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Today’s constant mask-wearing—necessary and life-saving!—has brought with it the rise of maskne: more pimples and breakouts, especially for someone like me with sensitive skin. “Dirt, debris, natural oils, and dead skin cells can accumulate on your face mask, inviting bacteria that cause breakouts to linger on your skin and clog pores,” explains D.C.-based celebrity esthetician Sarah Akram, who counts Angela Bassett, Sienna Miller, and Billy Porter as clients. Over the past few weeks, as I've been venturing outdoors more, whether it's to go for a run with my mom or a socially distant walk with a friend, I've been waking up to find a new “friend” on my face. At first, I didn’t have a fast-acting solution; I cleaned my mask regularly, and paid more attention to my cleansing and exfoliating routine, but I wanted to find a more targeted approach.
Although I was skeptical about whether or not spot treatments really work, I gave Kinship’s Pimple Potion a try one night on dry, freshly cleansed skin before bed, and woke up the next morning to find my skin clearer and less inflamed. Since then, at night, I've been applying it anytime a breakout appears, making sure to also wash my face diligently for 60 seconds and drink a lot of water. It probably helps that I’ve been trying to get more sleep lately, giving the Pimple Potion extra time to sink in.
What makes it so effective? The tiny tube contains a powerful combination of retinal—a derivative of the Vitamin A supplement retinol—that works to improve skin’s overall feel and texture; salicylic acne treatment that stops breakouts from recurring; and bakuchiol, which gives skin a brightening boost. (Bakuchiol has recently been deemed as a promising plant-based retinol alternative that is safer for sensitive skin.) All in all, it gave me the results I was looking for—clearer, more even skin—seemingly overnight. They didn't call it "potion" for no reason; for me, it felt like magic.
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