7 Products That Helped With My Acne Scarring

Hi everyone!

As most of you know, I have oily and acne prone skin, and I have struggled with acne for the past few years of my life. I came across a product this year which really helped calm down my acne, and you can read all about it here. Anyways, I’ve been using all these products this year and I have seen a big improvement in my skin.

The 7 products are:

• Benton BHA Skin Toner*
• By Wishtrend Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water
• Instanatural Marula Oil*  if you’re from the US, you can purchase off their site here
• Cosrx Aloe Soothing Sun Cream
• Alpha H Liquid Gold
• Secret Key Multi Cell Night Repair Ampoule
• Neogen Gentle Gauze Peeling Pads – Wine*

I’ve link where I got my products from, but they can be easily found online. Products marked with an asterisk were gifted to me.

Benton BHA Skin Toner*

I did a review on this toner, which you can check out here.

This toner is packed with great ingredients:

• Aloe extract
• Aloe juice
• BHA
• Snail secretion
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Beta-Glucan

All of which are good for healing scarring or dealing with oily skin. The ingredients are really soothing and don’t irritate my skin at all. I mainly use this as a second toner (after an acidic one) to put moisture back into my face. Occasionally I’d use this for my 7 skin method – which is basically layering toner 7 times, the toner used is a hydrating one, not one that preps your skin for acids.

I’ve used this for…over 3 months and it has worked really well! It also helps to hydrate my skin and leaves it feeling soft and moisturised.

By Wishtrend Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water

I heard about mandelic acid after blogger Rachel Beauty Style mentioned it in one of her posts earlier this year. Since then I was looking for a mandelic acid product, but I was quite hesistant at first because I didn’t know much about it. After some research, I found this one by By Wishtrend, and it claimed to be gentle too, so I was sold!

I found it on iHerb for a reasonable price – if you don’t know me, I am a really good saver and always budget myself and my spendings. Always look around for a cheaper price, because often different sites offer different prices for the same product and wouldn’t you rather save some money, than spend more on the same thing? I know I would.

On the bottle it says:

• For all skin types
• Removes dead skin cells
• Smoothes dull, rough skin

I use this after toner/s, and just gently pat it into my skin. Be careful around broken skin, your eyes and your mouth. You can also put some on a cotton pad and wipe your face, but I feel like that’s a bit wasteful, so I stick to using my hands (make sure they’re clean) and patting it in. I use it twice a day, UNLESS I have already exfoliated that day, then I stick to once a day or I skip it for that day.

Instanatural Marula Oil*

I have a mini review on IG, click here.

I found that this helped lighten my scars a bit, it didn’t do a whole lot but it left my skin feeling quite moisturised. It gave my face kind of a glow, if that makes sense.

I only use oils at night because I don’t like going out in the day looking oily as hell haha.

Cosrx Aloe Soothing Sun Cream

I have a full review here, if you’d like to check it out!

SPF is essential when it comes to skincare. Make sure you wear something that is SPF30 or higher. Some foundations have SPF10 or 15, and that isn’t enough to protect from the sun, especially if you live in climates where the sun is a lot harsher, especially in Summer – but sunscreen should be worn all year round, just because you can’t see the sun, doesn’t mean it’s not there!

I tend to use SPFs that are 30 or 50, although I prefer 50. Sunscreen helps to protect your skin for one, but also helps with scarring, believe it or not! When I was overseas I used sunscreen everyday, even when I didn’t go out, and it really helped my scarring. I didn’t have a lot of redness back then, most of it was just pigmentation.

It’s definitely worth investing in a good sunscreen. I also tend to go for Asian ones as well. I’ve tried this sunscreen and the Nature Republic sunscreen – didn’t like it, it left a cast. But nothing beats the Biore sunscreen, the watery essence one, but it’s so expensive in Australia and online. I bought mine from Japan (online) and it was affordable, but the shipping was pricey, so I don’t think I’ll be purchasing it again, unless I get it direct from Japan.

