Falling for the hype - Effaclar Duo or Effaclar AI

My love for La Roche-Posay is probably already pretty apparent from my glowing review of the Nutric Intense Riche. But that's not where it started.

A few weeks before that I had a Dundrum voucher and a problem - my skin was breaking out in what I thought were random places. Mostly on my cheeks, forehead and nose. So I needed something to treat blemishes. I mentioned this to Avril (of Blushful Beauty) and she said La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo was making waves in the beauty world. 

Now, when it came to it do you think I could remember the name? Of course not, but eventually I did find myself in front of the La Roche-Posay counter and I had narrowed it down to two:

Now Duo has had the beauty world in a tizzy, "saving" skins left, right and centre. And why wouldn't it? It claims to purify your pores, reduce imperfections and make skin look clearer and smoother. Great, right? 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI - is the concentrated, targeted version of this. It also deeply purifies, cleanses the skin and prevents residual skin marking .... also great, so what's the difference?

Well the difference is that while they're from the same brand, within the same range and presumably contain a lot of the same ingredients and essentially do the same thing - they are in fact for different skin types.

Duo is aimed at skin with sever imperfections while AI is for local skin breakouts. And so, while I was standing at the counter with the buzz and the hype floating around in my head, that's why I went against the crowd - or so it felt.

I don't have oily skin, My skin is many things, but oily it is not. The La Roche-Posay Effaclar range is targeted at oily and acne-prone skin, but that doesn't mean it rules everyone else out, it just means you just have to be a bit clever with it.

My problem with Effaclar Duo (not that it's in any way a bad product, I can't say that seeing as I haven't used it at all) is that it's an all-over treatment for a localised problem. To many people that's what they need, but it's not what I need. For example - I was getting breakout on my left cheek, consistently, always on the left. My right cheek was absolutely fine - so why would I need to treat that skin for breakouts? Preventative measures? Why would I when it never happens? That's like flood insurance for someone who lives in the dessert!

My long and rambling point is - don't just believe the hype, it could very well be a great product, but you have to think about what's best for your skin. Effaclar Duo may well be great, and many people say it is. I'm just saying be wary of taring all your skin with the one brush - keep it local. I made the mistake once of using the wrong product all over my face to fix a very localised problem and it only gave me and even bigger problem. It makes sense to focus on the finer details than to look for a quick-fix.

Now, my impressions of Effaclar AI? I do really like it. It's just what I wanted from a blemish treatment. If I see a spot appearing I can put it on, or I can put it on if I missed the beginning and it's already fully formed and angry. What I find it does is it draws the blemish out and really speeds up it's healing. After two days or so it's as it nothing was even there. Any complaints? It can be the slightest bit drying, but most spot treatments are - and my skin will take any excuse to dry out.

Often deep cleaning treatments can be too harsh for sensitive skin, but in true La Roche-Posay style Effaclar is a gentle as they come. Sometimes if I've piled quite a bit on I can feel a light tingle - but I like to think of it as the product getting to work. Whatever my issue is, it seems my pores tend to get clogged and blemishes are quite deep set. Effaclar AI contains, among other things, Salicylic Acid - which is perfect for breaking down and drawing out the oil plugs in your pores (ew) and giving them a really deep clean.

So is there a moral to the story? Well in a way yes. I've said it before, know you're skin type and be sure about what your skin needs - forget about what anyone else says works for them, they don't have your skin. Read boxes - read the leaflets that come in the boxes, they're almost better. Reading the leaflet from my Effaclar AI I think the La Roche-Posay Effaclar K may be even more of what my skin needs once these blemishes shift to keep everything at bay - but for now I'm more than happy with what I have.

So, have you fallen for the hype?

Do you prefer localised treatments for blemishes?

Lots of love

Lisa

xXx

Post by: Lisa Dunn