I've been using these two products religiously every single morning and evening as part of a skin care routine for combination skin for almost 3 weeks now, which I think is a fair testing time for most skin care products; by now if they were going to have an adverse effect it would have happened, and thankfully I haven't had any reaction whatsoever so here are my thoughts on La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and Effaclar A.I.
The La Roche Posay Effaclar range is specially formulated to combat oily skin, imperfections, persistent dilated pores and irregular skin texture. La Roche Posay products are paraben free, 100% hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, use minimal fragrance and ingredients, are tested on the most sensitive skin and all packaging is designed to minimise contamination from bacteria.
I'm so pleased that a brand has finally realised that oily, blemish prone skin isn't just a condition which blights teenagers, it can continue well into our 20's; however their leading dermatolagists have found that skin imperfections as we get older are often different in manifestation than those in our teens.
Why do some of us get skin imperfections well into adult life?
There are many causes of skin imperfections in adult life; stress and hormonal imbalances is a very common one, there are a lot of women who get one or two blemishes on their chin around 'that time of the month' and that of course is down to your hormones. When we go through periods of stress our skin will often rebel and breakout into spots so just to add to our misery of being stressed we have to cope with trying to get rid of or cover up hideous blemishes.
There are of course other causes of post teen spots, blocked follicles and pores are a breeding ground for bacteria which then causes white heads. Then of course there are external factors such as air pollution, comedogenic cosmetics and tiredness which also cause skin imperfections.
Skin imperfections is just a blanket term for a few different types of nasties which can occur on your face; Skin surface irregularities appear as bumps on the skin and may never actually develop into a white head, I have had a few of these just lately one in particular on my cheek and also one on my chin. Blocked pores can often manifest themselves in the form of blackheads; I've had a problem with blackheads on my nose for quite a while now. Dilated pores, or enlarged pores are a problem I've heard so many people complain about, make-up tends to sink into them and generally just look a bit awful. Localised shine is a tell tale sign of oily/combination skin, I tend to get shiny throughout the day on my forehead, on my nose and the sides of my nose.
So basically, lets just say I'm pretty much a perfect candidate for using these Effaclar products.
La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo £13.00 Boots
This is the much raved about, hero product for many people... I'm sure you will have seen your fair share of thoughts about this, which is one of the reasons I was so excited to try this. It is described as a 'complete solution for oily, acne prone skin' and acts upon active red pimples and blackheads whilst improving the overall texture of the skin. The two key ingredients are niacinamide and piroctone olamine which work together to purify the skin whilst the microexfoliating LHA and linoelic acid helps to eliminate dead cells which can obstruct pores and cause blemishes.
The product itself is a refreshing, non-greasy, mattifying moisturising gel. I have been using this religiously morning and night as part of my skin care regime; I've literally been using my cleanser, Effaclar Duo and then Effaclar A.I as I felt it was enough for my skin. Not using a moisturiser on top hasn't meant that my skin is any dryer than it would have been with it, so not only has Effaclar Duo helped me deal with skin imperfections, it's also helped to simplify my skincare routine. I've been using this for three weeks and I have around 1/4 tube left after constant use twice every single day, I don't think this is bad at all! For me it works great as a makeup base and this is literally the only product I've been using after cleanser and before my make up base; I've not noticed any disadvantages of doing this however I dare say that if your skin is a little on the dry side you may need to use moisturiser as well.
This works hand in hand with Effaclar Duo and is used directly on breakouts to help calm down the inflammation and stop breakouts developing at an early stage if you catch them quick enough, it should also help to prevent residual skin marking from breakouts.
I found that within an hour of applying Effaclar A.I, breakouts had reduced in size and redness, I have recently had a cluster of 5 spots on my jawline and it really helped to keep them under control and stop them all developing into full on angry, red spots. A little really goes a long way with this and I often found that more came out of the tube than I actually needed, however, after three weeks of use I still have at least 2/3 of the tube left if not more!
My Overall Thoughts
I would definitely recommend both products for anyone who has problematic skin in any way, especially if it's the odd hormonal spot. Both products have become staples in my skin care collection, although my skin isn't perfectly clear the Effaclar Duo has definitely improved the overall texture of my skin, it's much softer and smoother in all areas and I don't have any dry bits or any excessively oily bits. I don't expect anything to work miracles and although this hasn't stopped me getting spots completely, it has meant that I can control them easily whereas before I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do because nothing was working.
In terms of high street spot treatments I've tried in the past, these definitely win hands down. I'm not saying that they can do the same job for those of you with very severe acne but I would say that they'd be worth trying just to see if they do calm your skin down a bit.
At under £25 for a spot fighting duo of products I don't think you can go wrong, I will definitely be repurchasing both of these products (even though it'll be a while before I finish Effaclar A.I) and I'm looking into some of the other products from the Effaclar range, especially the astringent and the moisturisers... if these work for me it would make it a very affordable skin care routine indeed!!
No comments