REVIEW: Avène Cleanance HYDRA Soothing Cream

~AG~

One of my favourite thing to do while travelling abroad is browse through the local drugstore (pharmacies) aisles. During my recent trip to Italy, I dropped by a "Farmacia" to look at their offering of skincare products. Avène is my recent go-to brand. This French brand works well for ultra sensitive skin. Avène Cleanance product line is targeted  for acne-prone skin.

This Avène Clearance HYDRA Soothing Cream costs €14.90 (S$23). It comes with 40 ml of product, and should be discarded after six months of use. The product description were all in Italian so I had to google about this Avène Soothing Cream while in-store. According to Avène website, this product offsets the drying and irritating effects of medicinal acne treatments. My skin has been on the dry side recently. During my hair and makeup trial for my nuptial, the makeup artist commented that my skin was dry and that I needed to take good care of it. Dry skin causes the foundation to cake up. Not a good sight! My skin was especially dry around my nose area where I had applied topical acne treatment.

This Avène HYDRA Soothing Cream contains moisturizing ingredients such as coconut, shea butter and jojoba oil. In addition to my dry skin condition, the cold and windy climate of Italy left my skin feeling tight with dry patches. My usually combination skin type felt uncomfortable. Without any hesitation, Avène Soothing Cream was added to my shopping cart because it is designed for acne-prone skin. There was no worries of breakouts or adverse reactions to this product.  

To test the efficacy of this Avène Soothing Cream, I opted not to use my regular moisturizer and solely used this product for hydration purposes. The texture of Avène Soothing Cream was not thick nor was it creamy. It has somewhat of a gel texture. Though, it is not as lightweight as Crème Simon Moisturizer. It felt more hydrating than my HG Laneige Water Bank Essence. My skin did not feel sticky after application and the product was absorbed well into the skin. 

The next morning, my skin was well hydrated and did not feel dry at all! Avène Soothing Cream really helped to combat my dry, flaky skin. This Avène Soothing Cream is especially suitable for those with very dry skin or during the Winter months. I am glad I found a hydrating cream that is not too heavy for my acne-prone skin. My ultra sensitive skin did not any adverse reaction to this product as well. In Singapore's humid weather, this Avène Soothing Cream works better as a targeted treatment instead of being part of a daily skincare regimen. Will highly recommend Avène Soothing Cream for those that travel frequently, especially to countries with drier climate.

REVIEW: DRX Clinic Journey Part 10

Credits to DRX Clinic

~AG~

After 10 days in Italy, my skin suffered from some serious breakouts. Many tiny pimples appeared on my eyebrows and forehead areas. I had stopped taking Spironolactone 5 months ago, and my skin was doing alright. But the daily intake of dairy products caused my skin to go crazy. I needed help ASAP. On the day I arrived in Singapore, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Tsu. Since my prewedding shoot is in less than two weeks, my skin woes had to be addressed quickly. 

After telling Dr. Tsu my skin woes, he advised to take Spironolactone again. My concern was that Spironolactone takes a while to see the effects. Last time, it took about three weeks before I could see my skin improving. My prior prescription was for two tablets of Spironolactone in the morning. Now, Dr. Tsu advised to increase the dosage since I wanted a faster result. He prescribed two tablets twice a day. Dr. Tsu did point out that taking a higher dose of Spironolactone could result in an irregular period cycle - meaning period coming earlier or later than usual, or having two periods in a cycle. That sounded scary to me. When I was first on Spironolactone, my period the month after was unbearable. I asked Dr. Tsu whether that could have been due to Spironolactone, he replied that his other patients did not mention that as a side effect. Though, my chronic period paid could have been because of the medication. For the sake of beautiful skin, medication it is. 

Dr. Tsu prescribed Spironolactone for a month. Let see whether the extra strong dosage will help combat the pimples. My goal is to use this medication short-term, as in for a month or less only. Wish me luck! Dr. Tsu Profile