The past month has been absolutely horrible for my skin as it kept breaking out. Due to the weather fluctuating from terribly hot and humid at times to cool, heavy rains at others, it became difficult for me to stick to a skincare routine too – changing it with the changes in weather and the stage of breakout that my skin was in. The one product that helped me to an extent was the La Roche Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant. Quite a long name for something that is essentially a toner for sensitive, acne-prone skin. Read on to know more about the different way in which I used this toner….
La Roche Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant Review
About La Roche Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant
Price: ₹1,190 for 200 ml
“Dilated pores, irregular skin texture in oily skin with imperfections.
EFFACLAR micro-exfoliating astringent lotion helps instantaneously reduce pore size and fight against blockage, thanks to the combination of sebum-regulating, purifying and micro-exfoliating LHA active ingredients.”
Packaging and Texture
The La Roche Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant comes in a light blue transparent bottle with a flip-top cap and a small opening to dispense the product. The lotion itself is pale blue and watery in texture with a very strong smell of alcohol. The cap shuts firmly and despite having dropped the bottle a couple of times, there has been no product spillage which makes this safe for travel as well.
Application and Ingredients
As with all toners, this one too is supposed to be applied with a cotton pad onto cleansed skin to help clear out any residue from the pores. Due to the increased sensitivity of my skin, I find that applying toners with a cotton pad irritates my skin since the friction of the pad against the skin aggravates the sensitivity. So, what I started doing instead, is taking a bit of lotion on my palm and dabbing it onto my skin where required – the way men apply after-shave lotion – and then dabbing off the excess gently with a tissue. This way, I got all the residual gunk out from my pores making them totally clean (and thus appearing smaller) without irritating my skin further.
Along with Salicylic Acid and Citric Acid in it’s ingredients – both of which help in cell turnover and in combating acne (read more about the role acids play in skincare in my post here) – this toner also has alcohol. Usually, I don’t prefer to products that have alcohol. However, the alcohol helps in killing the bacteria and keeping the breakouts sterile so that the germs don’t spread.
Ingredients
Aqua, Alcohol Denat, Glycerin, Sodium Citrate, Propylene Glycol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Disodium EDTA, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Citric Acid, Salicylic Acid, Fragrance.
My Views
This is a good exfoliating toner if you have oily / acne-prone skin. It does keep the pores clean and helps them appear smaller and also helps reduce breakouts by increasing cell turnover. If you have sensitive skin though, you would need to be careful since this lotion does sting . Also, for sensitive skin, I would suggest that you avoid using a cotton pad and use this lotion the way I have mentioned above since at times, it isn’t the product that irritates the skin but the friction while applying it with cotton.