My pimples and pimple marks have been the cause of my rough and most of the time untidy looking face. I tried a lot of products, mostly those that are advertised on television, but none has shown results that pleased me. My cousin, who has the same condition as mine recommended a set of facial cleanser that has worked for her in a long term, and so I decided to try it.
The product is called Professional Skin Care Formula (by Dr. Alvin). I bought the primary set of cleanser, as suggested by my cousin, which contains one bar of Kojic soap, a bottle of rejuvenating toner and two mini jars of creams (sunblock and rejuvenating cream). The package includes a leaflet of instruction on how to use the set.
I will list down the changes on my face from the very first time I used the Professional Skin Care Formula by Dr. Alvin set. I am currently in the third week of using it and am very pleased with the outcome. Please bear with the minimal images of the before and after results. I hardly take pictures.
Day 1
I decided to use it on Monday morning, the first day of work week. As instructed, the Kojic soap must be used to wash the face. The soap must be lathered for 2-3 minutes. And then, I felt the heat on my skin while I spread the lather on my face and even when I rinse my face with cold water. I dried my face with a towel and then applied the rejuvenating toner. I felt the sting from the mix of the Kojic soap and the toner on my skin and a slight rub of the cotton hurt. I endured it as I want to see the results. I let the toner dry up before I applied a certain amount of sunblock.
It was dawn when I left for the office but when I arrived and decided to make a quick retouch on my face, it surprised me that my face has already shown signs of peeling! My cousin told me that the Professional Skin Care by Dr. Alvin causes micro-peeling but in my case, it was not! My face was already peeling too much, thus I have to hide my face the whole day in the office. I tried to reapply the sunblock to hide the skin peel but to no avail.
At night time, I did the same routine, but this time, I used the rejuvenating cream. I let the cream get absorbed by my skin before I went to sleep.
Day 2
The next morning, I noticed that my face became oily and shiny. But the difference was that the peeling did not appear anywhere on my face. I got up and washed. The slight touch of the Kojic on my face caused a stronger sting compared on the first day. So, instead of rubbing a lot on my face, I just created a two-finger soap sud and have it spread on my entire face. My skin reacted immediately, thus, I did not lather as long as on the first day. I quickly rinsed but my face still felt the burning sensation. Applying the toner and sunblock made it worse as it really became “mahapdi”. Also, my face became reddish-dark on the second day and the peeling was more apparent.
Our office has a centralized air-conditioning, thus the sunblock quickly dries up and I have to re-apply multiple times during the 8-hour shift. My officemates even lent me peeling gel and facial moisturizer as the peeling grew more and more on my face.
Day 3
The routine was done again in the morning. My face showed more signs of peeling and redness. The peeling, which started from my jaw and pushed inwards towards the center of my face, was still showing. Minor peeling showed on my temples and chin. I hid it using facial moisturizer but like in the previous day, I had to reapply over and over since I am exposed in a highly-air-conditioned workplace. I even had to wear a mask to hide the extensive peeling on my lower cheeks.
Despite this, though, a notable change in my skin appeared. The dark marks of past pimples were gone and the parts where the skin has peeled are lighter than the parts that still have dead skin cells.
Day 4
The redness worsened and my face appeared darker than usual. The skin peeling was much better as it was just micro-peeling. I still have to use the toner then the sunblock and cover it with a layer of the facial moisturizer, though.
One thing to note, though, my skin felt a bit stretched as if I had some botox done and any muscular movement kinda hurt. Also, some folds appear below my eyes, making my eye bags appear in three-folds. Creases also appear on my temples and the lines on my forehead were more obvious.
Day 5
At this time, the majority of my face starts to lighten and the dark pimple marks were gone. The micro peeling continues but were more tolerable than the previous days. The peeling tends to show up when I stay at a very cold place but because I have a naturally oily face, the oil serves as my moisturizer when I go out of the office. The redness of my face was lighter and the reaction of the skin towards the amalgam of the Kojic soap, rejuvenating toner and cream were more bearable.
Day 6 and 7
Dead skin cells being removed through the peeling of the skin was no longer obvious. But whenever I wash my face and I start to rub my face, the peeled skin appears and gets removed. The color of my face was uneven as my forehead is darker than the rest of my face. Continuous use of moisturizer and sunblock is advisable. The sunblock cream helps even out the color the skin. My skin appears smoother, though and minimal dark spots can be seen. Although expect some pimples to appear every now and then, in my case during my monthly menstrual period. But do not worry as the pimples may disappear in one to two days of use of Professional Skin Care.
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Second week
During the second week of my use of the Professional skin care, I managed to change the regimen I did in the first week to be able to avoid the stings, redness and peeling of my facial skin. The second week showed way better condition of my face. My skin looked fresher, smoother. Dark spots are lighter than before, although the skin peeling appears here and there and some pimple craters and pores are still visible. Check out my photo below.
The redness (which is not so obvious unless you stare at my face for a long time) appeared more normal. I do not know what ingredients were used in the sunblock or rejuvenating cream but these creams (I think) are the cause of my pinkish cheeks/face. Sweat tend to form on the face and minor dabs of cloth or tissue will help to wipe it off (do not rub the cloth or tissue on your face as the skin is still sensitive to friction against things rub on it).
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Having said that, let me list down the pros and cons I have encountered using this facial cleansing set.
PROs
-it lightens (and eventually removes) dark pimple marks
-it smoothens the skin by removing the dead skin cells through peeling
-using the creams gives the “flushed”-look on your face, particularly rosy cheeks
-it easily treats and removes pimples that appeared
CONs
-the first few days of use will be difficult due to severe peeling of the skin
-the mix of Kojic soap, rejuvenating toner and sunblock causes a burning feeling on the skin, thus the redness of the skin.
-the skin will feel a bit heated
– too much sweating
-the face will appear lighter than the natural skin tone of your body.
UPDATE: 12/04/2015
-the skin is thinner, thus, a bit of pinching or pressing will wound the skin. Don’t try to squeeze you pimples, whiteheads or blackheads using your nails.
-continuous use is advisable as pimples and eventually pimple marks may occasionally appear.
Right now, I am on my third week of using this Professional Skin Care Formula by Dr. Alvin. I experience a bit of itch on the jaw area and some pimples appearing occasionally, but so far, I am content with the outcome. The whole set cost me 250 pesos (since I took the old packaged version), but it’s 350 pesos when you get the one with new packaging (glass or tube container for the creams). Until I consume all the contents of the package, I may buy the Maintenance Set (which, instead of the rejuvenating toner and rejuvenating cream, includes a maintenance toner and night cream) and try it out. My main aim is to remove dark pimple marks and any sign of it, but it also helped lighten my skin (that’s a bonus!).
I recommend this product because it worked for me. But please make sure to be careful when you try this on your own. Not all skin types are the same. Some are more sensitive than others.
I found this website: http://www.pscf.com.ph/, you may want to check it out. 🙂
VERDICT: I’d give it a 9 out of 10. It worked very well in removing my pimples, lightening the dark pimple marks, evening out my face skin tone and revealing a fresher and new skin. The -1 is due to the burning feeling, and the redness of the face I have to suffer for a couple of days to weeks. :p
EDIT: 12/20/2016 This product is currently not available in the market as per one seller’s information. The rejuvenating set is being improved to lessen the strong formula that may irritate the skin. For now, they are suggesting the Kojic Acid Facial Set as an alternative. 🙂
*Skin types of users of beauty products vary from one user to another. Please be cautious on using skin care products. Discontinue using if irritation of the skin occurs.
