Allow me to introduce you to what is quite possibly the best spot treatment ever. You might have heard of retinol before as an anti-ageing treatment for wrinkles and sun damage. Retinol is actually a derivative of Vitamin A which excels at treating various skin disorders including acne. As I'm sure you all know I love chemical exfoliants and I fully credit them with clearing up my skin. If something contains salicylic, lactic or glycolic acid, chances are I'll like it. Retinol is pretty much the next step up from them. Back when my chin was at it's worst I started researching retinol products. It was extremely difficult to decide which one to go for. Some of them are just crazy expensive! Then an email from What's In My Handbag popped into my inbox with their latest 'Try'. It was a new product from La Roche-Posay and it was exactly what I was looking for. Luckily I managed to get one of their 5ml samples of Redermic R and after just one use my skin looked and felt much improved. That tiny tube cleared up my active blemishes and cystic acne so much better than any other spot treatment I'd tried. I simply had to get the full size one.
This product is a thin white cream containing 0.3% retinol (0.1% pure retinol & 0.2% retinol linoleate). The pure retinol stimulates collagen and elastin, the retinol linoleate supports cell turnover and it also contains lipo hydroxy acid which exfoliates the skin. It has a slight floral scent but it's not overpowering or irritating. Retinol is the kind of the treatment you should stick to using at night and as with all chemically exfoliating products, SPF is a must during the day. Redermic R is intended to be used as an anti-ageing treatment so you can actually use this cream all over your face either with a moisturiser or on it's own. As I am only 25 wrinkles really aren't a concern of mine just yet so instead I've been moisturising my face as normal and then applying this only where I'm having a breakout.
You only need a tiny little blob of this stuff as it is very potent but it is also contained in a fairly moisturising base so it spreads out well and soon sinks in. One of the nice things about this product over other retinol treatments is that it is safe for sensitive skin. I don't know if any of you ever tried using things like Panoxyl but all those kind of Benzoyl Peroxide acne treatments left my skin irritated, red, raw and dry. This cream formula slightly reminds me of Panoxyl but without the horrific side effects. It's also a hell of a lot more effective on spots and makes my skin soft and smooth. It has that same immediate smoothing effect that often comes with chemical exfoliants. I did have a little dryness to begin with but that soon went away by alternating treatment with some Trilogy Rosehip Oil. It works so well on deep cystic acne and clears it up within a few days. It also treats active blemishes by reducing inflammation and often gives them a white head which I find makes them heal quicker. My chin is prone to blackheads and closed comedones and this sorts them out a treat too. I am guilty of picking and squeezing spots all the time which always leads to scarring. This is extremely effective on scarring and pigmentation. At the moment my chin looks like I never even had any problems there. I can't even tell you how happy that makes me!
I bought my tube of Redermic R from Boots because I could pay with my points but you can get it for a bit less online. If you're after something that can sort out all kinds of spots as well as lighten scarring, I really recommend this! It is a bit expensive but the tube is gonna last for months & months because of how little product you need. Indeed Labs (the people behind Hydraluron & Pepta-Bright) have also just brought out a new retinol product called Retinol Reface. It is a bit cheaper than Redermic R at only £20 but it does contain a lot of silicone. It has the feel of a silicone primer like Benefit's The Porefessional and I think Dimethicone is like the second ingredient on the list. That's not really something I would want to leave on my face overnight. I only tried that one instore so obviously I can't give you a full review on it and it might even be better than Redermic R but if silicone does irritate your skin then I'd save your money for La Roche-Posay's offering.
This product is a thin white cream containing 0.3% retinol (0.1% pure retinol & 0.2% retinol linoleate). The pure retinol stimulates collagen and elastin, the retinol linoleate supports cell turnover and it also contains lipo hydroxy acid which exfoliates the skin. It has a slight floral scent but it's not overpowering or irritating. Retinol is the kind of the treatment you should stick to using at night and as with all chemically exfoliating products, SPF is a must during the day. Redermic R is intended to be used as an anti-ageing treatment so you can actually use this cream all over your face either with a moisturiser or on it's own. As I am only 25 wrinkles really aren't a concern of mine just yet so instead I've been moisturising my face as normal and then applying this only where I'm having a breakout.
