My Quest for Perfect Skin - Spot Treatments

The main part of achieving perfect skin is being blemish free and staying that way most of the time. However for most people under 25 this is a hard task especially if you suffer from acne or have oily skin.

I personally have oily/combination skin and tend to develop spots around my chin and sometimes of my forehead, over the past year I have purchased three spot treatment products a Blemish Extractor Tool (£3.00) Freederm Gel 10g (£4.10) and Neutrogena Rapid Clear Treatment 15ml (£4.85).

At the beginning of last year un-suprisingly post christmas eating I really felt like my skin was congested and I seemed to be continously getting red angry looking spots that I really felt needed to removed rather than left to stay angry looking. I also had whiteheads near my jawline that wouldn't budge. So I decided to purchase a Blemish Removal Tool with two different loops on either end (I really wouldn't recommend using one with a sharp end that pierces the spot).

I really have mixed views on using a tool to extract spots so I will reveal the negative aspects first.

Negative Aspects to the Spot Extractor Tool -

• You have to wait until the spot is developed enough to use the tool and by that time you have had a spot on your face for afew days.
  
• You really can't use this daily - unless you don't mind red skin.
• Unless you use alot of pressure the spot will not be extracted from the skin...which will make the spot appear again.
• If you use the tool to remove alot of whiteheads in one area your skin can seem really red and hot for afew hours after.
  

Positive Aspects to the Spot Extractor Tool -

• The tool really works it's best after a shower when your pores are open.
  
• If you suffer from the odd large spot the tool will remove it with ease.
• It is alot more hygenic than using your fingers and doesn't cause scaring.

Overall this isn't ideal for people that suffer with spots on a weekly basis and from using this it made me realize that removing spots isn't a good idea, hygenic or not.

After using the extractor tool I decided to try Freederm Gel which contains 4% Nicotinamide as the main ingrediant. Over the past year I have used 3/4 of the 10g tube and have had little success. I really do feel this is down to the ingrediants which all seem to have anti-inflammatory properties to reduce the redness however nothing to tackle the actual spot.

I feel people could possibly think the product is working but what really has happened is the spots appearence has been improve by the gel and doesn't look as red and then the spot goes away naturally within afew days.

The last spot treatment I tried was the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Rapid Treatment with Micro Clear ( what ever that means) which claims to visibly reduce spots within 8 hours. Having looked at the ingredients on the box I noticed two key ingrediants - Salicylic acid and Lactic Acid which help to treat acne and also exfoliate the skin.

I have to say the spot gel did live up to its 8 hour claim which I was really suprised at. It seems to really dry out the spot without leaving the skin dry at all. The other thing I have noticed over the past few months the gel has improved some spot scarring I have around my chin which I really didn't think would even go.

Overall this is a really good spot treatment for people that suffer from breakouts on a regular basis .

If you do suffer from more larger spots day to day I would really suggest using Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel which contains a higher percentage of Salicylic Acid than most other spot treatments. It is however more expensive than drugstore brands at around £25.00 but will definately help too clear the skin.

I really would love to know if you use a spot treatment to help reduce spots and if you have found a product that really works for you.