A serum, that actually makes a difference

If I had to point out one product, which has made the biggest impact on my skin’s wellbeing, it would be this serum – Drops of Youth concentrate by The Body Shop.

I started to use this last Summer, when my skin was going through some rough patch. My acne was quite bad, I had lots of red pimples and the texture was uneven. What I was longing for, was a smooth, balanced skin. Luckily, this serum worked amazingly for me and I still continue to use it. Right now I have acne scars as a memory from the painful acne, but this serum also helps to treat those scars.

Obviously, when it comes to skincare it goes so much deeper than just what it seen on the outside. I’m not saying that this product cured my skin – but it helped with the process. When it comes to acne and skincare, it’s important to treat the skin with the right medication, but a good routine with effective products is just as important.

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the body shop drops of youth concentrate

The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate review

The Body Shop has different product ranges and this is one of their products from the Drops of youth -range. It’s made to tackle the first signs of aging, like dryness and fine lines. By the way – did you know, that fine lines and wrinkles can form from dryness? When it comes to anti-aging products or preventing aging, it’s all about moisturizing and keeping the skin healthy, so that those fine lines don’t have a chance in the first place.

*The drops of youth concentrate is made from 99% of natural ingredients and it promises to moisturize your skin, while keeping it smooth and healthy. So you might be surprised, that it contains salisylic acid. Salicylic acid is amazing and it’s one of the most effective ingredients used in cosmetics. It’s often recommended for oily or mixed skin, because it helps with inflammation. It’s great for all skin types, because it exfoliates and therefore renews the skin. That’s one of the things, that make this serum so effective.  But it’s not about just that one ingredient. Often I’ve tried these different products containing salicylic acid and they’ve been too drying for me. This serum’s consistency doesn’t feel too drying and it’s successfully used salicylic acid in it’s active ingredients.

Salicylic acid is amazing and it’s one of the most effective ingredients used in cosmetics.

And I know – acids may sound scary and if you have dry skin, you might now be horrified of this product. But exfoliating the skin actually makes all the other products absorb better. It helps to get rid of dead skin cells, so they don’t block the products from helping your skin. Salisylic acid is also considered quite mild and it shouldn’t irritate the skin as much as some other acids. But like any exfoliators and acids in particular, you need to always remember to wear SPF when you use these kinds of products. You might also want to experiment and try which works for your skin – maybe you want to use this daily, or just once per week.

salisylic acid and acne
I’m wearing really minimal makeup in this photo: only a touch of concealer, makeup powder, blush and brow pen. Can you see how smooth and healthy my skin looks (besides the acne scars obviously)?

For my skin, I use it daily – most of the time. It’s great for me in summer, fall and spring. The only time my skin gets too sensitive and dry to any exfoliating products, is winter. Right now it gets to -18°C, so I’m taking a little break from this product as well as from my purifying mud masks. You should always listen to your skin! I apply the serum in the evening and I let it sit for about half an hour, then I follow with my other products.

But to sum it all up: I love this serum and it’s one of those rare products, that actually seem to make a big difference. It helps with my skin texture, pimples, dryness and even oiliness. It makes my skin feel smooth and balanced. When you’re treating a skin, that has a tendency to oiliness and pimples and skin texture (talking about those sebaceus filaments!) –  you need to exfoliate your skin. But you need to do it gently, and that’s when these acids come in handy. Exfoliation is also the key in treating acne scars. I’m speeding up the renewal process of my skin, basically.

This product has been so good, I’m tempted to try the other products from the range.

Shop the serum:

*The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate

Have you tried this serum? Do you use acids such as salicylic acid in your skincare?

P.S. If you want to read more in-depth information about acids and salicylic acid in skincare, I recommend reading this article.

Skin update – Taking birth control pills for acne

It’s already been over three months, that I started to take birth control pills again for my acne. I thought it would be a good time to show you the results.

Looking at these photos and my skin, it just goes to show how slow it is to treat acne. No treatment is quick – especially when the acne is as bad as it was with me. It takes a long time for the skin to heal properly and it takes a lot of patience. However, the pills have been working for me, as I had anticipated, since I’ve already gone through this once as a teenager.

The pills I take are called Cypretyl and they are the strongest one (I think). They are especially made for acne.

hormonal acne birth control pills
Hormonal acne. This was my skin in November – it was even worse than in this photo, but this is the best photo I could find. Then this is my skin now, in February.

So how does my skin look and feel now?

Well, most of the acne is gone. I say most, because there are still some stubborn ones. Not so much on my face anymore – and the ones on my neck are also kind of fading – but the part that is healing the slowest is my back. But it is healing too. And no, I don’t have any pictures of my back acne, I haven’t documented it here. I trust that showing you my bare face is bad enough. Haha.

Obviously for these photos I got a new zit on my face, but believe me when I say that it’s rare nowadays. Even though my face might not look like it in the photos, it’s so smooth. Honestly, I still shiver when I think about my acne at it’s worst: it was super painful and applying makeup or lotions or removing makeup or touching my face in any other way hurt.

acne scars
My skin now, after taking birth control pills for three months. Active acne is gone (besides a few zits) and all that’s left is scarring, which is fading pretty quickly.

My acne scarring is fading pretty quickly too. I was a bit scared about that part. At first the scars were so red and I could feel that my skin was uneven on those areas. But day by day they have faded and it’s getting easier and easier to hide them with makeup. And as I said, my skin feels smooth. So I’m pretty optimistic that I will have a good-looking skin by Summer. This year I need to be even more careful with sunscreen though  – my skin has gone through a lot and is sensitive to sun damage right now.

The pills don’t only take away acne. They also adjust the skin type a bit. My skin is not as oily as it has been before, it’s more of a dry combination skin now, especially since the weather has been super cold here. Treating my new skin is fun – it can take more lotion and it doesn’t break out as easily as it did before.birth control pills for acne

Altogether I can say that I am super happy with my skin. Making the decision to start taking birth control pills again was hard and I had some regrets in the beginning, but right now I feel like it was the right decision. I had forgotten how it feels to have my skin back. Even though I worked on my confidence during acne, I still feel more confident now that it’s not that visible and startling anymore. And one of the things I am super happy about, is that I also have found my love of makeup again. Having acne I just didn’t even feel like wearing anything on my face and nothing seemed to look good on me. And taking makeup photos for blog posts was torture – when I tried to take photos of my makeup the only thing taking all the attention in the photos was my red, bumpy acne. Well, no more.

I am so relieved, happy and feeling a lot more like myself.

This journey has also affected my skin care routine, and treating those acne scars is super important – so I will update you about that soon.

Any other acne victories? Or are you still searching for the cure? 
However it is – I hope your skin gets better too and I send you a lot of hugs, because I know how hard it can be to battle acne.

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