Oh, this one’s easy. I rave about it all the time. Definitely Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion! It totally changed my skin…and my life. I’m prone to breakouts, and when I don’t use this potent, preternatural pimple cream, the zits return, and they return in full force.
Anti-Bac contains 5% benzoyl peroxide, which really isn’t that cutting edge in terms of acne fighting ingredient, but the devil’s in the details I guess, because there’s something wonderful about this particular formulation that my skin loves. The effect is almost immediate. It goes to work clearing up any existing pimples I have and prevents new breakouts entirely. Seriously, like within a few days! Nothing else I’ve found works quite like it, and I’ve tried everything.
I have to remember to use enough of it though. I massage two pumps all over my face (everywhere except my eyes, of course!), once in the morning, and once again at night. That’s my sweet spot for clear, happy skin. Anything less than two pumps, and I break out.
Other things I love about this product? 1) It doesn’t have a strong BP smell, and 2) it layers well under moisturizer, sunscreen and makeup. It’s also pretty easy to find and available at Sephora and Nordstrom, among other places.
How about you? What’s one product that dramatically improved your skin?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Dermalogica Clear Start Acne Spray. It has salicylic acid and I use it on my chest and body. It helps prevent body acne and is especially needed in summer when I’m more sweaty and acne-prone!
My daughter is 23 and has suffered with acne since elementary school. She’s looking for a non oily foundation primer that won’t break out her skin and actually works as a primer. Anyone know of such a product?
I have very oily skin, and have used Dr Brandt’s Pores No More primer for years. There are probably others out there that will work, but this does the trick for me.
Cover Fx
iS Clinical Active Serum
This product keeps my pores clear and skin smooth. I love way more than I ever thought I would and always have a bottle on hand.
(If I weren’t limited to one product, I would also chose BR P50, Skinceuticals Hyperpigmentation Serum, Biossance Rose Vit. C, and Neogen’s SPF 50 Lotion.)
A pore vacuum I ordered on amazon last year – life changing!!!
Oh my gosh, TELL ME MORE!
Seconding Karen! Would love to know more / which one you purchased!
Um, thirding! Do tell, Rebecca!!!
I want to know more as well.
Neutrogena HydroBoost gel-cream moisturizer. You’d think that living in a million percent humidity for most of the year would mean I didn’t have dry skin, but the opposite is true because of the constant air conditioning. And we have to de-humidify to fight mold. (#TropicalProblems, lol.) So the Neutrogena has been a moisturizing game-changer for my skin. The body lotion is amazing, too.
Biologique recherche p50…google the reviews TOTAL GAME CHANGER!
Honestly the only “dramatic” result in the real sense of the word I got from Redensity.
I use Kate Somerville face wash, but I need to get my hands on this! I have tried everything under the sun! What I have now works well but not enough. 42 and I break out like a teenager!
Thanks for this! I have an item to buy!
Yes! I love Kate Somerville’s AntiBac! It’s the best product out there if you have acne prone skin. And I have tried everything – and I am 68 and still break out if I don’t use this stuff – sad. I have another new love though, I’m a nurse (yes, still working!) and sometimes get those little white heads under my N95 mask – so I have been using Tower 28 – SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray. It’s another game changer – spray this lovely liquid twice a day and no breakouts – even without using AntiBac. I buy this at Sephora, online.
RMS Beauty Oil in the winter makes my skin soft, clear and comfortable.
Paula’s Choice 2% Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution, and the 4% Advanced Pore Refining Treatment if I have a hormonal/monthly breakout.
Sadly, giving up sugar worked better than anything else. But when I indulge, the original La Mer cream is awesome. P50 is great and I am looking for an alternative to La Mer (testing Kate Somerville soon).
This really helped me a lot, too, when my hormonal acne was at its worst. I also cut back on dairy and that helped.
Another vote for cutting way back on sugar. I can go about two months without it and then a birthday or anniversary or holiday rolls around and I have one tiny slice of cake and I’m done in for the next few weeks until I struggle to get the sugar craving under control again. Sigh. With me it’s either all or nothing.
Cheryl Lee MD True Lipids moisturizers – there’s a lighter lotion for warmer weather and I use the Ceramide+ cream when my skin is drier. It does wonders for my redness, bumpiness, and eczema.
The one product that is a total game changer with lots of solid science that proves its efficacy is prescription strength retinoic acid. I’ve used it for decades. I use lots of other good stuff as well, but my other lotions and potions change as my skin’s needs change and as new developments in skincare emerge. For example, I don’t use the same serums and moisturizers in. Y seventies that I used in. Y forties, it I’ve always used a good retinoid.
Oh, those typos! Dang arthritis!! It should say I don’t use the same serums and moisturizers in my seventies that I use in my seventies but I’ve always used a good retinoid.
Sheesh! seventies that I used in my forties. I better quit!
L’Oreal RevitaLift 10% pure glycolic acid serum. Not only has it reduced the color of my acne scars, it also works on my arm-in April I accidentally scratched my arm and it ended up scarring (WTF? That never happens! I chalked it up to COVID stress), but after putting a drop of the L’Oreal glycolic acid on the scar every night for 3 months, I have trouble finding it now!
Paula’s Choice 2% BHA liquid.
Seconding! I love this stuff. Also using a face oil. I had never tried it before because I thought I didn’t need more oil on my already oily skin, but the stuff really works and my skin glows now, who’d have thought 🙂
Third! I think almost 10 years now on this stuff.
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid, I had 2 dry spots right under my eyes and using a little of this every night under moisturizer definitely took care of it, helped reduce the look of wrinkles and my skin looked nice and plump and fresh. Excellent product and excellent price.
Tretinoin. I struggled with severe acne and once I had my kids and went on prescription, my skin became the best it has ever been.
SkinMedica Retinol .5%. I tried it after seeing a lot of recs here in the comments on one of your posts and it works well for me. My skin responds much better to salicylic acid than benzoyl peroxide so I haven’t gotten on the Kate AntiBac train. 🙂 I’ll be researching pore vacuums now.
The combo of differin gel at night and differin daily deep cleanser (pretty sure the benzoyl peroxide is the money maker in this) in the morning seems to be the key to keeping my skin relatively zit free. Tried them out at the reccomendation of my derm and they usually do the trick for me. Have to be consistent though, that’s the big thing.
I see a lot of people wondering about pore vacuums. I have to say, they can be pretty amazing. You can SEE all the gunk this thing sucks out of your pores. If you like watching Dr Pimple Popper, you’ll love watching this machine extract blackheads with the greatest of ease. Of course, follow the directions to a tee. If you stay on the same place for more than a few seconds, it can cause redness, bruising or broken capillaries. Don’t be too discouraged. I’ve used one for over a decade and never experienced any of that. I mostly just use it on my nose and cheek areas on either side of my nose. With oily skin, I have moon crater pores in those areas. A good pore vacuum will remove all the funk and junk, especially during these summer months when I wear more sunscreen and it feels like my face can’t breathe because it’s so clogged. Good luck and happy vacuuming!
Any brand recs?
Erin, would love to know which one you use/recommend!
Thanks so much!
Still not tried this brand!