Banish Acne Scars Review | My Acne Scars Battle
Hi lovelies! Today's post is going to be about my battle with post hormonal acne scars and dark spots. Let's get right into it.
When I had my baby hormonal changes in my body really affected my skin. During breastfeeding my daughter and later weaning her off, my skin kept getting horrible hormonal acne. Just a back story for you if you haven't read my acne story, I have a very long history of fighting with acne, and just when I thought I have finally cleared up my skin, adult acne ruins it once again. One habit I'm still fighting is, unfortunately, I can't stand a sight of a pimple, and I feel like whenever I pop it, it goes away faster. Well, it does go away faster, if you pop the pimple the right way (by steaming face, with clean hands), but if not, then it might get infected or leave horrible scars on the skin. Let's say I had few of those moments, when my hands just casually ran through my skin and pulled off a couple of pimples. Few months down the road, here I am on the table of aesthetician/cosmetologist, begging her to do something with my skin, so it would look decent again. Aesthetician's first recommendation was: stop touching the face! That wasn't a surprise for me, but her next recommendation of getting microdermabrasion peelings for the first 6-8 sessions, then doing additional procedures to clear the skin, all of which would sum up to about $1500 was something I did not expect. I thought I'd leave home with bunch of masks and prescription skincare, but unfortunately, I left her office feeling hopeless, since I wouldn't be able to invest so much money to go through all those procedures anytime soon and continued to hid behind makeup.
Until one day, Daisy, creator of Banish Acne Scars reached out to me telling about her skincare line she created specifically to treat acne scars/spots. She offered to send me a starter kit and see how it affects my skin. I gladly accepted her offer, since I had no other options that were making my skin better. And this is what I received:
After letting Banishers soak in alcohol for a little bit, you can start derma-rolling, by going over one area of the skin at a time and rolling the banisher 5-6 times in different directions (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). On a specific severe dark spot, stamp the derma-pen 5-6 times. Avoid rolling over the active acne, as it may spread to other areas of the face. Once done, place the rollers in alcohol for at least 5 minutes once again before putting them away. Banishers do expire after 3-4 uses though, it is smarter to toss them away than reusing, since the bacteria still accumulates as time goes by, as well as the needles won't be as effective as the first few uses.
Now the skin is punctured, with millions of tiny holes, and whatever you apply are going directly through the holes under the skin. Thus, Banish Vitamin C serum and Elixir are gentle enough to apply after banishers, as well as powerful enough to boost a collagen production. I loved using the Serum and Elixir combo and my skin got better with each treatment. Do not use any skincare with fragrance or let alone makeup for the next day or so, in order to let the skin heal completely. The healing process will continue throughout the week, but you should be extra careful the first 8 hours after doing derma-rolling, since whatever you put on your skin goes directly under. I even put a clean towel on top of my pillowcase the days I use a Banisher. Also, please, don't use it as a lip plumping tool as we see on the internet nowadays, followed by applying layers of lipsticks. Be gentle with your skin/face/lips, you'll be happy in the long run.
Well, here is my progress of using up a whole Starter Kit:
When I had my baby hormonal changes in my body really affected my skin. During breastfeeding my daughter and later weaning her off, my skin kept getting horrible hormonal acne. Just a back story for you if you haven't read my acne story, I have a very long history of fighting with acne, and just when I thought I have finally cleared up my skin, adult acne ruins it once again. One habit I'm still fighting is, unfortunately, I can't stand a sight of a pimple, and I feel like whenever I pop it, it goes away faster. Well, it does go away faster, if you pop the pimple the right way (by steaming face, with clean hands), but if not, then it might get infected or leave horrible scars on the skin. Let's say I had few of those moments, when my hands just casually ran through my skin and pulled off a couple of pimples. Few months down the road, here I am on the table of aesthetician/cosmetologist, begging her to do something with my skin, so it would look decent again. Aesthetician's first recommendation was: stop touching the face! That wasn't a surprise for me, but her next recommendation of getting microdermabrasion peelings for the first 6-8 sessions, then doing additional procedures to clear the skin, all of which would sum up to about $1500 was something I did not expect. I thought I'd leave home with bunch of masks and prescription skincare, but unfortunately, I left her office feeling hopeless, since I wouldn't be able to invest so much money to go through all those procedures anytime soon and continued to hid behind makeup.
Until one day, Daisy, creator of Banish Acne Scars reached out to me telling about her skincare line she created specifically to treat acne scars/spots. She offered to send me a starter kit and see how it affects my skin. I gladly accepted her offer, since I had no other options that were making my skin better. And this is what I received:
The starter kit comes in a bag with instructions how to use the products. I received two masks: charcoal and pumpkin enzyme, a Vitamin C serum and Vitamin C Elixir/toner, Container to sanitize the tools, derma-roller (banisher) and derma pen (pen banisher), as well as the big silver pore smashes. I will be going over each product in this post and sharing my experience with it.
