So, it’s been about two months now that I’ve had my pricey Clarisonic facial cleanser tool. For a refresher, the Clarisonic is a device that is made by the same folks who make those Sonicare toothbrushes, which I have to admit I’m dying of curiosity to try and see if it works better than your run of the mill manual toothbrush. It uses “supersonic” cleansing action, where the bristles rotate so quickly that they literally help get down deeper into the pores, and get your skin cleaner.

I got it because I wanted to start really getting my face clean and smooth every night since I do wear moisturizer, foundation and an additional SPF face perfector tinted product as well. I just felt like I wasn’t getting my skin totally clean at night I guess, and I thought that this Clarisonic tool may help with that. Plus, I thought it would be nice to treat myself to a relaxing, massaging, deep humming and soothing type of cleanse every night.

So I bought it. I like that way it made my skin feel right away, but I couldn’t really gauge whether it was making my skin look better or not until I went a week without using it when I forgot to pack it when I went on vacation for a week to the Carolinas.

I did miss it, but I really wanted to see if my skin looked any different. It seems that this thing does help to keep away those little irritation bumps that tend to pop up on my chin. Perhaps those were there because I wasn’t getting my face 100% clean every night and leaving debris in my pores, or maybe there is another reason. Whatever the reason, I did notice my skin looked slightly better when I started using the Clarisonic again.

It looks a bit clearer, and smoother and more evenly toned, so I think this thing does make a difference. I don’t however think this is a necessity, I think you can probably get good results using a cheaper method of deep cleaning, but I think this may last a long time, so in the end, it will probably end up only costing me pennies a day to use.

One of the products I was given to try which did not work for me was Retin-A. Let me explain though, as I’ve done more research recently and I have decided that Retin-A is really a good thing, I just think that my dermatologist at the time first of all gave me way too high a dosage of it, and they also prescribed it to me in a harsh gel form instead of as a cream, which I think may have helped me with the dryness that it caused.

Retin-A is used not only for acne and acne scarring today, but it is also used as an anti aging product. The reason is that it is a retinoid, which speeds the turnover of your topical skin cells, thereby helping to prevent acne from forming because it helps keep the pores clear, and also helping to shed the older skin layers to reveal fresh new ones, and help prevent and minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles (it’s anti aging purpose, which is it still very popularly prescribed for).

When I was using this product, I not only was using this, which is a drying product if not used properly, but I was also using several very harsh, very drying products on my skin, thinking these were going to help my acne clear up. So I would use a harsh cleaner, and I would keep it lathered on my face way too long, then I would use an astringent, then I would apply the Retin-A.

All this while, I didn’t even think to use a moisturizer! In my youth, I was definitely ignorant of how to care for my skin, so the Retin-A just magnified the dryness and I ended up with flaking, dried, scabbed over skin that looked just awful and was very painful. Knowing what I know now, I think Retin-A is actually an excellent product when used correctly. I’ve read too many people that have had great experiences with it minimizing the pores and helping to keep acne at bay. I’m going to shortly add Retin-A overview page that gives you more information about this product!

What I saw on the front packaging for this product sold me instantly. It has my favorite over the counter acne wash additive, salicylic acid, so I was sold when I saw that. I love that salicylic acid not only helps to clear away debris to keep your face clear, but it also has an anti drying effect because it helps to slough away dead skin cells that make the skin appear dull and dry.

Ok, ok, I have to admit, I also love to buy new products! I love the new smells, the new feel of a slippery wash for the first time, the way that a new product makes my face feel, whether it’s positive or negative, and the packaging.

I’m a sucker for scents though, as you may already know, and I hate anything that is strongly chemically perfumed. Natural scents are good, I think that strong scents that indicate a lot of chemicals are not good, as they make me think they added quite a few chemical cocktails to get them to smell that way. That’s just me though. And I notice that the older I get, the more sensitive my sniffer gets to any offensive or too-strong odors, so I’m also gettin’ old!

