If I had a pound for every person who told me that my skin would 'magically' clear up once I hit my mid-20s, I'd be an incredibly wealthy woman! Sadly though, neither happened (sigh) and whilst my complexion is certainly less spotty than when I was a teenager, it's still prone to some annoying, confidence-busting breakouts as an adult.
During my teen years, my skin was as moody as I was; it was easily irritated, often angry at the world and would flare up at a moment's notice for no reason at all (yeah, I didn't handle puberty well at all!). I was lucky enough that I had never had severe acne, but a mild amount was more than enough to knock what little self-confidence I had in myself, and I quickly became very conscious about it.
Moving forward to the present day and my skin is a lot clearer thanks to a better diet and skincare routine, but I still experience regular stress and hormone-related breakouts. I've been dealing with a particularly bad one recently due to exams stress, so it's been the ideal time for me to test out a product that I've always wanted to try from Dr. Hauschka, their Clarifying Intensive Treatment.
Designed as a specialised treatment for acne and blemish-prone skin, Dr. Hauschka's Clarifying Treatment has been developed to support unbalanced skin. Now, if you're familiar with Dr. Hauschka, they have a very different natural approach to skincare than most other green beauty brands. Their formulas are carefully 'rhythmitised' to work in harmony with the skin and its natural 28-day renewal cycle. You can read more about this in further detail here.
100% natural and organic, certified by NATRUE. Cruelty-free. Key ingredients include Sage and Mercurialis to rebalance the skin, and there's also Witch Hazel and Chicory to control moisture levels and minimise breakouts. Full ingredients: Water/Aqua, Mineral Salts/Sales, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Fragrance/Parfum, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract¹, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Extract¹, Mercurialis Perennis Extract¹, Peridote¹. ¹in rhythmitised dilution. Free from synthetic fragrances, dyes, preservatives, mineral oils, silicones and PEGs.
Who Can Use It?
Anyone who has acne or is prone to blemish breakouts. Dr. Hauschka have two types of Clarifying Intensive Treatment based on age (one for under 25s and one for over 25s) to address the differences in the skin at those life stages, so choose the right one for you.
How Do I Use It?
Use this Clarifying Treatment instead of your usual toner for 28 days (to complete the full renewal cycle of your skin), applying after both morning and evening cleanses. Mist 3-4 pumps all over the face and gently press into the skin.
Overall Thoughts?
At first, I was a little sceptical as to whether this was going to do much for me. I've used a couple of Dr. Hauschka's skincare products in the past and have found them a little hit and miss to be honest, but I'm pleased to say that this is one of the good ones! I didn't see any big changes straight away though, so it's definitely something that I would recommend sticking with for the full 28 days, making sure to not miss a day for the best results. After around a week of continued use, I started to see a reduction in the size of my blemishes, and by day 15/16, pretty much all of my blemishes had gone, as well as the associated redness and inflammation. During the rest of the 28 day trial, I only had ONE new blemish pop up when I got my period (I usually get a lot more!), and this quickly subsided within the next two days.
The two downsides for me with this product is that I found it quite drying on my skin and noticed some flaky areas start to appear around my nose and chin that weren't there before. Dr. Hauschka recommend using the Clarifying Treatment four times a year to stimulate and rebalance the skin (28 day cycles each), so I'm keen to try it again in the near future, but with some more hydrating products in my routine to try and combat these dry patches. The other obvious downside is the price; at £51 for a full 28 days worth of treatment, it won't be accessible for everyone, but for those who have a higher budget for their skincare essentials, it may be a worthy investment to keep those pesky breakouts at bay.
Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Intensive Treatment* (40ml, £51) is available from LoveLula.com
What are your favourite anti-blemish products?
I love this and the fact that you wrote an actual post on this its so interesting to read i cant be doing with bloggers who write 2 sentences and say how it smelled amazing >.> haha
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Haha same! It's one of the reasons why I enjoy reading your blog as well - I need all the details! x
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