I’ve been hearing this on and off from strangers since I was about 15. It gets humorous after many years, especially on days when I’m feeling highly energetic.


The reality is that troubled skin has many more problems than simply being prone to bumps. Acne prone individuals are also prone to thickening of the skin which can make their face feel heavy and look dull. This thickening, if not properly treated and worked on, can prematurely age the skin.


Another reason acne patients look tired is due to inappropriate acne treatment of all kinds. Drying up the eye and mouth areas will make someone temporarily look 10 years older in a flash. Don’t panic if this happens to you. It is completely temporary if you quickly find a more appropriate treatment for your situation. (Bootcamp members know to ask for assistance around here)

If inappropriate and unconscious use of products continues for many years, this dryness can act like a chronic sunburn and eventually cause premature aging.


Another aspect of acne prone skin that makes people look tired is an increased sensitivity of the skin and eyes. A large percent of chronic acne sufferers have skin and eyes that are very reactive and easily made uncomfortable. Chronic inflammation of the skin, eyelids, and eyes also makes people look tired.


In general, anything that is hot, red, and bothered for a long period of time is going to cause some wear and tear. This reality should create some sense of urgency. It is true of the knees, the bowel, and the skin. This idea has been elaborated in an older post entitled, “Time = Scarring”




One may ask, “Well Dr. Neal, where’s the optimistic twist?”


Here it is: Look closely at my wellness videos on the home page. You will see that, although I’m not a kid anymore, my skin is less tired looking at age 36 than it was at 26. The only time I hear, “you look tired” these days is when I’m off my maintenance game due to other passions and interests.


The only way to beat chronic inflammatory conditions is to work hard at them. The goal is to slow them down and eventually achieve what I call total inactivation, then emotionally heal from the entire ordeal. Once you are healed, your job is to maintain total control by doing whatever is necessary for your specific situation.

This philosophy is true for all chronic inflammatory conditions of the skin and body. Examples of other conditions that can be completely inactivated are IBS, chronic headaches, seb derm, joint pain, heartburn, and all other common ailments that are battled on the drugstore shelves. It requires great skill, hard work, and good weaponry to win the battle against inflammation.


Chronic ailments can be extremely frustrating because of the expectation that they are easy to beat. Once you get past the marketing machine that makes it seem easy, you’ll be focused in a place of reality and finally understand the mountain that stands before you. As the emotion settles and reality sets in, you’ll realize that you have no choice but to dig in and climb it.

It requires great energy to climb mountains. (that’s why I put the crossfit section in the blog)

give it a try,

-Dr. Neal

p.s. click here to see a great eyelid transformation.




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Benzoyl Peroxide is not needed in this advanced program. If you are scared of it for any reason, whether justified or not, I recommend the Minimal Kit and communication of all concerns on your day 1 email.


This program is not reliant on this single ingredient in any way. This is an advanced practice that was not created from the ideas of the 1980’s.
Every client’s program is customized to meet their needs and concerns.


We neither hype nor demonize the various weapons that are used to achieve our goals.


When this program is used properly, the products here do not cause dryness, aged skin, bleaching of clothing, irritation, or anything else to be feared.
Every concern has already been addressed and all situations can be navigated using communication.

-Dr. Neal

Do you think the imbalance of your liver is the cause of your acne?

I have read many online opinions about fixing a broken liver to “cure” acne. When these ideas are proposed, they are usually done so with passion, imagination, and emotion. Unfortunately, these ideas always lack evidence and the basic understanding of the physiology of the liver.


When confronted with this passionate and imaginative idea, it usually takes me no more than one question to immediately put a stop to this misconceived line of thinking.


And here it is:

If an imbalanced liver is the cause of acne, why don’t people with real liver failure have acne??

Every alchoholic, heavy drinker, binge drinker, hep c carrier, and those on the liver transplantation list should be crawling with acne?


However, this is not the case in real life thus the notion that the liver is the “cause” is proven to have come from imagination alone.


Many people on the liver transplant list have the most inactivated, acne free skin around. These are the clinical facts.

If fulminant liver failure does not cause acne, it’s safe to say that a little liver imbalance is not the cause of your longstanding acne problem.


To understand the “cause” of acne, read this blog post:
“What is the Cause of Acne”




These types of misconceptions bring up a much more important question:

“Why are people still desperately creating ideas for the cause of acne?”


The reason is this:

When a responsible family goes to multiple board certified dermatologists only to see minimal results and yet another prescription for the same topicals and pills, they begin to lose confidence in the entire medical system. With no other credible resource available to find guidance, guesswork and confusion take over, and one’s imagination can often times run wild.

We’ll talk about this loss of confidence in the system in future posts.

The lack of a universally recognized authority on acne is the cause for much anxiety around the world.

-Dr. Neal




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While working on solutions to difficult problems over the past 7 years, I’ve noticed that it’s difficult for people to distinguish a new invention from re-packaged old ideas.


To help everyone understand the phenomenon that is going on in this practice and the completely new paradigm of medicine that has been generated here, I’ll first need to share with you one of my basic personal philosophies:


I am an idealist when it comes to healing.

In short, unless someone is on their death bed, I strongly believe they can be transformed physically, emotionally, socially, energetically, aesthetically, and soulfully.

