peels, we recommend 1 to 2 minutes for glycolic acid and 20 seconds for salicylic acid. Start with these initial numbers and monitor your skin's response. If redness subsides within 20 minutes of peel removal, for the following week increase peel time 1 to 2 minutes for glycolic acid and 10 seconds for salicylic acid. Monitor your skin's response once again and make a determination whether to maintain, increase, or decrease peel length for the following week. Also note that the contact intensity for Salicylic Acid 25 is very high, and you may find that it will be less irritating to you as a spot treatment (rather than as a peel) for your acne lesions or other pore-related conditions.

Glycolic acid can help accelerate the recovery process once your acne is in remission. However, keep in mind that switching from salicylic acid to glycolic acid may result in a return to the rate of breakouts you were experiencing prior to starting treatment with salicylic acid. One intermediary option you have is to apply each peel on alternating weeks to achieve the benefits of both (e.g., glycolic acid on odd weeks, and salicylic acid on even weeks). Alternatively, if you are using Salicylic Acid 15 purely as a spot treatment, you can introduce glycolic acid as a weekly peel, but be sure to avoid any spot treatments on skin that will be treated with a glycolic peel for a minimum of 48 hours prior to the administration of the peel. For example, if you decide to apply a glycolic peel every Wednesday, avoid any salicylic spot treatments on Monday and Tuesday. As for starting strength, Glycolic Acid 40 is comparable in potency to Salicylic Acid 15. If the latter has achieved your treatment goals with no irritation, then it would be reasonable to consider starting with Glycolic Acid 40. Glycolic acid is an effective way to address uneven texture, however there are many specialized treatment options for which glycolic acid can serve as an adjunct. We would recommend starting with glycolic acid and subsequently devising a targeted set of goals for your skin (if needed) for which you can then select the appropriate treatments.

We would advise using Salicylic Acid 8 to spot treat sensitive skin only. Likewise, we recommended Aqua KAVI instead of DermaWash because (per your post) your skin is not typically sensitive or dry. If your skin is in fact oily, then perhaps Coral KAVI would be a better choice. The Toner is a good product for mild acne, blackheads, and other pore-related conditions where higher dosages of salicylic acid may be too aggressive. For a moisturizer on oily or combination skin, we would recommend KAVI Hyaluronic Acid 95 or KAVI SPF30.

Based on your post, it does sound like you are at risk of overmedicating your skin and consequently exacerbating your skin conditions. Assuming no other antiseborrheics in your regimen, we would recommend starting with Aqua KAVI, twice per day. Its only active ingredient is 1% colloidal sulfur (analogous to 5% precipitated sulfur), and this may be all you need, given your successful history with sulfur. If you find that you require additional treatment, using KAVI Salicylic Acid 15 as a spot treatment for individual acne lesions can be beneficial. Try to avoid drying out your skin during the course of treatment and preemptively moisturize to avoid irritation and inflammation resulting from dryness.

As long as you are gentle and your skin is responding well to the sponge, it is ok and in fact can help along keratolysis of dead skin cells when cleansing with Aqua KAVI.

Leaving the peel on for more than 90 seconds yields diminishing benefits. You could consider upwards of three minutes per mask and application twice per week if you deem your skin tolerant, and when the time comes for a re-order, a stronger peel may be appropriate (however if you do increase strength, we would recommend following prescribed directions anew to determine your skin's tolerance to the new concentration before incrementing application length). Please be advised that any deviations from prescribed directions for any of our products are not advised unless otherwise directed by your physician.

Try switching from use as a once-per-week mask to a once-per-day spot treatment over specific pores that have formed blackheads, whiteheads, and cysts. When used as a spot treatment, salicylic acid need no longer be removed, however be sure to not expose a larger diameter than necessary to avoid irritation to healthy tissue surrounding the affected pore. Salicylic acid is not the proper product for hyperpigmentation. For more information on that skin condition and its treatment options, please have a look here.

What condition(s) are you attempting to treat, and for how long have you been leaving the peel on your skin?

To determine whether you are peeling from Salicylic Acid 15 or from dryness, consider the following questions: 1. Are you applying the mask where you are currently peeling? 2. Is most of the peeling occurring within 72 hours of application of the mask? If the answers to the questions above are yes, it is likely that you are peeling from use of Salicylic Acid 15. If areas such as your chin/mouth do not have much acne and hence no need for the peel, you may wish to exclude those areas from application to avoid any potential irritation. If the answers to one or more of the above are no, then we would advise no further application of Salicylic Acid 15 to said areas and for your cleansing routine to be reduced for a couple of weeks to see if peeling and/or dryness continues (e.g., cleanse only once per day using DermaWash, cutting out Aqua KAVI). Continue moisturizing with SPF30, applying as often as needed.

BP cannot permanently change how much oil your skin produces, and any dryness resulting from its use will recede over time. This fact, however, does not preclude starting with a milder course of treatment when considering KAVI products. The Anti-Acne System III is a popular regimen for first-time users, and the Normal/Dry series may be the right choice for you, especially if your skin is currently dry without the use of any oral or topical antiseborrheics. In that system, the Toner and Salicylic Acid 8 are the primary forms of treatment for clogged pores and blackheads, and you may want to consider using Salicylic Acid 8 as a spot treatment for the more stubborn comedones you encounter.

Our salicylic acid peels are unbuffered and prepared in an alcohol base to achieve an optimal rate of comedolysis and desquamation. As such, their contact intensity is far greater than alternative gel-based preparations. To avoid inflammation, our salicylic acid peels should not be left on the skin for longer than 90 seconds (60 seconds for most applications). When used as a spot treatment over a very small diameter, however, there is no need to remove the application. In contrast, we have been able to formulate our glycolic acid peels in a gel format without affecting potency. In a gel format, KAVI glycolic acid burns less than preparations in an alcohol base without compromising the rate of keratolysis or absorption into the skin.

