Acne: products which could help clear your skin

With over 90% of 18 to 34 year olds and 80% of 35 to 54 year olds suffering from mild to severe acne, it’s time to do something about it and get a fresh face for 2018.

Whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and cysts are all too familiar for people who suffer with acne. Spots appear when pores on the skin become blocked with oil, dead skin and bacteria and an infection occurs. For some, these spots can be really painful and swollen. In some cases, they leave scars which look like small dents in the skin, or they can look like dark red/purple marks which take a long time to fade. It’s not necessarily to do with bad skin care, sometimes it can be hereditary.

People are obsessed with their skin. Whether they want a glowing tan, radiant skin, moisturised skin, exfoliated skin – if people feel their skin doesn’t look as standard as normal, they become obsessed with getting it looking good again. It’s understandable though, the face is the first thing someone looks at

Social media is one which has revealed how many people are insecure about their skin. It may have something to do with the photoshopped, flawless looking models who don’t have an imperfection in sight that make people feel like their skin is worse than it is.

Because of this, this article will be reviewing a variety of skin care ranges and products which could potentially help.

The first range I’ll be reviewing is the Skin Genius range for teenage skin. I was looking forward to trying out this range because I have sensitive skin, and with this range being specifically for young skin, it would mean that there’d be no harsh chemicals or ‘no junk’ as it says on the bottle.

It is packed full with natural ingredients that will help banish the bacteria that causes acne whilst soothing inflamed, infected pores. The ‘No Junk’ ingredients work together on the skin’s surface and deeper in the top layers of the skin to bring immediate relief and longer-lasting results.

The first product from this range that I used was the facial wash. It’s a foam consistency so it wasn’t really suitable to use to take make up off at night, I found it worked better on a fresh face or first thing in the morning as it was more gentle on the skin. Some foams can be quite drying on the skin, however this one was so light my skin felt soft and fresh.

The clarifying lotion was one that I used overnight after washing my face. After a couple of days there was an obvious difference in the redness on my face and overall my skin just looked a lot more calm in the morning. With it being a lotion, it also meant that my skin felt nice and hydrated in the mornings without it feeling greasy.

The last product from the Skin Genius range, and by far my favourite, was the teenage skin moisturiser which I can’t stop using. The consistency is perfect – not too thick and not too thin so it spreads easily and evenly on the face. I don’t like thick moisturisers that make my face feel oily but as soon as this has been rubbed into the skin, it dries nicely and is a great moisturiser to use before putting make up on. It also smells exactly like lemon flavoured Refresher sweets which was a bonus!

If you’re young and want to improve your skin, I’d highly recommend this range. To purchase, click here.

 

The next lot of products I tried was the Salcura Antiac range. The liquid spray that’s in this range was voted the best product for acne by Channel 4’s programme, Embarrassing Bodies, so I was very keen to try this out.

Firstly I used the antic face wash which was great at night to remove make up as it was a gel, so it turned into a lather when applied onto the face – it was very deep cleansing and left my skin feeling so soft which I loved. I would then use the liquid spray before going to sleep.

Although my skin felt soft after the cleanser, it did feel a little bit tight so using the liquid spray was a great way to add some hydration to my face and it did the job – due to it being a spray it meant that it really sunk into the skin and dried quickly, in addition to it being easy to spray on the face in a few seconds.

In the morning, I liked using the wipes to refresh my face a bit. It was great to have wipes included in the range as I’d never used any that were developed to treat acne before, so I knew that no harsh chemicals were going on my skin that would cause any irritation.

If I had any new breakouts that were inflamed and I wanted to reduce the redness overnight, I used the serum and applied it directly to the affected areas. I wouldn’t say it worked for cystic breakouts as they’re so deep under the skin, however it worked really well on whiteheads as the redness reduced within a day or so and it would dry them up by the morning.

I’d recommend this range to anyone with sensitive skin. The ingredients such as sea buckthorn and aloe vera soothe and nourish the skin and every product I used from the range felt gentle and caused no irritation at all. To purchase this range, click here.

I also tried three Mary Kay products from their clearproof skin care range.

The difference I noticed between this range compared to the first two ranges was that these products contain salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, which are both ingredients that have been proven to help unclog pores and fight bacteria on the skin that cause acne. People’s skin react differently to these ingredients as they’re a bit more harsh on the skin.

Personally, any product I’ve used previously which include these ingredients have worked well for me, including a prescribed benzoyl peroxide stick.

When I used the facial wash, it took my make up of easily with it being a gel consistency however it did make my skin feel tight. Saying this, it didn’t irritate my skin or sting in any way, and the moisturiser which is also part of the clearproof range was all I needed to get rid of the tight feeling in my skin.

