I'm sure that anyone who's ever suffered a breakout (unless you're thinking "what is acne?" in which case this review won't be for you) will be familiar with the Oxy brand. Certainly when I was a teenager, Oxy were one of the brands who I'd turn to in desperate need of something hardcore to burn off the newest horror that was erupting somewhere on my face, but since (sadly) leaving my teenage years, it wasn't really a brand I'd considered using due to the fact that the brand is so heavily associated with typical teenage acne; meaning that the products were created to remove all the oil and grease and strip the skin of anything even remotely spot-like. This sort of approach is fine when you're a teenager with skin so greasy you could fry chips on it (nice image, that) but once you hit your twenties and onwards, you need something more gentle and easier on your no longer youthful skin.
On this blog, I'm always bleating on about how brands need to start addressing skins that are spot-prone yet no longer adolescent, and over the past few years there have been a few brands who have started to do exactly that, and it's about blimin' time too. The newest addition to these few brands is Oxy, who have launched a range of five products that don't follow the typical "spot-prone skin needs its oil stripped" direction with skincare and have instead had a good look around at other ingredients that'll treat spots (I've temporarily given up trying to work out what causes spots) whilst still keeping skin happy. Therefore, the new
Oxy Natural Skin Science range is mostly based around the key ingredient of seaweed which is a naturally active ingredient that kills acne bacteria whilst also encouraging water retention. This means that the products will both nourish and treat problem skin such as mine.
I am very happy to report that the range is excellent and does pretty much what it promises. Obviously it's a range aimed at spot-prone skin types, so it isn't going to be suitable for those with dry skin, but there was a quick and significant reduction in my breakouts from within a couple of days use and whilst I'm nowhere near spot free (will it ever be so?) my spots hang around for a lot less time, don't turn into the angry mo-fos of breakouts past and my overall skin is a lot happier and healthier without a dry patch in sight. That's my round-up of the range, but I thought it'd be handy to review each of the four products I've been using individually just in case you fancy dipping your toe in rather than committing to the whole range.
Seaweed Power Fresh Skin Wash
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I will always be someone who struggles to get seriously excited over a face wash. However, as face washes go this is a lovely, easy and effective choice. It smells fine, doesn't overly strip the skin (there's a little bit of tautness after use but nothing major) and leaves skin feeling very clean indeed. This is £5.99.
Seaweed Power Deep Calm Balm
This for me is the absolute stand out product from the range. It's touted as a deep calm balm and that's exactly how it feels. I've never actually come across a product aimed at my skin type formulated in a balm consistency so I was eager to see how this one turned out and it is exactly as it sounds; it's a soothing, creamy (yet oil-free), balm that leaves skin feeling really nourished. When you first apply it it feels like you've completely drenched your skin (usually a big 'no no' for spot-prone skin) but within moments it's absorbed without a trace. When I first used it, once it had absorbed, I did wonder if it would actually be enough moisture for my combination cheeks, but it most definitely is and I totally love it. It's also great under make-up. This is also £5.99.
Emergency Spot Treatment Gel
This is a good, solid spot treatment. It's by no means the best I've ever tried, but it works at effectively drying the spot and is especially good on white heads. I especially like the applicator: you just squeeze the product to the nib then apply it directly to the spot which is convenient and mess-free. It doesn't work too well under make-up but it works very well as an overnight treatment and spots show signs of significant reduction come morning. This is slightly more expensive at £6.99.
Clearlight - Light Device
This is a really tricky one to review as it works for some things but not others and involves quite a bit of perseverance. Blue-light therapy has been around for a while and is proven to be a very effective way of reducing the presence of acne bacteria without harming the surrounding skin. To use, you apply the opening around the spot and turn the machine on, which starts up the four, small, blue bulbs inside the device. There's no sensation, you just hold it in place until the timer goes off after 3 minutes. Now, 3 minutes doesn't sound like a particularly long time and in fairness it isn't, so if you have one or two spots then it's no biggy as you're just wasting 6-12 minutes of your daily life (you use it morning and night), however, if you have any more than around 3-4 spots then it's an incredibly time consuming process; I'm not saying it isn't worth it, but it's worth having reading material to hand, or downloading the Scrabble App to your iPhone....
This is fantastic for on the surface spots, white heads and those little irritating spots that appear out of nowhere and seem to hang around getting infected repeatedly and generally causing havoc. For those, this stops them in their tracks and reduces them to nothing within a couple of days max. What this doesn't do much for are the big angry, under-the-skin spots and cysts. It still reduces them a little, but at the rate it reduces them it's tricky to tell whether it's the device reducing them or them just giving up on their own time scale. This can be used in conjunction with other spot treatments, so if you're like me and you get regular visits from all members of the spot family, this is a handy device to have around. This is £39.99.
In conclusion, I'm definitely impressed with these new products from Oxy. I'm also especially happy with the blurb that was released alongside these products, as it states that the range is intended to reduce the number of spots rather than making any outrageous claims about curing your breakouts and completely clearing your skin. The fact that all products are reasonably priced and widely available means this should become a real go-to range for anyone who's prone to problem skin.
Disclosure: PR samples for the benefit of this review.
