Friday, July 23, 2010
Avene Diacneal (0.1% retinaldehyde, 6% glycolic acid)
Just bought this, as recommended by the pharmacist. I saw good reviews on it on cozycot, so since I work at unity pharmacy, which carry Avene, I picked it up after getting advice from the pharmacist. Indeed, he said this is one of the strongest non-prescription product in the market for acne. It works differently from conventional pimple creams, which normally contains either benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, sulphur or tea tree oil.Benzoyl peroxide works by drying up the pimple. Salicylic acid works by exfoliating the outermost layer of your skin, which MAY stimulate your skin to regenerate, hence purging the pimple out, and healing your skin. I'm not very sure about the action of sulphur though. Tea tree is antibacterial and I read that it works the same as benzoyl peroxide. A good quality tea tree oil is actually more potent then a low concentration benzoyl peroxide cream (I just learnt this yesterday from the pharmacist!)
However, if all fails, like with my case, then other things like retinol and glycolic acid have to be used. The problem with my cystic acne is that they remain under my skin for MONTHS. They cannot be purged, they have no pus, nor 'heads' to be squeezed out. Embedded deep in the skin, normal pimple creams do not work, because they do not penetrate skin well. So I chanced upon Avene's Diacneal. I googled it, and learnt that glycolic acid has high efficacy in skin penetration, and stimulates cell regeneration from within your skin. The pharmacist told me that it's even more effective than AHA or BHA. Avene also has AHA/BHA cream, but he advised me to take Diacneal instead. Diacneal, beacuse of its efficacy in stimulating cell regeneration, will push new cells from under the 'older' skin, out to the surface. Of course the old cells will be rid of as well. This is cause the purging effect, and I know it's something I have to endure to get rid of these irritating acne bumps. Because it promotes cell renewal, pitted scars can be prevented also. In fact, Avene diacneal can be used to heal scars and hyperpigmentation. Awesome!
The pharmacist also advised me to take Vitamins A, C and E supplements to accompany Diacneal treatment. ACE vitamins are antioxidants, which aid skin cell renewal too. I saw raffles medical centre selling their skin supplements, which has ACE. Haha. Blackmores also has ACE vitamins. But I didn't buy. Too broke after buying Diacneal.
I just tried it last night, as spot treatment. I put it directly on my acne. It smells really really bad. But it's a small price to pay for good stuff. No visible effect yet =( I have to keep trying, then I'll update. I have to keep in mind to use sunblock, because Diacneal, or other strong acidic products, make your skin more sensitive to UV rays. So use Diacneal only at night, and put sunblock everyday.
