Quinoderm (and TMI Thursday Update 3)

Well my lovelies, it's TMI Thursday again and therefore time for another problem skin update. This week I have been using Quinoderm cream morning and night.

Quinoderm cream contains 10% Benzoyl Peroxide and 0.5% Potassium Hydroxyquinoline Sulphate. The Benzoyl Peroxide works by breaking down some of the links between the skin cells in the top layer of skin and allowing them to slough away: it works a bit like a skin peel, useful in acne because a lot of the problems are caused by pores becoming blocked by dead skin cells. The blocked pores then become infected which is what gives you nasty spots, and that's where the Hydroxyquinoline comes into play: it kills bacteria and fungi that could otherwise have infected your pores.

The cream itself is described as a 'vanishing' cream, this just means that you don't have to rub it in very much and it will still disappear quite quickly. It's an off white colour and it has a sort of musky, medical smell. You apply it to the problem areas of your face after cleansing and then you leave it alone to soak in.

I'm not going to lie to you, girls. (And boys? Do I have any male readers? I hope so!) This stuff is STRONG. 10% Benzoyl Peroxide is about as strong an acne treatment as you can get without a prescription and you're going to need to do a patch test before covering your face in this stuff for the first time. You're also going to discover one especially noticeable side effect when using Quinoderm : it STINGS. Not unbearably so, but it's definitely beyond just 'tingling a bit'. The stinging lasts maybe 5 or ten minutes after application and then it goes away. You will also need to be careful not to get it anywhere near your eyes; this means if you apply make up, don't accidentally transfer the cream from another part of your face onto your eye area because YOU WILL REGRET IT. Trust me on this one. You won't die, or go blind, but you'll have some pretty uncomfortable burning sensations under your eyes for about half an hour to an hour afterwards and let's just say it won't be especially fun >.<  In order to avoid this happening, I try to let the Quinoderm dry right into my skin before applying moisturiser etc. I also do my eye make up first before the rest of my face so that I don't accidentally pick any of the cream up and move it to my eye area on my make up brushes.

Something else I've noticed is that this cream causes a bit of dry skin and peeling. This is SUPPOSED to happen because it's part of the way it works. It's annoying but not so bad it can't be dealt with by moisturising well and the careful use of a facial scrub here and there. I'm just gritting my teeth and telling myself it's a sign the stuff is working! (EDIT: I eventually found that the dry skin wore off anyway: it seems to be an initial reaction that doesn't last forever)

This stinging and the peeling is definitely worth putting up with, though. I've been using Quinoderm for about three weeks now, once a day to start with and over the last week I've increased it to twice a day - and there's a definite change going on here. It's too soon for my spots to magically vanish (I'm told it can take 6-8 weeks of twice a day application for that to happen) but I've noticed that my blackheads are becoming much easier to remove, and when I have a spot, it's smaller and doesn't seem to last as long. I haven't had to use my extraction kit as often, which can only be a good sign! (EDIT: after 6 weeks, magic happened. Trust me, it's worth persevering with this stuff).

I'm not going to put up any progress photos this week though. Even though things are definitely better and my skin has improved, it doesn't seem to want to show up in photographs just yet. The change is more to do with how my skin feels and how long the spots hang around when they do appear. Only bad things happen quickly, eh? Watch this space and hopefully I will have update piccies for you in a week's time!