Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Deep Pore Cleansing, 1 Pound
CUSTOMER REVIEW
THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG REVIEW BUT PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE JUST 5 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR LIFE TO READ THIS IF YOU SUFFER FROM ACNE.
Wow. Where do I begin. Really, where do I begin. First, let me just say I have dreamed and prayed, literally dreamed of the day I can write a success story of my own in regards to acne. Any acne sufferer has tried hundreds of different products, read thousands of Google searches/reviews/blogs, and experienced an endless amount of frustration, pain, and confusion. I don't use the word embarrassment or humiliation, because you shouldn't be embarrassed nor should you be humiliated if you have acne. I have read thousands of reviews with writers saying they don't want to walk out the door or that they're embarrassed to face the world. You are who you are. These things happen. Acne is normal, it's everywhere. That shouldn't affect who you are as a person. Yes, it can be difficult to face the world. I can relate. But frustration and confusion are the best terms. Frustration because we don't know how to cure it. After trying every given product or method, it just doesn't go away. And confusion because sometimes we have no clue what is going on that causes all that acne.
Now, let me get some facts out of the way. I'm a 21 year old male, college student. I've been suffering from acne for well over 8 years now. About the time I reached 13, obviously because of puberty and the typical growing phases, I was one of the unlucky ones plagued with pretty bad acne. It didn't get worse till about high school, but again high school is a time when we all go through improvements so having acne is not as bad. People get braces and go through other various stages during this time so it's no biggie. But in college, you really expect by about the time you're 18, your acne should be dissipating. And for most it does. But let's face it there will be and always will be a select bunch that still walk around with red spots all over their faces. Don't let that put you down. There are people out there who don't have proper vision, hearing, or worse disabilities. Now, I don't want to go into a pep talk lecture here, so let me get right to it, but I just want you all to know that 1) don't let this acne put you down.. and 2) THIS product will change your life.
Here's the thing, I always read those reviews that say "this product may not work for you as everyone is different". I hate those reviews. That's rubbish. It's crap. It's true but that's the reason I hate it, because it's true. Every product may not work for you. BUT.. THIS product in particular is for everyone and doesn't present different, adverse effects on different skin types. Why might you ask? Well, it's simple. It's 100% pure dirt. Good ol' natural dirt. Literally that's what it is. The reason those OTHER products react differently on different skin types is because those are all products that contain chemicals, and different ones at that. So you can imagine. Obviously everyone's skin will react differently to various chemicals. Some good, some bad. This, however, is pure clay/dirt that will literally dig into the pores and flush out whatever gunk you may have.
Now, I view acne at 3 different levels. Minor, Moderate, Severe. But on each stage there are another 3 levels. In other words, you may have Minor acne but may be on level 1, 2, or 3. A Minor acne sufferer with a level 3 may have worse acne than a minor level 1 and 2, but not as bad as one who would be listed in the Moderate acne stage. Same goes for if you are for example a Moderate acne sufferer but a level 3, you may not be so bad to the point of being a Severe acne sufferer, but in the Moderate stage you are still worse than others. If this makes any sense, I put myself at Moderate acne Level 2 and 3. On rare occasions, I hit Severe level 1 with a deep cyst or two, but haven't experienced that recently. Right now, my face is continuously at a Moderate level 2. Severe acne sufferers are those whose faces are literally clustered with severe red acne on every area of the face. Moderate would be one or two major sections (my two cheeks). Minor acne would be a small area like chin or just nose, or no major breakouts but a few pimples here and there.
