Beauty Tool Review: Tweezerman Blemish Extractor

Today I'll be "reviewing" the Tweezerman Blackhead/Blemish Extractor. This is a stainless steel tool that has two looped ends: a small loop on one, and a larger loop on the other. The smaller loop is for blackheads, while the larger loop is for whiteheads. The premise of this tool is to help you extract open comedones (those that have a head) without damaging your skin or pushing the gunk further into your pores.

When you pop a pimple, which we've all done at one point, your nails pinching your skin removes thing layers of you skin, which can lead to scarring. This can also push everything further into the pores, instead of removing it. And, of course, there's always the worry of infection.

I don't have very many blackheads. In fact, I get very few (I would say 5-6 a year) that I can see, and they're mostly focused on my forehead. My skin issue is whiteheads. I cheat with this tool and switch sides around depending on the size of the whitehead...shhhh! Don't tell!

I find it does a fairly good job of removing the gunk...when it's ready to be removed. I've had some stubborn ones that just won't budge and I have to convince myself to put the tool down so I don't wreck my skin further. And I'm not going to lie, it can hurt! TMI: I've had some painful ones that required a little bit of extra pressure that made them explode. Satisfying, disgusting and painful. And a little bloody, those are the ones that take a while to close up and heal.

Is this better than using your fingers? Well, I find it more hygienic. And it can apply pressure easier than your fingernails sometimes. And it is easier to get everything out, not just the top layer. Overall I'd say this is a win. This retails for $10-$13 at drugstores, I think I got mine at Walgreens during a sale.

PROS:

• Less damaging to skin
• More hygienic
• Extract everything from a pimple
• Works on whiteheads and blackheads (use a magnifying mirror to help!)
• Double-sided
• Can apply pressure that fingers can't

CONS:

• Can be hard to clean (gunk gets stuck in the loops, blech)
• Doesn't work on ALL pimples
• Can be painful and damaging if you push too hard

And now for pictures

The tool itself

Sorry that this one is blurry! :(

A difficult one to capture because of location.

The tool wish some gunk...yum.

EDITED TO ADD:

To elaborate on how it works, you center the whitehead within the loop, apply some pressure (towards the tip of the loop), wiggle a bit and then boom! Gunk is out (if it's an easy one!)

Chrissy

Acne Adventures 2

Well, it has officially been one week of my Peter Thomas Roth Acne Kit use (PTR). So how is my skin doing? Well…that’s difficult for several reasons:

• It’s only been a week, who knows what my skin is doing right now. Probably rejoicing that I stopped the other kit, confused because I went back to using my Garnier products for a week (which I truly love, perhaps a review will be coming), confused about this new kit…WHO KNOWS!
• Stress. There has been a lot of stress in my life the past few weeks which I’m sure isn’t helping my acne problem. I’m slowly but surely starting to let go of the drama and live my own life with the people that want to be in it (cue Let It Go music). Hard, but it’s what I need to do.
• The parts of my skin with no acne (so most of my cheeks, most of my forehead, etc.) look FANTASTIC! Really glowy and radiant, before I’ve had super dull/dry skin.
• No moisturizer. That’s the one thing I hate about this kit. There is no moisturizer in it, and while my skin hasn’t been flaking it’s been tight, and certain areas are itchy. I’m hesitant to add in my moisturizer in fear of messing up what the kit is doing.
• I’m anxious for the clarisonic. I know that sounds ridiculous, why did I buy it then? I’ll go more in depth once in comes in, but I’ve read that it makes your skin worse before it gets better. Hmm…
•  I’m still getting breakouts from whatever I’ve been using/doing. Quite a few.

So, there you have it. I’m liking parts of the kit, hating parts of the kit and still have no idea how my skin is doing. Unfortunately my updates will be like this until the one month mark (ish) where I can truly start to see the results, good or bad. I will, however, break down the kit for you now that I’ve used everything in it a few times at least.

In order from left to right:

PTR Beta Hydroxy Acid 2% Acne Wash
This is the daily cleanser in the kit. Beta Hydroxy Acid are ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, which I've used on my skin before with really no results (in the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Scrub). BHAs work deep in to your pores to get rid of dead skin cells, dirt, makeup, etc. It allows the skin to produce new skin cells (obviously). 

The face wash lathers up decently, I prefer a little bit more but it’s better than ones that don’t lather at all. There are no exfoliators in it. Very basic, very smooth. It rinses off easily and doesn’t leave any residue, but it does leave my face feeling tight and dry. Overall, I like it and I feel like it’ll work well with the Clarisonic, which I'm trying tonight! Yay!

PTR Blemish Buffing Beads
I have used this 2-3 times, and usually in the shower. Honestly, I don’t like this. The buffing beads are really abrasive for my skin, it almost hurts more than helps. Also, the buffing beads don’t dissolve. They’re those evil ones that stay whole. I really hate those ones! You might as well wash your face with a rock. I will continue to use it, I know you need to exfoliate your skin to get all the gunk and dead skin out. But I won’t enjoy it! L

AHA/BHA Acne Clearing Gel
This is a gel that you apply to the affected areas. I’m essentially using this all over my face: my entire chin/jaw line, my cheeks and at my forehead where my eyebrows are. I use 1 pump and it’s more than enough, this stuff will last for a while.  It’s more of a runny gel consistency, very smooth. It does sting a little on open skin, so those pimples that have popped don’t like it too much. 

I've already talked about BHAs, but Alpha Hydroxy Acids are a little bit different. AHAs target your upper layers of skin, instead of deep down in the pores like BHAs. These are ingredients such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, etc. 

