For today’s post I’m going to be talking a bit about my acne and my new skincare discovery in African Black Soap. I’ve wanted to do a post talking about my cystic acne for a long time now, so I hope you enjoy the read.
I have suffered with cystic acne for years now, but it’s got particularly worse over the past couple years and it’s always been something that’s knocked my confidence. My face has been covered in huge red spots, acne scarring and had even got to the point where my face was burning and bleeding, leaving me in so much pain and not being able to leave the house without makeup!! I sort of wish that I had a before photo without makeup to show you, but as I was so uncomfortable doing it, I didn’t. You can kind of see my breakouts in these photos below, but do remember that I did have makeup on.
As you can see back in November (Left Picture) my skin was a whole lot worse than it was in the Right Picture which was taken in January, however you can still see a fair few breakouts on the skin. Back in January, a lot of my blemishes were scarring, rather than actual breakouts, so makeup was a godsend as it covered them almost completely.
After I’d washed my face each time my skin felt squeaky clean and after a few uses I noticed than my redness had gone down drastically. I also felt that my skin around my nose became a bit itchy and almost felt like it was burning which I did think about stopping using it but once I’d seen my skin clearing up I knew it was working. I wouldn’t suggest that it’s used as an everyday cleanser as I found it quite harsh on the skin, but I think a couple of times a week will still do the job.
My skin has always been so red due to the acne scarring and breakouts meaning that I would use the yellowest under toned foundations that I could find to cancel it out as I never found that green correcting Concealers or Primers actually worked.
I have tried anything and everything I possibly can to clear my skin up, even those product that a lot of Youtubers and Bloggers rave about but none of them seemed to make a blind bit of difference. The only thing that I’ve found that has even remotely worked is the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. Of course other products did work a bit, but not enough to rave about.
I have heard so many good things about African Black Soap … even from Zendaya, so I knew that it would be worth giving a try. It is classed as a body wash, but I did check that it was safe to use on the face before purchasing it and it is perfectly fine. You can get this soap in either liquid form or a bar of soap and I decided to pick up the liquid one as I thought it would work better and be more like a cleanser but I was wrong. This soap is like water, whereas I was expecting it to be soapy like a cleanser. I would probably recommend to purchase the bar if you decide to pick this up as I think it would work better and easier … and it’s also a few pound cheaper as well!!
My first impressions where that as it was so liquid-y, it was pretty difficult to clean your face with as it would just fall out your hand … but I then decided to use a flannel and it lathered up a bit and felt as if it was cleaning deep into my skin. It’s very dark in colour (hence the name) and it literally looked like fake tan on the face, but fear not it does wash straight off so there will be no stains. I’ve got to say the smell isn’t the best thing, it’s not necessarily bad, it just smells of like natural/ organic products but it isn’t the best!!
Obviously I’m not saying that this is the only product I used to clear up my skin, I did use the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion & the MB Rosewater Spray as well as drinking lots of water, but this soap definitely gave my skin the kick start it needed to clear up.
This is still very new to my skincare routine, but I’m so happy with the results after just a couple of weeks, that I’m exited to see how my skin will be in a couple of months. If you would like an updated review in a month or two then please let me know in the comments below!