So all my life, like every other acne sufferer I have tried any and every acne remedy known to man. I kid you not. In the beginning (in my early teens) stages I tried the basic Neutrogena, Clean&Clear, basic drugstore crap. No effect there. As high school came around, I tried Cetaphil which proved a bit of an improvement, but again no cigar. I tried St.Ives peach apricot scrub for a while and that did some good stuff, but again nothing that could really vastly make an improvement. I tried masks, lemons, honey, yogurt, I mean you name it I tried it all. Don't even mention Benzoyl Peroxide. I tried a 3 step system and it screwed up my face. Anyways as I got to college, I came to face with the fact that I'm just going to have to "let nature run its course'. But still, I couldn't just let my face sit there and use lame cleansers. I can't begin to tell you how many hours I've spent doing acne research.
My freshman year in college, I gave a shot at the AcneFree system and used Benzoyl P. again which again burned my face so I realized I'm allergic to it. For some, it may be useful. Not for a soft sensitive skinned fellow like me. So then I realized I may need to spend some money on high end products. Keep in mind I'm a college guy... I started getting on Sephora and looking at the hundreds of different products they offer. Oh and let me just add that my acne in college was the worst it ever got unfortunately. It seemed like every year from the day I crossed paths with acne, it just got worse and worse. Ok, so back to sephora. Over the span of a year or 2, I spent hundreds of dollars on different products (and I tried each for a few months to give it a true trial)... some worked, some didn't. But I can never tell what products truly "work" because it seemed like every week I would get a few whiteheads and ugly red, swollen pimples. The worst issue about my acne is that I also have serious hyperpigmentation from all the years prior. So I tried things like Bio-oil, hydroquinone, etc.
I tried even more extreme methods like chemical peels, and even spent $750 on a 6 week session of microdermabrasion. The microdermabrasion REALLY improved my right cheek and forehead, and today it's quite clear because of it. But for some reason I still would get major breakouts on my left cheek. After I stopped the microdermabrasion sessions, again my breakouts started coming back (even on the right side and forehead). I tried more stuff like Dennis Gross peel pads and Peter Thomas Roth pads. I can go on and on about the products I tried, but the point is.. none of them made the difference I wanted to see, or prevented breakouts. Best put, preventing breakouts is the ultimate goal. That wasn't happening.
Now to this product. I decided to give this a shot about 3 weeks ago, just because once again desperation led me to another product. Because of the really high reviews and people writing success stories, I was filled with hope. I read one guy's review who mentioned that he's a college student male and puts it on his face every night and isn't even embarrassed because it prevents his acne. I am in the same boat as him. I put this on every night. Sometimes I skip a night, but regardless I get this stuff on my face 5 out of 7 days. Do it at night so that your sleep can recover the skin and in the morning you'll look like a million bucks.
I never thought there would be a miracle product, because we've always been led to believe there really isn't a miracle product. But let me just tell you, THIS IS IT. I kid you not. Like I said, it's not a chemical. Of course no artificial/machine made product is a miracle product, but this fine clay dirt that's been around for centuries is... Oh let me just add I came across a prescribed professional line called M.D. Forte. It's quite pricey. I started using the M.D. Forte III 30% Glycolic Cleanser last December, and it has done wonders for my skin. It's oil free, soap free, and very gentle. Now, every night I cleanse my face with the cleanser and use the mask (I leave it on for about 30 minutes). My skin after feels like a baby's butt. No kidding. Then after the mask, I cool my skin with 100% witch hazel (no alcohol). and moisturize. and Voila. That's it.
Bottom line:
My acne is not 100% diminished, because like I said my skin has taken toll after years and years of acne. It will take time, but I KNOW I KNOW that this is the product that WILL and IS doing that. It is almost May. I will update this review in July and post some before/after pics. My before pics are ridiculous- it really shows how bad my acne has been. I can already tell this product is paving the way for success after 8 years, and hopefully with use of this I will be at ease. I will use this for the rest of my life. No joke. I'm going to really stock up on this stuff. I hope they never stop providing it for us. Right now, any pimple I get is completely halted after a night of this stuff.. even the deep cysts. Let me just warn you, the first week you will breakout. I broke out pretty badly (shows how all the other products never got the gunk out of my skin).. but I kept going because I read on it that it will happen and you should keep going. Week 2 came around and seriously my skin recovered and took the quickest 180 turn, even from how severe week 1 was. Now I'm in week 3, heading into week 4 and I don't get any major breakouts but any small (or large) pimple is completely healed by the next day. This literally flushes ALL of my pores.
