Two months with État Pur Salicylic Acid 300

For this blog I'm going to try a single product but over a longer time than my normal multiple product blogs so... there might be a bit of on the fly learning I'm afraid! The product I'm going to test is État Pur's Salicylic Acid 300 and I'm going to try it for a couple of months assuming a) it lasts that long and b) my skin doesn't complain.

I've been using b.liv's "off with those heads" for a while (you can see the product page and reviews here). b.liv say this about their product "This light cooling gel promises to easily remove stubborn blackheads and whiteheads in just 14 days of daily application. It keeps excessive oil secretion under control while preventing future irritation and breakouts". I found that it does help me control excess oil in my T zone but doesn't really help with breakouts and as I'm prone to them (despite my age) I thought I'd try the Salicylic Acid.

État Pur's description of their product is "Salicylic Acid 300 pure Active is indicated for various blemishes in acne-prone skin: spots, blackheads, skin blemishes... It is equally suitable for teenagers and people who suffer from occasional acne, in periods of stress, fatigue, hormonal variation or when the weather is hot and humid." Now I really do struggle in the hot weather with my skin but that's not an issue at the moment as I'm writing this in December but... with Christmas and New Year coming up and I'm starting a new job in three weeks I think I'll be struggling with the "stress and fatigue" issues.

You can see the product page for Salicylic Acid 300 here but I thought I'd include some product pictures here just to show you what the bottle and dispenser look like.

In this last picture you can see the formed top of the bottle which allows you to use tiny drops of the liquid rather than using you finger. The instruction arn't too specific but I'm going to try direct onto the blemish from the bottle and then four points on the skin and gentle massage with fingers (i'll let you know how it works out!).

Week 1

First try. Okay "luckily" I have a slight blemish area on my chin line and a small spot under my chin so I'll start with those. Under the bottle is a rubbery area that you press slightly to get a drop out of the nozzle. It's not exactly elegant but it works fine. The fluid is quite liquid but does seem to stay in the area well enough so I've avoided using fingers to get it to the right place. You can't really feel such a small amount but I can feel a slight coldness in the blemish area as I used more than one drop there.

Well let's see what happens!For isolated areas and spots you use it twice a day for a week. I'm not going to try the general use for a while until I see how it works on spots and blemishes.

Week 2

Okay so far it's going quite well (except for a few practical problems!). It's Christmas so frankly my diet isn't exactly... settled (or very healthy) but actually my skin is holding up really well. I've been using the product only to treat specific outbreaks or sensitive blemish areas and that leads me to the first issue: when do you use it? The instructions are a bit vague and if you use it first or last thing then it gets in the way your moisturising regieme. I've taken to using it in the morning when I get up and then early evening.

The next practical problem is that the liquid doesn't always come out even when you press the button. I think it's because the air needs to be allowed in sometimes. It's easy enough to fix but sometimes it's get irritating.

So after a couple of weeks I can see how useful the product is but I do have a few resevations: it dries the skin quite intensely (you can feel driness for a long time afterwards and it isn't that comfortable). Still it does control the excess oil that causes most of my problems!

Week 3

I have found that the product really helps with small painful breakouts (I often get these are shaving -  I think the razor creates patches of rough skin which blokes pores). If you use it immediately on discovering them then it deadens the pain very quickly and it seems to stop them developing further.

Overall I'm still happy with it: I've been using generally across my face but particularly on my chin line and around the edge on my face.

 The First Month

Well it looks like two months is about how much time I'm going to get out of the 15ml bottle I have. I've become pretty used to using it and I've learned when it works better for me. To me it works better when treating pre-breakout areas that specific spots but... I must admit that it works well on individual spots to reduce the pain. The best thing for me has been using it on the red patchy areas I get on my neck when I wear a shirt and tie all day. I've tried lots of treatments to prevent this happening but none of them really manage to do that but this product certainly treats the problem when it starts.

I do think that it can be a little harsh and it dries patches of my skin sometimes but overall I've been impressed. Let's see what happens as the bottle runs out!

Two Months and final thoughst

So after two months what are my final thoughts? I liked it but as a fairly specific product. After a bad outbreak on my hairline I felt that it worked really really well: calming my skin, taking the pain away and helping to clear up the outbreak fairly quickly. But it's quite harsh so I abandoned the idea of using it in a general way as a preventative.

I would definitely buy some more but I must admit that it would be more an as and when necessity rather than a must have.