Ep 192 – Beards and Bacteria

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Sign up for a wholesale account today at truthtreatmentspro.com and receive 10% off your first order. That's truthtreatmentspro.com. Hello and welcome to ASCP SDTAC. I'm your co-host Maggie Stasic and ASCP's education program manager. And I'm Ella Christman, licensed aesthetician, certified organic formulator, ingredient junkie, and content contributor for associated skin care professionals. So I saw recently women on the internet are sharing their experiences and fears of getting rashes and infections on their faces after kissing men with facial hair. Okay. How much are they kissing? How are they kissing? Yeah. I've had it before where I've had like, I mean, this is long time ago has been if you're listening, like, you know, just like a little bit of sensitivity, but never in infection. True. But this is before the beard boom. The beard boom. Yeah. So I've got questions, right? As a statisticians, right, me and Ella, we had to address this issue because there is more happening here than just beard burn. Exactly. First of all, my first question is how are you making out with these people? Second of all, we know that technically beard burn is a type of dermatitis when you're breaking down the word derma skin, tightest irritation. It causes this contact that causes irritation, inflammation, redness, swelling, itchiness, or any other type of discomfort on the skin. So in short, we have a breakdown of skin barrier, which makes sense because the corneums are rotted. It's allowing for yeast and bacteria to enter the skin. Oh, this gives me the hibi jibis. This freaks me out. My husband has a beard, right? Luckily, I know his hygiene habits. I know he's very clean, but can you imagine being a single person now in this beard boom? Yeah, I don't want to think about it. Now that I've heard this, this is going to freak me out. So how much bacteria do beards have? Let's find out. Okay. So we know particles from food and even pollution there can build up on the beard. I've seen that happen. It's inevitable, right? It's just going to happen. Yeah. The beard can make micro terrors in the skin, and this is what's leading to the infection we're just talking. We call that dermatitis when you get that irritation. At 2019, study published in the European Radiology Journal, compared bacteria from men's beard to the fur on dogs neck. And it found that human beards had higher microbial count than your dogs collar. Yeah. So the idea behind this study, I thought, was really weird, but interesting. The reason that it was in this European Radiology study was because they wanted to know if they could use the same machines for both dogs and humans, or if really they needed to reserve a radiology machine for humans and a radiology machine for dogs. For like X-ray? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And discovering in this study that dogs had less bacteria than men with beards, they determined, wow, look at that. The dogs don't have much bacteria. So let's all let's share the equipment one machine, one machine. Oh my goodness. Kind of weird. Yeah. Yeah. So to contradict that, there was a 2018 study it was conducted by University of Pennsylvania. It tested 409 hospital workers and found that bearded men carried fewer bacteria than clean shaven men. And the micro trauma of shaving caused more bacterial growth. Let's talk about that for a minute. Yeah. Because we know that there's the acid mantle barrier. That barrier has an influence on the immune function of the skin. That barrier is, I mean, everybody has bacteria on their skin. Good or bad, right? And that imbalance is what can cause skin issues when the bad takes over the good. So if you're scraping off the barrier, essentially, you are every single day versus having this hair or the bacteria can in my brain play hide and seek. But I feel like most, maybe just a wishful thinking too, most with beards are going to take really good care of that. They wash it. They write. Maybe I don't know, but it's possible that people are not washing the beard and they're just washing the exposed skin on a daily basis. Maybe people with a beard are only getting that beard washed like when they're in the shower. I think that this study possibly could be skewed as well because it says hospital workers. So I am envisioning people that are wearing a mask every day. And if they're comparing those mask wearing individuals who have beards and don't have beards, potentially I could see clean, shaven individuals having more bacteria, even more yeast on their skin because the beard is almost like a second layer of protection. So if that person's shaving every day and in theory, if they have micro tears from shaving, and then they're putting a mask over that, which they're breathing into, they're developing more, yeah, they're developing more yeast and bacteria on the surface of their skin. This is all making me really creepy. I'm very uncomfortable. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just like making this up as I go, but it kind of makes sense to me. Luckily I only have like three chin hairs. I don't have a full on beard. I'm going to still get them and wash that bacteria out, freaking me out. Hold that thought. We'll be right back. DMK is the world leader in paramedical skin revision education with certification programs designed to give licensed professionals a thorough understanding of the skin and an in-depth study of the DMK concept of remove, rebuild, protect, maintain. 