Skincare solutions for adult acne

You’re way too old for supermarket/drugstore-variety pimple creams or ointments, but you’re still getting painful pimples and cystic eruptions.

What to do?

Mario Badescu, a name synonymous with all-natural skin care treatments, offers a full range of acne products designed to combat adult acne.

Since 1967 Romanian-born Mario Badescu has been treating New York clients at his space located at 350 East 52nd Street.

His business has grown from a small facility into a 36-room salon and day spa trusted by very high profile celebrities who realize the importance of great skin — everyone from Martha Stewart to Kate Moss to Oprah Winfrey.

Because of a popular demand to use the products at home, Badescu has come up with more than 200 products for all skin types, using only fresh fruits, botanicals and other natural ingredients.

The key to finding out which products are best for you is to first know what skin type you have.

Combination skin: Your skin is oily in some areas and dry in others. Typically dry around the cheeks, eyes and neck, while oily in the T-zone from the chin to the nose and across the forehead.

Combination skin is the most difficult to care for because each area has its own needs.

Oily skin: Your skin is prone to clogged pores, blackheads and blemishes. Your glands over-secrete oil, making skin rough, shiny and blotchy. On the upside, oily skin types are less prone to lines and wrinkles!

Dry skin: Your skin is thin and flaky with nearly invisible pores (the good news). Because oil glands don’t produce enough oil to lubricate skin, fine lines and wrinkles come out at a young age (the bad news). You must choose products that moisturize and hydrate the skin.

Problem skin: Your skin is excessively oily and prone to pimples, blackheads and adult acne.

Because of common breakouts, this skin type needs products that clean deeply and dry up problem areas without irritating or over-drying skin.

Sensitive skin: Your skin easily becomes red or irritated, prone to rashes, blotchy, thin-skinned and develops broken capillaries. It requires extra-gentle care and specially formulated products containing aloe, chamomile, keratoplast and other soothing ingredients. Sensitive skin can also be categorized as oily, dry, problem, or a combination.

Now here are some of Mario Badescu’s products to treat adult acne.

Buffering Lotion (P1,045) for combination and oily skin is a small, squeezable plastic bottle with a dropper-type opening and screw-top cover. Shake well and apply to cotton and onto skin. Sulfur-based solution smells medicinal and quickly absorbs into skin.

Use this to treat deeply rooted pimples or cystic acne (huge bumps that are inflamed and sore) and blemishes. Apply to pimples that are just starting. It will quickly flatten them and remove redness.

If you’re a zit squeezer, use this clean-up right after to kill bacteria.

Contains Allantoin to calm and soothe inflammation and promote healing.

Drying Lotion (P1,045) for all skin types comes in a glass medicine bottle with plastic screw cap. Do not shake well. Dip cotton bud down to the bottom of the bottle to collect the pink sediment and apply directly to spots that need to dry up.

They call this “the miracle product,” favored by many celebrities.

This is Mario Badescu’s best-selling spot treatment blended from Calamine and Salicylic Acid to clear up and soothe unsightly whiteheads overnight.

I applied this to a cystic pimple with a scab and went to the supermarket hoping no one would see me (unfortunately a couple of people did). I felt my scab had dried up six hours later and it came off easily.

Drying Cream (P595) for combination and oily skin features a small tub containing a sweet-smelling aloe-rich cream. Some people don’t like the smell but I do.

Use this to conceal and heal erupted pimples or apply just before skin is about to erupt. It shrinks pimple size and bumps overnight. Some users say it has proved effective in getting rid of bumps that have been there for years. I must find out about this.

Special Healing Powder (P595) for oily skin has a see-through tub with a flat screw lid. Inside, a perforated plastic lid separates the fine yellow powder from a gentle powder puff.

Use this to heal and conceal red, irritated or oily areas with a specially formulated sulfur-based healing powder. Apply to control surface oil, disinfect and calm acne-prone areas.

Here is a beauty tip: For oily skin, tap a small amount of Special Healing Powder into your loose powder and brush lightly over face to control shine throughout the day.

Healing Cream (P745) for all skin types and acne-prone skin that’s ultra sensitive. A small plastic tub with screw lid containing a sulfur-based cream with Balsam Peru to speed up the healing process of red, irritated acne to prevent scarring.

Fans call it the “miracle cream” or “the holy grail of moisturizers.” Although the tub is a bit small, so you must use sparingly.

If you are a picker, use this to help soothe your skin. In fact some people use this for anything skin-related — from rashes to razor burns to eczema.

Use as a spot treatment to clear up red, irritated acne flare-ups. Overnight, an acne wound diminishes into a raised bump and should heal within two to three days.

Silver Powder (P745) for all skin types comes in a tub containing fine white powder.

Dampen a cotton pad with water to absorb the powder. Upon application to the face, powder turns into a white cream. Spread evenly and leave on for 10 minutes. It will turn into a thin, dried-up paste. Use cotton pads and toner to wipe it away.

Use this to treat excessive, stubborn blackheads. This oil-absorbent powder helps unclog congested pores, prevent blackheads and promote a healthier complexion.

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Mario Badescu Skincare is exclusively available at Essenses Makati, Shangri-La Plaza, Alabang and Robinsons Place.