(This idealism was first sparked from my energetic optimism as a child. Idealism is often a childlike mindset that can be influenced by the hardships or joys of life’s journey.)


As a physician and healer, I fully understand that idealism without tangible evidence is simply wishful thinking.

When I first started my medical practice in 2004, I wasn’t sure if all cases of acne could be healed and prevented without oral medications. Based purely in my temporary gains and losses with this condition, I had a hunch that it was all treatable.

My mindset was: “That which can be improved upon, should be able to be totally controlled with the right amount of skill and weaponry”


In the pursuit of my own inactivation and to prove my hypothesis, I followed this optimistic hunch and in 2006, I began my investigation…

By 2008, only 2 years later, I had gathered enough HD video evidence to convince myself that no case was untreatable. I had begun to gain control over my own chronic problem and realized that my idealistic views were actually accurate in real life. The release of a new video every month on youtube is the fossil record of this original investigation. This is what I tell people who are hopeless:

“Simply watch the videos to see what I have already seen for years.”




Once I realized beyond a doubt that acne was always beatable, a new difficult question arose:

“How am I going to bring these multiple innovations to the world without letting people slip through the cracks as happens so frequently with other medical practices and acne systems?”


And with this simple question in mind, I’d like to begin our discussion about the philosophies of Idealism vs. Utilitarianism:

Utilitarianism:

(This description is from a perspective of medicine and healing)

Medical Utilitarianism in my mind refers to an approach and healthcare system whose primary goal is the greater good of society. A broad stroke that caters to the majority and allows, without remorse, outlying or tricky situations to fall through the cracks. While this type of system is critically important in a mash unit or emergency refugee camp, I find it unacceptable in a country where there is a bounty of medical resources. The reason so many people are slipping through the cracks of the system these days is because the medical system was originally created using the concept of utilitarianism and has not been updated since its inception.

Idealism:

(The full definition can be searched up and studied on the internet. This is my use of this word in the context of medicine and healing)

My philosophy of Medical Idealism is the concept of seeing every case as equal to the next. It’s the idea that a medical system should be able to help a group of people without hurting others. In my idealistic philosophy, 60%, 90%, or even a 99% success rate only sharply highlight the deficit of the 1% that is left to give into doom and gloom. There are many other doctors available to take care of the masses in a hit or miss urgent care type approach. In my system, I believe a single failure is not acceptable for the system to be considered valid and any failure heralds a complete investigation of the current approach. This is my version of medical idealism. In a world where there is no longer a shortage of doctors around, I believe a single practice with this level of idealism is very much needed to pick up all those who have slipped through the gaping cracks of the current medical and holistic systems available.

For example: 20 years ago, there may have been only one skin doctor in a small town. If this doctor saw 10,000 acne patients per year and helped 6,000 of them during his or her very busy schedule, there was room to celebrate this achievement. But some idealists may ask, “What happened to the 4,000 people who didn’t get better??” A utilitarian will not loose sleep over this question because they are still celebrating the work they have accomplished.


Now fast forward to 2011: There are skin clinics, aestheticians, dermatologists, and formulators everywhere. Are they still using this utilitarian philosophy despite the surplus of resources??! Unfortunately, yes they are. And hence the need for the creation of a new type of medical practice that rigidly holds the philosophy of idealism. There are more acne failures around than ever these days and, oddly, skin specialists are seemingly satisfied. This resignation and lack of mastery has become unacceptable in my opinion.




Think about this for moment: In regards to the most prevalent acne informercials that have been playing over the past 3 decades: Do you think they have helped or hurt our society as a whole?

The facts are these: They have helped millions with their ailments. But they have also hurt millions by causing emotional trauma and permanent scarring due to lack of timely treatment. When a company helps millions of people at the expense of hurting millions of people, have they helped society as a whole?? My answer is split in this particular situation.

In the 80’s when these commercials first came out, I believe they created a new conversation regarding skin care that was not present prior; a new way for people to get involved in the pursuit of their own ailments. These commercials led this early movement and in that way, have helped society in some respects. Where I believe they have hurt society is the way in which they advertise. Too many smiles and enthusiastic endorsements created, and continue to create, a dangerous hype that is an obvious setup for an impending emotional let down. For this irresponsible advertising, I say, shame on them. Shame on them for 30 years of not caring about those who are getting traumatized by failure both physically and emotionally.

These conversations will always beg the question:

“Dr. Neal, how are you going to bring your 100% success rate to the whole world for a reasonable cost without allowing for people to slip through the cracks??”




Here’s the answer:

At this time, the home version is a having a 100% success rate for anyone following the rigid system as outlined by the blog category. “How to be a Good Client”

It should be understood that every client is being observed for time-senstive participation in the email system.

To allow for a more rapid expansion and improved accessibility, the future interactive video version is well into development and testing. Stay tuned for the evolution of a global phenomenon that will not be released on TV until the new version meets the strict ideals of this practice.

As it was with the office version and is with the home version, it’s all or nothing around here. A proven 100% success rate or bust.

I hope this post conveys my firmly held philosophy and practice of medical idealism.

-Dr. Neal




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©2011 “Idealism vs. Utilitarianism” by Dr. Neal Schwartz