Origins Super Spot Remover Acne Treatment

I have been using the Boscia Willowbark Breakout Treatment for quite a long time now and like the results that I get from it and how it doesn't irritate my skin.  I usually get maybe one or two breakouts a month and my skin issues are sensitivity and dryness and therefore I do not need a heavy acne treatment and prefer to completely stay away from products that contain any very strong ingredients.  The only product that I need in my skincare regime to care for my occasional blemishes is a spot treatment and one small bottle will last me a very long time.  I liked the more natural formula of the Boscia treatment and wanted to try another brand with a similar formula.  I decided to try the Origins formula after looking through all the treatments on Sephora website and ruling out those that promise to be much too strong for my skin.

I was actually considering buying another tube of the Boscia but since I am always switching products up, I ordered the small tube of Super Spot Remover Acne Treatment from Origins.  I have been getting very nice results from the Origins products that I have been trying over the past few months and I was more than happy to order another product from this line, I wish that I still had a full Origins store around me instead of just counters at Macy*s and Sephora. 

I ordered this product from Sephora and all descriptions and details are from this website.  "A blemish-busting acne spot treatment with salicylic acid.  Red PMS pimple? Bad joke breakout? Heal, fight, and fade it fast. Just dab on a dot and feel blemish-busting salicylic acid instantly help speed healing while anti-spot technology helps visibly correct post pimple darkening. Skin-calming caffeine and red algae help relieve irritating redness. And to help keep skin looking spotless, super exfoliators eliminate excess oils and pore-clogging debris."  This formula is deemed to be safe all skin types.

I ordered this bottle right before I was due to get my monthly blemish so that I could use it right away.  I had one medium-sized blemish on my chin and used this product on it at night and then once again in the morning.  After the first use, I could see that the blemish had gone down in size and the red hue was much lessened.  Two uses got rid o the whole blemish and cleared the whole area up, I was very happy that this product worked quickly however the blemish was not a large one.

I would only recommend the product to people with skin similar to mine, it works very nicely on occasional blemishes and skin that is not considered to be acne-prone or oily.  I don't think that this product would strong enough to clear up persistent acne problems or very oily skin that leads to blemishes.  I very much like this product but I would not recommend it to those who have larger acne issues than mine, this product is best for very occasional breakouts and those who have problems with more traditional acne ingredients causing dryness and redness to the skin.

Another Origins winner for me...I think I will keep ordering more items from this company and I need to visit a store than carries more of the makeup items than the counters currently do!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Murad Acne Spot Treatment

My skin is sensitive to many anti-acne ingredients so I have found that many of them only make my skin even worse than the blemish itself.  When the cure is even worse than the problem, it ends up in a very frustrating problem and the problem made the one or two blemishes that I get each month a huge disaster instead of a minor annoyance.  Most of the acne treatments that I have tried will rid me of the blemish but make the area around it dry, red, and flaking; making the whole area even worse to conceal and worse looking.  I tried to get around that isse by applying the treatment only exactly to the blemish and it reduced the issue but still couldn't rid me of the problem all together.  I mentioned this problem to the sales associate at Sephora several months ago and she recommened that I try something completely different than the traditional acne medication ingredients. 

She recommened the famed Murad acne products, some of the best-selling and top rated skincare products in thie store.  The Murad line contains sulfur as an active ingredient,  a more gentle anti-acne ingredient that is said to be better for sensitve skin that doesn't agree with other ingredients on the market today.  I decided to give it a shot since it couldn't really be any worse than most of the other products that I have tried.  I decided to buy the Acne Spot Treatment to start out since my skin doesn't have enough blemishes to warrant the purchase of the full Acne line.

"A fast-acting formula that minimizes acne breakouts.  This targeted formula eliminates and clears active breakouts and helps speed healing on contact.  Clinically proven in over 90% of users to reduce blemishes in just four weeks.", states the Sephora website by way of a product description.  This sport treatment contains four major active ingredients: Sulfur, Salicylic Acid, Zinc Oxide, and Licorice Extract.  Sulfur is used to help control and prevent breakouts.  Salicylic Acid is used to help exfoliate dead skin cell buildup.  Zinc Oxide and Licorice Extract both help to reduce the redness associated with the blemish.  Most of my product reactions occured when using benzoyl perioxide so I was ok with the amount of salicylic acid in this product. 

So why is sulfur different than many of the other ingredients on the market and is it as effective as others?  I found my answer on acne.org.  Sulfur helps to promote the peeling and drying of the skin and also works the same as salicylic acid to promote cell turnover.  Any type of cream that is applied to a blemish will help to dry out the blemish (hence why many ladies still use toothpaste on blemishes) however sulfur appears to be a more mild active ingredient.  I can't state how it will work in higher amounts than a spot treatment, I have never used it in a mask or in any type of face wash (nor do I think that I really need to).

The best part about this product is that it didn't dry out or irritate my skin.  It helped to heal the blemish but didn't make the whole area look worse as it is working.  I could see that ingredients that helps to reduce redness were included in this formula, they helped to make the area look a bit better and therefore easier to conceal.  What is the downside of using sulfur instead of other acne ingredients?  It takes the blemish about twice or three times as long to heal as other products that I have tried.  This is fine for me since I only get about one blemish a month and can completely deal with taking those extra few minutes to cover it up.  But I can't imagine that this ingredient is the best choice for those who have moderate to severe acne (unless a much more intense version is prescribed by a doctor).  I am perfectly fine with the product taking a bit longer since it doesn't dry the area out and makes it easier than normal products to cover up.

I recommend this spot treatment for those of us with more sensitive skin than don't have the greatest reactions to some traditional acne ingredients.  I don't recommend this product for someone with moderate to severe acne and if you have more a more oily skin type then you will get better results from a traditional benzoyl peroxide formula. 

photo courtesy of Sephora