Natural Weapons in the War on Acne

Last Monday I woke up with two of the biggest zits I've ever had in my life. I think they can be attributed to a variety of things; that weekend I didn't get much sleep, I wasn't eating well, and I didn't use my Trader Joe's Tea Tree Soap! By using the following products, my skin went back to its normal, mostly smooth state:

Rainwater Botanicals Troubled Skin Care Trial Kit

Collective Wellbeing Acne Detox Mask

 1. Rainwater Botanicals Troubled Skin Facial Soap

I washed my face first thing in the morning, then before going to bed with this soap.

Ingredients: Saponified vegetable oils [mainly coconut oil], glycerin (kosher, of vegetable origin), purified water, sorbitol (from berries; a moisturizer), sorbitan oleate (an emulsifier), soybean protein (a conditioner), organic hemp seed oil (cold-pressed), neem seed oil, French green clay, essential oils, and titanium dioxide (a mineral whitener)  

2. Collective Wellbeing Acne Detox Mask

In the morning, I used this mask right after I washed my face and before doing the rest of my routine. After the mask completely dried, I washed it off with the Troubled Skin Facial Soap.

3. Rainwater Botanicals Pimple Potion

After washing my face, I applied this directly to the problem areas (i.e., the zits). Its consistency was mush more watery than I has expected, so I just tapped it on without rubbing or anything.

Ingredients: organic black willow extract, organic calendula hydrosol, organic helichrysum extract, organic apple extract, organic chamomile hydrosol, organic geranium hydrosol, essential oils or basil, geranium, and bergamot

4. Rainwater Botanicals Troubled Skin Facial Serum with Frankincense and Tamanu

I applied this serum all over my face, concentrating on the problem areas. Only a few drops were needed for my whole face.

Ingredients: Organic Aloe Juice, DMAE, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rooibos Tea Extract, Emusifying Wax, Organic Green Tea Extract, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Tamanu oil, Organic White Tea Extract, Vitamin E, Sodium Hyaluronate, Vitamin B3, MSM, Organic Black Willowbark Extract, Xanthan Gum, essential oils of frankincense and sandalwood

5. Rainwater Botanicals Troubled Skin Facial Cream

I think this cream is pretty superfluous because its ingredients are incredibly similar to those of the serum.  Also, the serum seems to provide enough moisturizing on its own. Rainwater Botanicals states that their serums can be used alone or with moisturizers or creams.

I used it in areas that need a little bit more moisturizer, mainly my cheeks.

Ingredients: Water, Organic Aloe, vegetable emulsifying wax,organic black willow bark extract, organic calendula water, organic geranium water, organic chamomile water, wild crafted shea butter, organic plum kernel oil, vegetable glycerin, organic tamanu oil, naturgard(natural preservative), organic rose hip oil, organic jojoba oil, olive squalane, rosemary extract, lactic acid, organic lecithin, msm, essential oils of frankincense and sandalwood.

Note: I did not use the Rainwater Botanicals toner that came in the trial kit.

In a couple days I felt much happier with my face, and in five days my face was completely healed. I hope you found this helpful!

~ Susan

Green or Unclean: Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

Whenever I get a zit, I want it to go away quickly. I used to use spot treatments by Neutrogena and Clearasil, but when I was looking at the ingredient list I was surprised how many ingredients there were in such a small product. When I found Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion, I was happy to see a shorter list.

Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol, Deionized Water (Aqua), Calamine, Camphor, Colloidal Sulfur, Salicylic Acid,Glycerine, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Talc

This has a Skin Deep Rating of 3

These seemed like much better ingredients than other acne spot treatments. I was surprised to see that the ingredient with the highest Skin Deep Rating was salicylic acid. I've been using products with salicylic acid since I was fifteen, so I'm not so concerned that I'll throw this stuff out, but I will look into this ingredient more and figure out how I feel about it.

The Drying Lotion promises to shrink whiteheads "virtually overnight." It has interesting instructions. The "lotion" looks like a solution with a precipitate at the bottom. At night, after cleansing, toning and moisturizing, you apply some of the lotion to the whitehead. You have to take care to not mix up the solution and only apply the pink sediment to your skin. I think this does help dry out whiteheads, but over a couple of days, not overnight. It performs about the same, or perhaps a little less well than other spot treatments that I use. I have some tea tree oil that I like to use on a more regular basis, and only break out the Drying Lotion when I have a particularly stubborn spot.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion is greener than other spot treatments, but not effective enough to warrant a re-purchase.