Product Review: La Roche-Posay Effaclar

I trialed the highly praised skincare brand for 2 and a half weeks to see if it helped me out. The Effaclar range is for sensitive oily skin and claims to be a total anti-blemish system.

I have combination skin that only suffers from minor breakouts. I do however have pretty bad acne scarring on my chin and happened to be in breakout patch when I began this treatment. The range is highly recommended by dermatologists for problematic skin and a great solution for scarring.

I used the foaming wash and the so-mysterious-I-still-don't-know-quite-what-it-is "corrective unclogging anti-imperfections" cream/serum/god knows. The wash and the serum  together cost around £23. There are often offers on the range as a whole, but this is obviously on the more costly side of skincare.

The face wash is a clear gel that foams with warm water. It does a nice job of removing makeup but apart from that I found to be just a 'meh...okay' face wash (disregarding final results.) It smells of soap (despite it being soap-free) and doesn't do anything miraculous. Your skin is left feeling slightly matte.

 The serum was a lot more...interesting. You use it on freshly washed skin all over the face, not just to blemishes/marks.

Not gonna lie, it's not the most pleasant thing I've ever put on my face. It has a slimy consistency that, once absorbed, leaves your face feeling pretty heavy on product and kind of clogged.

I used both these products for over a fortnight in the hope that my breakouts would die down and and marks would face. I didn't expect anything to disappear completely, I hoped the serum would help fade it.

After two weeks, my face was a mess. 

Breakouts on my chin and forehead had become red and the marks left were the weirdest things I've ever had on my face... dry, deep red and difficult to conceal. I developed breakouts on my cheeks (what?? this is unheard of for my skin) which I assume were from the serum that insisted you use it all over. The most disappointing thing was that my acne scarring looked redder (?) and more pronounced.

I don't know if it's a 'it gets worse before it gets better' kind of treatment, but after almost three weeks, seriously? The breakout I had was unusual (I have clear skin most of the time), but the end result of this left my skin even worse that in its seriously bad tweenage days (pretty darn bad.)

I switched back to my usual cleansing routine (the brilliant Lush Herbalism) and within three days, my skin was back to normal. Three days. It became apparent that the Effaclar range was, indeed, wreaking havoc with my skin.

If I do go into a bad patch with my skin, I know I won't be returning to either of these products. Maybe it was the switching up that caused things to flare, but seeing as this claims to treat problem skin, it's a little disheartening for the price.

Of course, this product might work for you. My skin type wasn't exactly suited for it (I have a feeling if you have an ongoing acne problem this might be a better suited skin type.) However, I do have scarring and that serum did anything but help.

Have you tried the range? How did it work for you? 

Sorry for the negative review but I was seriously in shock as to how dismally this worked! Til next time xo