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”
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!