I bring this up because the first thing that hit me, quite literally, about this Clean & Clear face wash was the smell. It was very heavily perfumed with a somewhat flowery smell. That I did not like right away, however, please keep reading because I have more to say. I liked the way my face felt after using this face wash. It did not feel too dry or tight, and yet it felt totally cleansed. It really washed away my makeup, including my mascara and eyeliner well too.

You have to use a little more of this product than some other face washes to get it to suds up enough to cleanse, but I’m ok with that since that actually indicates it doesn’t have too many irritating surfactants like sodium laurel sulfate in it. Of course, it still contains them because it’s not an all natural facial cleanser (which is my preferred status quo), but it’s nice to know it doesn’t have so much that it’s going to instantly strip your skin of all oil and protection and moisture in a matter of seconds.

This product only cost me about five bucks at Target. A great deal, especially since it’s in a fairly generous 8 oz. bottle, so it should last a few weeks since I only use it once a day. By the way, that’s my routine, I usually use one product in the morning and one at night, usually a gentler product in the morning since I’ve already cleansed the previous day’s dirt, grime and makeup the previous night with a more serious cleanser.

The Aveda acne product line is called Outer Peace, which is aptly named since acne is a combination of inner and outer stress on the skin, and requires hormonal balance to be clear again, which is part of what is achieved by taking internal medications or supplements like ZenMed’s to help balance the hormones, but also requires using natural, gentle products on the outside as well so as not to aggravate the skin and cause further flareups and redness.

The Outer Peace line has a few products that I’ve read about for acne, most of which have been reviewed favorably, but in my opinion are fairly pricey for the amount of product you get. Aveda hair care products are somewhat pricey, but they last forever, whereas a face wash or cream acne treatment isnt’ going to last you as long. You may need to have a bit more of a disposable income to enjoy the full line of products unfortunately, but sometimes paying extra is more than worth it for clear, calm skin.

If you’ve had any experience with this Aveda line of acne skin care products, please comment here and we’d love to hear your stories. I’d also love to try it for myself, which I probably will as I’m a huge fan of their other products.

I think you would be best served by using the Body Shop tea tree oil toner every other day, or at least just once a day, especially if you have combination skin. Those with extremely oily, problem skin may be able to get away with twice a day, but I think once a day or once every other day totally suffices if you’re looking to help keep surface debris off your skin that causes acne lesions, and are also looking for a great product to help seal up your pores and also to act as an antibacterial and antiseptic.

Bacteria does also contribute to acne, so tea tree oil based products are a great way to go to get the antibacterial aspect of acne fighting under your belt. This oil is known to have great astringent and antiseptic qualities, and is used for an array of purposes, even in addition to acne fighting, it was just found to help those suffering with acne a few years ago and hence became a popular base for acne products.

I really love the earthy smell of it too, and it’s in a really pretty bottle. I know those things don’t really matter, but it makes these products more pleasant to have around, look at, and smell!

Well, I just had returned from visiting my sister in Berkeley California, and we were on a layover in Chicago when my mom and I wandered intoi the Body Shop at the airport. It was a really big one too, bigger than the smaller Body Shop stores that I’m used to seeing in a few select malls around me.

They had walls and walls of makeup, skin care products, body care products and hair care as well, so I was basically like a kid in a candy store for about an hour, looking through all their products, testing them out (yes, you can test any of their products), and basically making myself into a big stink ball at the end (albeit a good smelling stinkball).

The one product I picked up that I wanted to talk to you about today, along with one other one that I feel may benefit acne prone skin, but which I have not gotten to try yet, is the Body Shop Tea Tree Oil toner. This product cost me about twelve dollars, and came in a pretty generous bottle which should be lasting me a while, especially now that I know it actually works better if you DON’T douse the cotton pad with it, instead using sparing amounts.

It had a mysterious white sediment in it at the bottom (all of them have this) and the wonderful sales person told me that these are additional astringent and acne fighting ingredients (yay), that settle to the bottom every time and need to be shaken up with every use.

