A Different Kind of Blemish Treatment

I have really sensitive skin, and all the acne therapies in drugstores seem to use salicylic acid, which burns my face. That's not really the best look on me; the acne is almost better! I no longer break out like I did as a teen, but I still have the occasional break-out.

My sister is a QVC junkie, and she bought me the Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy, made by Bare Escentuals. Most of us associate Bare Escentuals with their make-up, which I love, and which lasts forever; they advertise that their make-up is so good for your skin that you can sleep in it, and I have to admit that I have. If their make-up is that good, how much better is their acne treatment?

Even better, is the answer. It is pure powdered minerals, just like the make-up, but it contains sulphur as its active ingredient. It comes with a brush to apply the powder to where you need it, and just as with the mak-up, you swirl a tiny amount of the product from the lid of the container onto the brush, tap off any excess product, and buff it into the spot that needs it.  

They say that "in independent clinical studies, 82% felt it effectively reduced blemishes; 74% saw a reduction in blackheads, 78% saw less redness and more even-toned skin, and 69% felt their blemishes looked less red and inflamed after one use."  I'd be in each of those percentages; the blemishes reduced and looked much less red -- in fact, barely perceptible, after one use. I have blackheads and large pores around and on my nose, and it cleared up the blackheads and reduced the appearance of the pores, and evened out the tone of my sking. My only complaint about it is that the sulphur smells like, well, sulphur. Think rotten eggs. The smell doesn't last, thank goodness, and you can apply your moisturizer and make-up right over the top of it, or add it afterwards.

It has a light color, as you can see in the photo, and that helps cover up the blemish -- and my neighbor, who is a dark-skinned African-American, tried it and it blended right into her skin too (she used her own brush!).  I would recommend this to anyone wanting to clear up acne. Yes, the price is a little high, but like all Bare Escentual products, a little bit goes a long way, and if you "swirl, tap, and buff" you only use a little bit. I've been using it since December, when my skin breaks out (which, I have to add, is less often since I've been using it!), and still have most of the container left. Since it's all pure minerals, it won't "go bad" like some other products, so it will last pretty much forever. I suspect it would last at least as long as 5 or 6 tubes of $7 or $8 acne products from the drugstore, so it is well worth the price.

For those interested, besides the 3% sulphur, the other ingredients are:zinc stearate,illite, barium sulfate, silica, willow bark extract (ok, maybe a little salicylic acid there, but not much!), tapioca starch, soil mineral concentrate, kaolin, cyclodextrin, tea tree leaf extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, emblica officianalis fruit extract, sophora augustifolia extract, algae extract, and a few other things.  Let me repeat, I have very sensitive skin, and this doesn't inflame it at all. It works, it lasts, and it doesn't sting. What could be better?