Votary Blemish Rescue Oil – The BEST spot treatment
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So I know what you’re thinking… oil as a spot treatment? It sounds like it might be counter productive but this product really works. It’s my holy grail for when I’m breaking out- I love it so much I always have a back up!
Most spot treatments will be in a denatured alcohol base, which is ‘fine’ however the issue in my experience is that these tend fall into one of two categories. Drying and ineffective or drying and somewhat effective– the best scenario being you get rid of the spot, whilst being left with a patch of dry and crusty skin. Attractive right?
As someone who is blemish prone, I’d use these other treatments but was often left with hyper-pigmentation once the blemish was gone. This was primarily because the environment I had created around the breakout was great for killing bacteria, but a nightmare for healing the skin, especially on skin of colour.
When I was at a launch event a few years back, Arabella Preston- founder of Votary touched on how this product was created out of one of her make up artist frustrations. My ears perked up the second she said this – WE HAD THE SAME ISSUE! As a make up artist, taking care of high colour is easy to conceal, however dealing with texture (especially when caused by a breakout!) is much harder to conceal, as pigment does not adhere to that area of skin.
Being that I struggled with this for so long I was equal parts hopeful and sceptical because I had never seen an oil based spot treatment before. I quickly realised that this was a brilliant formula. It took care of the spot without drying it out and I had no further hyperpigmentation on my face. It was PERFECT.
The treatment uses a blend of 2% salicylic acid, along with a host of soothing, anti inflammatory oils like tamanu seed oil and rosemary extract to address the size and inflammation of the spot, whilst soothing and aiding recovery. This is all housed in a grapeseed oil base, making it a perfect texture to massage on an oily skin.
How do you use it?
I take a drop of the oil, apply it to the breakout and begin to lightly massage, it may feel odd at first but it allows you to treat the breakout without causing irritation. You only need the tiniest amount- the bottle lasts for ages! I find this is the most effective way to apply. Once you’re done, follow up with your moisturiser, AM and PM. You’ll see the results the next day.
I also occasionally use it as a booster for other oils and moisturizer when my skin is feeling congested. I add a drop of this in to the formula, mix and apply. This is particularly great after shaving! My preference is to use this in my PM routine, but like I said it works in the AM too!
I know oil based skincare can divide opinion (I mean… don’t most things in the Beauty industry?) you’re either for, or against. I can see both sides, but ultimately only YOU know your skin, regardless of the expert advising you. There have been great results in both schools of thought and I’ve seen these in person.
Personally however, I love well-formulated and high quality facial oil, designed for my skin type. This is what Votary does best. They are experts in oil-based skincare.
I think it’s also time to change the conversation around blemish prone skin. Instead of attacking the skin with harsh treatments let’s use gentle and effective treatments. Lets be kinder to ourselves when our skin is playing up! Don’t get me wrong- I’ll be the first to ACIIIID a spot the second I feel it coming, but let’s step away from the toothpaste and drying lotions and pick up this oil.
This is easily my most frequently recommended treatment for blemishes. Everyone I have recommended it to has come back to me with brilliant results, it just works so well! It’s often lovingly referred to as ‘that Votary spot oil’ in my DMs- I think we should all have one in our skincare arsenal, just in case!
Have you tried an oil based spot treatment before? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram!
Votary Blemish Rescue Oil is £35 and available at Space NK, Liberty and Cult Beauty.