Product Review of Acne Stop by Original Skin Store

After 15 years of searching, trying product after product, going for expensive facials, wasting thousands of dollars... I stumbled upon this item in an Ebay search for salicylic acid acne products. I've now been able to stop using all other anti-acne gels & lotions thanks to this discovery!

While searching online for answers about getting rid of acne, I've seen numerous blogs about the thousands of people out there suffering from this affliction. Websites out there suggest some bizarre cures - everything from eating nothing but apples for five days, to pouring lemon juice on your face. For people who suffer from acne, no cure sounds too far fetched if it has a chance of helping.

Let me give you a little background on my skin nightmare, maybe you can relate:

Having incredibly oily skin that is prone to cystic acne breakouts, I was starting to feel like I would be stuck with acne forever. Since age 15 I've literally tried hundreds of supermarket and high-end products some with Benzoyl Peroxide (including ProActive), some with 2% salicylic acid, some with tea tree oil or other natural ingredients that promise to clear acne, & even Retin-A (with horrible results!).

After the dermatologist prescribed the Retin A (and it caused my skin to be rough and scaly, while causing even more breakouts) I successfully tried a 6 month course of Accutane when I was 20 and - it kept me breakout free for several years. I only wish I would've used Accutane when I was 16, before all the acne scarring occurred. I'm now 31, and had considered getting back on Accutane because of so many recent breakouts. Because of it's negative effects upon the liver, I'd decided to try more topical products before starting Accutane again.

After visiting an aesthecian for weekly Glycolic Facials last year, I discovered the magic of Salicylic Acid. After each facial, she would dab a high concentration of it on the tops of my breakouts. By the next day, they would almost be gone. I'd asked her if I could buy some, but she said it was only available in high concentrations to doctors or by prescription. Instead she gave me a 4% Benzoyl Peroxide gel which did absolutely nothing & made my skin even oilier. I decided to start my own search online and discovered a pure salicylic acid powder called Boost on a website called Queen Bee Sauce. You can add this potent high concentration powder to any face product (I liked to add it to Clean & Clear Persa-Gel). It worked very well, but mixing was kind of a bother & I was still getting a few breakouts. I still use it to add to face masks - the extra salicylic acid provides a great 'boost' for cleaning pores and drying up acne. Finding this product led me to search for liquid Salicylic Acid, whereupon I found Acne Stop on Ebay.

The difference in my skin has been amazing after using this product! Acne stop is a liquid product containing 10% Salicylic Acid and 5% Lactic Acid. I've used products containing both of these ingredients in lower amounts, both of which were somewhat effective, but together & in the higher percentages, they work wonderfully! Perhaps they work even better in a liquid form (rather than a gel or lotion form) because in liquid form the ingredients can sink deeper into the pores.

Here is what the website www.theoriginalskinstore.com says about the product:

"This 10% Salicylic acid/5% Lactic acid treatment treats current outbreaks, clears out pores, prevents future outbreaks and refines the skin texture to improve existing scars caused by acne. As an added bonus, it will reduce oil production on the skin, a blessing to those of you who suffer from oily skin. Sound too good to be true? I promise you, it's for real and you will be amazed by the way your skin looks after just a couple of treatments with this powerful solution. This is a great product for those who do not respond to benzoyl peroxide products like Proactive."

Here are some of my personal usage tips for you - this is the full cleansing/treatment system I've found to be most effective.

Upon initial use of this product, I'd suggest just dabbing it on the very center of breakouts after thoroughly washing & drying your face, once in the morning & once in the evening. I like to use St Ives Exfoliating Apricot Scrub and then University Medical Acne Free 24/7 Foaming Wash - both about 5.00 at your local drug store.

The instructions that come with Acne Stop say to place it on a cotton pad and apply to your entire face. I tried this the first time I used it & it felt like my face was going to catch on fire! I have VERY oily skin that is highly tolerant of scrubs and salicylic acid & even I couldn't handle using this product on my entire face. I immediately splashed my face with cool water & dried with a towel. The stinging stayed for about 10 minutes, but let me tell you, the immediate results were worth it! I looked in the mirror and many of my clogged pores had a different look to them - I could actually see the dirt sitting in the pore & see that the pores were open. I took advantage of this & began squeezing the dirt out - I got so much gunk out of my pores, it was amazing! After working on this for about 10 minutes, I washed again with the Acne Free Foaming Wash, dried my face & applied very small amounts of the Acne Stop just to the tips of my blemishes, using a Q-tip. I then applied Biore Oil Absorbing Moisturizer (which I just found out has been discontinued *gasp!*). It's important to use your regular moisturizer after allowing the Acne Stop to dry (about 30 seconds), otherwise the Acne Stop can be much too drying for your skin - even if your skin is super oily.

I've been using Acne stop for 6 months now & my breakouts have almost completely disappeared. My skin has become more tolerant to it & I can now use it on my entire face without the burning reaction I first felt. I only do that about once a week, otherwise it's a little too drying. Now, at the first sign of a blemish, I dab some of this on with my finger or a Q-tip. For the cystic acne - if I feel an especially big, deep blemish coming on, I use a cotton pad to really saturate the blemish, especially before bed time since that's when skin does the most healing. I've found that the skin on my cheeks and the side of my face is far less prone to peeling than areas around my nose, chin & lower forehead. On the areas that peel more, I use extra moisturizer to combat dryness.

The only negative aspect of the Acne Stop is that it can be very drying if used more than two or three times a day & can cause excessive peeling around the blemish. However, this can be combated by using a good exfoliant morning and night (St Ives Apricot Scrub) and moisturizer (I also like Nivea Cream), and exfoliating body gloves help as well. Use the gloves (found at local drug stores in the bath product section) with your favorite cleanser to help remove the dry skin. It's important to exfoliate daily when you have acne or oily skin, otherwise oil and dead skin pile up to clog pores. I've been told that a "no scrub" approach and gentle cleansers should be used to combat acne, but that is a lie! I tried this method in the past and was left with impacted pores and the worst breakouts ever.

If you find that your skin is getting too dry from Acne Stop, an excellent gentle moisturizer is Nivea Cream. This is great for those extra-peely spots that don't respond to your normal or oil free moisturizers. Also, once a week I use Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Scrub because it removes any dry dead skin that may have been left behind after regular daily cleansing.

With a little patience and persistence, I hope you'll also find that Acne Stop works for you. I was a bit discouraged at first by the over-drying and peeling, but once your skin adjusts, the results are definitely worth the extra time it takes to exfoliate and moisturize. My weekly break-out count is down to about 5 (very tiny breakouts) when previously I was getting about 10 -15 large painful breakouts weekly, inspite of using a plethora of anti-acne products. I am about to order more of this miracle product and am eternally grateful to the Original Skin company for creating it!