The Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing foam was made to banish acne. Read why below.
There are few ingredients as effective at treating acne as tea tree. From the raw oil, to essences, to cleansers, I can always count on it to take care of the spots and pimples on my face. That’s why I was so excited when I got to try a tea tree cleanser from one of my favorite brands: Skinfood. Read below to discover what I loved about the Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing Foam.
The ingredients:
As with all skin care products I test, I always start by breaking down the ingredients in the formula. For this cleanser, I could see it was packed with acne-fighting ingredients. Coming in at the third ingredient on the list is a high concentration of tea tree leaf extract, as you would expect from the name. Further down the list, I saw tea tree leaf oil was also added to the formula. Tea tree leaf extract and oil? I’ll take both, please.
A little bit about tea tree: It’s one of the absolute best natural acne fighting ingredients out there. Extracted from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree native to Australia, tea tree extract is heralded for its anti-inflammatory properties.
And even though it’s a natural remedy, it’s backed by science. A study published by the British Journal of Dermatology revealed that the application of tea tree oil to an area of induced inflammation resulted in a significant decrease in the severity of the inflammation just 10 minutes after the application. Similar studies have shown tea tree having comparable effects to benzoyl peroxide and other acne-fighting agents. This—along with the fact that it’s a naturally derived ingredient—make tea tree an incredible ingredient for tackling acne.
On top of the tea tree extracts and oils, the cleanser also contains ginger extracts and glycolic acid, two other star ingredients for fighting acne. I also love that the cleanser contains green tea and aloe extracts, since they help to soothe and nourish the skin, while the tea tree extracts go to work on my breakouts.
The test:
Pumping out this cleanser is like pumping soft, foamy clouds into your hands and onto your face. I’m not kidding when I say the consistency of this cleanser is to-die-for. It also makes the cleanser extremely gentle, as it glides across your skin smoothly, and rinses off clean. There is a mild tea tree scent that is pleasant but not overwhelming, and the bottle dispenses just the right amount of cleanser into the palms.
When I started testing this cleanser, I had a couple of pesky pimples on my forehead that cropped up when I tried using Vaseline as a moisturizer (the things I do for skin care research), so I was hoping this cleanser would help to clear them up. I wasn’t let down. After a couple of uses, I noticed that the size and severity of my pimples decreased drastically, and I wasn’t noticing new breakouts on my face. I used it in tandem with some of my other favorite spot treatments and it worked like a charm.
Why I don’t use it every day:
While the Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing Foam was effective at treating my spots, I realized I couldn’t use this cleanser every day. Some context: my skin is dry, acne prone, and incredibly sensitive. This cleanser was a step outside my comfort zone, as I normally stick with extremely gentle cleansers with calming ingredients and low pH.
While tea tree is effective at clearing spots, it’s also drying. Each time after using this cleanser, my face felt slightly more dry and stripped than I would like. This is also because this cleanser has, unfortunately, an extremely high pH. When I tested it with my pH strips, I discovered it has a pH of nine, which is far too high for use on my sensitive skin every day.
However, that doesn’t mean I can’t use it at all. See, I loved the results it had on my breakouts, and realized that for me, this wasn’t an everyday cleanser, but rather one I could use when I felt myself developing pimples. To balance out the effects of the high pH, I just follow the cleanser with a pH balancing toner, and my skin is reset to normal.
I love the Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner for this, as it balances my skin and also provides a boost of hydration. This way, I can reap all the acne-fighting benefits of this cleanser while still caring for my sensitive skin.
Additionally, I could see the benefits of this cleanser for people who have different skin types than mine. For example, if you struggle with highly oily skin along with your acne, the higher pH of this cleanser can actually help to reduce that oil and thoroughly cleanse your skin. Additionally, if your skin isn’t as sensitive as mine is, the pH may not even bother you in the slightest.
The bottom line:
At the end of the day, the Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing Foam serves its purpose phenomenally. The ingredients are spot on, and I noticed a visible decrease in my breakouts. For those of us with acneic skin, you can’t ask for much more from a cleanser. And although I may not being washing with it religiously day and night, I know whenever I see a pimple popping up I can count of this cleanser to do the trick.
