My Beauty Space : Product Reviews, Tips and Experiences

I just purchased a new gentle acne face wash at the drug store, because I was almost out of my favorite, but much more expensive Murad face wash which retails for $40 a bottle (lasts a long time, but still), and wanted to see if I could just go with something a little less expensive now that my face is in remission from the massive assault of zits I seemed to get before I went back on a more powerful pill.

I bought it just a few days ago, and began washing with it to see if I’d like it or hate it.  It was only around $6.00 for a fairly generous sized tube, so I would be happy if it provided comparable skin care for less.  I’m not disappointed, but I’m also not overly impressed. 

Here’s what I don’t like about it.  It’s a cream cleanser, which I don’t have a problem with, but I have to admit I had grown accustomed to my Murad gel.  I loved the Murad product’s great smell and the way it made my skin feel afterwards, not the slightest bit tight.  I also loved that it used one of my favorite anti acne ingredients, salicylic acid.

The Neutrogena wash does use the same ingredient, but it doesn’t feel like it is cleaning my face as well, and to boot, my face is a tad bit tight feeling when I’m done washing.  I don’t know how both of those happened together, but they did.  It’s a white cream, and it almost feels like the consistency of shaving cream mixed with a lotion.  It’s a bit too slip-slidey when I lather, so I suppose that’s kind of what I don’t like.  I know, picky right! 

It’ll do for now, but I’m still on the hunt for a cleanser that is more like my Murad, without the steep price. 

I was out of acne cream or gel that I usually keep around in case I have any blemishes that come up.  My skin happens to be extremely prone to stress-induced breakouts, so I almost always keep a handy tube of zit cream available for these emergencies.  I will usually put the cream or gel on the affected area before I got to bed at night, and hope for the best when I wake up in the morning, although many times I awake and it’s still there. 

I happened upon a great deal at GNC.  When I was purchasing some vitamins, up at the counter they had some clearance items for a buck, and among them was an acne treatment gel from what I believe is a whole skin care product line called Clinical Solutions which had a purple and white label, and was about 2 ounces in weight.  I figured for a buck, who cares if it didn’t work at all, it wouldn’t be much of a loss if it didn’t.  Well, turns out, it didn’t work all that great on me. 

I had a few small zits, or acne bumps, crop up around my right temple for some reason recently, and although I used the acne gel from GNC on my templed several times at night, I didn’t notice that it had cleared the acne or even taken any of the redness out.  So, I ended up putting it on and combining it with some leftover Murad acne mask, which helps to at least dry them out and prevent them from spreading.  I guess it’s only a buck, but I was hoping I stumbled on one of those rare finds that you happen across that’s cheap and works!

I do like the Murad acne spot treament that I got with the cleanser a while ago, but ran out a few weeks ago.  I’m probably going to end up ordering more of the Murad stuff, which is on the expensive side, but it really does help and many times will dry up zits that have just cropped up virtually overnight - it also takes the redness out.  Also, Zenmed has a herbal skin care products line that includes an acne serum which works very well, so maybe I’ll end up going with that too.  I like that one because it’s all natural, and even has a pleasant, woodsy smell to it. 

A friend of mine told me about a Neutrogena line of acne products that specifically targets blackheads.  Since I’ve always had a problem with blackheads around my nose area and on the bridge of my nose, I went out and bought the blackhead eliminating warming face wash for about $5 at a local Marcs store.  I figured what the heck, if it didn’t work, I was only out about $5. 

I’ve been using the warming blackhead eliminating cleanser by Neutrogena for about a week only now, and I only use it on my nose and on the area immediately surrounding my nose, namely the sides of my nose, where the blackheads are the worst for me.  it does seem to be doing “Something”, although I’m not sure if it’s actually pulling the blackheads out and leaving enlarged pores, because my pores still seem to be enlarged, but the “black” part of the blackhead seems to be lighter or gone, if that makes any sense. 

