Latest blemish formula achieves more than just zapping zits

It’s time to rethink the way we’ve been handling—or mishandling—blemishes.

We are all too familiar with phrases like zit zapping and blemish blasting and verbs like ridding, squeezing, popping, and banishing. Anyone who has suffered from a face full of pimples—or even just a few of them—knows that going turbo on our skin is not going to resolve anything. Aggressively attacking it produces more of that energy, not less.

Fortunately companies like Laurel Whole Plant Organics are paving another route to clear skin. Their skin philosophy puts the “care” back into skincare, allowing us to pause and take a forgiving and kind approach that works with skin’s intelligence, not against it. I would like to see this message shaping the wave of the future.

It’s a relatively new concept not to use harsh ingredients to externally dry out the infected area.

The benzoyl peroxide products that clutter the drugstore shelves unleash a bullet list of issues like over-drying the area, flaking, scabbing, trapping the infection underneath, all of which increase imbalance and irritation and confuse the skin.

That’s why it’s a relief to find a product that is geared to healing pimples gingerly and with compassion—one that’s formulated with ingredients that target a multi-faceted approach to breakouts.

The latest product to reach us is Laurel Whole Plant Organics Blemish Treatment Serum,* that retails for $68. An herbal formula like this one respects the skin’s innate wisdom to heal itself and supports it through the process.

Founder Laurel Shaffer created this formula to nurture herself through her own bout with breakouts, so it has been tried and tested and is as intelligently formulated as the rest of her fine collection.

You can see immediately that the color is exquisite. The sea green infusion appeals to my innate desire to reach for something cooling to counteract topical redness and inflammation. This is holistic skincare at its finest.

The serum addresses three primary areas of concern.

1. Reduce breakouts and scars

Firstly, ingredients like tamanu oil, black cumin seed oil, and thyme heal the breakout with powerful natural antibacterial and scar-reducing abilities without disrupting the integrity of the skin.

2. Reduce stress

Secondly, soothing blue chamomile not only infuses the potion with its beautiful color, but also lends the formula its calming aroma. The intention is to address the underlying layer of stress that often accompanies breakouts.

I still find the pungent smell of the tamanu oil to somewhat override the blue chamomile, but the soothing effects are definitely in the mix. Because I value the therapeutic elements that are tied to the stronger smell, I don’t mind it, but it is good to know about prior to purchasing.

3. Support self-love and acceptance

Lastly, the addition of gemstone and plant essences may be my favorite part of this thoughtful blend. Their purpose is designed to energetically enhance the self-loving and self-accepting signals in the body. I hope that more and more skincare brands begin to energetically charge their creations. The effects are too beneficial to pass up.

My skin’s response

It may sound strange (and those of you who know my skin woes) that when I first started testing this product, I didn’t have any breakouts to use it on.

I went through an amazing skin period that I attribute to the two microneedling treatments I got in the fall and to using this to prolong results. However, I messed with a good thing and applied some AHA + glycolic acid + Vitamin C treatments to my skin (don’t ask!) that disrupted the great skin streak and brought on a slew of eruptions and scars (those were my own doing. Grrr…that quest for perfection). That said, the situation created the optimum time to put this serum to the test.

Personally, I didn’t find any overnight miracles. No blemishes vanished by morning, which is always the hope. Though I did benefit from the the soothing elements of the oil (only one drop is needed per use over all the spots on the face), I wanted to see more improvement.

As I mentioned above, this serum supports the process of healing skin, which means that the advertised promises of overnight successes that we’ve all grown used to from commercial brands are probably unrealistic. To put it into perspective, I have not found any spot serums that have brought me instant results—including other popular choices (think Osmia Organics or Odacité).

Nevertheless, in my experience with numerous natural products, there absolutely can be slow improvement, even if not altogether vanishing the scar or blemish.

I’m going to keep using the serum and will apply it more frequently during the day to see if that helps speed results. I adore Laurel WPO (and Laurel herself!) and found my HG serum from her line because of my skin’s instant response to it.

If anything, it is through products like this one that we revisit our attitudes about breakouts and perfectionism. And for that I am grateful for the elevated consciousness surrounding what’s often a painful and embarrassing issue to face.

Here is the full list of ingredients