Welcome to Acne Files, a month-long series where we get real about whiteheads, blackheads, cysts, and every bump or blemish in between. From skin-soothing products R29 editors swear by to exclusive deals on the most breakout-friendly beauty brands, we’re kissing the concept of “bad skin” goodbye and exploring why acne goes so much further than skin deep.
Whether you’re dry or oily (or somewhere in between), teenager or thirty-something, acne is the great democratizer of skin. It doesn’t play favorites, has the tendency to show up unannounced, and can take myriad forms ranging from whiteheads to clogged pores, cysts, and more. And lest you think beauty editors — what with our access to top dermatologists and cutting-edge skin care — are immune to breakouts, think again.
From our team’s bathroom cabinets to yours, we’re divulging our sophomore class of Beauty Innovator Awards, Acne Edition, right here, right now. You’ll likely spot old faves that still make the cut, but we’ve also included some of the most exciting new launches that are truly driving innovation in the acne space. Ahead, peruse our editor-approved, award-winning gems that can help you feel even better about the skin you’re in.
DashDividers_1_500x100The Best Products For Very Oily Skin & Hyperpigmentation
Jacqueline Kilikita, Acting Beauty Director
Skin Type: Very oily. I’m prone to whiteheads, blackheads, and deeper under-the-skin spots, thanks to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hormones.
How I Break Out: I break out quite a bit just before (or sometimes after) my period, but thanks to PCOS, waking up with a small cluster of spots on my cheeks daily is normal for me. My skin is really sensitive to new skin care and makeup, too. Anything with oils or shea butter in it will break me out quickly.
Top Acne Picks:
E.l.f. Blemish Breakthrough Fighting Spot Gel: The star ingredient in this roll-on spot treatment is salicylic acid, a beta-hydroxy acid (BHA). Though gentle, this exfoliates skin on a deeper level, breaking up the paste-like mixture of oil, dead skin cells, and things like daily grime or pollution that would otherwise get trapped inside pores and form a spot. It’s anti-inflammatory, too, which explains why it’s able to quell my angry red breakouts so quickly.
The Ordinary 2% + NAG 2% Solution: The Ordinary touts this as a “soothing solution for post-acne marks,” and it really does deliver. When my breakouts subside, I’m often left with red skin staining, but I’ve noticed that this helps fade the marks and make my skin appear less irregular in tone. It’s super hydrating, too. I use it under moisturizer or sunscreen.
CeraVe Blemish Control Cleanser: My oily skin loves this gel-to-foam cleanser. It cuts through face grease and removes heavy makeup, too. Since adding it to my routine, I’ve noticed fewer whiteheads but my skin doesn’t feel stripped — that’ll be the work of oil-reducing niacinamide, exfoliating salicylic acid, and moisturizing ceramides.
DashDividers_1_500x100The Best Products For Ultra Dry Skin
Megan Decker, Beauty Editor
Skin Type: I’m very dry. My skin-care routine consists of light layers of hydration, like serums and moisturizers with peptides, vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid.
How I Break Out: I will occasionally get a pimple on my cheeks or chin — the lower part of the face — if I’m stressed, or if I haven’t washed my silk pillowcase or sanitized my phone in a while (talker, not a texter). Facialists have told me I’m also prone to nose blackheads and congestion.
Top Acne Picks:
Tower 28 SOS Facial Rescue Facial Spray: I used to think that face mists were like spa water — nice and refreshing, but not a necessity. That is, until I found this Tower 28 spray made with hypochlorous acid, which is the best antibacterial skin-care ingredient that everyone should know about, IMO. Hypochlorous acid is an antimicrobial naturally produced by the white blood cells to defend against foreign bodies. When used topically, it essentially acts like a natural skin disinfectant. I spray it on my face when I feel a breakout coming on and nine times out of ten it never surfaces. I also use it as a spot treatment if I’ve been picking my skin, or if I want to speed up the healing time of a post-pimple dry patch. It treats any skin concern rooted in inflammation or irritation gently, so my skin never dries out as a result. I have the SOS mini spray for travel and the refill jug in my medicine cabinet. I can’t recommend it enough.
