I’ve been complaining about my recent outbursts of hormonal acne and have already documented some really awesome products here that have helped me tackle it along the way. I’m working towards a post that’ll sum it all up, but I want to be able to link back to thorough explanations & reviews on the products, so that’s why I’m featuring them all separately here. I’ve been a fan of La Roche-Posay for a while now, they’re one of my absolute favorite pharmacy brands and the quality is just top notch for such a decent price. They have a whole line of targeted skin care for oily skin called Effaclar, with a bunch of products that tackle acne in different gradations. Effaclar Duo is especially made for the severest acne conditions, focusing on unclogging pores and removing severe impurities and imperfections. It’s been such a savior for my skin, so let me explain how it works!

Effaclar Duo has four main active ingredients: Niacinamide & Piroctone Olamine to kill bacteria & remove impurities, and LHA and Linoleic Acid to free up those pores by removing dead skin cells. Quite a potent combination, and one of the best ones I’ve tried when it comes to fighting acne. I’ve been documenting the outbursts for myself and can’t really bring myself to post the pictures here, but I can tell you how it’s improved since I’ve started using Effaclar Duo. I’ve had some semi-clear days even, which is such a big improvement! The acne hasn’t disappeared completely of course, since these things take time & some causes of acne are just bigger than any lotion in a tube. I use this lotion only on my affected acne area in the morning & in the evening, and don’t use any other moisturizer on top. I don’t really find it too drying, I haven’t experienced any dry patches or flaky bits at all. If you do experience some dryness, you can use the Effaclar H moisturizer which is designed especially for weakened skin due to anti-acne treatments. I’m also planning to buy Effaclar A.I., which is a targeted corrector for the deepest impurities, to use during the day on the worst clusters. I can treat whiteheads during the night with my Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, but for obvious reasons I need something else to work the same charm during the day when I’m actually forced to show myself to the world. 

Keep in mind that there are two different versions of this Duo gem: the US one & the European one. In the US it’s still legal to use Benzoyl Peroxide, an extremely agressive component that is used in a lot of American anti-acne skincare. The US version will probably give results way quicker, but it’s much more damaging for your skin. In Europe Benzoyl Peroxide has been completely banned because of a clear link with skin cancer. I wouldn’t personally use Benzoyl Peroxide, but perhaps that is because we have a different attitude towards those components in Europe. In the US, it’s a very well known and regularly used anti-acne treatment which is not too expensive to produce & buy. 

Stay tuned for that final posts on my complete acne routine which’ll sum everything up.. We’re almost there! :)