Skin Care: The products that work best in clearing up my skin.

I was luckily enough to skip teenage acne, only having the odd pimple now and again but as soon as I turned 22 my skin was no longer playing nice. After trying every product I could think of (that is probably where I went wrong) I decided enough was enough. My lovely mum could see how upset I was becoming so she decided to enter the world of Youtube. After browsing for hours on end, she came across Elle Fowler's channel - AllThatGlitters21. Elle opened my eyes as to what could actually be causing my breakouts, so here goes:

1. MAC foundation - there is something in their liquid foundation that causes me to breakout. As much as I adored their foundation, I will be sticking to their blushers and eye shadows from now on. 
2. John Frieda Sheer Blonde colour renew - I had recently had my hair highlighted so I wanted to keep my hair looking as bright as possible. I never thought a Shampoo and Conditioner could cause you to break out - but as Elle was having the same problems I decided to ditch the products - and I must say, my skin started to calm down within a few days.
3. Simple facial wipes - Now most of my friends use Simple facial wipes and as they claim to be for sensitive skin I thought these would be perfect for my skin. But was I wrong! My skin started to react quite badly to these wipes and my breakouts became more frequent, so along with the shampoo and conditioner, I also ditched this product. 

So after being able to relate to Elle's experience I decided to try two of the products that she recommended. 

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

Bioderma Sensibio H2O is a gentle make up removing solution which is designed to gently cleanse the skin without the need of rinsing. 

After using this product for a couple of days, I could see such a difference in the appearance of my skin. The redness and blotchyness had started to calm down and I hadn't broke out. When I normally change skin care products, I will break out instantly, but with this there was nothing! I have been using this product every single morning since the beginning of March and I can definitely see what all the fuss was about. It is such an amazing product and it has made such a difference to my skin, I have 2 bottles remaining but when I run out, I will definitely be repurchasing. 

We are now lucky enough to be able to purchase Bioderma in the UK - I purchased this from eBay but you can now buy it online at Escentual.com

                                       Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

After researching into Cetaphil and realising that it was an American brand, I did not think I would be able to purchase this over in the UK. But my lovely mum decided to browse the internet and she managed to purchase this product, a long with the Bioderma on eBay for me! This product is recommended by Dermatologists over in the states so I was quite excited yet nervous to be trying it out for the first time. 

I use this product once I have removed all of my make up and I believe the best result is to rub it into your skin and remove the excess with a cotton pad or a tissue. Although you can rinse it off with water afterwards if you would prefer. 

I was a bit sceptical about trying this product out as I had previously had a terrible reaction / breakout to Dermalogica's gentle skin cleanser. But I must say, cetaphil is amazing. You may feel a little residue on your face afterwards but this product is quite fast drying so the sticky feeling is gone within a good few seconds. 

After using this product for a good 2 months, I can truly see the difference in my skin. My breakouts have calmed down 99% - don't get me wrong, I have the odd pimple now and again but I can cope with that. 

I have recently purchased another 2 bottles of this gentle cleanser and I believe it's a product I'm going to be using for a very long time. I would definitely recommend cetaphil. 

Cetaphil is now available at Costco, ASDA and Boots.com.

There are also a couple of products which I have discovered myself which have definitely helped to clear up my skin!

1. Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream

I really like this Bobbi Brown face cream, it has a lovely texture and it feels so hydrating and soft on your face. When I run out of this product I will definitely stick to the Bobbi Brown brand - but I am quite tempted to try the oil free face cream.

                                    2. Apple Cyder Vinegar Toner

As I have a few scars on my face from previous breakouts I decided to research the best home remedies to help reduce the redness and I came across Apple Cyder Vinegar. So, I decided to head down to my local supermarket and purchase a bottle. As vinegar can be quite harsh to your skin, I diluted it with water (3 parts water to 1 part vinegar). I use this toner both morning and night and I really do like it, it's definitely helped with the process of calming down my scars / redness. One thing I will say is the smell, as you can imagine it smells quite bad, and vinegar isn't exactly the nicest smell in the world. But I thought to myself, if it's going to work, I'm willing to put up with it. 

3. Sudocrem

I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of Sudocrem and how affective it is. I used this product a couple of years ago and it didn't really do anything for me. But after recently repurchasing it again, it's worked wonders. Whenever I feel a spot coming or if it's started to appear, I will put a thin layer on the affected area and within a couple of hours it's pretty much disappeared. The one thing I will say with this product is that a little bit definitely goes a long way. If you use a lot, then this could have an adverse affect on your skin and you could end up causing your skin to breakout. This product also contains Benzyl so it can cause your skin to become quite dry, so I would definitely recommend to only use a little amount as little often as possible. 

Have you used any of these products before? 

What skin care products do you swear by to control your breakouts?

Lots of Love

Amy xox