I’m very self conscious about my skin. Generally, it isn’t too bad – my face isn’t completely covered in acne. When I do get a spot though, they tend to be those large, under skin spots that last a week or two and just look so inflamed and sore. When an email popped in my inbox with the chance to review Perfectly Clear – The Perfect Guide to Clear Skin by Dr Nick & Phillipa Lowe* I jumped at the chance – I was eager to hear what advice professionals would give to make my skin clearer!
First up: I love how the book looks. It’s fresh, clean and the turquoise highlights against the white pages looks very medical. There’s not too much information on a page, and the book is full of supporting pictures, making for a very easy read.
The book itself is packed full of information. From the different types of acne, to foods to avoid to prescription medication you can take – it pretty much covers everything you could ever ask about acne!
I learnt a lot from reading this book, and am still experimenting with some of the recommendations in it. Did you know that dairy products can worsen acne due to the hormones fed to cattle?! I’ve been having soy milk in my tea and cereal, and since I made this switch I haven’t had a new spot come up! (Note: I accidentally had cow milk in a cup of tea last night and woke up this morning with a fresh new spot! That seems far too coincidental!)
I learned that some makeup is comedogenic – meaning it has a tendency to cause acne by blocking the opening of the oil glands. Ingredients such as coconut oil and cocoa butter have this tendency, so you should avoid using skincare with those ingredients on your face! (Who even knew that coconut oil has disadvantages?!)
I also found it really interesting reading about the other skin conditions that often get confused for acne – like rosacea, which is a skin disease with redness and pimples, but not blackheads and whiteheads.
I do have some negative opinions on the book, though: about half way through it seemed to just turn into an advertisement for the author’s products and clinic. Every other sentence would be recommending their services and for someone whose acne really isn’t severe enough to warrant medical intervention, it was really annoying. I ended up skipping pages as I wanted to learn the facts – not explanations of how amazing their clinic is. Maybe someone with severe acne who has tried all other at home remedies would find it useful, but for me it seemed like a really tacky way of promoting their services.
Overall, I am really glad I read this book. It has definitely made me more aware of how things can affect my skin!
If you liked this post, you might also like my other skincare posts!
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