Acne Spot Treatments
As a sufferer of different types of acne, I’ve tried quite a bit of spot treatments. I don’t believe that you should treat your acne with your cleanser and toner. Doing so has been drying my skin and has caused my acne to get worse. I prefer a gentle cleanser, toner, treatment, and then a moisturizer. Here’s a list of my experiences thus far.
La Roche-Posay
This 5.5% benzoyl peroxide treatment works well to dry up pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads. This product can be used day and night, even 3 times a day if you have the time. If you use retinol or a retinoid do not use benzoyl peroxide at the same time. Use the benzoyl peroxide during the day and the retinol/retinoid at night. The only thing that I didn’t like about this product is that it can leave a white residue when dried and it didn’t do much to heal my hormonal cystic acne.
Murad Rapid Relief Acne Spot Treatment
This 2% Salicylic Acid spot treatment is really good for drying up and healing pimples ASAP. I didn’t find it to be useful for cystic acne, blackheads, or whiteheads. What I love about this product is that it’s a clear gel that doesn’t leave any residue. If you have a regular pimple, red with a possible white tip, not deep below the skin, then it will dry it up and reduce the swelling within 4 hours.
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
This drying solution works on pimples and somewhat on cystic acne. It contains ALOT of alcohol, salicylic acid, sulfur, calamine lotion, and zinc. When I tried this it dried my pimple into a crusty scabby rock and made it fall off like that freeze-dried wart medicine. Not my favorite spot treatment and also caused scarring/hyperpigmentation.
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate
This facial oil is very soothing to irritated, sensitive skin. It didn’t clear my pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, or cystic bumps. I actually feel like the oil clogged my pores and gave my face an herbal smell. I do find it soothing in areas where I have eczema irritation and dryness, especially on my body.
Clinique Blackhead Solutions Self Heating Blackhead Extractor
I love this product for coaxing out the surface of blackheads in my T-zone. You just squeeze a little product and put it on your face, then you take the bumpy tip of the product and massage the product into your skin. This gently exfoliates and extracts the congestion in your blackheads. I love this for gentle surface exfoliation but it doesn’t get all the congestion out of your pores, just the surface.
Differin Gel Adapelene Gel 0.3%
This is my favorite treatment for healing and preventing cystic acne. This over-the-counter prescription retinoid gel uses Vitamin A to turn over your skin cells at a faster rate to help heal and prevent deep clogged acne. The plus side of this product is it’s a clear gel, not only helps with acne but also hyperpigmentation, aging, and texture. The downside to this product is that it can make your skin sensitive to sunlight. Also, facial waxing and microdermabrasion are a big no-no while using this product, so switch to brow tweezing instead of waxing.