This moisturiser smells nice and fresh and it’s a thin consistency which meant it dried really quickly. My skin looked radiant and glowy and didn’t look like I’d just put moisturiser on – in a good way, as it didn’t look greasy – it’s oil-free and it made a big difference to how my skin felt. I would also use this at night after washing my face and applied the spot solution gel on any breakouts that I had.

At first, the gel caused a tingling sensation on the skin which lasted for a few minutes or so, but in the morning the improvement would be huge. The redness reduced massively and it would completely dry out a breakout that wasn’t cystic.

I used the purifying serum when my skin tone looked uneven and needed calming down at night. I had a lot of redness on my cheeks from where previous breakouts had been so I applied it to those areas. For the first few days it didn’t make much difference and my face felt slightly greasy, however after a few days past the redness did go down on my cheeks.

Overall I think the salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide in the products made a difference to how it worked on my skin. Some days I felt like my skin needed more aggression from the ingredients to actually do something effective which I think the Mary Kay range did and without irritating or making my skin worse. It is less gentle on the skin, but for people who don’t have sensitive skin, I think this would work really well for.

I’m a huge fan of overnight products as there aren’t many days where I won’t wear make up, but when I take it off at the end of the day and have a bare face, it means I can use it to my advantage and use products to help clear my skin.

I used the Allies of Skin Promise Keeper Blemish Facial which I put on my face after cleansing it just before going to sleep. I was so eager to try this product as it costs £110 which is the only downside, so I was expecting amazing results. It has a powerful blend of AHAs, Pomegranate Enzymes and Probiotics to nourish and purify congested skin during the night.

The product smells like lavender which matches the whole night time theme as its used to help people sleep. It leaves the face feeling dewy but not greasy. This product met my expectations and more. I was sceptical about it, however it made the biggest difference to my skin’s unevenness – more than any other product I’ve used. It claims to ‘soothe and balance the skin’ which is exactly what it did.

It was so noticeable that my mum even noticed when she saw my bare face in the morning. My breakouts are always really inflamed and red no matter how big it is – the redness just blends out into my skin but this mask reduced it so much that the only redness was directly where the outbreak was. I was really impressed with this, the only negative is the cost.

I found his product on www.effortlessskin.com which is a website that specifically sells skincare products. There’s loads of different categories for every single type of skin condition you may have whether it be scarring, redness, cystic acne or even just cleansers.

Sometimes if a skincare product is so good, it’s quite fascinating. I’ve never been more fascinated with something than with the Amour Noir Magnetic face mask. That’s right, it’s magnetic!

The product should be applied to a clean face using the spatula that comes with the product. The mask contains dead sea minerals which are proven to cleanse and detoxify skin cells and improve circulation.

To apply, you simply use the scoop to take the product out of the tub. I liked that it came a scoop as it’s a lot more hygienic to remove the mask and apply it to the face. It glides on easily too as the consistency isn’t too thick. This is the best part – to remove, you simply move the magnet close to your skin, around a centimetre away, and the mask will literally lift of the face onto the magnet.

It’s quite hard to remove the mask that’s on the magnet as it doesn’t want to come off, so it’s hard to lift the product with a tissue because it just sticks to the magnet rather than the tissue.

After the mask is fully removed it leaves an oily texture behind, which you’re supposed to rub into the skin to nourish and moisturise it, however it felt a bit sticky and wet so i rubbed most of it in, then took the excess off with a tissue. The next morning my skin felt so soft and hydrated – that’s the best thing it did for me, it nourished my skin well.

If you want to try something different for your skin, click here.

 

There are many well known ingredients that help fight acne, tea tree oil and witch hazel being two of them. I’ve used tea tree gel products and witch hazel gels before which do a great job to calm down the skin. Skn Rehab have designed a really fun looking  product called Skin Rehab, which are small syringe looking tubes  containing a combination of blemish-fighting ingredients to purify, balance, and clear the skin.?

To use the product, you have to snap off the sharp piece of plastic and then use that to push the product out by pressing against the bottom of it. It’s a bit of a faff when you loose the piece of plastic as you have to find something else to push the product out.

After using tea tree and witch hazel creams and gels in the past it’s safe to say they have a great impact on my skin and really help to soothe any redness and breakouts that I have. The witch hazel tends to soothe any redness and the tea tree is amazing at drying out any spots which is exactly what this product does.

I applied this at night to clean skin, specifically to places which looked red or to any breakouts I had, and by the next morning the redness was reduced and the spots had nearly disappeared.

It causes absolutely no discomfort unless its applied to broken skin which is expected as it can sting a little, and as it’s gel, it dries quickly and leaves no unpleasant feeling on the face. Once opened the tubes will work for three days before needing to open a new one and I could get two or three applications out of each one.

If I had no obvious breakouts I would put it on the troubled areas on my face regardless, and it seemed to stop any new ones appearing during the week.