In the end, I'd just say use whatever cleanser (GENTLE cleanser) works for you. (oil free and soap free)
Make this mask (with Apple Cider Vinegar-- i forgot to mention.. very important. use apple cider vinegar)
Leave it on for 15-20 mins or 30.. depending on your skin.
Use witch hazel with cotton pads (trust me on this) gently wipe skin with it
Moisturize with whatever moisturizer works for you (oil-free)
Try this regimen for a month and if you don't see major improvements, email me or contact me somehow and you can vent to me about your situation, but I promise this will work for ANY skin type because again it's completely natural there are no chemicals.. besides your cleanser and moisturizer, but that's why I advise using a quality, gentle cleanser. no drugstore brands please. they ruin your skin. go to Skinstore.com or dermstore.com and do some research on a gentle cleanser.
On a final note, for some of you applying the mask every night may be too harsh. I'd say aim for 3 times every 7 days. I don't know how to end this.. I've been ranting for well over 10 minutes now, but clearly the reader can tell that I'm venting about this success story. I want to share it with the world. If you find this useful, please like the button that says you found it useful. Whether you have sever acne, moderate acne, or you're a well skinned jessica alba-type person, you can and will benefit from this. You are all beautiful .. EVERYONE is. but sometimes this crappy acne hides that true beauty. Again, don't be ashamed or embarrassed. It's something we can't control. Until now. With this mask, you can control it. PLEASE TRY THIS AND LET ME KNOW. I AM SO CURIOUS ABOUT OTHERS' success stories from this product! If you have any questions or comments just reply a comment to this review, I will check periodically.
Like I said, my face is not clear JUST yet. My face still shows signs of moderate acne. That won't go in a few weeks. That's physically impossible. But I will keep you all posted and touch base in a few months! Good luck to you all and God bless! Try my regimen and see for yourself!
Excuse me while I go out and enjoy this beautiful day and not let acne ruin my life :)
****UPDATE May 29, 2014****
Hello again peeps. I'm excited to say this is a GREAT positive update. I'll keep it short and sweet since my review itself is a novel...
I wrote the review a little over a month ago, and if you read my entire review and understood the whole acne minor/moderate/sever stage level thing, let me just proudly say that I am now a Moderate Level 1 and haven't had any severe or crazy breakouts at all! I used to be Moderate Level 3/Severe 1 as I mentioned. My forehead is completely spotless, my nose is spotless, my chin is spotless. The only two areas are my cheeks which as I mentioned were pretty bad from all the years of acne prior. I deal with hyperpigmentation (not scarring, but post red acne marks that linger for months), and this mask is seriously seriously even healing and brightening/lightening my hyperpigementation. All my red marks have reduced by shades of about 15 to 20% I'd say. This is such an exciting product. I also want to add that because I'm a DJ, I travel quite a bit and recently I was in New York for about a week and didn't get to use the mask at all. The entire week in new york I didn't use this mask and I didn't break out ONCE! This product clearly keeps acne/pimples at bay. I think by July as I mentioned, I should be significantly clearer.. which I cannot wait to see! Also, I should add that I just purchased a 20% Vitamin C Serum that I came across on Amazon (link below) and it has seriously great reviews and helps with brightening and moisturizing etc. I will be applying it every night as well pre-moisturizer. Good luck and I hope you all are seeing great results!
Vitamin C Serum - Antioxidant Treatment - Natural & Organic - Incl. Organic Rosehip Oil & Sea Buckthorn Oil - Brightening Serum - Rapid Absorption - Reduce Sun Spots and Wrinkles - Exclusive to Amazon - 1.18oz
