Happy new year people!
New year.. better skin? Since working in the city my skin has taken a battering. I’ve been lucky throughout my whole teenagehood to avoid acne prone skin but the last 6 months it’s gotten progressively worse.
I had a small blip of teenage acne when I was in my early teens (16 or so) and I used duac 3% and it was incredible. Sorted my skin within days.. however, I kept on using it whenever I got any sort of spot till I was about 18 and eventually it lost its powers. Sudocreme was my friend during those days, as like I said, my skin was far from terrible.
I decided to go back to the doctors to request the Duac 5%, a stronger version to combat my acne. Something to note is that it is easy to get the weaker Duac but it is harder *in my experience* to be prescribed the 5%. Your doctor may refer to it as ‘benzoyl peroxide’, don’t be put off by this. It is just another term for Duac, just a far scarier name!
Duac is full of peroxide’s, which means it combats acne (brilliantly so, may I add) but also BLEACHES and DRIES out everything! But these shouldn’t be factors that put you off sorting out your skin if you want to do so.
Below are a few basic pointers on how to have a smooth pain free experience.
Tip #1. Stick to white.
Duac is to be used at night, however, whether you shower in the evening or the morning make sure you use white towels only. White face cloths, white hand towels.. etc.. I also wear a white mens tshirt to avoid ruining any nice Pjs I own! If you have any coloured bedding, I’d suggest laying a white towel over the pillow cases.
Also remember to thoroughly wash your hands after application to avoid spreading any to other materials.
Why? As mentioned earlier, Duac bleaches everything. From experience, white towels allow you to avoid all costs driving your mum crazy with bleaching her towels..
Tip #2. Less is more.
Duac need only be applied in small, small amounts. A little goes a long way. Till your skin has built up more of a tolerance use duac sparingly. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Why? Duac is incredibly drying, full of peroxide’s. Not only can it dry your skin out but it can actually make it irritated and sore. Using more duac than necessary won’t speed up the results process.. in fact it’ll most likely delay it.
Tip #3. Take a day off.
Don’t use duac every day, it’s easy to get carried away with the results but take a day off or even two. Listen to your skin, is it sore? Is it red? At the end of the day, no one wants spots.. but no one wants dry inflamed skin either. I would suggest, 2/3 days on, 1 day off. You can expand the period of time on duac as your skin becomes used to it.
Tip #4. Moisture, moisture, moisture!
Find yourself a sensitive moisturiser to hydrate your skin every night and morning. You cannot survive duac without a thick, creamy moisturiser. Be sure to stick to something simple or familiar as your skin will be more sensitive during the early days of using duac.
Tip #5. Oily cleansers.. your new best friends!
I use the Super Facialist Vitamin C+ brighten cleansing oil. It’s perfect for the end of the day when my skins feeling tight, and it also lays the foundations for your evening application of duac providing a moisturised, cleansed base.
Tip #6. Use cotton buds and pads.
Using cotton buds and pads means your less likely to spread duac via your hands. Squeezing a bit of duac onto a cotton pad also means the duac is soaked up onto the pad and able to spread further. Cotton buds allow you to pinpoint the duac onto key areas, this is good for when you days off but also a big spot that still needs a helping hand. It avoids unnecessarily drying out the other areas of your face.
Please note that I am not a doctor. Duac is only prescribed under your doctor’s approval.