Alpha H Liquid Gold

I’ve been using Liquid Gold for about 2 years now, and I used to be super consistent with it, but since then I’ve found other exfoliating products that I prefer.

This uses glycolic acid to exfoliate the skin, and is to be used as a night treatment only. Always wear SPF the next day!

After I finish my current bottle, I think I’ll be retiring it. A lot of people are concerned with the high alcohol content, as they find it to be drying to the skin, but if used 2-3 times a week, I think it’s fine, but that’s just  my personal opinion.

When I first tried Liquid Gold, I bought the smaller size and then one day I bit the bullet and bought the 100ml. If you’re ever unsure of a product, see if there are trial sizes that you can purchase, or ask the store for some samples. Although it’s $60 from Sephora for the 100ml, I think it’s worth the investment. If used consistently it’ll last at least 3 months. But as I mentioned, I use other ways of exfoliating so I haven’t used it as much. This was one of the first acids I introduced to my skin and since then I’ve been learning and researching about other acids that would help with my skin. Before using acids, always make sure you know how to use them! Some can only be used in the night, some can’t be mixed with others because they’ll react and some are gentle enough to be used everyday. It is always worth educating yourself when it comes to skincare, because you don’t want to end up hurting your skin.

Secret Key Multi Cell Night Repair Ampoule

I only purchased this in July, and started using it in August and I’m really impressed so far. I use it at night (as the name suggests), and it helped to brighten my overall complexion as well.

One of the ingredients is niacinamide, which helps brighten skin and scarring maintenance. It’s also pretty affordable ($19~AUD), so I gave it a go and I wasn’t let down!

Neogen Gentle Gauze Peeling Pads – Wine*

You can check out my full review here.

Lastly, these Neogen exfoliating pads have been great to my skin! They come in 3 different flavours – green tea, wine and lemon.

I love how you can use both sides of the pad to exfoliate. One side is a bit rougher – gauze, and the other side is softer – like a cotton pad.

It claims to promote visibly clearer, smoother and tighter skin.

It’s a fun and gentle way to exfoliate. After using these my skin feels softer and looks clearer. Over time, I have noticed my scars fading which is great news! I use these twice a week and they last so long! I definitely want to try the others in the range once I’m done with the wine ones!

These products have helped with my scarring and I’m so proud of how far my skin has come. I’ve broken out in cystic acne a few times, and they were really bad. My skin was red and bumpy, but my skin has really calmed down since then. It’s still not perfect or 100% scar and acne free, but I take it one day at a time.

With removing scars, it’s not an overnight process, it takes time, patience and consistency. Not to mention, frequent exfoliating damages the skin!! I know a lot of people make that mistake, so please don’t overdo it with your skin!

Although these products worked for MY SKIN, doesn’t mean they’re going to work miracles on yours. Everyone’s skin is different and whilst some products may work for one, some don’t work for others.

I’ve tried many different products in my skin, and although I only mentioned 7, I’d also like to mention the Cosrx Blackhead Power Liquid*. It’s another product that has helped my skin in looking brighter and clearer. I have a review here, if you’d like to read it.

Lastly, I want to say that if you also struggle or have struggled with acne or scarring, just know it doesn’t make you any less beautiful as a person. I used to hate how I looked because of my acne, but who you are as a person and what you put out in the world is a better reflection of who you are, than what you look like. Focusing on the bigger picture is what helped me get through the sadness I felt dealing with acne. If you’d ever like to chat about anything acne related, please feel free to message me, email me or DM me. I’ve talked to so many people about all things acne, and it always helps to talk to someone who understands how you might be feeling.

That’s all I have for today, I know my acne posts always are super long, but everything I speak is from personal experience and from the heart. The main point of my blog is to help people, whether it be from reviews or just me talking about something that I like (like this post) and having people increase their understanding about different things. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this post, as always, please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions.

With love,

Irene

*Those marked with an asterisk were gifted to me, but all opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own. I did not receive any money in exchange for those posts.