This product is definitely suitable for any skin type as it’s gentle and soothing on the skin in addition to having two ingredients which work wonders.

To get your hands on this product, click here.

Sk:n Clinics is the UK’s leading skincare clinic group who also have a range of skincare products. They introduced me to their Anti Blemish skincare range.

The first product I used from the range was the Sk:n Hydrator for oily and blemish prone skin. It claims to provide 24 hour hydration. I have combination skin but more on the dry side. I applied this hydrator in the morning after washing my face if I wasn’t putting make up on that day or I’d apply it so it was on my face overnight.

After three days of using this I had absolutely no dryness on my face what so ever. Sometimes, hydrators and moisturisers can be a bit heavy on the skin and leave it feeling oily and greasy, which is a nightmare for people with acne prone skin, however this product didn’t do that. It hydrated my skin and left it feeling soft and silky with no oiliness anywhere.

The product has pro biotics in it to repair and protect the skin, however it made little difference to any blemishes on my skin. The Sk:n intense blemish lotion however, which says to rapidly reduce the size and redness of spots, did make a difference.

I applied the blemish lotion over the top of the hydrator when I used it at night. These products work so well together. The blemish lotion contains salicylic acid which is harsher on the skin them natural ingredients, which scares people, but there was no discomfort or stinging and I feel sometimes my skin needs a harsher ingredient to dissolve oil and debris that clog pores.

The blemish lotion dried out any small spots before they became more inflamed and changed the texture of my cheeks. I think the salicylic acid helped get rid of any stuff on my face that was making it look a bit rough looking as it dissolved it all. It even reduced the redness of cystic breakouts overnight and seemed to calm down any swelling.

To purchase these Sk:n products, click here.

The thing about acne that has the biggest impact on my confidence is the aftermath of it. My skin is very prone to hyper pigmentation which is when a spot will heal, but will leave a dark mark on under the skin. Meaning the texture of my skin will be smooth, but the marks on my face mean that it looks like I have spots when I don’t, it’s just scarring.

This has made me feel self conscious about not wearing make up as I’ve never really known about any product that heals dark marks that are under the skin because it’s not a spot anymore. I’ve tried out two products which were designed to treat the aftermath of damage to the skin, as scarring can look as bad as the damage that caused it in the first place.

The first product, which was designed by cosmetic surgeons and used their experience in the industry to create the best formula, is Healgel Intensive.

You’re supposed to apply this to the skin a couple of times a day, however because I wear make up most days I couldn’t commit to this as much. I did however put it on my face at night after washing it for just over a week or so. In addition, I applied it at least twice a day to a six month old scar on my hand which was caused by a burn. The scar is darker in colour than the rest of my hand.

The gel smells really fresh, and reminded me of a subtle lavender scent. It spread easily across the skin and felt like the gel thinned out into a watery consistency and therefore dried really quickly. My face was still soft and silky after applying it and in the morning, there was no unpleasant greasiness he on my skin. It still felt smooth.

After using the Healgel on both my face and my hand for over a week, I knew this product worked. The scar on my hand had blended into the rest of my skin, especially the dark outline of it which made it look a lot smaller. The difference on my face wasn’t quite as successful.

There was a difference on my chin where I had some old hyper pigmentation marks which looked less red, however I was only applying it once in the night so the process would obviously be slower. With such a difference to the scar on my hand, and with it being a similar discolouration the marks/scars on my chin, I definitely believe with patience and consistency that it’d fade scars on the face.

To purchase the Healgel Intensive, click here.

The second product which I used was the SOS Solution For Scars. It combines the most effective ingredients from science and nature to help reduce the appearance of scars, reduce discomfort, soothe irritable scars and lessen redness. The formula contains a naturally active Green Tea extract that is scientifically proven to shrink abnormal scars.

I used the product at night and applied it to my face after washing it. The consistency is cream like and rubs into the skin smoothly and feels nice and light. It sinks into the skin quickly and doesn’t leave it feeling greasy. I also used the product on a different scar I have on my arm which was also caused by a burn.

After a few days I started noticing that the redness around my hyper pigmentation scars had gone down a lot which just left the dark circle (the scar/mark itself). My chin, which has the most marks on it, has a lot of redness surrounding them and after about a week or so there was an obvious difference. My skin on my chin started looking more like how it does on the rest of my face (where it’s clear) instead of looking so inflamed.

The scar on my arm had gone from a pink colour to a faded pink so there was an obvious difference to that as well and I’d much rather it be lighter than my skin tone than darker. Even though the scar on my arm was slowly fading there was more of a difference to the dark purple marks on my face so I think this product quicker for acne scars.

It actually worked really nicely as a moisturiser too, my face would always feel radiant in the mornings and some days I wouldn’t apply moisturiser in the morning because the product from the night before had moisturised my face overnight and already done the job.

To purchase this product, click here.