At 20 years old, it's difficult to wrap my head around what my skin could look like when I'm 50, if I keep doing to it what I've been doing: Tanning beds, sleeping in makeup, picking at my face, not moisturizing, using harsh products on my face... etc. My future could be tragic... However, I think there's still hope! After doing some research and meeting with a dermatologist, I've finally come to a solid skin care routine to help revamp and salvage my skin.
Today we will be talking about CONFRONTING ACNE...
It's a zitty situation.. heh heh.. Ok... I know I'm not funny...
My skin: Fair. Somewhat uneven reddish tones in places. Burns then turns to tan. Freckles and is beginning to show sun spots (damage!). Occasional breakouts. Dry patches. Oily t-zone. Combination skin. Fairly typical of someone my age (20).
Being the product junkie that I am, despite many a failed product, I'm always convinced that I can find a magic skin care routine that will cure all my breakouts. Well, I've tried MANY a product... and here are my reviews of the more popular ones I've used..
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REVIEWS:
+++Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash--
For me, this face wash worked OKAY. It left my face feeling clean, but it didn't clear up my zits very well when I had them. It also had the tendency to dry out my skin more than other face washes, which is a huge downside to it because moisture in the skin is important for it's long term texture and appearance.
Price: $6-8.
Where to buy: Walgreens, Target, Fred Meyer, pretty much any grocery or drug store...
Recommended?: Not really.
+++Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser--
This is a pretty decent cleanser. It has a nice creamy texture to it (so it doesn't dry out your skin), and it's oil free. It also smells good, and leaves your skin feeling tingly and clean. But even though it contains no oil, I felt like my skin got oily pretty quickly after using it, so that was a downside to the cleanser. But it did marginally help reduce the appearance of pimples. Personally, I like this product better than Clean and Clear's competing version of it.
Price:$5-10.
Where to buy: Pretty much any grocery or drug store...
Recommended?: Sure. For the price, it's not a bad buy.
+++Clean and Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser--
Similar to Neutrogena's cream cleanser... Oil free, creamy texture and doesn't dry out your skin. However, it does a poor job removing makeup and it doesn't do anything useful towards clearing up acne. \
Price: $5-10.
Where to buy: Pretty much any grocery or drug store...
Recommended?: No.
+++Clinique Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam-- If you're going to spend this kind of money on a cleanser, it needs to be a damn good cleanser. Clinique's Acne Solutions Cleansing foam is supposed to calm, sooth, and reduce redness. But in my short usage of it, I noticed very little difference in my skin's appearance when comparing it to other, cheaper, drugstore brand cleansers.
Price: $17.50
+++Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion-- It does everything it promises to do: it exfoliates, unclogs pores, and helps to reduce excess oil that can lead to breakouts. I'm a big fan of Clinique's toners. I've been using them since my preteen years when I noticed the first spot of oil on my face. Therefore, like every other Clinique toner I've used, I like this one very much. It helped me get those last bits of dirt and oil off my face that a cleanser can't quite get to, which is great and exactly what a good toner should do.
Price: $13.50
+++Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer Oil Free-- This moisturizer is great because it's oil free, light and moisturizing. It's also "medicated" to help clear up your breakouts. Well, I'm not sure if it actually cleared up my skin or if it was the toner that did that,, but it definitely didn't clog my pores or make my skin any worse while it moisturized, which is really all you can ask of a face moisturizer for acne prone skin.
Price: $16.00
Where to buy these products: Macy's Clinique counter, Nordstrom's Clinique counter, Sephora, www.clinique.com
Recommended?: Yes, all of the Clinique Acne Solutions products except for the cleansing foam, which I think could be replaced by Nutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser (cheaper option than Clinique) and still work well together.
+++Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment with Botanical Blast-- Try saying the name of this product ten times fast... Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment with Botanical Blast. Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment with Botanical Blast. Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment with Botanical Blast. Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment with Botanical Blast.... ANYWAY... I was recommended this product at Sephora when I asked for a spot acne treatment. Now, I don't know if it was some sick joke on the sale's lady's part, or if she just hated me, but somehow she convinced me to blow $35 on this worthless product. It did absolutely NOTHING to my pimples. Didn't make them worse, didn't make them better, the gel just made my skin sticky.
Price: $35.00
Where to buy: Sephora
Recommended?: No! Expensive waste of money.
+++Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream-- A bad idea for acne... I know our mothers all used Noxzema, and many of us probably have too, but the tingling part of this face wash makes red pimples even redder. Although it might feel like the tingling sensation means that it's working, it's really just irritating your skin. It has cleaning power, but if you're acne prone, stay away from Noxzema.
Price: $5-$8.
Where to buy: Drugstores.
Recommended?: Not for acne.
+++ProActive 3 Step system-- I have mixed feelings about ProActive. It's effective, yet I don't feel like it's very good for your skin. It can irritats and dehydrates it. I was a tried and true ProActive fan for 4 years. It was the only thing that I'd found that REALLY cleared up my skin. However, my skin got addicted to this stuff. I had to use it every day, otherwise I would break out. Then, after four year, I must have built up some sort of immunity to it, because it more or less stopped working for me this summer. Another annoying thing about it is that it's really difficult to buy the three products separate from each other. This was really a pain for me becasue for the most part, I only used the cleanser (it was the part of the system I found to work the best). AND there is no SPF in their products as of right now. Overall, it's an effective skin care system. It's affordable. But it's hard on your skin.
Price: $39.95 for the whole thing.
Where to buy: Online.
Recommended?: I'm not sure...
+++Nature's Cure Two Part Acne Treatment System-- This system consists of a cream, and a daily pill. The pill lured me in... I don't know why. I think it just made it seem like the system would actually work for some reason. Well, I don't know if the pill does anything by itself, but the whole process works okay. As far as acne treatment, it's defiantly better than nothing. It dried out my skin a little bit though. Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed by this product.
Price: $10.49
Where to buy: Drugstores and online.
Recommended?: Not really.
+++ZAPZYT Maximum Strength 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Treatment Gel-- This is a topical cream (they're calling it a gel) which you apply for spot treatment of acne. It's much like Nature's Cure and the Boscia product I reviewed, except in my opinion, it works much better. Finally, a fairly effective, CHEAP, spot acne treatment! The downside it that it will probably dry out your skin a bit, so be sure to use a face moisturizer.
Price: $5.29
Where to buy: Drugstores and online.
Recommended?: Yes
...And FINALLY... My MAGIC acne cure... The best system I've found thus far...
+Murad's Clairfying Cleanser-- $18.99 at sleekhair.com
+Murad's Clairfying Toner-- $15.99 at sleekhair.com
+Murad's Gentle (Moisturizing) Acne Treatment Gel -- $26.99 at sleekhair.com
(The gentle acne treatment gel is my favorite because it not only is it gentle, but it moisturizes AND clears up your skin!)
This system is INCREDIBLE. Cleared my skin right up after ProActive failed on me! Every Murad product I mentioned here is oil free and can be used day (the gel is even great under makeup because it helps reduce shine!) AND at night. However, for day use I would still recommend some sort of product over it with SPF in it. I haven't actually tried Murad's moisturizers with SPF, but I'd be willing to bet that they're a solid pick based on everything I've read about and experienced personally with this line of products.
Where to buy: sleekhair.com has a sale right now on Murad... so go there to get the best deals!
Recommended?: YES YES YES!
Check back soon for my next blog entry which will be on the top oil free moisturizers!
Ta-ta for now,
Sarah
