Some context: If I’m honest, my entire skin journey deserves its own novel (or more pointedly, a melodramatic soap). But to spare you the theatrics today, I’ll provide you with the CliffsNotes version. I struggled with acne as a teenager and all through my early 20s. After trying just about every antibiotic and cream on the market, I decided to do a round of Accutane—the big guns of acne treatments. Even post-Accutane, I still deal with hormone- and stress-related breakouts from time to time and use a prescription-strength retinoid cream.
In its most natural state, my skin errs on the side of oily, but using a retinoid cream dries it out significantly. So now, I would say I have combination skin. Going into this review, my main concerns were acne, dryness, scarring, and fine lines caused by said dryness. You’ll notice in the before photo that I was previously dealing with a few pimples here and there, dryness, and some dark spots sprinkled in. Although the product doesn’t necessarily advertise itself as a star acne treatment, I was curious to see if it would help with breakouts considering its highly advanced formula.
