Codex Labs

Sunscreen. Hat. Shade. And still — flushing, redness, burning. With rosacea, UV protection is essential but it's rarely the whole answer. Heat itself is one of the most common rosacea triggers, causing vasodilation — the widening of blood vessels just beneath the skin's surface. In summer, UV exposure and heat happen simultaneously, which is why even careful sun habits don't always prevent a flare. Sunscreen itself can also be part of the problem. Chemical filters, alcohol, and fragrance are common irritants for rosacea-prone skin. Mineral filters — zinc oxide, titanium dioxide — are generally better tolerated, but formulation still matters. A technically "mineral" sunscreen loaded with fragrance or heavy emollients can trigger just as much as the sun it's meant to block. Summer with rosacea isn't about avoiding everything. It's about understanding what's actually driving the reaction — and making choices that reduce the overall load. ☀️ #rosacea

Acne doesn't stop at the jawline — and neither does the SHAANT collection. The face and body scrubs work gently but consistently — clearing congestion, balancing oiliness, and exfoliating — without leaving skin feeling punished. The kind of routine that doesn't make your skin worse when trying to make it better. Both are microbiome-certified. Then there's Spot Hero — for the moments when a breakout shows up uninvited and you need it gone fast. A 5% sulfur blemish treatment that gets to work, without irritation or bleaching. Benzoyl peroxide-free, benzene-free. Three products that work together — against acne and for clear skin. #acneskin #pimples #blemishes

You were told it was just your eczema getting worse. You were told you were afraid of a medication that was helping you. You were told to keep applying. And all along, something was happening in your cells. Topical steroid withdrawal has existed as a lived experience for decades. People have documented it, named it, built communities around it, and fought to have it taken seriously by the medical system. For most of that time, the response was disbelief, skepticism — or silence. The symptoms were overlooked as eczema. There were no diagnostic criteria. There was no test. Without biological evidence, it was difficult to treat something as a distinct condition rather than a patient's interpretation of their own disease. So it was dismissed, sometimes as a mental health problem. In 2025, NIH researchers found specific biological markers in the skin cells of people going through TSW — physical evidence that distinguishes it from eczema at a cellular level. For the first time, there is something to point to. Something visible. Something that exists outside of patient reports and online communities and years of being brushed aside. Finally, researchers started proving TSW was real. The biological proof was always there. It just took science a while to find it. #tsw #tswcommunity

Being a mother means showing up even when it's hard - through the sleepless nights, the doctor visits, the skin flare-ups that break your heart a little. You take care of everyone around you without thinking twice. Today, we just want to remind you - you deserve that same care too. Happy Mother's Day from Codex Labs. 🤍

Some soaps clean your skin. Some strip it. BIA Unscented Soap is cold-processed, fragrance-free, and formulated with shea butter, cocoa butter, and olive oil — ingredients that cleanse without drying or disrupting the skin's natural balance. It's the world's first cold-processed vegan soap to receive Microbiome-friendly certification. Meaning it cleans effectively while keeping the beneficial microorganisms on your skin exactly where they belong. For sensitive, eczema-prone, or compromised skin — gentle cleansing isn't a luxury. It's part of the routine. 🤍

If you have an HSA or FSA, you may be able to use pre-tax money for clinically-backed skincare — including products designed to treat eczema, acne, psoriasis, or rosacea. The short version of how they differ: HSA: yours to keep, rolls over every year, can grow like a savings account. Best for long-term health spending. FSA: employer-based, usually expires at year end. If you have funds left, now is the time to use them. For skincare to qualify, it typically needs to be recommended for a diagnosed condition. A Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from your provider is usually what makes it eligible, and platforms like Truemed or Gale can now generate one digitally at checkout, without a separate doctor visit. Codex Labs products qualify in the US. Link in bio for the full guide on how to use your HSA or FSA for skin health.