It is a dark green color, and the smell of tea tree oil is unmistakeable. It’s a smell some people don’t care for, but I personally love the smell. It’s sort of earthy, woodsy and a little bit like camphor I guess is the way I would describe it best. This stuff works great too. You just use a little after you wash your face at night, I only use it once a day since the weather here in Ohio is getting a bit drier already, but in the summer I will probably use it in the morning and at night.

This stuff is great. You really do get a lot of dirt that you didn’t realize didn’t come off from a simple cleaning off with the stuff, so it does get down deep into the pores, and tea tree oil is a great natural toner and pore cleanser, and the reason it is used to acne is because it has natural antiseptic properties. All in all, it’s a great product, left my skin refreshed and very CLEAN feeling with no tightness afterwards.

Sulfur actually dates back for many many years as a treatment for skin conditions, including acne, and it’s even an ingredient in one of my favorite dandruff shampoo and is excellent for the scalp because it helps to address itchiness and flakiness pretty well too.  The actual physiological outcome of using sulfur on the skin topically is that it dries the skin out and ultimately makes it peel off.  This sounds somewhat like the idea behind one of my favorite topical additives, salicylic acid, which uses the principal of sloughing off dead skin cells to keep the face clear of debris and the pores clear so that nothing can settle in them and cause a zit.

Because it makes the skin peel off, it does help to keep it clear and helps to keep oil out of the pores as well.  Sulfur can be found in a wide array of acne products if you want to give it a whirl in one of your favorite products, so go out and look at the ingredients on the labels of some drugstore brands of acne products, such as acne clearing masks, topical spot treatments for individual spots of acne, cleansers, lotions, and serums and try it out.  For some, it may be too drying, but a lot of people have found that sulfur as part of their routine does help to take the oily surface off the skin, which in turn of course helps to reduce acne formation.

Here is the main difference between benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid.  Benzoyl peroxide is more of a bacteria killer than anything.  It goes after and attacks surface bacteria, which in turn helps to prevent and clear up acne since bacteria getting into the pores is a main reason for acne developing.  The reason that acne develops is because the over production of sebum causes bacteria and debris, such as dead skin, to get caught in and stuck in the pores, which causes inflammation in turn, which causes the acne you see.

The sebum causes the skin to be more “sticky” and attract this debris and bacteria, which is why some of the ways acne is treated is through the reduction of sebum production, making sure the debris is cleared away at all times, and attacking the bacteria that causes the acne to grow.  Salicylic acid comes in where the debris is.  Salicylic acid is a sloughing or exfoliating agent which helps clear away debris such as dead skin flakes and cells that eventually get caught in the sebum and cause inflammation.

It is great for sloughing off dead skin cells and revealing newer skin cells, and for this reason, there are salicylic acid acne treatments where you can swath it allover you face and let it sit, sort of like any other acid peel, and it will help to clean off the debris that so often causes acne to occur. A lot of people love this one too because it helps to fade old acne scars while also helping to treat the acne that’s there or soon to crop up because of it’s exfoliating properties.

I personally prefer it because it has dual uses and makes the skin look vibrant while also contributing to the demise of acne.

I settled on teh Starlite skin laser because it is advertised as being a better value and more effective than “other leading home lasers” because it is a more concentrated stream of soft red light which is supposed to be able to penetrate deeper into the skin tissue and be more effective at healing the skin (acne), helping soften scars, and rejuvenate collagen production and circulation, all of which are excellent for the skin.

Not only is it supposed to help acne and acne scarring, but it is also supposed to dramatically smooth and soften wrinkles and lines and age spots on the face with continued use.  I will be reporting to you shortly on how this new laser is working.  Price isn’t bad either – $109 with free shipping!  The only thing I can tell you I won’t like in contrast to the Beurer laser is that this one doesn’t come with a free battery charger, and instead of two AA batteries, it takes three AAA batteries, and does not come with the free charger, which kind of stinks.