For most people, acne is an inherited condition of the pores. When someone is prone to acne, their pores clog with dead skin cells much faster than normal. Healthy pores shed about one layer of dead skin cells per day inside the pore, but acne-prone pores shed up to five layers of dead skin cells per day. The body just can’t keep up with keeping the pore clear. Learn more about the causes of acne.

You cannot cure acne but you can have clear skin if you know what you are doing. There are a few key concepts that you need to know to get your skin clear and get rid of acne.

1. You need to use the right acne products for your type of acne. A product that is good for inflamed acne (pimples, pustules and cysts) will not be good for non-inflamed acne (blackheads and whiteheads)
2. You need these products to be strong enough for your type of skin. If they are not, your skin will not change much. If they are too strong, you will irritate and dehydrate your skin; and you will still break out.
3. You need to use these products in the right way. It takes strong products to get acne under control, but if you use too much too soon, you will irritate and dehydrate your skin. You must start slowly with strong products.
4. You need to account for skin adaptation. This means you cannot allow your skin to get too “used” to products. If you do, then your skin will stop responding and not get clear. It takes adjusting your skin care regimen routinely.

Does this all sound like tricky business? Yes, no doubt that it is.

These are the main reasons you need an acne expert to guide you in the process of getting your skin clear. We know what it takes to get and keep your skin clear and we know how to get rid of acne once and for all!

Our Acne Clinic has a unique system for helping you get clear skin. In working with thousands of acne sufferers, we have learned the fine art of knowing exactly what products to use on your type of skin and your type of acne.

Our system works by taking into account:

1. Your skin type
2. Your acne type
3. Your skin condition
4. How fast your skin adapts to products
5. Lifestyle considerations that could be affecting your skin.

We test your skin before we give you a home care regimen and give you the strongest home care products that your skin will tolerate, specifically chosen for the type of acne that you have.

Our aestheticians always assess your skin condition every time you come in for a treatment. If your skin is irritated and dry from product use, then we will have you back off your routine somewhat for just a few days.

Most importantly, we coach you on how to use your products. Even the best acne products will eventually stop working if you are not using them correctly. Using products too frequently can irritate your skin; not using them enough can slow your progress. One of the most important aspects of our system is our ability to coach you as your skin adapts so that your skin never becomes too used to your home care routine. If you use products the same way for too long, your skin quickly adapts and your acne will return.

While getting your skin clear, we will work together to adjust your home care routine. A well-managed routine will prevent acne from forming in the first place. Our Acne Clinic’s acne specialists know how to finesse the push and pull of managing your regimen. Working together with us, you can and will have clear skin.

If you truly want to get rid of acne, let our experienced acne specialists guide you.

Yes gender and age can be factors in acnetic breakouts. Hormones can play a much larger role in adult females and teens as opposed to adult men. Stress also effects acne in females more often than in males. Lifestyle choices between adults and teens have a great impact on acnetic breakouts as a lack of knowledge in good skin-care affects teens more often than adults. Makeup also plays a huge role for females of all ages. Birth control also plays a significant role in women of child bearing years.

Typically, the Brilliant Bodywork Face Reality program requires you to invest about $100 to $150 for the set of products you initially take home. Most of the products last you quite a long time (Two to three months). The real active ones are purposefully put in smaller containers as these will be strengthened at different points in your treatment plan.

The treatments are $60. It typically takes about six treatments over a 3-month period to see results. If you come in for a consultation only, the cost is $50. If you come in for a consultation and first treatment, which is what most people do, you pay for the treatment only.

The first appointment with consultation is scheduled for about an 1 ½ hour and subsequent appointments for 45 minutes.

It depends on whether you get just a consultation with us OR you get a consultation and treatment with us. The consultation by itself is $50. If you, however, come in for a treatment, which is $60, the consultation is free. This is what to expect from your first appointment:

1. We consult with you regarding your acne experience and your prior acne treatments
2. Analyze your current acne situation
3. Review and provide you with lots of useful information regarding life style, products, diet, and any medications.
4. Take pretreatment pictures,
5. Test your skin for sensitivities,
6. Make initial product recommendations and show you exactly how to use the products effectively. (and, if you are getting a treatment),
7. Finish with the first treatment, which includes exfoliation and extractions

We either do a very mild chemical peel on your skin or we do a gentle enzyme with steam. Generally speaking, neither of these are uncomfortable and may result in some very mild peeling. We then do extractions of your acne.

For most people, there is a slight discomfort but it’s very tolerable.

It’s the fastest way to get clear – we extract the current lesions out and your home care plan prevents the new ones from forming. It takes up to 90 days for acne to form and come to the surface, so in the three months that we are working with you, you will have some breakout. These are just old lesions coming to the surface that we extract every two weeks.

