Best Face Zit Zappers
Best Face Wash
Best Serum
SkinCeuticals Silymarin CF
Best Spot Treatment
The Inkey List Succinic
Acid Acne Treatment
Finding an antioxidant serum
that doesn't exacerbate breakouts is
like trying to remember all the contestants' names on night one of The Bachelorette: near impossible. Well, we did it — found the antioxidant serum,
we mean (good luck, Katie!). The SkinCeuticals Silymarin CF ($166) is filled with a blend of potent l-ascorbic acid, ferulic acid, and silymarin acid to help brighten dark spots and 0.5 percent salicylic acid to keep oil in check.
The Inkey List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment ($9) is not your mother's
spot treatment. That's because the star
of this showstopper is succinic acid, a lesser-known acne ingredient that's antibacterial and anti-inflammatory to
both soothe and clear breakouts. It's combined with tried-and-true ingredients like sulfur and salicylic acid to boost its pimple-fighting powers and hyaluronic
acid to counteract any drying effects.
Best Face Mask
First Aid Beauty Fab Pharma Calamine Pore Purging Mask
When we say that the First Aid
Beauty Fab Pharma Calamine Pore Purging Mask ($30) is like a vacuum for your pores, we mean it's a fancy Dyson vacuum that sucks up anything it comes into contact with. That's thanks to a duo of kaolin and bentonite clays that absorb dirt and oil, plus the addition of calamine — yes, the same calamine you used on your mosquito bites at summer camp — but don't worry: it won't dry out or irritate even the most sensitive skin.
Best Pimple Patch
The Klog Soft Shield Pimple Patch
If pimple patches are the
greatest innovation since sliced bread,
then The Klog Soft Shield Pimple Patch ($6) is an artisan sourdough from an
award-winning bakery. The beveled edges mean they are nearly invisible, fit anywhere on your face (even the contours of our noses), and stick so well, they made it through a night of tossing and turning and even one of our tester's Spin classes. After
a few hours, it soaked up all the gunk,
and even our angriest red blemish
looked noticeably smaller.
"An overall great skin-care treatment
that works for anybody but especially people with acne is a retinol, because that is going to speed up the life cycle of a pimple as well as help proactively prevent premature aging and skin cancers. My favorite over-the-counter option is the SLMD Skincare Retinol Serum ($40);
it’s a super lightweight gel that I
always recommend to patients."
Dr. Pimple Popper's Pick
SLMD Retinol Serum
Hero Cosmetics Clear Collective Exfoliating Jelly Cleanser
As far as we're concerned, the Hero Cosmetics Clear Collective Exfoliating Jelly Cleanser ($13) is the gold standard of preventative skin care. It contains a combo of chemicals — a blend of fruit-derived enzymes and acids — with gentle physical exfoliants (made from konjac jelly, BTW), which means breakouts never stand a chance. It even passed the ultimate everyday cleanser test: our redness-prone, sensitive-skinned tester reached for this every morning.