Sisley Exfoliating Enzyme Mask: When I need a good, quick exfoliating face mask, this is the one I reach for. Sisley describes it as a “preparatory” face mask because, like a toner, it helps clear the skin, removing dead skin cells and refining texture and tone before subsequent serums and moisturizers — which then sink in a lot faster and more efficiently. The natural enzymes are derived from papaya, which is gentle on my skin, and the non-abrasive, super-fine powder suds up on contact with water. The “mask” only stays on the skin for max one minute, so I use it twice a week for a speedy refresh that doesn’t require any wait time. My skin is brighter afterwards and I’ve noticed less congestion on my nose and chin since using it.
Pillowtalk Derm The Depuffer: With fair skin, acne and breakouts are almost always accompanied by redness and swelling. But since I’ve been using this new depuffing arnica serum by Dr. Shereene Idriss (aka The Pillowtalk Derm), my skin has been pretty even in tone and texture. The arnica helps with puffiness and reduces “transient” redness in the skin, plus niacinamide minimizes the appearance of enlarged pores and restores the skin’s defenses against moisture loss and dehydration. More innovation: It has a metal roller tip, which is cool (literally), and has gotten me in the habit of rolling my face in the morning — just don’t forget to clean the apparatus after use.
DashDividers_1_500x100The Best Products For Inflammatory Body Acne
Amanda Mitchell, Senior Beauty Writer/Stories Creator
Skin Type: Normal/dry on face, dry on my body.
How I Break Out: I likely get less than five zits a year, in total. Yes, I’m annoying. However, I’m not free from acne! I get a good amount of back acne, and I have a form of acne inversa, aka Hidradenitis suppurativa, which is a chronic inflammatory type of acne that happens in places where skin rubs together, like your armpits. For lack of a better descriptor, it’s essentially acne that develops under the skin. That happens mostly during extremely warm weather and/or moments of stress.
Top Acne Picks:
Kate McLeod Soothe Face Stone: A few months ago, I had one of the worst breakouts of my life — and that’s saying a lot, because I basically get one pimple a year, if that. (Not a brag, just a fact.) Nothing in my routine had changed, but my skin chose that week to have a full-blown tantrum for whatever reason. My face felt like it was spicy and in need of a little TLC because it was being overloaded. I already loved my other Face Stones to death, but I never saw a purpose for the Soothe in my routine, until this breakout. After two days of morning and night application, this tiny marshmallow-shaped moisturizer had me asking “Pimples, who?” It’s designed for the most sensitive of skin, with deeply nourishing olive squalane, evening primrose, and peony oils making up the ingredients. This was almost like a glass of milk to my five-alarm skin, and it’s become an instant staple in my routine.
Sunday Riley U.F.O. Ultra-Clarifying Face Oil: Yes, the idea of “clarifying” and “oil” feels contradictory, but not this. This oil has 1.5% salicylic acid, meaning it will basically suck out all the gunk from your pores that can cause blackheads and blemishes. If you’ve used face oils that make you look greasy and shiny, trust: This is the fastest-drying oil I’ve ever used, and my skin loves it so much. When I sense or see the potential of a breakout emerging, I pare my skin care down drastically — basically, just this oil and a creamy face cleanser as the basic, most bare bones routine. Other nourishing and soothing ingredients, like chamomile and black cumin seed oil, keep my skin chill.
MAELYS GET-BACK Targeted Body Acne Spray: So many body-care products require a bit of user error and adjustment. For someone whose acne is mainly on her body, this MAELYS product changed my life. It has a beautiful mister, meaning you don’t feel like you’re missing a spot — but it’s not so ~misty~ that you feel like you’re just spritzing into the air and not targeting the problem. Especially if you get acne in places that aren’t easy access, this product makes you feel like you’re getting the problem the first time, every time.
DashDividers_1_500x100The Best Products For Oily, Acne-Prone Skin
Karina Hoshikawa, Senior Writer
Skin Type: Oily, acne-prone, kind of sensitive; in general, a less-is-more approach to my skin-care routine has immensely helped me stay in the clear.
How I Break Out: Smallish breakouts along my jawline and chin. I also am prone to texture and sebaceous filaments in the same area. Breakouts usually leave reddish-brown hyperpigmentation in their wake.