Yes. The Face Reality products selected for you have been specially chosen to match your treatment plan. To ensure your success we want to make sure you are not using one of the many products on the market with pore-clogging ingredients in them. Acne is tricky enough to treat – we do not want to take any chances with comedogenic products, many of which do more harm than good.

If you live close enough to Brilliant Bodywork, it is in your best interest to get your acne treatments from us. That is the fastest way to get clear; and also allows us to monitor your home care to make sure the proper adjustments are made along the way to get you clear in the fastest possible time.

No, we cannot take traditional insurance. You can use your Health Spending Account (HSA) for Face Reality at Brilliant Bodywork. If you have a Flex Spending plan, you will need to submit a receipt of treatments. We recommend that you check with your plan to be sure.

Our system works by taking into account the type of acne you have, the type of skin you have and how fast your skin adapts to products. We keep pushing the skin to clear with products that penetrate the pore where acne starts. We don’t push it past its tolerance however, because we don’t want your skin dry and irritated. The products prevent the new acne lesions from forming; we extract the existing acne lesions out and in about three months your acne is under control.

Our high quality blended corrective peels have multiple purposes including thorough exfoliation, softening of comedones and they also lighten dark spots. They also prepare the skin for maximum absorption of your homecare products. They can help with signs of aging, as well. Our certified aestheticians can explain more at your appointment if you have additional questions.

If you do our program we will need you to stop your prescription products. We have found that they make the skin much too sensitive to use our system. Therefore, we generally do not recommend the use of any of them with the Face Reality System.

Acne can be very challenging to get under control. To eliminate the variables, we require that you use only our products. Neither of us want an outside product causing a problem that will make getting clear more challenging and time consuming.

If you do your Face Reality homecare exactly as prescribed and come in every two weeks for your treatments you will most likely be clear in about three to four months. Some people might take a little longer depending on the nature of their acne and how closely they adhere to the plan.

You will most likely need to use products to control your acne until you outgrow your acne; and unfortunately, no one is able to predict exactly when that will happen. Most people do outgrow their acne as they move past their teens, so the rule of thumb is you should plan on using them until clear and then occasionally test to see if the underlying conditions that have been causing your acne have improved.

We will take clients at whatever age they are breaking out. Acne does not discriminate – neither do we. The earlier it is treated and cleared the less scaring and permanent damage to the skin will occur.

Most people are slightly pink to lightly red after extractions – there’s no way around it. So, you really need to plan ahead and make sure you do not have a special event within 24 hours of getting a treatment.

For women – we have an incredible mineral makeup that covers the pink and red while still looking very natural. Unfortunately, there is no product that will take redness away. Only time can do that.

You will see one of our Certified Aestheticians who are also Certified Acne Specialists. Each of our specialists are trained in the same Face Reality protocol so we all do the same thing. If you want a guarantee of seeing the same person each time, it is recommended to pre-book several appointments in advance to ensure a specific specialist

We recommend that you wait at least two weeks before you come to see us. This will ensure that your skin will not be too irritated to use our home care system.

We are medically supervised by a doctor but do not have any physicians on staff. We are aestheticians licensed by the State of Wisconsin. Most doctors of dermatology refer their acne treatments to specialized certified aestheticians like us and do not do Face Reality treatments. If there is anything about your skin condition that requires a prescription, or we believe requires advanced medical care, we will refer you to a qualified dermatologist.

We spend more time with you than a busy doctor, allowing us to focus on all of your skin care concerns. We keep updated with the latest research about acne. We have the best and most effective acne products that do not require a prescription. We have compassionate and empathetic clinicians who also have had acne, so we know what you are going through. We give you honest and straightforward answers to all of your skin care questions; and if we do not know the answer, we will do research. We keep in close contact with you throughout your entire journey of getting clear; making sure that your home care is working properly, and your skin is responding. We are hands-on with you in working with your skin, your skin type, your acne type and always do extractions in your treatment appointments.

We can still treat you for acne, but first you will have to get a list from your doctor as to what ingredients they want you to avoid.

Acne scaring at times can seem worse that the acne itself. Rest assured that not only will our acne specialists help you clear your acne, we can help with any scaring that has occurred as well. Scaring occurred from acne will differ in severity greatly and we offer several different treatment options. We will cover this with you in your initial consultation.

Yes, we do treat this condition with remarkable results.

We do, but we never do it for acneic conditions. We prefer to use our corrective peels that also help to lighten dark spots.

We are acne specialists; but we can also treat a variety of skin conditions including rosacea, hyper-pigmentation, sun damage, pre-mature aging, and other skin conditions. Your aesthetician will cover this in your initial consultation.

It is standard business practice to pay for your next appointment in advance with a credit card number. We want to know that you are as serious as we are about helping you have clear skin.

Yes we have discounts of 5% to 10% – when you join our Unplug Recharge Community.