The primary concern of my skin has always been acne, no matter how old I get. I notice it has gotten worse this year. So I have been trying a number of acne healing products in an attempt to control the outbreak, at the same time lighten up the acne scars on my face.
After doing some research and reading product reviews, I decided to try out a couple products that are highly-rated at individual retailers. I have dry skin, so my experience may vary from those of you who have a different skin type.
I’m going to talk about the 3 highly-rated acne healing products that did not work for me at all, or it worked for a little bit at first but not after.
#1 Proactiv Skin Purifying Mask
On Sephora, it has a very high rating of 4.8/5 stars and 98% reviewers recommendation. It is very tempting to try as I’ve never seen any skin care and acne healing products that rates so high on Sephora.
I can see that the reason people want to try this is because of the 6% sulfur that this product contains. And also because of their claim “clear acne blemishes and help prevent new breakouts from forming”. Although it sounds too good to be true, I still bought and tried it.
However, it does not work for me no matter how many times I tried using it. I followed their instruction and used it as a full face mask or an overnight spot treatment, none of them work. I am a bit surprised that it did absolutely nothing in subduing my acnes at all, not to say clear acne blemishes.
I really do not understand why it works for so many people (if their reviews are reliable) but not me? Tell me if you have a different experience or a better way of using it.
#2 Proactiv Advanced Dark Spot Correcting Serum
Searching for updated information and rating on this product online, I am not able to find it on Sephora (where I bought it) or Proactiv’s website. The only place that I found now is on Ulta.
It has a 4/5 star rating on Ulta, but I remembered the rating on Sephora was almost a perfect 5/5! Again, it was a very good rating for an acne healing product, that was why I bought it.
I do not know the reason why some retailers discontinued this product, but it claims to “fade and renew unwanted dark spots left behind by cleared acne blemishes” and “with maximum-strength skin lightening medicine – the most effective you can buy without a prescription”. None of these claims make any sense to me as there was completely no change for my skin after months of use. And it was also drying to my skin out.
These two acne healing products were my first experience with the brand Proactiv, which I perceived as a professional brand that help treat and control acne. But from what I saw, I am not impressed with their product and doubt I will ever try any from them again. They are pretty pricey too.
#3 Kate Somerville EradiKate™ Acne Treatment
This product does get a high rating of 4.2/5 star from 3000+ reviewers on Sephora. Its ingredients are also pretty solid of having 10% sulfur and BHAs and zinc oxide for diminishing pores. It claims to be “effective blemish-fighting acne spot treatment that minimizes pimples, zaps zits, and helps prevent future breakouts”.
I was hesitant to put this as my 3rd failed acne healing products in this post. Because it did work initially to minimize some of my acnes. However, after only couple uses, it lost its effectiveness.
I do not know the exact science behind why some of the acne healing products work while some do not. But it seems to me that a combination of acne-fighting ingredients may be the key.
Hope this article can provide you with some insights of which acne healing products to choose in the sea of products around us! As a note, the above comments are based on my skin type and personal experience, it may not be the same for everyone. Good luck!