Acne-Safe Makeup
As mentioned in my latest Becoming the Bride post, at the end of December I started the Clear Skin Program through Face Reality with a local esthetician who is an acne specialist. Check out her Instagram account here.
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Over the last year/year and a half I had noticed an increase in acne especially in areas I didn’t usually get it, like my neck. As you can imagine, this was really frustrating. I wanted to figure out what was going on and clear it up anyway and my wedding coming up put some pressure on me to look into it sooner rather than later. I stopped taking my wellness supplements and my skin calmed down a lot. And now with the help of my esthetician my skin looks the best it has in years. She’s given me a lot of good information and I’m using a whole new skincare routine that is all acne-safe. It works hand in hand with the treatments I get from her.
I’ve been using cruelty free products for a couple years now but I’m shocked and a little sad to find out that a lot of the makeup products I was using aren’t acne-safe. I really loved my routine, especially the blush color *chef’s kiss*, so it’s been an adjustment to find new products. But, I wanted to make sure I’m using products that don’t contain pore-clogging ingredients as I’m working to clear my skin.
This will be more of a reference post because I frequently try new products. I created an Acne-Safe Makeup shelf on my ShopMy page and will update that as I try new products.
Add my ShopMy page to your favorites to keep updated with my makeup for acne recommendations.
But, let’s talk about what makes a product acne-safe and what I look for!
Acne-safe simply means it doesn’t contain ingredients that are known to clog pores aka cause acne.
The list of ingredients to avoid that my esthetician gave me had 80 ingredients on it. 80! These ingredients can be found in all products that touch your skin (detergent, skin care, makeup, and hair products) and even supplements (like my beloved greens).
Instead of typing all of those out here are some that I see in products all the time that I had no idea could be giving me acne:
- Cocoa Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Red Algae
- Shea Butter
- Spirulina
- Sulfated Castor Oil
- Sulfated Jojoba Oil
I’ve seen all of these ingredients listed as benefits of products – especially natural oil so I thought they were good things to have in my products. But now that I know they clog pores I’m avoiding them. (Bye bye to my favorite bronzer!)
Here’s the full list from Face Reality.
I highly recommend working with an acne specialist and having them look at product ingredients for you. But when you’re in a pinch, this checker is nice.
I’ve had several times where I’m standing in Ulta and found a new product I’m interested in but since I’m already there I don’t have time to ask my esthetician.
Always check ingredients for yourself! Or have your estie check for you. Beauty industry terms are unregulated so rather than just trusting that a new foundation is “non-comedogenic” or “won’t clog pores” check for yourself!
I’ve found a few creators that share acne-safe products that are safe for certain kinds of acne. In my opinion, that’s too complicated. If there’s any acne causing/pore-clogging ingredient listed I won’t use it while I’m healing my skin. So, know what you’re looking for and double check!
Currently, I’m not worrying about lip products, mascara, or hair products because I’m not having acne issues in those areas and replacing all of my skincare and other makeup products is a whole task right now, haha. So, I won’t include those on my Acne-Safe Makeup Shelf to avoid confusion.
As part of the Clear Skin Program I’m using Face Reality brand products and really like them. I swear my skin is healing faster than it used to and looks really good! Would you be interested in a post about that brand and my current skincare routine?
Share this post with your friends who are on an acne clearing journey!
