Tag: lactic acid

Mistine Milk Tea Body Lotion

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A friend gifted me this within the past year and sadly I am more than halfway through the bottle. I love it! But, buyer beware: you must be a fan of bubble tea in order to purchase this, because it really, REALLY smells like it’s name. Bubble tea is amazing, BTW, and if you’ve never tried it before I highly recommend it!

Conceptually this lotion is a tad bit gimmick-y, since it not only smells like milk tea, but it also contains milk tea. Fortunately, black tea (and tea in general) boasts anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing properties, and milk is said to be conducive to maintain skin moisture.

I will say this is not a good product for eczema sufferers or those with chronically dry skin. Not that you can’t use it, but consider mixing a heavier lotion in with it, such as Aquaphor or Eucerin. The milk tea lotion’s consistency is overall quite thin, so while a little goes a long way, it won’t be leaving a thick film behind.

Mistine also managed to sneak in a hint of lactic acid into the ingredient listing. For me personally, this is a huge selling point, because it implies that some light skin exfoliation will be accomplished while maintaining a layer of hydration. But, just as they would any other acid-containing product, sensitive skin users may want to be wary.

Overall, this is just a really fun lotion to try out with, and while it’s not the most hydrating lotion of them all, it does leave your skin smooth, with a hint of a glow. It’s not sold locally anywhere in the US, and Mistine is based in Thailand, so the price tag to order internationally can run a little high at $24. If you can find it cheaper than that, I’d recommend checking it out! ~A

Perceived efficacy: 3.75/5

Longevity: 3.75/5

How much I actually like this product: 4/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: for extremely dry skin, no. otherwise, patch test first, and then proceed!

Merry Christmas, my dear readers! ❤

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The Ordinary 5% Lactic Acid – a COVID special

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Mask-ne is real, folks. Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% pro-mask. It’s such an easy thing to wear to protect yourself and other people. But boy does it mess with your skin. Brand new breakouts on the lower half of my face, check. Extremely red, itchy and dry skin where the mask is supposed to cover, check.

What does this have to do with lactic acid, you ask, especially when I’ve already posted about it before? I consider lactic acid my official exfoliating powerhouse during this very long mask season. This will help bring acne to the surface and turn the skin cells over. Compared to salicylic acid, glycolic acid and adapalene/benzoyl peroxide combination, I found this to be the pretty clear winner. I started off using this every two days, to daily, and as of this writing, I’m back down to 3 or 4x a week usage.

As with most acids, there’s a purging period that comes with the use of this product. For me, it was a major purge. Even though I keep this product around in my medicine cabinet, I don’t use it every day, so I certainly wasn’t immune to it’s effects when switching to daily use. I felt like I was at pre-spironolactone levels of acne — goes to show how much crud was probably building up in my skin. Heck, I almost threw in the towel. But by week three, most of the acne was gone and my skin was glowing!

Lactic acid will still continue to pull up new acne even after the purging period is done, but there won’t be as much, and it will disappear quickly. In my opinion, it’s worth it for the healthy glow and smooth texture you get from this product.

Since even it’s 5% iteration is pretty strong, you’re going to want to layer up on some emollients afterwards. My favorite to use in this case was The Ordinary’s Rosehip Seed Oil. While the lactic acid is busy at work pushing the dead skin out, rose hip oil does a nice job of clean-sweeping all the grits out of the pores.

Something else that did help my acne decrease was switching from cloth masks to paper/disposable masks. I hate the idea of disposable masks because they’re just so… wasteful. I don’t need more reasons to contribute to landfills! But no matter how vigilantly I was washing my cloth masks, the cloth was a way bigger offender of trapping dirt and oil into my skin.

As with all acids, users who are new to these types of products should start off slow. You really only need two drops of this product to spread throughout your face, and should start by applying only every two days. And wear your sunscreen! Despite all my usual acid product warnings, this is a cheap little fixer-upper for $10 that got my skin back to normal under the mask. ~A

Perceived efficacy: 5/5

Longevity: 3/5

How much I actually like this product: 4.5/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Yes, if used carefully!

The Ordinary 5% Lactic Acid + HA

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The Ordinary’s had a lot of misses for me personally, but their 5% Lactic Acid + HA product absolutely knocks it out of the park, and for only $13. It’s on my very short list of their products that I would definitely re-buy if I ever ran out. I’ve never seen such visible, instant results in such a short period of time after usage.

Again: this is an acid, so exercise extreme caution. Your skin will probably burn a tiny bit, or purge, over the first couple of usages because… well, it’s an acid. There is a 10% formulation available, but I have absolutely zero confidence that my skin would survive it. Maybe someday!

This pink-orange liquid comes in a clear glass bottle with a dropper that you use to pull up the product and drop onto your face. One drop goes a long way, so I generally drop one on each side of my cheeks, my forehead (careful not to let it run into my eyes, of course!), and any small excess droplets can go on my chin.

I’ve seen results in as quick as an hour from this. My skin is noticeably brighter, and some of the errant texture is gone. Fine lines are at least superficially dimmer, and hyperpigmentation appears to have noticeably faded. My skin in general just seems more uniform in color and texture.

As I mentioned before this will probably burn a little bit unless you’re built up a tolerance already. I’ll wait about 30 minutes before applying my next step in my routine (usually moisturizer). As long as it’s dry, it shouldn’t pill with the next product.

Not going to lie, I did experience some trepidation when I applied this for the first time. I’ve had bad experiences with glycolic acid, and have heard mixed reviews on lactic acid as an exfoliant. So I reiterate to sensitive skin users to start at 5% if they’re going to try this, and remember to exercise the usual rules: try to avoid the sunlight, use sunscreen if you must go outside, build up your tolerance SLOWLY (even now, I only use this product twice a week, and it took two weeks for my skin to be comfortable with it’s usage) and don’t be shocked if there’s a brief purging period. Other than those standard exfoliant caveats, I think this product is totally worth the buy! ~A

Buy The Ordinary’s 5% Lactic Acid here:
https://amzn.to/2SDSCtA


Perceived efficacy: 5/5

Longevity: 4/5 – results are noticeable for at least a day or two

How much I actually like this product: 4.5/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Maybe