You only need a tiny little blob of this stuff as it is very potent but it is also contained in a fairly moisturising base so it spreads out well and soon sinks in. One of the nice things about this product over other retinol treatments is that it is safe for sensitive skin. I don't know if any of you ever tried using things like Panoxyl but all those kind of Benzoyl Peroxide acne treatments left my skin irritated, red, raw and dry. This cream formula slightly reminds me of Panoxyl but without the horrific side effects. It's also a hell of a lot more effective on spots and makes my skin soft and smooth. It has that same immediate smoothing effect that often comes with chemical exfoliants. I did have a little dryness to begin with but that soon went away by alternating treatment with some Trilogy Rosehip Oil. It works so well on deep cystic acne and clears it up within a few days. It also treats active blemishes by reducing inflammation and often gives them a white head which I find makes them heal quicker. My chin is prone to blackheads and closed comedones and this sorts them out a treat too. I am guilty of picking and squeezing spots all the time which always leads to scarring. This is extremely effective on scarring and pigmentation. At the moment my chin looks like I never even had any problems there. I can't even tell you how happy that makes me!
I bought my tube of Redermic R from Boots because I could pay with my points but you can get it for a bit less online. If you're after something that can sort out all kinds of spots as well as lighten scarring, I really recommend this! It is a bit expensive but the tube is gonna last for months & months because of how little product you need. Indeed Labs (the people behind Hydraluron & Pepta-Bright) have also just brought out a new retinol product called Retinol Reface. It is a bit cheaper than Redermic R at only £20 but it does contain a lot of silicone. It has the feel of a silicone primer like Benefit's The Porefessional and I think Dimethicone is like the second ingredient on the list. That's not really something I would want to leave on my face overnight. I only tried that one instore so obviously I can't give you a full review on it and it might even be better than Redermic R but if silicone does irritate your skin then I'd save your money for La Roche-Posay's offering.
twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'
This sounds like such a brilliant product! I've been relying on the Effaclar Duo, but this sounds much more effective for clearing up acne/hyperpigmentation x
ReplyDeletewww.crazylins.blogspot.co.uk
I also got one of the little samples from WIMH but I haven't used it because to be honest I wasn't sure what it was and with the warning that you have to use sunscreen during the day if you use this I was a little scared by it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do occasionally suffer with awful breakouts on my chin and I've been prescribed Duac for it (which is Benzoyl Peroxide). This is the only thing I have found so far that clears a bad breakout for me but I do have to be really careful as it's so harsh. So if this does the same thing but is much gentler then I will definitely try this out instead next time and thanks for letting me know how I can use this :)
Becky @ The Little Blog of Beauty
It's a shame about the silicone, it sounds amazing otherwise! x
ReplyDeleteMaddy from UNSTITCHEDD
♥
I had a pretty big sample of this and I found it great for acne scarring and redness, but not so much blemishes themselves - funny how things work differently for different people! I did really like it though, glad you did too :)
ReplyDeletethunderl0ve
This does sound really good. I've suffered with acne and scarring for years but it's really flared up over the last year so I'm looking for something that would help. I've tried sooo many different things. Can you buy the little samples? I'm using the Vichy Normablend products at the moment which is anti-age/anti-imperfection and tbh it's not making a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have a little google now, thanks for the review :)
Rachelle x
inspiredbytheretired.blogspot.co.uk
I got the sample from WIMH too but I've never even used it! Time to crack it open, thank you for this review, it sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love this blog post, I just wish this was something in my price range. TCP is really good at. Clearing up spots, it's a cheap alternative, about £2.00 for a small bottle, and it lasts ages!! X
ReplyDeletea lot of people have suggest tcp to me :) i think this is better if you have a crop of spots rather than just the odd one or two. it's also really effective at clearing up scarring so that's why i think it's worth paying a bit more for xx
DeleteOoh I have a tube of this in my bathroom as my Nan is reviewing it for LRP at the mo, might have to give it a go on my spotty chin! xx
ReplyDeleteI suffer from hormonal acne-prone skin and Vichy just sent me a tube of their Lift Active Concentrate (with 0.2% Retinol), so I'm hoping it clears up my skin! I've always been a bit scared of using retinol since I'm only 25, but if it gets rid of my spots, I don't care!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAcne is caused by increased hormone levels. You should talk to your doctor about possibilities for other treatments if what you are using isn't working. Beware of using any products for acne unless they have been prescribed or recommended by your doctor. Often both topical and oral antibiotics are needed to treat acne, and sometimes topical benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid and/or retinoids. Check out: https:skincaretour.com .
ReplyDelete