I have diligently used the products in the
Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen for around 6 months (
previous post), and I have come to a conclusion on which ones worked and which ones I can't be bothered with. The products that I love really made a positive impact on my excessively oily and acne-prone skin, while the products on the other extreme are quite useless. I purchased my virgin regimen in November last year and made my second regimen purchase in March this year. To be really honest, I will not be making another regimen purchase. However, I will definitely be repurchasing the products that I really, really love.
The Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen consists of 5 products:
- Charcoal Detox Cleanser Deep Pore Gel Face Wash
- Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub
- Kaolin Clay Mask (Maximum Strength) - detoxifying facial mask
- Organic Lemon Toner AHA + DMAE Anti Wrinkle Toner
- Antioxidant Carrot Serum Multivitamin Serum
The
Charcoal Detox Cleanser Deep Pore Gel Face Wash is okay but it is unexceptional and I don't see myself repurchasing this again. I use this twice daily and at night I use my
Olay Professional Pro-X with it to thoroughly remove all traces of makeup and dirt from my face. It smells pleasant and foams up reasonably well. It also does its job well in terms of removing impurities. My problem with this cleanser is how tight my jawline feels after every wash. The formulation of this face wash is slightly too strong for my skin and after every wash, I cannot wait to use a liberal amount of moisturiser on my face. I'm currently trying to finish the second bottle, but if the tight sensation and dryness worsen, then I may have to get a gentler face wash.
My second most favourite product out of the five will be the
Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub. The gentle jojoba wax beads promote a pleasant exfoliation session, while the activated charcoal draws out the impurities and toxins. I used to love the
St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, but ever since my skin became uncontrollable, I have stopped using it because the scrub was too harsh and rough for my skin. This facial scrub is the complete opposite of the St. Ives one in terms of texture - this one is extremely gentle and good enough for those with delicate/sensitive skin! The facial scrub smells very medicinal and herby, which can take some time to get used to, but it's not unpleasant at all. I was contemplating on whether I should get a third tube of this, but I figure I can find a similar product at a cheaper price (this is US$18.50).
The product that I hated the most was the
Kaolin Clay Mask (Maximum Strength). I read online that some people could not get used to the extreme tingling sensation when you first applied the product on your skin. Personally, I'm fine with the tingling sensation because it goes away within the first 5 minutes. The thing that irks me the most is how oily and greasy your skin feels after you remove it from your face. I don't know what's the exact ingredient that's causing the greasiness but I don't enjoy it and it affects the way my serum and moisturiser get absorbed to my skin. Even toner does not remove the greasiness! After the usual applications of serum and moisturiser, my skin just feels weighed down, heavy and immensely oily. At first I thought I was using it wrong, so I tried many permutations - remove with clean cloth first then rinse with water, remove serum from skincare regime after this mask, etc. - but nothing worked in eliminating the greasy feeling. I stopped using it in March and I don't know what to do with my second bottle of this. Yikes.
The greatest discovery of all - the
Organic Lemon Toner AHA + DMAE Anti Wrinkle Toner. I think this was the product that made the most difference to my skin. I look forward to toning my face everyday because it's really refreshing and it works! This toner is excellent because it aids the skin better for the next step. Any serum or moisturiser will be absorbed quickly by the skin after using this toner! Moreover, it smells wonderful and it really is effective in lightening dark spots and other blotches. I love this toner so much that I have bought 2 more as backups. I can't imagine not having this in my skincare routine now. Toning your face is really an important skincare step.
Last, but certainly not least, we have the
Antioxidant Carrot Serum Multivitamin Serum. I'm still on the fence about this. There are days in which I feel like the serum has most definitely worked, but there are also days in which I think this product is utter crap. This serum has a slimy, gel texture that feels strange initially (like .... snail slime) but it gets absorbed into the skin very quickly and there's no oily sensation after application, which is always a plus. I always use this at night before my trusted
TBS Tea Tree Night Lotion and they seem to work well together. I don't really see much difference in my skin condition after half a year of application. Smoother skin? Maybe not. Lightening of acne scars? Maybe here and there but not obvious. To me, it's a product that is usable, but I will not stock up on this at all (unlike the amazing toner). It's also the product with the highest possibility of causing placebo effect on users; - it may not be actually working, but wow "antioxidant"! and "multivitamin"!! yes yes, I feel a difference. - Nooooooot reallyyyyy.
Overall, the
Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen has been generally helpful to my skin situation. I still remember last October-November when my skin was all out CRAZY. It's definitely better now and I don't get as many painful pimples as before; maybe 1 or 2 a fortnight. The scars are there and the painless spots are still there. However, nothing as nightmarish as before. Out of the 5 products, I will only get the toner and the facial scrub again. The other 3 products are replaceable with other cheaper and perhaps better quality products. I'm looking at changing my facial cleanser to the
SKII Facial Treatment Gentle Cleanser. I have used it before and it worked amazingly last time. Wonder if my current skin condition will still love SKII Cleansers. As for the clay mask, I'm very glad to announce that I have jumped to the Innisfree ship. I had a one-time-use sample of the
Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask and it was one impressive clay mask. It's very much like my old favourite,
Skin & Lab Glacial Clay Facial Mask, and works as effectively! Yinghui has very graciously helped to purchase a 200ml tub of the Innisfree Clay Mask and so I can't wait to get it from her and start using it!
Hopefully this has been useful! Anyone else using the Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen? What are your thoughts?
