Michael Todd's Acne Prone Sensitive Skin Regimen

3:57:00 PM cc 0 Comments

I've been hearing some good things about this organic skincare brand so I wanted to try it out. Luckily there was a deal going on because the regimens are half off and you get 15% as well when you sign up for an account and their newsletter. So I got a $150 regimen for $60! The deal seems to be on most of the time so not entirely sure if it will actually end or not cause so far I haven't seen it completely end. They send you ongoing sales around every month or so.

So far I'm really loving it because it had quick results better than what I've used before. I realized later that there are smaller versions of the regimen sets which the site label as "discovery kits". So if you want a more affordable kit option go there. They don't have it in the regimen I got for they have it for all the others.

Now I'll briefly describe my skin - I have combination skin and quite prone to acne as I get breakouts from every other day to weekly. My skin is sensitive and gets irritated by something from time to time. Also have large pores, lots of blackheads and age spots.

I bought this regimen because I haven't seen a acne regimen that targets people with sensitive skin before and was curious how it worked on my skin. Most of the acne products I've used are harsh or include acne ingredients that don't work for me at all which is salicylic acid. Yes, it doesn't do anything for me sadly. So I use tea tree acne products since they did do something for me, but not all tea tree products are the same so there were lots of misses than hits.

So the first few weeks of trying their products it was quite up and down. It impressed me with the results, but then I also got irritated though whenever that happens I really have no clue what caused it. I've heard great reviews on the Blue Green Algae toner though it does sting on irritated skin so please don't be dumb like me and use it when irritated! This toner does has a strong scent, but I don't find it bad at all. Can't really describe the smell as its just smells greenish, haha. Also the toner is quite big with 250ml. The toner is clear and it's practically like water though water isn't listed on the ingredients list at all. Most of the ingredients are extracts and the top ingredient is organic aloe leaf juice. The other ingredients are organic kelp extract, organic blue green algae extract, hyalronic acid, black willow bark extract, acai fruit pulp powder, dead sea salt, tea tree oil. See the Michael Todd's site for a complete list of ingredients. I like pouring a bit onto my palm and patting the product on my face. Though the design of the bottle makes it a bit leaky with the way I use it. I honestly don't find it hydrating, but it does make my face feel clean and matte without that drying feeling. Not sure if it doesn't anything to my acne since it is antibacterial, but if I use it with the Antioxidant Carrot serum it makes my skin a bit of a healthy glow as well as reduce my acne. I like this serum the best out of the regimen because obviously it gave me the most results. Its a anti-oxidant serum said to balance the skin and rejuvenate it. The first ingredient is black willowbark extract follow by, strangely, hydrogenated vegetable oil. There's also rice, lemon, green tea, apple, carrot, acai, tea tree oil, lavender oil, and vitamin B3, E, A, and C. The bottle is 30ml and the product has a much milder scent than the toner. I can't really explain the scent. The serum is clear like and it absorbs quickly. The bottle has a pump and sometimes the product does stay at the opening and dry up. I've been using the toner and serum daily for awhile, and my skin has been behaving pretty good so far which is amazing! I do get acne, but they are not that big of a deal since they either tend to be small or just one or two pimples. Over time I can tell that my acne is occurring less and less, and when I do get irritated or have a rash its not as harsh on the skin as when I first used them.

The Charcoal Detox gel cleanser is a decent facial cleanser. Its super gentle and hasn't bothered my skin at all. Its has a mild scent and the cleanser is a tad runny. Its a translucent black gel cleanser with a lot of charcoal bits (I think) which aren't hard to the touch. It foams up a bit and doesn't dry my skin out after rinsing. So far I can feel it removes the dirt and all, but its not as great as the Shiseido cleansers. It is labeled to be a gentle cleanser and it is as its not stripping or caused any issues with my skin.This cleanser works pretty well with my Clarisonic mia since it can smooth out my blackheads on my nose rather easily. Plus with all the oils and extracts in this cleanser it makes using my Clarisonic mia a lot less stripping on my skin! The full price for the cleanser is $23 which is expensive for me to spend on a cleanser. I would considered repurchasing it if its on sale at a good price.

Next is the Jojoba Facial Scrub.  This is the gentlest face scrub I've ever used! It really is not abrasive at all, and at time doesn't feel like its doing much though it smooths out my face just as well as other scrubs. Its dark grey in color with the usual thick globby consistency of many scrubs, and has tiny jojoba wax beads. I worry that these beads might get in my huge pores, but that hasn't happened yet. I mostly use it on my nose to rid blackheads. It hasn't completely rid of the blackheads, but its done just as much as other scrubs. The number one thing I like about it is that its gentle and doesn't sting my eyes! Before I used Origins face scrub which I have to use on dry skin, but its a bit rough and it stings my eyes a bit. Really glad to find a better scrub.

The last product is the Kaolin Clay facial mask. Now I use Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque as my clay mask, and that is also kaolin clay based. So far I really can't see a difference in the results between the two clay masks. The Mint Julep is a lot more drying though. The ingredients list between the two are quite different as well. Mint Julep is just: water, kaolin, bentonite, glycerin, zinc oxide, propylene glycol, sulfur, chromium oxide green, fragrance, phenoxyethanol, and methylparaben. Obviously the mint julep has fragrance, parabens, and coloring. As for Michael Todd's Kaolin mask the ingredients are: organic aloe juice, red clay, glycerin, with hazel, kaolin clay, epilobium angustifolium extract, black willowbark extract, olive leaf extract, green tea extract, sulfur, tea tree oil, and some other chemicals. As you can see its has a lot of extracts and not as much clay listed. This mask is like body cream, and it goes on kind of thin as with Mint Julep it is really thick since its really just clay. The mask also has different smells which I find quite funny. Out of the tube it has like a tea tree or willwbark smell, and it doesn't smell anything when its drying on your face. When you wash it it has a strong sulfur smell. The Mint Julep mask's smell tends to stay on my skin for hours after washing it off, but the Michael Todds clay mask smell barely lingers on after washing it off.The mint julep is a bright light green color while the Michael Todd's is more of a grey green color.

For an "organic" labeled product I find that they're such an affordable price compare to the skincare products at Sephora that double and triple the price with not much results. Overall I am very pleased with the products! I can't even remember the last time my skin behaved this well. I'd definitely recommend giving their products a try as I will be looking forward to trying out more products from them.