Top Acne Picks:
Innbeauty Project Pimple Paste: Raise your hand if you’ve ever dabbed a minty green dot of Crest onto a zit in the hopes of it vanishing overnight. (What actually happened: waking up to dry, chapped, even more pissed-off skin.) This pimple paste will remind you of that, but so much better — even the packaging is a nod to the now-debunked treatment. Not only does this stuff smell surprisingly good (it has thyme and oregano, two herbs with naturally antibacterial properties), but it really works, all while not irritating skin. Plus, ingredients like azelaic acid, willow bark, and vitamin C help target hyperpigmentation. I find that it works best on whiteheads since it really dries them up fast.
Starface Micro Cloud: I recently tried a bunch of Starface products, and this one emerged as my clear favorite. I love micro-point acne patches since they effectively deliver ingredients beneath the surface to zap zits from the inside out. I keep these on hand when I can feel a cystic pimple brewing, and these freeze ’em in their tracks. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they’re absolutely adorable.
Skinfix Acne+ 2% BHA + Azelaic Acid + Niacinamide + AHA Cleanser: I don’t usually recommend splurging on a cleanser, mostly because they’re not only your skin for very long. However, this acne face wash might just be my all-time favorite for oily, breakout-prone complexions like mine. For all the actives Skinfix packs into this stuff, it’s surprisingly mild; I used it over months (I even cut off the top to get every last drop — that’s commitment), and not once did it leave my skin feeling tight or dry. I definitely noticed fewer breakouts and softer, smoother skin with continued use. I truly have no notes, other than wishing it came in a larger size.
DashDividers_1_500x100Rachel Krause, Contributing Editor
Skin Type: I have sensitive combination skin, and I’m perpetually walking a tightrope to keep it clear and balanced: one wrong ingredient, and down I go on the path to raised red bumps and patches of irritation.
How I Break Out: Clogged pores aplenty on my nose and chin, and I am liable to get a whitehead or two here and there. (The hormonal cystic acne I tend to develop on my chin is kept under control by my daily 100 mg of spironolactone, so I pretend I do not see it.)
Top Acne Picks:
Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum: I require some form of chemical exfoliant to keep everything bright and tight, and this serum — from the brilliant NYC-based facialist Sofie Pavitt — is it for highly reactive, dehydration-prone skin types like mine. Mandelic acid, the star ingredient, gently encourages cell turnover while noted hydrating and strengthening ingredients glycerin, panthenol, and hyaluronic acid quell dryness and improve the quality of skin overall. I’ve used this serum every other night since receiving it in March, switching off with SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ Serum, and my skin looks the best it has in years.
Alpyn Beauty Pore Perfecting Liquid: True story: Before I received this, in a desperate bid to clear the visibly clogged pores that cluster on my nose and chin, I ordered one of the most highly recommended liquid exfoliators on the market (with overnight shipping, no less — I’m talking desperate). They arrived on the same day and, in the time since, that famous formula has gone mostly untouched, while I’m nearly halfway through this pleasantly purple bottle. Not only does the 2% salicylic acid keep my pores clean and tight for that super smooth, glassy look, but the clarity and glow it imparts is very real thanks to a dose of vitamin C. I also love that the acid is tempered by soothing aloe and borage extract (an anti-inflammatory and hydrating ingredient drawn from the seeds of the borage plant) to eliminate the likelihood of irritation. I pat this gently into my skin a few times a week, usually in the morning before sunscreen or on nights I use the SkinMedica serum.
Summer Fridays Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer: Finding the ideal moisturizer for sensitive, blemish-prone skin is about as challenging as finding a top on sale at Zara that doesn’t already have foundation marks on the collar, but I am of the opinion that this is as close to perfect as it gets. I have a bone to pick with most formulas that promise to be lightweight for easily congested skin — yeah, sure, they’re lightweight, but in prioritizing that they fail to moisturize sufficiently, thereby forcing the skin to produce even more oil. With three types of hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and amino acids aplenty, this bouncy gel somehow manages to feel like nothing on the skin once it’s been absorbed, but the hydration is palpable. Because it is so light, it might not be the right fit for truly dry skin, but if we’re talking normal-to-oily complexions that don’t love heavy occlusives, this is tops.
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