The Truth Behind These 8 Popular Skincare Items

It doesn’t take a beauty mafioso to know about the revolving door of products touted as the magic bullet for everything from wrinkles to combination skin. After all, the leagues of Instagram and Pinterest skincare threads have made these trends hard to ignore; regardless of how loyal we are to our tried and trusted favourites, it’s difficult to resist the appeal of the new ‘it’ product when it’s plastered all over our feeds. As a Canadian, it's often hard to track down many of the favourites without having to scour high and low (AKA shop online), so I understand the disappointment of skincare products less than living up to the hype. To help you avoid spending your money on a lacklustre miracle serum or cleanser, I’ve compiled a list of popular products I’ve loved or regretted.

1. African Black Soap

African black soap has a long history as a Ghanaian staple because of its anti-fungal properties and uses as an antioxidant-rich solution for eczema, fine lines, and acne. Shea Moisture’s version has a mix of oats, vitamin E, aloe, and other traditional ingredients but it is an imitation of ‘true’ African black soap— meant to be organic, crumbly, and brown in colour. Regardless, the brand does produce a quality product with natural ingredients, committing to women-led businesses and sustainability in the process. The soap smells amazing and you can feel exfoliants in the texture of the bar as you lather it in your hands. I bought it to help with acneic skin and, at first, hoped, because of how simple its ingredients were, that it would be just right for me. Though the soap left my skin feeling incredibly smooth and moisturized (without any of the usual tightness of bar soap), the few weeks that I made it a part of my daily routine brought more surface blemishes than I had experienced in months. Needless to say, I stopped using it and returned to what I used previously—thankfully, my skin returned to normal as well. While the soap is an appealing product for many reasons, it was far from what my skin needed and in the end, did more harm than good.

2. African Black Soap Problem Skin Mask

Essentially the mask version of the above African black soap, this product by the same brand uses similar ingredients with the same focus— problematic/ acneic skin. The first few things to note about the mask are that it smells quite bad (like Play-Doh, although somehow worse than Play-Doh) and has a consistency much more liquidy than other masks. As a result, it goes on reasonably thin and doesn’t crack like mud masks. Instead, it dries like a smooth layer that comes off very easily with a washcloth and leaves your skin very soft afterward. Though it isn’t my go-to if I’m noticing a breakout, it does make your skin feel very moisturized and is a gentle, non-drying mask for times when you’re skin is drier, like winter.

3. Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser

I’ve seen this cleanser getting flack for not having any ingredients that directly work against acne (like others may have tea tree oil or salicylic acid) but honestly, the fact that it’s simple is why it works. It does its job without doing anything that could potentially worsen problem skin—it’s not inflammatory, great for sensitive skin, and is effective at removing oil. That said, it’s not there to take the day off; Cetaphil doesn’t thoroughly remove makeup and it doesn’t promise to. It’s there to help you balance your skin’s pH and control blemishes by taking away excess oil. So far, it’s the only face wash that I trust completely through any season— the oiliness of summer to the dryness of winter. It works for all skin types and that’s why dermatologists so often recommend it as a sure-hit for patients. Sometimes when it comes to skincare we just need to go simple, completely without excess— especially when it comes to ingredients and price.

4. Mario Badescu Facial Spray

I had read scores of people raving about this product and thought that there was no way it was as great as described—I mean, it’s just fancy water in a spray bottle. Despite my cynicism, I actually do love this toning water. It smells really lovely but it also adds a great practical benefit to any skincare routine—it is very moisturizing and leaves your skin so smooth. The only downfall to this was that spritzing it all over before a make-up free day could leave your skin looking shiny, but not in a greasy kind of way.

5. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

This product has been endorsed by more than a handful of celebrities but I found that it had its drawbacks, especially when compared with cheaper, less drying alternatives. Though it didn’t happen too often for me, the lotion can be pretty over-drying if over-applied: it should only be applied on whiteheads and that’s where it proves most effective. Prior to using this spot treatment, I used Nexcare acne patches which cover the blemish and absorb oil. While you get many more uses out of this product, the patches work on any kind of surface blemish and don’t over-dry the surrounding skin. Regardless, I do find the drying lotion is effective, so I will definitely be using it until the bottle runs dry.

6. Nip + Fab Dragon's Blood Serum

I didn’t find this serum to prove particularly effective when used as an emergency measure in the winter. It doesn’t absorb well into the skin and I didn’t notice any moisturizing benefits for my skin—it wasn’t more elastic or smoother. I didn’t even manage to lose my dry patches of skin. After using it for weeks fruitlessly, I decided to toss it for a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid for seasonal dryness instead.

7. Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Gel

We’ve all heard about glycolic acid as an effective chemical exfoliant, particularly for acneic skin. My first foray into this ingredient was this serum and I didn’t really find that using it nightly had any smoothing benefit for my skin. Over time, I did notice, however, that my skin was growing drier and drier. And that makes another product sitting unused in my medicine cabinet.

8. Peel-Off Charcoal Mask

After years of using pore strips, I opted for one of these masks as an all-over pore rescue. While this mask does take longer to dry, they are entirely worth it and peeling them off is one of those gross-yet-satisfying experiences in any skincare or hygiene routine. Seeing all the gunk pulled out of your pores really is the zenith of skincare, especially when the process also leaves your skin incredibly smooth.