With a hint of insomnia last night, I lay awake transfixed on an infomercial for a new acne treatment called Murad Acne Complex. It is not endorsed by big name celebrities that I have never believed to have skin care issues to begin with, it is endorsed by real users of the product. The before and after pictures were quite amazing, however, I realize that in this day and age “touch ups” happen all the time. From an untrained eye, I cannot tell if these are true-to-life before and after pictures or a little bit doctored. The only thing obvious to me is that they were makeup-less in the before picture and done up in the after picture. What is undeniable is that their acne is gone.
The Acne Complex system is designed by Howard Murad, a board certified dermatologist and trained pharmacist.
The Acne Complex consists of a Clarifying Cleanser with Green Tea and Salicylic Acid, the Exfoliating Acne Treatment Gel with Glycolic Acid and Retinol and the Skin Perfecting Lotion that contains Retinol, Queen of Meadow Extract and Arnica.
How they say it works:
The Clarifying Cleanser: Salicylic Acid clears skin and helps prevent future breakouts and the Green Tea Extract and Menthol calm and cool irritated skin.
The Exfoliating Acne Treatment Gel: Patented delivery system allows for maximum treatment penetration, while the Retinol and Glycolic Acid exfoliate to control breakouts.
The Acne Spot Treatment: Treats breakouts while promoting healing with anti-inflammatory ingredients that soothe and reduce redness.
The Skin Perfecting Lotion: Retinol and Queen of Meadow Extract reduce oil production and tighten pores. Arnica helps to heal and calm irritated skin.
The kit costs about $60. Has anyone used this? If so, what are your thoughts?
Those infomercials get me every time (must be the lack of sleep!). If you do try it, please do write about it so we know for sure if it works or not!
I haven’t tried the entire kit, but I got a sample of the clarifying cleanser last time I was at Sephora. My skin is fairly oily, prone to breakouts and I’ve never had many senstivities to products other than temporary redness. After a couple of days of using the cleanser, my cheeks were dry and flaky. It almost looked like I had a mild sunburn. I really wish my skin could have tolerated the cleanser.
I don’t care for some of the “herbal” ingredients in the Murad stuff, so I avoid it. For example, menthol can be a VERY serious skin irritant, and can worsen acne or zit outbreaks. It might feel good, but it’s not an ideal ingredient to be slapping on your face if you’re already having problems (speaking from my own experiecne, of course!) But I can totally vouch for the Skin Perfecting Lotion. That stuff is awesome. It doesn’t really lessen oil production or tighten pores, but it does protect the skin well, and it is great for smoothing out skin if you wear foundation. I really like it. And works better than the silicone primers like the Smashbox or Sephora ones.