Not All Acne Skincare is Made Equal

After talking to a lot of our clients about their skin care regimen, we discovered that a large number are using Proactiv and prescription topicals for acne. One of our awesome estheticians here in the studio -Ashley- took it upon her to make a list of those and check if they are really helping your acne or not, based on their ingredients. As we have mentioned many times before, it is important as an an acne sufferer to make sure everything that goes on your face is non-comedogenic. Acne lesions start as a clogged pore and our product should not be making it worse. FDA does not regulate pore clogging ingredients so a lot of labels out there may claim they don't clog your pores , but in fact they do. Here is what we found: 

Proactiv Original 3-step System

Renewing Cleanser and Revitalizing Toner  - non-comedogenic;  Repairing Treatment has Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth-20 , which is a pore clogger. 

Proactiv 3-step System Deluxe Size

Skin Smoothing Exfoliator and Pore Targeting Treatment are non-comedogenic. Complexion Perfecting Hydrator also has Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth-20 , which is a pore clogger. 

Proactiv MD Essentials

Deep Cleansing Face Wash, Balancing Toner, Daily Oil Control SPF30 and adapalene gel are all non-comedogenic and safe to use. 

Other Proactiv Products

Blackhead Dissolving Gel has Shea Butter, which is comedogenic. 

Emergency Blemish Relief, Advanced Dark Spot Serum, Green Tea Moisturizer and Make Up Wipes are all safe to use on breakout prone skin. 

Skin Purifying Mask has Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth-20 , which is a pore clogger. 

Prescription Topical Medications: 

Differin, Tretinoin, Finacea, Aczone and Tazorac are all non-comedogenic. 

Epiduo and Epiduo Forte have Sorbitan Oleate /pore-clogger/ 

Retin-A both gel and cream have Isopropyl Myristate and Stearic acid , so pretty bad. 

Veltin has Laureth 4. Also not good. 

I hope you find this list helpful. While all of these have active ingredients that do help acne, because they exfoliate the inside of the pore and kill bacteria, some of them clog it back up simultaneously.  So choose wisely ......

P.S.

If you're in need of some new products check out our non-comedogenic line #SKIN