If you're not familiar with the Acne.org regimen, it's a system of 3 main products...a gentle cleanser, a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide gel, and a jojoba-infused moisturizer. I'll review each of these separately, eventually. Dan's BP Gel is the best, hands down, so when I heard he was going to make a glycolic-based AHA I was the one of the first in line to place an order. I use BP twice a day, so my skin can get pretty flaky if I don't moisturize enough and/or use a chemical exfoliant. My chemical exfoliant of choice is glycolic acid, since my skin seems to love it. Initially my skin did hate me, but as I learned with BP, you must get through that stage to see the real benefit. I had tried a bunch of different glycolic-based moisturizers prior to Dan releasing his own and none had really phased me. I settled on Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion with SPF15 and I do like it, but it's so greasy even though it's oil-free, that I need to blot before I continue on with my morning routine. Not that it's a huge deal, but i'm always looking to simplify my skincare routine.
When Dan's AHA+ was first available on the site, I took a look at the description and I was convinced..."light cream," "added licochalcone (licorice extract) to calm skin," etc. The benefits of a cream with the feel of a lotion, skin calming ingredients, plus my AHA in one easy step...what more could I ask? A week later it arrived and I gave it a try...it had a pleasant smell despite what others have said, it went on very smoothly and I could tell it was very moisturizing by the feel of my skin, yet no greasy residue like the NHSFL leaves. The trade off was that it didn't have an SPF, so I would need to apply extra when I was going to need sun protection. I was willing to put up with that had this been a great product, but that was not the case.
I really liked it up until the point where I had applied my primer and I started to apply my foundation, the most important part of my daily routine. The minute the foundation hit my face, it started to ball up and peel off in little stringy layers. This killed it for me, I just can't use something that's going to effect my makeup in such a way. It was so bad that I had to wash my face and start all over again.
Though it was a great formula, I ended up returning it and went back to my Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion. Having said that, if I had wanted to use it at night I definitely would have kept it, as it would have made a great night cream. I like that fact that it's a light cream rather than a lotion so it takes care any dry skin or flaky patches yet doesn't have that thick, heavy feeling that some creams do. Unless you don't wear makeup, it's just no good for daytime use.
© September 15, 2009.
I wrote this poll while all hopped up on cold medicine. I forgot Joeybunny
was doing the poll last week, and then once I remembered I figurered I would
jus...