Fighting Acne

I am a long time sufferer of acne; I started to get them at around fourteen years old and I’m still suffering from them at twenty years old. I do have to say my acne isn’t as bad as what it was like during my young teens however I still get spots frequently. 

Acne is caused by, an increase in the hormone testosterone – boys and girls both have the sex hormone testosterone, along with estrogen – an increase in testosterone will usually occur during puberty however, with me and many other spot sufferers the levels of testosterone may not decrease once puberty is over. The testosterone causes an increase in the oily substance sebum to be released from sebaceous glands in skin cells. The sebum along with dead skin cells will then block hair follicles/pores on the skin, resulting in the formation of a spot. 

Over my five-ish years I’ve been in a long war to get rid of my spots, and I haven’t really found any weapons which I’ve thought “this is it! This is the ONE!” …until now! I’ve found an unbeatable duo that has left my skin the clearest it has been for years and provided I use it every day and night I won’t get any spots (ok, I may get the odd one spot every few weeks).

The duo I’m praising is the VISIBLY CLEAR® Spot StressControl Daily Scrub and the VISIBLY CLEAR® Spot Stress Control 3in1 Cleansing Lotion both from the brand Neutrogena. I’ve been using the two products religiously, every morning and night, for the past seven months and my skin hasn’t looked this good in years! It’s looked so good that even my boyfriend has bought the two products.

The VISIBLY CLEAR® Spot Stress Control Daily Scrub has green tea and cucumber extract which gives it a nice scent and fresh feeling. The exfoliating beads are tiny, which means the scrub isn’t too harsh to be used daily, and the beads really work, my skin feels so clean after use!

 The scrub contains glycolic acid along with two other chemical versions of glycolic acid which are absorbed into the skin and work as a chemical exfoliate by breaking down the uppermost layers of skin. The scrub also contains salicylic acid which kills the bacteria in the clogged pores. So it’s safe to say, this product definitely contains the correct ingredients to fight acne! However, I would add, I wouldn’t recommend this product to people with sensitive skin because I think the amount of acid in this product would actually have adverse effects on your delicate skin!  

 The CLEAR® Spot Stress Control 3in1 Cleansing Lotion claims to:

“1. Cleanses deep into pores and eliminates impurities
2. Helps clear spots using powerful MICROCLEAR^® technology to break through oil and dirt enabling the salicylic acid to penetrate deep into the pores
3. Dissolves excess oil and reduces shine” 

And I would say it does all three of the claims. I apply a small amount of the product onto a cotton pad and rub it all over my face and neck and the amount of dirt I get on my cotton pad is actually disgusting! Keeping in mind I will have washed my face with the scrub beforehand, it still picks up so much dirt you can’t see – leaving your skin squeaky clean! The cleanser has a similar smell to the scrub, a clean fresh cucumber and green tea scent. The cleanser is extremely high in salicylic acid , which once you’ve exfoliated away all your dead skin cells  , can penetrate deep into your pores and release its anti-bacterial affects which in the long term will prevent acne reoccurring. 

Out of the two products I would recommend the cleanser more so, because when you see all the dirt on the cotton pad, you know for a fact its wiping away all the dirt on your face, even the dirt you aren’t aware of. However, once again, due to its highly acidic ingredients I wouldn’t suggest this product for sensitive skin.

I would also like to add I suffer from oily/combination skin, with the majority of the oil focussed on my forehead. These products have worked wonders for me, and I hope they work for you too but everyone’s different, everyone’s skin different so it may not work for you. 

Both the products are available in Boots and Superdrug and more than often at least one of the stores will have “2 for £5” on Neutrogena products so it if it doesn’t work, you haven’t broken the bank trying it!