Hi, guys! If you read my last review, you'd know my skin purged a lot due to a product I'm using. I expected the pimples to crop up but it's kinda exhausting to have pimples on your face, right? I want the purging process to finish faster. And then I remember I have this Acne Warrior Soap in my stash so I got it out. Such a perfect time to test this!
Just a short intro: Skin Genie is a local Philippine brand offering a range of whitening and anti-aging products. They claim their products are safe and gentle even for the most sensitive skin. They are known for their ACV-based products but they have other lines as well. You can check out their selection
here. I love their Black Fluffy Mallows Scrub!
About the Soap
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What: Skin Genie Acne Warrior Soap, 135g
Price: Php 150 at Skin Genie |
Product Description:
🔹 Cures acne, whiteheads and blackheads. 🔹 Anti Acne. 🔹 Shrinks pores. 🔹 Erase acne marks. 🔹 Antibacterial. 🔹 Gentle. 🔹 Controls oil. 🔹 Soothes skin. 🔹 Antioxidant.
That's honestly a lot of claims. I'm not expecting much tbh but if this soap clears up my skin in just a few days, I'm gonna be so impressed.
The packaging is simple and minimal. Just a plastic cover with a cardboard label. On one side is the directions for use, while the other side has the list of ingredients.
Directions:
Apply to damp skin and massage into a light foaming lather for 1-2 minutes to get the maximum effect. Rinse with warm water and dry.
Ingredients:
Saponified Oils of Coconut, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Love Plant Oil, Calendula Extract, Neem Oil Extract, Fruit Acids, Apple Extract, Glycerin from Coconut
I always clog and breakout out from coconut oil, palm oil and olive oil so it seems counterintuitive to me to even include these ingredients in an acne-fighting soap. I only have a general idea of how the soap-making process works but hopefully, the oils got saponified and transformed.
About the other ingredients, the soap seems well-formulated. The pimple-fighting ingredient here is the Neem Oil Extract. Glycerin and calendula is for moisturization while the fruit acids is for exfoliation. Here's a CosDNA analysis of the ingredients.
Olive oil and calendula are tagged as potential acne triggers. The acne rating is low on CosDNA but each of us reacts to ingredients differently so make sure to do your own research first and don't use if you are allergic to any of the ingredients.
First Impressions
First of all, the soap smells good! There's no fragrance listed so I guess the smell comes from the plant extracts itself. The scent is very mild and subtle.
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| I estimated this cut will last me 7 days or so. |
I only cut a small portion because I think two weeks is a reasonable amount of time to test it's effectiveness. Breakouts normally heal within one to two weeks for me so this soap must be able to shorten that time.
It doesn't bubble a lot. I only managed to get the pic above by using the soap very generously. The resulting lather is soft and smooth and it's very effective in cleaning. It totally removed all oils on my face. Make sure to moisturize because it can be drying.
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| pH test result = between 7.0-7.5 pH |
Low pH cleansers (between 4.2 - 5.6 pH) are usually recommended so it won't disrupt our skin's acid mantle. (Read here
why.) However, I did a little bit of digging and found out that in soapmaking, the recommended pH for the soap to be
safe is between 7 to 10. As you can see above, the pH of this soap is somewhere between 7-7.5. Since the pH is unavoidable, I suggest using a skin balancing toner after.
I used it on my face and body every morning and night. I expected the portion I cut to last about 7 days, but it actually lasted more than two weeks! It doesn't melt fast.
So... Results?
This is the breakout in my right cheek. See the four little pimples in a line? It looks like I got a constellation on my face 😂
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Day 1 - pic taken in the afternoon. Used the soap at night (1st use)
Day 2 - pic taken at night (3rd use) |
By the second day, you can clearly see the improvement in my skin condition. My pimples were a lot calmer and they have shrunk in size. I didn't take any pics of the third day, but the pimples were healing nicely.
Like I said earlier, this soap can be drying and sure enough, during the fourth day, there was some peeling going on. I decided to help a little bit by using a pore brush to exfoliate all the dead skin cells. So far so good, right? However, what I did next is very idiotic. I applied/wiped Secret Key Lemon Peeling Pad on top! *cringe*
I have already
physically exfoliated and by using the peeling pad (
chemical exfoliation), my skin was not happy. It immediately reacted by getting terribly itchy! I tried to bear it for a few seconds but it was awful. I washed it off my face as quickly as I can. Physical or chemical, don't over-exfoliate! Trust me! Just look at the damage below.
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Day 4 - shiny, dry skin
Day 5 - the damage can be seen better here |
The pics are taken immediately after washing. My skin looks shiny but it is very dry, no oil at all. Tiny bumps also surfaced. Looks like I burned my face, yikes. I pampered my skin afterwards with lots of hydrating layers. The damage is more apparent the next day. It is very rough to the touch. Not Skin Genie's fault but I'm just showing you why my progress is back to zero. :/
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Day 6 - new tiny bumps
Day 8 - the area is already healed |
My skin is still irritated on Day 6 and you can see tiny new bumps that wasn't there before. Good thing the original 4 pimples already healed. It left scars. 😑 I just continued using the soap twice a day. By Day 8, all the pimples were gone and I just need to deal with the aftermath.
Effective? Hell yeah! If I didn't mess up, I bet the whole process will take shorter than 8 days. The pimples shrunk and healed within 2-3 days after use. Here's a side by side comparison:
Will I Repurchase/Recommend This Soap?
Yes! I'm gonna use this again whenever I'm purging or have breakouts. The price is very reasonable and it definitely works for me. If you have acne, I think this is
worth trying out but please, please proceed with caution. Our results may vary.
By the way, ThankYourSkin compiled a
list of sneaky things that may be causing you acne. It includes all possible acne triggers I can think of (from diet to skincare, makeup, clothes, environment, etc)! It's a great resource to check if you feel like you already did everything.
Hope this review helped! Tried this soap already? What are your thoughts on it?
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Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. The item featured is bought with my own money. This review is based on my own experience and opinions. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa.
