TreeActiv Cystic Acne Spot Treatment Paste with Sulfur, Bentonite Clay, and Tea Tree Oil, Deep Breakouts, 20-Minute or Overnight Application, Suitable for Face and Body, 0.5 oz (120+ Uses)

Better Than Benzoyl Peroxide.
I’ve had moderate acne for 35 years. Nothing that was reputed to treat acne ever helped. No, I did not go the route of tetracycline or Accutane. Birth control pills, UV light, and countless topical products and washes stressed my skin but did nothing for acne. There are more options on the market these days than there used to be. That means more ineffective options, but I came across TreeActiv’s Cystic Acne Spot Treatment while browsing and noticed the rave reviews. It’s expensive stuff! The pot only holds 0.25oz/7ml. But I saved my points up and bought one.This is a green cream that smells like peppermint oil. It is “100% natural”, non-GMO, vegan, “cruelty-free”, palm oil-free, paraben-free, SLS-free, aluminum-free, and Made in USA. But does it work? Its active ingredients are bentonite clay, tea tree water, witch hazel, peppermint water, spearmint water, pink grapefruit essential oil, lemon essential oil, tea tree essential oil, and aloe vera. Instructions are to massage a small amount into your blemish, allow to dry, and rinse off 30 minutes later. Or you can leave it on overnight, which is what I do.I use a Q-tip to apply the treatment. I use one end to scoop a little out of the pot and apply to blemishes. I wet the other end and use it to remove excess product from around the blemish after it has dried. This product is fairly drying and can sting delicate skin near the eyes, so I don’t want it to sit on my skin except on top of the blemishes. I rub it in a little, leaving some on top of skin, then wipe off excess that has been smeared far and wide. It dries to a green-grey crust. It doesn’t flake off. It will stay on all night. In the morning, my blemishes are reduced.I’ve used this spot treatment through two rounds of hormonal breakouts, about half a dozen pimples each. I apply it as soon as I notice a blemish forming under the skin. It has stopped the blemishes in their tracks. I reapply the next night if the blemish still looks active. This is keeping my breakouts to a low level, and, since every little pimple scars these days, it’s minimizing scarring. I can tell you that benzoyl peroxide never did this. I’ve used it since I was a teenager, and it never did anything except dry out my skin. The TreeActiv treatment is drying, but it works.If a blemish gets away, I apply a hydrocolloid patch (e.g. Nexcare Acne Cover, Hero Mighty Patch) once it comes to the surface. It will draw out the gunk and shorten the blemish’s lifespan without the damage that a comedone extractor or fingernails might do. But I have not had a fully-developed blemish since I started using the TreeActiv Cystic Acne Spot Treatment. Amazing. It’s a bunch of plant ingredients, silicone, and a preservative. I have super-reactive skin, by the way, and this has not caused any trouble, but I am careful to wipe off stray product.Ingredients: Bentonite Clay, Tea Tree Water, Witch Hazel, Peppermint Water, Spearmint Water, Spearmint Essential Oil, Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil, Lemon Essential Oil, Tea Tree Essential Oil, Aloe, Cyclomethicone, Liquid Germall Plus (preservative).

I love how natural this product is
I bought this product for the ingredients, and it’s the first thing I’ve tried from this particular company. BUT LET ME JUST SAY. I have not found a product which is so clarifying, healing, and quick in it’s treatment as this product. It just zaps anything you’ve got under your skin – I’ve used it on my cystic pimples and normal pimples, and with cystic, it’ll take around 2-3 days to truly make a difference. With normal pimples, overnight is all you need.Texture wise, it’s basically your standard mud mask. It’s very creamy and has a strong scent of tea tree oil. When it dries, it leaves a crusty and cracked cover which has a slight tendency to flake off during the night. I love how natural this product is, and how it’s the essential oils doing the work rather than a ton of strange chemicals. I can’t wait to try many many more of what this company offers!However: I shall warn you. Prepare to be shocked by how small this jar is. I talking maybe half of your thumb wide and tall. I know. But you don’t need much product and it does make it easily portable for traveling.

Finally! Something that works for my chronic cystic acne!
It doesn’t matter how clean, how toned, how moisturized, what topical, what Clarisonic, or vitamins etc I take or what I do, I get cystic acne, every month. No matter what.This stuff, though, is a life saver. Works great. Very potent so be careful on sensitive skin, use a thin layer on sensitive to avoid unintentional burning of the skin.Like I said, I suffer from chronic cystic acne and this product is the first I have tried in decades that either stops a cystic pimple from fully rising, and/or greatly reduces the timeline of one, or stops on in its tracks. It often heals one in days or less where they used to take weeks to fully heal. I have used straight tea tree oil before and this product works better than anything I’ve tried. It’s truly life changing, am so grateful.Be careful: I put a band aid on a spot treatment thinking to intensify/concentrate the product and ended up burning my skin. I now just apply as a spot treatment per directions, let it dry, and immediately reapppy. No burns now. Be careful.The *only* super minor downside is aesthetics in terms of this being a clay-based product, so it isn’t something you can apply under makeup or wear out. It’s for sitting around the house or for wearing to bed. So just plan accordingly.It is pricey, but a tiny dab with a qtip will do you, so it will last. You have to remember this is a spot treatment. Apply daily, or twice a day if you can. Yes, it’s supposed to tingle.Someone complained that it dried out. Mine is not doing that, but I also ensure I tightly close the lid, so I’m thinking any issues with the product drying out is human error.The recommended partner to this product is the daily moisturizer and I also love that product. It’s soooo soft and works.This is not an eye product, it will sting. Avoid the eyes. Apply eye cream first before working with tea tree oil products.If you suffer from cyclic acne, please give this a try. Used in combination with a face cleaning routine, this does work. Again, used with a face cleaning routine. You can’t NOT wash your face or go to sleep with your makeup on and then not expect to break out if you suffer from acne already. This stuff doesn’t fix poor hygiene. You have to have some responsibility for addressing the basics, while this stuff will address what you can’t.

I have had adult onset cystic acne for several years and this is one of the best products I have tried. It reduces the inflammation and redness and clears up my breakouts much faster than any other product I have used. This is meant to be used as a spot treatment and can be very drying on the skin so do not spread this over your face. The pot it comes in is quite small and at first I was not impressed. However you need such a small amount to see results that the amount you receive should last a long time. In my opinion it is worth the money and I will be buying this again.

Somewhat effective.. but the product dried up quickly! Never used it on cystic acne, only the odd pimple. Found it worked moderately well, but not as good as the Mario Badescu drying lotion.Wouldn’t buy again with other products being more effective and $10 less.