Pretty much everyone struggles with acne at some point in their life, whether as hormonal middle schoolers, stressed out high schoolers, adjusting college students, or even during young adult years. If you’ve dealt with seemingly uncontrollable breakouts, I understand your pain. If you haven’t, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
I didn’t deal with serious acne until senior year of high school. At the time, I was balancing a huge AP course load, the stress of college applications, and two stage shows that both left me sweating under the stage lights in a full face of makeup. To sum it up, my skin was not happy. For the first time in my life, I was dealing with insane breakouts that wouldn’t go away.
If you’ve been on Twitter or Instagram at all in the past year, you’ve probably seen the extremely popular Twitter threads or screenshots of threads describing how some cleared up problematic skin with organic routines. I stumbled upon these threads in the midst of my worst breakouts and decided I was desperate enough to try them. I compiled a list of the most featured products and went on a huge shopping spree, hopeful that this drastic change would help clear up my skin. Over the course of seven months experimenting with this routine, I probably spent over $300 in products. In this article, I will break down the products I used into two categories: What I Didn’t Like and What I Liked.
For the record, this is a personal review of the products. I am describing the products how I experienced them. I have very oily skin and others might have different opinions on these products than me.
What I Didn’t Like
Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap
I saw this face wash on almost every popular skincare thread featured. Because I had read in some reviews that using this more than once a day could cause irritation, I decided to use the soap diluted with a bit of water as my morning face wash. After using it, my skin honestly didn’t feel very clean. After a few weeks, my breakouts were actually more inflamed. I decided to use the soap as hand wash instead.
African Black Soap
On the bright side, this product was extremely cheap. One bar of African black soap, which lasted me for several months, only cost about $4. I used this face wash every night before I went to bed. I didn’t see any improvement in my skin. It wasn’t the worst product, but it didn’t do anything to help me.
Tea Tree Oil
I was so excited when I found out that tea tree oil was a supposed miracle worker for bad breakouts. I love using natural oils in my daily routine, so I was extremely disappointed when this “natural hack” turned out to be a bust. I was using it on breakouts for a while, but it made my skin extremely dry and inflamed. It left my cheeks peeling and made my scarring worse. In conclusion, do not use tea tree oil on your face at all if you have sensitive skin. If you don’t have sensitive skin, you could try using tea tree oil diluted with water, but even then I’m not a supporter.
Aloe Vera Gel
This review is not really negative towards the product, but more directed towards its convenience, Something that annoys me to no limit is reading on popular skincare threads that girls put aloe vera directly from the plant leaves on their faces every night. I went out and bought a living aloe vera plant for this routine, and after just one night of attempting to extract gel from the plant I knew I would not keep it in my routine. No student has time to chop off an aloe vera leaf, split it, and scrape aloe vera onto their face. There is no easy way to do it without making a little mess, and who wants to have to clean that up every night? If you absolutely love aloe vera gel, I would suggest buying a jar of organic gel instead of a plant.
What I Liked
Witch Hazel Toner
This is one product that I think lived up to its hype. My skin felt so fresh and clean whenever I used this with a cotton ball. It got all of the makeup and gunk out of my pores at the end of the day.
Mario Badescu Rose Water Spray
I lived in Houston, Texas, home of heat and humidity, during my time using this product and loved how it cooled off my face. It made my skin feel fresh when it was sweltering outside. I would highly recommend this product. Pro tip: I would spray it on after doing my makeup to keep my skin looking dewy.
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay
This is by far my favorite product that I found through skincare threads. It makes a bit of a mess if you’re not careful, but I made it a weekly habit to mix apple cider vinegar with the clay powder and use it as a mask. I saw really good results in my pores and breakouts!
Since then, my skin has cleared up enormously due to different changes in routine. I still use the products I liked, along with other products that have helped a lot. The number one piece of advice I can give you is to go to an in-person dermatologist or do online dermatology appointments. Medical professionals can make such a huge difference. And, no matter what, you are beautiful and shining!