Here is how my schedule was for the next 6-8 weeks of using a starter kit:
- Every day (Mon-Sun): I used Banish Vit C serum and elixir
- Every Wednesday was a pumpkin enzyme mask day followed with serum and elixir
- Every Saturday or Sunday was Charcoal mask day, followed with microneedling using Banisher and Pen Banisher, and finishing with serum and elixir.
Ok, I was supposed to use pore smasher daily, which is a big silver smooth roller in the photo, but unfortunately I didn't. Basically, you put it in the freezer and go over your skin every day working the products into the skin. That massages your skin and minimizes the pores. However, since I was so inconsistent with using it by always forgetting it in the freezer, I haven't seen many changes in sizes of my pores. I will try to use it more often as my treatment with Banish goes on, and I'll update you on my social media outlets (make sure to add/follow me on those too!)
Let's talk about the masks first. Charcoal mask in the kit is a dry charcoal mask that you mix with liquid of your choice: toner, water, vinegar etc. (mine was the Vit C Elixir that comes in a kit) and apply to your skin. It deep cleans the pores making the skin ready for the next procedure. If you have used other charcoal clay masks, this one probably would seem lightweight for you, as it did for me. It dries really fast and cleans the skin well. However, it was hard to get it to even consistency when mixing with any liquid I tried, somehow I always ended up with clumps.
As for the pumpkin enzyme mask, that's something I really loved in this kit. Not only it exfoliates the skin by making it brighter and smoother, but I noticed how it also helped to clear my active acne. So I started using it as a spot treatment whenever the new pimple decided to pop up. It smells great, as well as feels amazing on the skin.
The Starter kit comes with two Banishers: Medium derma roller and a derma pen. Banishers are the tools covered with a lot of small and thin needles, that puncture the skin, imitating an "injury", to which the brain responds with extra collagen production and tries to heal wounds. That way all the scars and spots heal faster and go away sooner. While Banisher is for bigger areas, the derma pen is more for the spot treatment. The first few treatments I did with these were about 10 days apart, but the rest of them I did every week. First and foremost, you have to sanitize the tools. These are small needles going into the skin, so you have to let them soak in alcohol for at least 5 minutes. I've seen many Instagram videos, where girls just spray the derma rollers with alcohol and proceed with rolling. No thank you, with my skin's sensitivity I can't afford doing that and I do not recommend doing that either. That's why I like how this kit provides a container that you can use just for banishers, which will also eliminate future cross contamination.
After letting Banishers soak in alcohol for a little bit, you can start derma-rolling, by going over one area of the skin at a time and rolling the banisher 5-6 times in different directions (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). On a specific severe dark spot, stamp the derma-pen 5-6 times. Avoid rolling over the active acne, as it may spread to other areas of the face. Once done, place the rollers in alcohol for at least 5 minutes once again before putting them away. Banishers do expire after 3-4 uses though, it is smarter to toss them away than reusing, since the bacteria still accumulates as time goes by, as well as the needles won't be as effective as the first few uses.
Now the skin is punctured, with millions of tiny holes, and whatever you apply are going directly through the holes under the skin. Thus, Banish Vitamin C serum and Elixir are gentle enough to apply after banishers, as well as powerful enough to boost a collagen production. I loved using the Serum and Elixir combo and my skin got better with each treatment. Do not use any skincare with fragrance or let alone makeup for the next day or so, in order to let the skin heal completely. The healing process will continue throughout the week, but you should be extra careful the first 8 hours after doing derma-rolling, since whatever you put on your skin goes directly under. I even put a clean towel on top of my pillowcase the days I use a Banisher. Also, please, don't use it as a lip plumping tool as we see on the internet nowadays, followed by applying layers of lipsticks. Be gentle with your skin/face/lips, you'll be happy in the long run.
Well, here is my progress of using up a whole Starter Kit:
Amazing, right? Even my husband looking at the photo above said "I don't remember your skin looking this bad, wow, it does look way better now". Here you go, ladies and gentlemen, the progress photos don't lie. As summer approaches, I'm happy to be wearing less layers of makeup now, since my skin doesn't require as much makeup to conceal as it used to. I will continue doing the treatment for the next few months until some of my super dark spots go away. I think for the price of one treatment I'd get at cosmetologist's office getting a whole kit and seeing definite results is truly worth it.
Hope you guys enjoyed this review. Make sure to check out my social media outlets for the video of how I use this kit and to see the banishers in action. I'll talk to you in my next post. Until then, Stay Blessed, xoxo
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