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I know that I have some clients who have beards, like on that note, speaking of like cleansing their whole face, and this obviously alters the way that you can peel, like I gave a gentleman a peel through his beard. Okay, tell me about that, how much beard are we talking? It's at least three inches long. Wow, okay. And I would just, but then it's kind of like maybe one inch in some areas. Okay, like longer. Yeah. And I just, when I cleanse, I basically, you know, run my fingers through the whole area, go back and forth. The challenge is making sure all the cleanser is removed, so then I go back in with him in particular, and I use another. It's not a toner, but it's more of a preparatory product, and just make sure I got everything. And then with the peel, I don't, he wants to look good. And I do a different solution on exposed skin than I do on the other skin, but I do them on both different molecule sizes so that at least he's getting that exfoliation stimulation, that I expedited exfoliation in two different areas. So it works so far because he has shaved a couple of times and it's even no, no lines, but it's different. It's a different process. I use a, you remember old glycolyx swabs, like a huge q-tip? Yeah, the ran swabs. I use those and on the beard, because you can get in and you almost like scrub back and forth up and down in between the hair. Yeah, okay, smart. I think that all of this is an opportunity for individuals to add, like quote unquote, beard facials or beard treatments to their service menu. That's a whole another demographic. If so, I would definitely include, with this information, the high frequency comb. Smart. Yeah. Well, I've seen it done before, but I would do the high frequency comb absolutely after understanding this information because I think that would help kill some of the malicious bacteria for sure or even out the bacteria. And also educating your clients on treating the skin beneath the hair. I love that you said that. I love that you said that because to me, that means they're having a balanced barrier and that balanced barrier means good bacteria. Not like the kind that's going to make me sick. I see you scratching. Yeah, from kissing me. Like, oh, it's like, I'm having a visceral response right now. I'm just like thinking of all that you know, I'm going to go home and like, Jane Goodall, my husband's here to make sure that there's no bugs or weirdness in there, no red stuff, and then like Vincent into the shower and then kiss him all up. Because that's a little creeped out totally. So should your clients be experiencing dermatitis regardless of how they developed the dermatitis? It's important that you're avoiding those active ingredients, keep the area dry, keep it clean, and also when in doubt, don't treat absolutely. If the skin is super inflamed, if they're in a state of compromise, that's beyond yours, best to send them home with a product that will help balance their barrier before because a strong barrier means a strong treatment and a good outcome. Okay, so let's talk about this. Now you have a client, I'm going to say my friend, met a person, went out on a couple dates, went really well, you know in the beginning, you're kissing like crazy. And they have beard burn. What are we going to do? How do we recognize it? What are we looking for? Well, I don't think you can recognize quote-unquote beard burn, but you can recognize, like we've said, dermatitis or irritation in the skin or inflammation in the skin and then determine how to proceed in reducing that inflammation and healing the skin. So would you, okay, would you, when we're in consultation, hi, how are you? Good to see you again. Okay, you've got, like you're in this investigatory stage of what could have happened. And you're asking all these questions, would you ask by chance, have you been kissing anyone with a beard? Did you have a make-out sash? What happens? Yeah, get down and dead on your date. No, I wouldn't ask that. And I guess if I'm thinking about it, if I were to see some kind of rash around the mouth, my first thought would be this individual is having eczema or they're having food allergy or chaps lips or what's happening. That would be my first thought. Yeah. I wouldn't think they've got beard burn. Right. So, but I mean, I guess the treatment would be the same, but would you, maybe they are not connecting the dots either. It could be. Yeah, I think it depends on the client. How often have they come to me? How close are we? And it would be up to the client to tell me what they think is going on. You know, if they're not connecting the dots, like God love them. Bless their heart. Bless their heart. I may say something I would potentially. Let me say how I think I would handle the situation. Okay. How I might handle the situation is I'd use my friend. I'd use a story about my friend. And I, because luckily I have that personality where I can, in a little more casual, professional casual. I would probably say something to the effect of are you dating? Did you have it? Like, you know, let me tell you a story of my friend. It could be that. It could be your toothpaste. It could be these other concerns. And the only reason is none of my business. The only reason that we want to know is so that we can understand how to treat. So if we're making it more solution-based, then they may share that. And then from that, another thing we can say is go get them. Here's another product that you might want to use before your next date. That could offer some support, like a barrier of some sorts. Yeah. Yeah. Barrier bomb. Barrier bomb. I would do that. Would you be comfortable with that approach? Totally. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Maggie, the other thing about this is this is perfect timing. Father's day. Good gift ideas. A really good beard cleanser. A beard oil to keep it balanced. I mean, just something to think about. Maybe a gift certificate for a beard facial. So keep that in mind. Great gift ideas for the men in new life, whether you're single and dating or been together for a long time. It's still a great opportunity to clean it up. Now listeners, we want to hear from you. What did you think of this episode? Share with us on social media through Instagram, Facebook, or by emailing GetConnected at ASCPSkinCare.com. Thank you for listening to ASCP SDTalk. And as always, for more information on this episode, or for ways to connect with Ellen, myself, or to learn more about ASCP, check out the show notes.