The cleanser definitely feels pretty cool when you slather it on.  It’s got tiny little scrubbing beads in it, and it does warm ever so slightly, although very briefly when you activate it by rubbing it in to the skin.  All in all, I think this was a decent purchase for the $5 it cost me.  Again, I’m not so sure it’s taking care of actually closing up the pores after it helps dissolve the blackhead though. 

I suppose an astringent applied afterwards may help since this does help seal the pores after they are opened.  At the very least, you really should rinse with ice cold water after you use this cleanser to ensure the pores are sealed back up as well as they can be. 

I came across a somewhat alarming side effect of many acne medications, such as Accutane and other prescribed acne medicines that are used for severe acne usually, such as retinoids. 

I guess that if you have a hair removal treatment, like waxing or sugaring or any of the other plethora of hair removal treaments (I’m not sure about laser hair removal - but I don’t think it would be recommended to have this serious procedure while on acne medication either), but this does apply for anything where hair is being forcefully removed from you face or other areas of your body. 

Apparently, if you’re on an acne medicine like accutane, it can make your skin actually come off right along with the hair, so most technicians and salons - at least the good ones should definitely prescreen you for treatments such as this to prevent any skin from coming off of your face during the hair removal procedure. 

If you tell them that you’re on an acne medication, and they act like it’s still ok, don’t get it done there, because they probably don’t know what they’re talking about!

Body acne is a real pain in the butt - sometimes literally.  Did you know that a lot of people search for ways to clear up “butt acne” and acne in other unmentionable places?  Of course, the most common area for acne to occur is on your face, where all of the oil glands tend to be centralized, and cause the most problems, but many people still suffer from body acne, which is most commonly on 1.) The back and 2.) The chest. 

The approach to getting rid of body acne is a little different though, from treating facial acne, because body acne is not all centrally located on a very visible place, your face, and the areas tend to gather a lot more dirt and grime, since they are not as protected as the face, with protective lotions and sunscreens, etc., since we are so careful to treat our faces to the utmost protection. 

Clear Pores is a comprehensive acne treatment system which offers two different approaches to clearing Body vs. Facial Acne, both are best when the natural skin supplement is used with them too (it comes with the set, but you can purchase the products separately too). 

You may notice that if you get acne on your back and chest, that it does tend to get worse in the summer.  This is because our bodies sweat a lot more in the summer, even though the clothes we wear tend to be less restrictive, we still have clothes on these areas, and dirt, grime and grease tend to get trapped in these areas and cause the pores to become clogged, resulting in acne lesions. 

A lot of times to, to our dismay, the acne bumps on our backs and chests, and elsewhere, tend ot result in whiteheads a lot more too, simply because these areas are not paid much attention to, since we can’t see them and treat them as easily as our face.  Not only that, we cannot properly extract the zits on our back and chest as readily, since they are at an awkward angle. 

One of the best systems to completely treat body acne, which also will target the acne on your face if you choose to take the skin clearing supplement too, and not just use the acne wash and protective cream, is the Clear Pores Body Acne Treatment System. 

They have tons of before and after pictures of their clients, and then pages and pages of testimonials showing what their comprehensive acne treatment systems have done for these customers.  I recommend you take a look if you’re looking to clear either bodily or facial acne. 

Pretty soon you will see some new reviews for rosacea and acne rosacea skin care.  I know of a line that has worked well for lots of people - it’s all natural, and I actually used their acne skin care line to clear up my acne years ago and it worked great. 

It’s the Zenmed line of skin care, which you may hear me talk about frequently in this blog - reviews soon to come…

Just a quick note.  This thing is pretty cool, I just hate using it every stinkin’ day!  more to come on this, I just don’t have time now to write a full worthwhile review!

Hey, just wanted to add in here, if you are considering having microdermabrasion done at some point, be sure to purchase a “package” deal if you can.  Not only will you see much more results if you purchase these packages - usually of six treatments or more, but the establishment will also allow you to get some sort of discount. 

It’s basically a win/win situation - they’re getting more business, you’re saving money and getting better results.  If you want to try a home microderm kit, look to the right - they’ve got all of em pretty cheap…