Acne.org Products
After almost 2 weeks of waiting, my Paula's Choice samples have arrived! I bought plenty so I could use it for a few days and it it's effective, I plan on continuing use and purchasing the full-sized products.
I've made this thread to post my results and how I generally feel about the products. I got an oil-reducing cleanser, pore cleansing toner, BHA (1% and 2 %), antioxidant serum and a moisturiser. I'm going to start with the 1% BHA then move up to the 2% if the 1% isn't too harsh on my skin.
I ordered them when my I was going through a breakout, but now my skin has calmed down significantly and that was due to the help of egg whites. So if these products don't work for me, I have my new discovery at hand!
Here's a picture of the left-side of my face right now. You might think wow what's he complaining about (I have two small whiteheads), but this is a good day. Plus...I took a picture of the side of my face that I prefer. The other side has more red marks.
I'll change the thread title if I decided to purchase the full-sized products and have this has a log for my Paula's Choice regimen.
Okay, I've used all the products - god that was a lot of time on my face. I'll give a little review and a rating of each.
Oil-reducing cleanser - Loved this. The smell reminded me of an old-school bar of soap and the consistency was great. My skin felt really clean afterwards, not tight or dry. 5/5
Pore cleansing toner - Nothing special. Did what it was supposed to and took all the excess dead skin and cleanser off my skin. 3/5
BHA Exfoliant 1% - A little goes a long way, it goes on fantastically. My skin got a little tight afterwards and shiny, almost like I'd applied some form of mask. I somehow felt the exfoliation, weirdly. Going up to 2% tomorrow! 5/5
Serum - This is the most useless product I have ever used on my face (although it may have its benefits). The smallest amount came out and I only managed to get it on one area of my face. I'm just going to use the next sachet as an eye serum, rather than all over my face. 2/5
SPF Mattifying Moisturiser - This product is definitely mattifying, it was almost like applying a cream mask to my face. It absorbed pretty quickly though, but just doesn't feel refreshing. I love moisturisers that cool down my skin, so I'm looking forward to using the hydrating gel tonight (which I'll review later). Oh and it balled up as I rubbed it in, nasty. 2/5
Think since I'm using the BHA, I can still use my old moisturiser that contains .5% SA?
Not sure if anybody will read this or is considering purchasing PC products, but I wanted to get my thoughts out there!
Oh my god. I am so happy with these products. In just two days the BHA has transformed my skin. It's so soft and my red marks have faded significantly.
I also take it back about the moisturiser, it's not as bad as I said. I think it balked up because I had a lot of dead skin which the BHA lifted off. I don't have a single flake on my face right now.
I'm definitely ordering the full sized BHA and maybe the cleanser and moisuriser. I can find a toner anywhere that does the trick.
Okay. I got a little carried away (which I always do!) praising these products too early. I have had a small initial breakout and my skin is adjusting to the BHA. I'm going through a similar process as I did with the acne.org regimen, but nowhere near as severe!
Since I only have samples, I'm obviously going to run out in a few days, so I'm going to have to make an order for the full-sized product asap!
The only real cons I'm experiencing are:
- Slight flakiness
- A mild initial breakout
- Shiny complexion (usually goes away after a few hours)
The upper part of my face looks amazing. All of the red marks on my cheeks have diminished. It's just my acne-prone areas that are having a bit of a tantrum right now. Hopefully that will all settle down!