Eczema moms know the mental load. It’s the constant guessing: was it the weather, the detergent, the pajamas, the bath, the food, the air? And when you’ve dealt with eczema yourself, seeing your baby go through flare-ups makes you want to pay even closer attention to what might actually help. That’s why I was so excited to see that @codexlabs formulates an Infant & Toddler Skin Barrier Support supplement. It’s been an easy add-in for us and I love having another way to support his eczema-prone skin from the inside out. Use code THEMODERNLATINAMAMA for 15% off. **Always check with your pediatrician before adding anything new for your baby. Comment ECZEMA and I’ll send you the link, or click the link in my bio to shop and don’t forget to use my code. - #eczema #eczemarelief #codexlabs #momlife #babywellness

Eczema-prone skin isn't just more sensitive — it's structurally different. And that difference matters the moment you step into the sun. A disrupted skin barrier means UV radiation penetrates more easily, immune cells are quicker to react, and the risk of triggering a flare is higher — even after short sun exposure. But the sunscreen itself can be part of the problem. Chemical filters like oxybenzone can irritate already-compromised skin. Mineral filters — zinc oxide, titanium dioxide — sit on the surface without penetrating, making them generally the better choice for eczema-prone skin. SPF is non-negotiable. But for eczema-prone skin, formulation matters just as much as the protection factor. 🤍 #eczema

Most people have never heard of L-histidine. But if you live with eczema — or care for someone who does — it is worth understanding. 🤍 L-histidine is an amino acid, one of the building blocks the body uses to make proteins. What makes it particularly relevant for skin health is where it ends up. In the skin, L-histidine is rapidly incorporated into a protein called filaggrin — and filaggrin is one of the most important structural proteins the skin barrier has. Think of your skin barrier as a brick wall. The cells are the bricks. Filaggrin makes those bricks strong so they don't crumble as they stack — it makes strong cell walls that prevent water from escaping, and it helps the cornified envelope stop allergens, bacteria, and irritants from getting in. Without enough filaggrin, the wall develops gaps. The bricks crumble. Water leaks out. Things that should stay outside get through cracks. The result is skin that is chronically dry, reactive, and inflamed. This is the biological reality behind most eczema — not bad luck, not poor hygiene, but a structural deficit in the skin's own architecture. There is a second role L-histidine plays that is equally important. When filaggrin breaks down naturally as part of the skin's renewal process, it releases L-histidine as a free amino acid — and that free L-histidine becomes part of what is called the Natural Moisturizing Factor. This is a collection of molecules that sit within the skin cells themselves and help them hold onto water from the inside and balance skin pH to support the skin's microboime. L-histidine is, in other words, a structural input, a hydration mechanism and a pH adjuster. The body cannot synthesize L-histidine on its own. It must come from diet or supplementation. In infants, it is considered essential — the gut flora capable of releasing it are not yet fully developed. In people with eczema, whose filaggrin production is already compromised, the demand may outpace what a normal diet provides. #lhistidine #healthyskin #eczema #eczemaessentials

You did not eat badly last night. You did not forget to wash your face. You are not unclean. And yet, there it is — an angry red pimple, right on cue. Acne has nothing to do with dirt. The science is pretty clear on why. 🔬 WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS INSIDE A PORE Every hair follicle in your skin is connected to a tiny sebaceous gland that produces sebum — an oily substance that helps protect and moisturise your skin. Normally, sebum travels up through the pore and out onto the skin surface. Clean, simple, useful. The problem begins when that process breaks down. Dead skin cells lining the pore — called keratinocytes — start clumping together instead of shedding normally. This is called follicular hyperkeratinization. Combined with excess sebum, they form a plug that blocks the pore from the inside. No amount of face washing caused this, and no amount of face washing alone will fix it. THEN BACTERIA ENTER THE PICTURE Your skin is naturally home to a bacterium called Cutibacterium acnes (formerly Propionibacterium acnes). Under normal conditions, it is harmless — even helpful. But inside a clogged, oxygen-deprived pore, one virulent strain thrives. As it multiplies, it breaks down sebum into free fatty acids that irritate the surrounding tissue and trigger an immune response. That inflammation is the red, swollen, painful thing you see on your face: the pimple. Pimples are not the infection — they are your body fighting one. WHERE DIRT FITS IN Not at all, really. Blackheads look dark because sebum oxidizes when exposed to air and UV from the sun — not because of accumulated grime. It's like a cut apple turning brown. Scrubbing harder does not help; it can actually disrupt the skin barrier and make things worse by triggering more inflammation. Over-cleansing strips the skin of its natural protection, sebum and the microbiome, which can cause the sebaceous glands to overcompensate and produce even more oil. Acne is a biological process driven by oil production, skin cell behavior (do they detach or clump?), bacteria, and immune response. Understanding that changes everything about how you approach it — and stop blaming your hygiene. 🤍 #acne

