This message aims to show receptiveness to the larger discussion of acne treatment, to spread understanding & compassion for conscious doctors, and to reiterate the CLEARSTEM position of adding solutions to the world in a collaborative spirit for all.
*To everyone who chose a career to heal people, whether it's MD, TCM, Esthetician, ND, NP, Acupuncture, etc… We see you & respect you deeply!
As CLEARSTEM grows, so does the commentary from dermatologists who believe prescriptions are the only way to help acne. While we don’t see it worthwhile to get in the weeds with some of these folks, we do respect their perspectives as people.
They believe they are doing the best for their patients. We never want to come off attacking other humans, but more so addressing the pitfalls of the medical system.
Why CLEARSTEM is very triggering for traditional dermatologists:
1. Protecting the status quo. The mind fights to defend what is comfortable & familiar. To suggest that the methods and framework they are forced to operate within are no longer optimal threatens their livelihood. This is highly triggering, and we understand the instinctive resistance… especially after 4 years of medical school and all the loans associated.
2. Confirmation bias. This is a cognitive distortion that affects us all. It generally means that if we believe we are correct about something, we interpret new evidence as confirmation of that existing belief. We tend to inflate our opinions and subconsciously ignore any evidence that suggests the opposite, even when the evidence is undeniable from someone else’s viewpoint. This comes into play with the antibiotics cycle; sure, there are plenty of instances where antibiotics can temporarily clear acne. Treating bacteria (the symptom) without addressing the root cause of the skin infection caused by pore-clogging ingredients can result in patients relying on long-term antibiotic use for something that is not inherently a bacterial problem. But to the doctor who wrote the Rx, they see it working and that’s all they’re going to notice. Confirmation bias is activated.
3. There are only about 11- 20 hours of nutritional education in the average MD program. (“Nutrition Education in U.S. Medical Schools: Latest Update of a National Survey”). There is no money to be made by telling people how to eat well, so it's not a focus in our medical system. Even those 20-ish hours are mainly spent learning contraindications for prescriptions that they will be writing. As a result, every dietary trigger that CLEARSTEM talks about is completely foreign to them, and they are not equipped to talk about diet in a meaningful way as it pertains to acne.
4. Unfortunately, many of them have quotas. Sad but true. The fact is we live in a profit-based, pharmaceutical-driven healthcare system. Many primary care docs get penalized if they try to run labs deemed medically unnecessary, even if those labs are the ones you need to get to the bottom of your issue. An example is a stool or Dutch test. These are not readily available via average medical insurance and are not even an option for most providers.
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For an in-depth explanation of this, here's an interview with an ex-Pharma rep. https://open.spotify.com/
episode/ 30NOm1ioG5mpmoQCNEjNgF?si= sbp5cnv9R_2h0NmUTPiiLw
5. They have seen other skincare companies who don't know what they're doing cause tons of acne. They are not wrong. Derms are genuinely being protective. Most other skincare brands do not understand acne, nor do they have our decade of acne experience. Those other brands are a legitimate problem, and that's why we built our pore-clogging checker so customers can see what's really safe and as always, free education is woven into our brand at every turn.
6. They can’t keep track of the people for whom prescriptions didn’t work. Of course, they’ve seen Accutane and Retin-A work for many people. The people it didn't work for or who had to stop due to side effects or worsening acne don't return because they're now looking for better solutions. This population is HUGE, but they are now out of sight and out of mind once they start to look elsewhere.
7. Studies are generally paid for by drug companies because they have something to sell at the end of the study. This is just how most medical research works. All doctors rely on published studies, but this has its shortcomings and causes a gap in the legitimization of new or holistic solutions. Ex: nobody is going to pay $200K to conduct a study to prove that eggs are breaking people out. There is no ROI, so we must rely on shared experiential education and encourage people to test this for themselves.
All of these reasons are 100% understandable, and we want to reiterate that we love and respect the people working in the medical system. We just don't love the system as it pertains to acne.
There are groups who will find their answers in the traditional Pharma route, and then there are those who have been unserved and, in some cases, harmed by that framework.
We exist to serve those people.
I did Accutane THREE separate times and spent years on antibiotics and spironolactone. None of it worked for me long term and the side effects were brutal. That's why I started this work- I don't want people to suffer the way I did.
At the end of the day, we just want everyone to be healthy and happy because when your skin and health are at their best, you are at your best, and that's what the world needs.
With Love & Respect for All,
Danielle Gronich, CEO
