Be it a special occasion, or you have something important coming up, there's always an uninvited guest that decides to attend too - an annoying spot!
So in my spots post a while ago, I talked about some different causes and types of spots. A lot of what I talk about in that post is pretty basic knowledge to anyone trained within the beauty & skincare industry.
What you basically need to know is: don't squeeze or pick a spot unless it has a noticeable 'white' head, this means your skin is offering the gunk up to you. If it is red, sore and has no head, leave it alone!
My latest spot fighting routine:
(links to products included)
So in my spots post a while ago, I talked about some different causes and types of spots. A lot of what I talk about in that post is pretty basic knowledge to anyone trained within the beauty & skincare industry.
What you basically need to know is: don't squeeze or pick a spot unless it has a noticeable 'white' head, this means your skin is offering the gunk up to you. If it is red, sore and has no head, leave it alone!
My latest spot fighting routine:
(links to products included)
1. First cleanse - to remove make up - using a cleansing oil (one of the following: Una Brennan vitamin C+ brightening cleansing oil (currently half price!), or Body Shop's Chamomile one, Elemis also have brought out a new one called Nourishing Omega Rich cleansing oil which is lovely, too.)
2. Second cleanse, to clean my skin - using a cleansing balm, like the Elemis pro collagen balm, or Emma Hardie's moringa one, or Body Shop's cleansing butter. Read my recommended cleansers post here for more.
3. Bravura's salicylic acid treatment, applied all over my skin and left on for a couple of minutes, concentrating on the spot. See full review here.
4. After removing the salicylic acid treatment, I'll tone using my Darphin Intral toner - this is great for calming any outbreaks of redness, it's amazing generally on any inflammation at all.
5. I'll then apply some of my Clarins Lotus face treatment oil, about 4 drops and press it into my skin (see my serums and oils post here) and massage my face using my Body Shop Twin Ball revitalising facial massager - it helps boost circulation and is great for any lumps and bumps around the jawline. Very draining too, think of it as removing all the 'crap' from your face. See full review of this here.
6. When I've finished massaging my face, I apply the Elemis herbal lavender repair mask over the top and leave it on for about 10 minutes. I mentioned this in my PM routine post here.
7. Remove the mask, tone again using Darphin Intral.
8. I then apply some of the Aesop Control Gel directly on the spot, this product contains salicylic acid which is amazing on spots, as well as aloe vera which calms, hydrates and gets rid of redness. I love the consistency of this, it's quite a thick gel which stays in the area you apply it to. It annoys me when you apply a spot treatment and it's runny, it ends up spreading all over the place where you don't need it.
9. I press in a couple of drops of the Clarins Lotus oil again, and finish by applying some of the Aesop gel onto the spot again, and leave overnight.
This routine is foolproof for me, normally the spot will be gone by the morning, or within a day or so. To some, this routine might seem a bit long winded - but if you want to get rid of that spot, put the effort in.
A Mini Review:
3. Bravura's salicylic acid treatment, applied all over my skin and left on for a couple of minutes, concentrating on the spot. See full review here.
4. After removing the salicylic acid treatment, I'll tone using my Darphin Intral toner - this is great for calming any outbreaks of redness, it's amazing generally on any inflammation at all.
5. I'll then apply some of my Clarins Lotus face treatment oil, about 4 drops and press it into my skin (see my serums and oils post here) and massage my face using my Body Shop Twin Ball revitalising facial massager - it helps boost circulation and is great for any lumps and bumps around the jawline. Very draining too, think of it as removing all the '
6. When I've finished massaging my face, I apply the Elemis herbal lavender repair mask over the top and leave it on for about 10 minutes. I mentioned this in my PM routine post here.
7. Remove the mask, tone again using Darphin Intral.
8. I then apply some of the Aesop Control Gel directly on the spot, this product contains salicylic acid which is amazing on spots, as well as aloe vera which calms, hydrates and gets rid of redness. I love the consistency of this, it's quite a thick gel which stays in the area you apply it to. It annoys me when you apply a spot treatment and it's runny, it ends up spreading all over the place where you don't need it.
9. I press in a couple of drops of the Clarins Lotus oil again, and finish by applying some of the Aesop gel onto the spot again, and leave overnight.
This routine is foolproof for me, normally the spot will be gone by the morning, or within a day or so. To some, this routine might seem a bit long winded - but if you want to get rid of that spot, put the effort in.
A Mini Review:
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a while ago I've been testing out the Origins Super Spot Remover for a few weeks before reviewing it on here. With skincare you don't always see instant results so it's important to give things a while to see if they work for you.
This is one of those products that seems to have a bit of a cult following. I decided to try this out when my tube of Aesop gel ran out. It's £15.00 for 10ml, (pretty close to the Aesop one which is £15 for 9ml) and the bottle is so small and cute, I didn't realise how small it would be until it arrived in the post and it's tiny!
What initially drew me to this was the fact that it contains salicylic acid, which is one of the best things to use on spots and breakouts. Any regular readers will know, I'm a big fan of acids, they literally changed my skin (along with using good cleansers, etc).
It also contains red algae which is supposed to be very calming and help with redness.
When I first applied this, the first thing I noticed was the smell, it's a strong medicinal smell. It's not unpleasant, but it's quite noticeable.
The consistency is quite a runny gel, when I have it on my finger I feel like I'm rushing to screw the lid back on the bottle, before it runs off my finger and onto the floor! I'd prefer if this was a slightly thicker consistency, as I find it almost spreads too far rather than staying on the offending spot.
As for the results, to be honest, I found it a bit 'meh'....as in, it was okay, nothing mind blowing. It didn't clear up my spots anywhere near as quickly as the Aesop one, and it didn't seem to calm the redness down either.
When it's applied it felt drying and made my skin feel taut, I hate that feeling. I think the drying effect is due to the fact it contains alcohol denat, which is stripping on the skin leaving it feeling 'tight'. I also noticed that when I slept in it, my face got literally stuck to my pillow which hasn't happened before, ew.
All in all, this isn't a product I would repurchase or recommend. I'll stick with my trusty Aesop control gel!
What are some of your best spot fighting products? I'd love to know!