Your skin is on fire. It itches, it burns, it flakes. Then you apply that little white cream — and within days, sometimes hours, the redness fades. The relief feels almost miraculous. But what's actually happening under your skin? 🤔 THE INFLAMMATION MACHINE When your immune system detects a threat — an allergen, a pathogen, even just friction — it launches an inflammatory response. Specialized cells release signaling molecules called cytokines and prostaglandins. Blood vessels widen. Immune cells flood the area. The result: redness, swelling, heat, itch. This is your body doing exactly what it's supposed to do. Corticosteroids interrupt this process at multiple points simultaneously. They bind to receptors inside your cells and essentially change which genes get expressed. Fewer cytokines, less vessel dilation, quieter immune activity. THE PROBLEM WITH A PERFECT OFF SWITCH The relief is real. Corticosteroids have been used in dermatology since the 1950s and remain among the most effective anti-inflammatory tools we have. But inflammation isn't just an annoyance — it's communication. It protects you, signals damage, and drives healing. When you suppress it repeatedly, things start to shift. The skin barrier can thin further. Collagen production slows. The skin's own regulatory systems adapt to the drug being there. Your skin starts to rely on the signal being turned off from outside. SHORT-TERM SOLUTION, LONG-TERM QUESTION Used correctly — the right potency, for the right duration — topical corticosteroids are safe and valuable. But prolonged use raises real concerns. Skin thinning, called atrophy, is one of the most documented long-term side effects — the skin becomes more fragile and easily damaged, especially on the face. There are also questions about whether repeated use leaves the skin less capable of managing inflammation on its own. The scientific concern isn't with the drug itself. It's with how easily a short-term tool becomes a long-term habit — and whether the skin can find its way back.

Most teenagers expect acne. Fewer expect it at thirty-five. Or forty. And yet here we are — the spots that were supposed to disappear after adolescence, stubbornly staying on. The reason is the same in both cases: hormones. Just not always the same hormones doing the same thing. THE TEENAGE VERSION Acne typically begins in puberty for one reason — androgens. These sex hormones, present in both males and females, surge during adolescence and directly stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. More sebum means more material to clog pores, more food for C. acnes bacteria, and more inflammation. Androgens also promote follicular hyperkeratinisation — the abnormal clumping of skin cells that starts the clogging process. This is why acne clusters where sebaceous glands are most dense: the face, back, and chest. THE ADULT VERSION Adult acne is more common in women than men, and the hormonal picture is more complicated. Androgen levels fluctuate with the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome — each capable of triggering sebaceous overactivity even in women with otherwise normal hormone levels. Research shows sebaceous glands in acne-prone skin can be hypersensitive to androgens, meaning normal hormone levels still provoke an outsized response. There is also insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) — a hormone that rises during puberty but also climbs with high-glycaemic diets. Multiple studies show IGF-1 directly stimulates sebum production and keratinocyte proliferation, contributing to the clogging process. This may partly explain why diet and adult acne are increasingly connected in research, and why two people with identical hormone levels can have very different skin. SAME SKIN, DIFFERENT TRIGGERS The underlying biology of acne does not change much between teenagers and adults. What changes is which hormonal signals are driving it — and why. That distinction matters enormously for how it is treated and makes a clear case for root cause dermatology. 🤍