Continuing our review of product lines devoted to acne care, in this article we’ll take a look at Nu Skin Clear Action products for acne.
Nu Skin a company that is known for producing what cosmetics expert Paula Begoun describes as “state of the art” moisturizers. They avoid the use of allergenic and potentially irritating fragrances. They make products that provide high doses of antioxidants and they package their products so that the antioxidants in them are not broken down after exposure to air. Nu Skin’s skin lightening products don’t garner strong recommendations and all of their products are pricey. All of Nu Skin’s Clear Action products for acne, however, merit our strong recommendation.
Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Night Treatment
Clear Action Acne Medication Night Treatment gets our highest recommendation of all the Nu Skin acne products. We really don’t recommend it as all you need to do to fight acne. It doesn’t contain any ingredients that specifically fight acne bacteria. It won’t prevent strep and staph infections of the skin that can make acne worse.
What this product can do is to maintain your skin once you have acne under control. It contains retinol, a form of vitamin A that stimulates skin renewal from the basal layer out. Too much retinol can cause drying and irritation, but the retinol in Clear Action Acne Medication Night Treatment is just enough to stimulate healthy grow of the skin and not to cause inflammation or irritation of the skin.
The Acne Medication Night Treatment also contains green tea leaf extract. This botanical is best known for its ability to control excessive sebum production. Pores that don’t produce too much sebum can still get clogged by dead skin cells, but they don’t form large or noticeable blemishes.
And for minimizing the effects of dead skin that can clog pores, the Nu Skin Night Treatment offers 0.5% salicylic acid. Just how much good 0.5% salicylic acid does your skin depends on how you finish your skin cleansing before you put the Night Treatment on your skin. A splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice onto a clean cotton swab and then applied to your clean and dry skin lowers skin pH slightly. The lemon juice provides just enough acid for the Night Treatment to loosen dead skin that can lodge on the sides of pores. It’s not enough acid to burn your skin and it’s not enough acid to “peel” your skin. It’s just enough acid for clear skin maintenance.
And if you happen also to have a problem with sagging skin or bags under your eyes, the alpha-lipoic acid (when you’re putting lipoic acid products on your skin, it doesn’t have to be R-lipoic acid) will tighten your skin reduce puffiness, sagging, and bagging.
Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Day Treatment
Nu Skin’s Clear Action Acne Medication Day Treatment is often listed as a BHA or beta-hydroxy acid skin treatment. It’s actually both a BHA treatment, containing about 0.5% salicylic acid, and an AHA treatment, containing about 5% glycolic acid. It contains salicylic acid for breaking up the “mortar” that dead skin cells make with excess skin oils and glycolic acid for breaking up the “bricks” that are the dead skin cells themselves. This makes the product less than idea for dry skin (not enough AHA) and less than ideal for oily skin (not enough BHA) but just about perfect for normal skin that is neither oily nor dry.
The Nu Skin Day Treatment formula contains anti-inflammatory ingredients and antioxidants that complement the Nu Skin Night Treatment formula. Instead of green tea, for instance, it contains white tea. Instead of alpha-lipoic acid, it contains panthenol, a form of vitamin B5. It also contains some moisturizers that are enough for all but the driest skin but that aren’t too much for oily skin. You’ll still need to use some form of sunscreen during the day if you use this product, especially if you have naturally dark skin. Avobenzone sunscreens are more compatible with Nu Skin than sunblocks made with titanium or zinc compounds.
Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Foaming Cleanser
We’re fans of foaming cleansers. They can stay on your skin long enough that the active ingredients in them can do your skin some good. What we like about the Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Foaming Cleanser is exactly the reason some reviewers criticize it. It isn’t all that easy to wash off your skin. That means the 0.5% salicylic acid in the formula tends to stay in your pores, gently removing dead skin from the sides of your pores that can cause whiteheads and blackheads. If you want to do something to break up whiteheads and to get the “black” off your blackheads, using this product is a great way to start.
Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Toner
Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Toner is a well formulated that contains 0.5% salicylic acid (BHA) at the right pH for loosening up dead skin covering whiteheads and blackheads. Some experts believe that 0.5% really is not enough BHA to do a good job of removing blemishes. And the fact is, if this is the only Nu Skin product that you use to control your acne, it won’t be. But if you use Nu Skin Clear Action Acne Medication Toner in addition to other Clear Action products, it is a great way to keep redness and irritation in check while continuing blemish removal started by other parts of your program.
Nu Skin makes some other skin care products that may be a good complement to your acne control program. At $57 in the US and Canada, the Nu Skin 180° AHA Facial Peel is a good way to remove excess pigmentation that hangs around long after pimples have healed. It consists of treatment pads to apply a mixture of glycolic and lactic acid and neutralizer pads to stop the process. The truth is that you could stop the action of the acids with just running water, but these facial peel pads work a lot better tha most other brands. Just be sure to follow directions and to avoid contact with your eyes.
