What is acne?
"Acne is an inflammation in the skin’s hair follicles and adjacent sebaceous (oil) glands. It causes pimples and sometimes larger boils in the face and on other areas of the skin with large amounts of oil glands, such as the chest and back. Acne is a common and chronic disease, with a 60-80% occurrence."writes MD and dermatology specialist Marika Schröder in our blog Acne 101. Check it out to know more about how acne is dignosed and treated!
What products to use for acne-prone skin?
We take the simple approach to skincare, and this includes acne. We favour using just a few products with a minimum of ingredients: a gentle cleanser, a good moisturiser and an effective, non-drying spot-treatment.
The key is to choose skincare which won't mess with your skin's acid mantle and its barrier - an upset barrier is the gateway to out-of-whack skin. For cleansers, we first and foremost avoid SLS and alcohol, both of which can upset your skin barrier. For hydration and care, we'll favour humectants such as glycerin and sodium PCA, combined with the right amount of the right kind of oil. Finally, to treat breakouts we've taken the approach where a hydrating base combined with gentle but efficient anti-microbials is gold.
One of our favourite basic care combos when acne skin is acting up, is our Simple Routine for Oily Skin. It consists of just two products: our gentle but deep-cleansing Gel Cleanser and our light yet nourishing, gel-cream-textured Face Cream. Thorough, skin-friendly cleansing and hydration and care in just tow easy products.
Why is the Gel Cleanser suitable for acne skin?
The Gel is made with just a few ingredients, carefully selected for sensitive and problem skin. It dissolves oil, makeup and impurities with a mild, plant-based surfactant and conditions skin with beetroot extract to prevent dryness and anti-bacterial xylitol to inhibit harmful bacterial film. We've made it non-foaming, so as not to dry skin. The Gel is formulated without any added fragrance and a skin-friendly preservative system.
Why is the Face Cream suitable for acne skin?
The Cream contains a minimum of ingredients that work for sensitive and problem skin, and is formulated without any added fragrance, with gentle preservatives, and contains no fatty aclohol. It's made with colloidal oatmeal to slow down skin's water-loss, plant-based glycerin and sodium PCA to hydrate skin, and a small amount of plant-oils to condition. Scared of oils in skincare? Don't be - as our chemist Jaana explains: It's all down to the fatty acid profile of each oil and how they combine. Oils high on linoleic acid are good for acne and oilier type skins, while oleic acid works well for drier types. Research has also shown that acne skin is in fact deficient in linoleic acid.
Our Face Cream contains a blend of canola oil, which is slightly higher in oleic acid, soothing oat kernel oil, which has a 50/50 balance between oleic and linoleic acid, and barrier repairing poppy seed oil, which is high in linoleic acid.
Spot treatment
If you have active acne and need something to control oil and purify skin without drying, we recommend mixing a bit of our Clarifying Serum serum into the Face Cream, or layering it under the Cream. It's a light-weight, oil-free gel-serum that tackles spots and pimples the gentle way. Because of the high level of anti-microbials in the product, our chemist Jaana pulled off a formula without any added preservatives - the Clarifying Treatment is entirely self-preserving, and works well on sensitive skin, as it's also formulated without any added fragrance or alcohol.
If your skin is on the drier side and you're dealing with breakouts, check ut our Renewing Serum. It's a light but nourishing emulsion laden with bakuchiol. Bakuchiol has retinol-like effects on skin, but without any irritation. Mix it with or layer under the Face Cream.
Did you know?
Our sensitive and problem skinned founder and CEO Kristina created Laponie specifically to help her deal with her own various skin issues, one of which was acne - and our mission is to help you. Together with our chemist Jaana, the ladies devout countless hours to R&D in our Helsinki lab.
We know how frustrating it is to try and find products that work. Use the code ACNE15 at checkout to get 15% off on the Simple Routine for Oily/Combination Skin, Skin Purifying & Hydrating Set, Balancing & Purifying Routine for Oily/Combination Skin and Clarifying Serum.
Please note, that the code cannot be combined with other offers.
