The Acne Post

I've been battling acne since I was 15. And while it comes and goes in hormonal waves and is not half as bad as it was in high school, it's still the bane of my existence. I have tried literally hundreds of acne products. In high school I mainly used Clean & Clear and then Proactiv, followed by a more aggressive approach recommended by a dermatologist that involved some kind of oral medication I can't remember  combined with 2 creams I can't remember. More than one dermatologist has prescribed Ziana gel for me. I've switched birth control pills more than once. And then I've tried the natural approach with tea tree oil and also dabbing on a spot of toothpaste. And nothing, NOTHING has been effective over the long run. 

It's a minor health problem, but it has majorly effected my self esteem over the years. In high school it was mainly why I didn't talk to boys. Post-high school I can think of several occasions on which I've rearranged my schedule because I was having a bad skin day. I even had a pimple on my wedding day, and acne is something I never thought I would have to be dealing with at this time of my life, at 26. The bottom line is that it sucks. There is no "cure." And for many people, it doesn't stop when you leave your teens. 

There are products that can help, and the point of this post is to tell you about two of them: Boscia Willow Bark Breakout Treatment and Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment. I've been using the Boscia treatment for about a year now and it's gentle, unscented, and goes on clear (pretty much the opposite of the Kate Somerville product). It's effectiveness varies, but with smaller pimples it has made a noticeable difference overnight. For bigger pimples I reach for the EradiKate. This stuff is potent. It's Pepto Bismol pink, with a sticker on the top telling you "DO NOT SHAKE," and it smells very strongly of sulfur, its primary blemish-fighting ingredient. Be forewarned that this stuff is a man-repellant, so be choosy with which nights you apply it. The pink sediment will separate from the clear oil in the bottle, and you're supposed to stick a cotton swab directly into it all the way to the sediment at the bottom. I usually do this but add in a swirl with the q-tip, to make sure you get the sediment and not just the clear stuff, which does nada. You want to make sure the pimple is completely covered in pink after you apply it. It usually stings a tiny bit when you first put it on, but that quickly fades.

I would estimate that my success rate with EradiKate is 90%. It almost always reduces pimple size. It's more effective on the over-the-skin pimples like whiteheads than the more frustrating under-the-skin pimples. But, I'll take it. 

I Believed in Boscia

I had really high hopes when I first noticed the Boscia display tucked away in the farthest corner of my local Sephora's skincare section. The green leaf logo with simple black text and all-white packaging boded well for low-key, natural products. I was in the store in early July, when it finally starts to feel slightly hotter than the pleasant year-round temperature of 72 degrees in sunny Santa Barbara, and on the hunt for a lightweight summer moisturizer. 

A sales rep directed me to the Boscia Oil Free Moisturizer with SPF 15, and it did seem to fit all my criteria: lightweight, non-greasy, natural, with SPF. I decided to try it out, and, since I have no self-control when it comes to food and beauty products, also picked up Boscia's Willow Bark Breakout Treatment, Recharging Night Moisturizer, Clear Complexion Cleanser, and Luminizing Black Mask.

The Oil Free Moisturizer is pretty basic and true to its label, but at $36 for 1.4 oz, there are cheaper alternatives for the same quality.  I'm still using the Recharging Night Moisturizer almost every night (after my Argan Oil application of course) and the blemish treatment, even though its effectiveness has dwindled. When I first squeezed out some of the clear gel and applied it to a medium-sized pimple, I was shocked at how it had shrunk to small-sized by the morning. Unfortunately, my experience with most acne products has been high effectiveness for a few days to as long as a few weeks, followed by absolutely nothing as my skin develops an immunity. I'm cruelly tricked into thinking I've found the perfect product to cure me of the acne I've been plagued with since I was 15 until BAM! That medium-sized pimple might have just turned plus-size overnight.

Boscia claims to be "natural," and while they are preservative free, most of their products have long ingredient lists, which is something I'm really trying to move away from. I had an allergic reaction to their Clear Complexion Treatment, not an extreme one, but some pretty persistent itchiness about 15 minutes after application, and that one bad egg kind of turned me off the line. 

The truth is, I don't dislike Boscia. It's a huge plus for me that it's carried at Sephora, which has an awesome return policy so I can easily return products I've tried and am allergic to. It's also probably the most natural brand carried by the store, and I like their no-frills packaging. But, like I mentioned, I was really hoping for much more than a "meh" reaction. It had potential. Oh well, on to the next!