Some answers to your questions... (1) This combination should be effective, however, if you are currently using only the BP 2.5% gel in the evenings, adding Coral KAVI to your mornings will significantly increase your treatment frequency which may in turn lead to irritation. (2) The need for the 2-week hiatus is to avoid compounding treatment during the transition. If you don't give your body an opportunity to metabolize the prior treatment before starting a new one, you may overwhelm your skin and sustain a period of inflammation, dryness, and irritation. Those with naturally oily skin tend to require less time between treatment cycles than those with normal or dry skin. (3) Cleansers without Coral KAVI's pH-balancing attributes can induce the body to produce more sebum as a means of correcting pH. Discontinuing use of Coral KAVI should not have an adverse effect on your skin more so than with what you replace Coral KAVI. If you switch to an alkaline soap bar, then you may likely observe that your skin is getting oily more often than when you were using Coral KAVI.

Great questions! Here are some answers: 1. KAVI SPF 30 is also a clarifying moisturizer and may be used in the evenings as well. It is popular with those who have acne-prone skin because it hydrates without clogging pores. Hyaluronic Acid 95 can certainly be substituted in its place, if you prefer. 2. They are both very effective. Complex P (with sulfur and BP) is better for those who have a sensitivity to salicylic acid, while salicylic acid is better for those who have a sensitivity to BP. 3. Aqua KAVI will work quite well to remove your makeup.

Only three of our products currently include sodium lauryl sulfate: Complex P, DermaWash, and the Sulfur Shampoo. We use only trace amounts of the ingredient as required to give these products their unique physical characteristics. The percentages that we use (0.75% in the Complex P, 1.5% in the DermaWash, and 1.25% in the Sulfur Shampoo) are significantly less than percentages found in major-brand skin care products (some in excess of 5%). There are lateral alternatives, such as ammonium laureth sulfate, that we do in fact use in some of our other cleansers, however neither poses a risk to skin in the concentrations we use them. If they did, they wouldn't be ingredients in our products.

It's difficult to say whether you will experience any irritation with your suggested routine: it depends greatly on your skin's sensitivity and rate of sebum production. BP and Tazarotene are fairly strong antiseborrheics, and while Aqua KAVI is more moderately dosed, it can't be ruled out that the combination may prove too strong for your skin. Generally speaking, if your skin tends to be oily, chances are you'll be ok. However, if your skin is normal to dry, we would not advise that combination. Our mildest cleanser is the Glycolic Cleanser 10, and though not primarily indicated for acne, its low pH will not disrupt your skin's acidity nor will any of its ingredients induce comedone formation. The Glycolic Cleanser 10 can be used safely on any skin type with BP, Tazarotene, and/or other strong antiseborrheics.

To treat the eye region alone, Complex A will suffice to reduce free radicals and the cellular oxidation that can lead to dark circles and puffiness under the eyes. For a preventive approach to the onset of premature aging, we would recommend adding the Glycolic Cleanser 10 as your twice-daily facial wash and the Glycolic Serum 15 as a daily hydrating treatment serum. For more intensive therapy, a once-weekly peel (such as Glycolic Acid 30, or Glycolic Acid 20 for sensitive skin) can help keratolyze damaged surface layers of dead skin to reveal the natural beauty of your skin beneath. All of these products may be found in the Anti-Aging System III or IV for Normal/Dry Skin (bundled together with reduced pricing).

It is safe, and the chance for irritation can be minimized if you ensure you don't expose the skin surrounding the infection site to salicylic acid. To spot treat, you only need a small dab right at the tip of the pimple. And no, glycolic acid will not help with bruising.

Great to hear of your success. Those red/brown spots sound a lot like residual bruising from the infection sites. The discoloration is mostly from blood pooling, and the best way to get rid of it is to wait for the blood and other cellular debris to be resorbed by the body. It can sometimes take weeks (or longer in rare cases), and unfortunately there is no way of which we know to accelerate that process. To minimize future bruising, it is important to keep infected lesions as small in size as possible. If you see a new pimple forming, spot treat it with a dab of Salicylic Acid 15 on a cotton swab to help neutralize the infection and keep it from getting any larger. Spot treatments may be applied once per day and usually only require 2-3 applications before the acne lesion begins to diminish in size and subsequently heal.

Assuming your skin tends to the oily side, Coral KAVI would be a good cleanser with which to start. And depending on your skin's sensitivity, a salicylic acid mask (start with 8% before considering a stronger concentration) applied once per week can make a great complement to the Coral KAVI. For a complete system, have a look at the Anti-Acne System III: it bundles these products together with a Toner, hydration serum, and SPF with significant savings over purchasing separately.

Choosing the right set of KAVI products depends on your son's skin's sensitivity and rate of natural sebum production. Because anti-acne products are antibacterial, antiseptic and antiseborrheic by design, it is important to identify the right product potencies and application intervals to minimize dryness and irritation without affecting efficacy. Because he has been on such an intensive regimen up until now, we would strongly advise he take a break from any anti-acne medications for several weeks to allow his system to flush out the BP and tretinoin to avoid compounding treatment with a new regimen. Following the hiatus, and based on his skin's characteristics, he may want to consider one of the KAVI Anti-Acne System III's to start. Whichever system he does choose, it would also be advisable to step into the system using a ramp, as discussed in this forum post. We always recommend you work with your dermatologist while undergoing treatment with KAVI products because we cannot provide medical counsel to you at any time before, during, or after treatment. We can, however, answer product questions or offer recommendations as they apply to the use of our products.

Neither of these peels will alter the natural color of your skin, so there should be no cause for concern.