Sick And Tired Of Acne? This Woman Has A Weird Solution For You
Acne, the supervillain haunting teenagers and young adults anywhere around the world. Most of us have experienced what the struggle against acne is like, and believe me, there’s almost nothing that we haven’t tried. Luckily, my problem got solved, but for those of you still looking for a solution – here’s one.
This unconventional treatment was discovered by Malia Khan, a student of engineering and a makeup artist, and involves some rather questionable ingredients. Like diaper rash cream, for example. But regardless, as This Is Insider reports, Malia’s skincare routine seems to be working – and not just on your ordinary acne, but even on hormonal and cystic acne.
The young woman from Toronto, Ontario posted this before-and-after photo to show the effectiveness of her treatment.
In a way, Malia’s post was also a reaction to the thousands upon thousands of skincare routines that people constantly come up with nowadays. We’re practically inundated with them, and a lot of them seem rather vapid. As Khan put it, they all seem to revolve around “drink plenty of water and cleanse your soul b*******.”
Her, though, doesn’t, and she does a great job of breaking down her particular skincare routine. It’s not only meant to target cystic or hormonal acne, but scarring and hyperpigmentation too. Here’s a breakdown of her method.
1. Clean your face
Clean your face thoroughly with the help of face wipes. Cleaning those layers of makeup is especially useful if your pores are going to stand a chance of not turning into acne. Malia doesn’t waste time before she sets out to remove her makeup with Neutrogena’s Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes.
2. Disinfect your skin
But that’s just step one; step two is applying some micellar water on a piece of cotton and then doing another face sweep “to really get everything off”. Khan says, “Impure skin leads to bacteria buildup and acne. Clean skin equals good skin,” and we can’t help but agree.
Cleaning your face of practically everything is the first step in Malia Khan’s process.
Amazon/Neutrogena
3. Exfoliation
Ready for step number three? Here it is:
“Then, I take a shower, and I exfoliate my face with this St. Ives apricot scrub,” Malia explains. “It has salicylic acid, which prevents breakouts.”
This particular advice has encountered some flak, however, since both the experts and the internet are divided on the usefulness of the St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub. Last year’s lawsuit against the product claimed that skin inflammation and irritation were frequent side-effects of the exfoliator. This was further confirmed by Mount Sinai Medical Center’s clinical professor of dermatology, Bruce Katz, who opined that the product “can cause fissures, or tears, in the skin, which can lead to infection if not cared for properly” concluding that it’s “too harsh.”
Yikes. But it seems to be working for Malia, so that’s something, I guess?
Amazon/ St.Ives
Khan has been using it persistently for two years, though, with no problems.
“This is what I’ve been doing for almost two years now and this is what has worked for me after struggling with acne for years and years. I’m not saying it will work for everyone, and something that works for me may do the opposite for someone else. Trust your skin. As for me, the apricot scrub has been a blessing. Scrub gently.”
If you’re unsure about this particular product, worry not – there’s a replacement. You can use the St. Ives Exfoliate & Nourish Apricot Oil Scrub instead. The added oil component makes sure that the tiny walnut shells will nourish — and not harm — your skin.
4. The wonders of tea tree oil
Next, you should have the Murad Clarifying Cleanser handy (Malia says this is a good alternative to The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Face Wash). Then pour one, or at most two drops of tea tree oil in a bit of the Murad Clarifying Cleanser, which you should apply on a pad of First Aid Beauty’s Facial Radiance Pads – these contain brightening lactic and glycolic acids. Then, apply this mix all over your face – this helps with hyperpigmentation.
5. You can choose between three things here
Khan says there are three choices for step five. You can do one of the following: apply your dermaroller, which should help with ice pick scars; wash your face with The Body Shop’s Vitamin C Glow-Boosting Microdermabrasion Exfoliator for a clean finish; or smoothen your skin with Kate Somerville’s D-Scar Scar Diminishing Serum.
You only need a little bit of this cream to get the benefits.
6. Tea tree oil, repair cream & diaper rash cream
Next, the young Ontarian suggests dabbing some tea tree oil on any new breakouts and slathering some of First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Cream on your skin. “A pinch goes such a long way, and your skin is left so soft and smooth,” she said.
Finally, she suggests applying diaper rash cream on your face. Controversial? “Hear me out,” Khan says.
“The active ingredient in diaper rash cream is zinc oxide, which can help by calming inflammation and further protect skin. It helps soothe redness, decrease the size of breakouts, and dries out oil production.”
Dermatologists are divided on this. Rebecca Tung, a dermatologist from La Grande, Illinois, spoke to Allure and confirmed that zinc calms inflammation.
“Its main beneficial properties relative to the skin include being an antioxidant, as well as being anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. Studies have suggested that zinc may reduce acne-causing bacteria counts and that it may also reduce sebum and oil production,” she said.
However, zinc can also clog pores as it dries, drying the skin too. So, it’s best to use it on certain problematic spots, but not your whole face.
BEFORE AND AFTER Skin care routine and none of that drink water and cleanse your soul bullshit pic.twitter.com/kzDzFCGz6b
— malia khan (@maliakhan) December 2, 2017
* This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances.
Here’s how you can use face mapping in dealing with acne.