I feel like this gel will do more than the face wash will. This actually gets to absorb into your skin, whereas the face wash simply removes anything for a matter of 1-2 minutes, then it's rinsed off. So the BHAs don't really get to absorb like they should. 

PTR Sulfur Cooling MaskI love this. The smell is manageable compared to other sulfur/charcoal masks that I’ve used and it doesn’t linger. This mask is super thick and has a really nice consistency. I hate runny masks, and this is definitely not one of them! I spread this all over and wait 10-15 minutes and then rinse it off. I don’t feel a cooling effect, as the name might suggest, but my skin feels better (if that makes any sense). My redness is more prominent, but any acne that was hurting doesn’t hurt as bad. And again, the rest of my skin without acne looks amazing!

PTR Acne Spot and Area Treatment
This is a yellow cream that reminds me a lot of Jake’s ear medicine! I have used it on occasion. I put some on the back of my hand (I don’t even have to squeeze, the pressure pushes it out on it’s own) and then spread it on the severe areas of my acne. So if I have any that haven’t come to a head, or if I have some that are just humongous I’ll apply it. Not sure if it really does much, but maybe it’s because I’m not using it often enough.

PTR Max Anti-Shine Mattifying GelThis. This I don’t even understand. This is the driest gel I’ve ever seen, coming out of the tube it looks like a little worm whose body couldn’t stay connected. I have no idea how much to use…I’ve tried varying amounts but it all stays the same. This is pointless for me. Maybe it would be better for those of you with very oily skin, but to me it’s a waste of time, so I don’t even use it anymore. I’ll probably use it, just to finish up the tube, but I really don’t understand this.

Overall, the kit has some hits and misses. I do really wish there was some kind of a toner and a moisturizer included in the kit. I'll be using it two times a day until I run out, I'm still hoping this is my miracle for my skin. 

Be on the lookout for a Clarisonic post this weekend! I'll leave you, once again, with pictures of my pimply face. Sorry that they're a little bit blurrier this time, the lighting was funky so I did the best I could, but it messed with the focus. This is directly after washing with the BHA face wash this morning.

Chrissy

Acne Adventures

**Note: I am being really open about certain things, so if you don't want to read about hormones, birth control, etc, then don't continue.**

I never broke out as a preteen or teen. Apart from the one or two blemishes I would get every few months, my skin was perfect. I rarely wore makeup, didn't moisturize my face, rinsed with water (that's it!), and I wasn't on any birth control pills that would affect my hormones. I also always wore my hair in a ponytail, didn't have braces, was fairly tan for a white girl and was a size 2-4. Boy, things have certainly changed! Well...most things.

I'm now 24 years old, I still wear my hair in a ponytail most of the time (it's just so thick and unruly), I had braces in college for 14 months, I;m extremely pale, I've been on and off birth control and I've gained plenty of weight (another issue that I'm tackling and will probably blog about). And now, for the past 1-2 years, I've been struggling with my acne. Adult acne. The worst words, ever.

I first started to notice it when I went on Depo-Provera, a birth control shot that you would receive every 3 months. I loved the idea of it, it was something I didn't need to constantly think about, such as the pill, and I was comfortable with it. Or so I thought. After the second or third shot everything changed. I started to get huge, cystic acne that I'd never had before. My hair turned into a dead-tangled-damaged-knotted mess. It was so bad that I had to get several inches cut off (and I was trying so hard to grow it out for my wedding). I immediately did research and found that acne is a rare side effect. Well, of course I had to get it! I immediately stopped getting the Depo shot and returned to the pill.

Unfortunately, ever since that shot my hormones have never been the same. I've been on and off the pill since then, currently off because I didn't have insurance for 8 months, but now I do so yay! Anyways, of course that has some play into my acne, but this time around it's not letting up. I've never had acne so bad before. And another horrible aspect is the hyper pigmentation that is left behind. I have bright red marks from every single zit. Every. Single. One. Yes, they fade. But super slowly. It's awful.

And so began the hunt for the products that would help my acne in any way. I tried glycolic acid, salicylic acid, benzol peroxide, mandelic acid...quite a few things. Most of them made my skin worse with horrible dry patches and peeling skin. Others did nothing at all.

About 2 months ago I started a new skincare regime with the Michael Todd True Organics Acne Kit (also for Oily Skin). I have combination skin in the summer and severely dehydrated/dry skin in the winter. The first week was amazing! I know it takes anywhere from 3-6 weeks for acne to pop up, but I swear after that first week my skin was amazing! My acne had all gone down and my skin was glowing. So I kept it up. I kept at this routine for about 5-6 weeks, and that's when all hell broke loose. Huge cystic acne on my chin and cheeks which just now, 3 weeks later, are starting to disappear. I immediately stopped use.

Now I'm on to the Peter Thomas Roth Acne Kit. I'm on day 4 and I have to say, my skin is looking great again. All of my cystic acne is gone, and save for a few pimples all that's there is my hyper pigmentation. I hope this isn't a precursor to how the Michael Todd kit worked. I'll be taking pictures every week to show the progress of my skin with this kit. It may get better, it may not. But at this point I have nothing left to lose.

I'll be doing a more in-depth review of each product as I get to use them more, but for now I'll leave you with a picture of my skin before any treatment with this kit started, as well as the kit itself. Keep in mind I also have flesh colored pimples that are harder to see in the photos. I'll update you on my Acne Adventures on Friday! (Because I know this is what everyone wants to read about in their free time).

Chrissy

PS - I did just buy a Clarisonic Mia 2 at a great price, so once it comes in the mail I'll be adding that into the routine and I'll review it.