As if it isn’t bad enough having to battle wrinkles, but having to also struggle with acne is just depressing and confusing. Women don’t always outgrow acne, and lots of women who never broke out before can start breaking out in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and older; this is particularly true for women going through menopause.

So how in the world do you treat both? It’s actually easier than you think. The issue is that we think dealing with wrinkles is about heavy moisturizers or layers of creams and lotions, but it isn’t in the least. Those types of products don’t fight wrinkles! What fights wrinkles are specific ingredients such as antioxidants (like green tea or vitamin C), cell-communicating ingredients (like niacinamide or vitamin A), and skin-identical substances (like ceramides or lecithin). The texture of the product (cream or gel) is irrelevant.

Think about it like your diet. Salmon is good for you, but whether you eat it chilled, raw, broiled, stir fried, or poached, you are getting the benefit of the food. “Anti-wrinkle” ingredients can be found in a wide range of consistencies.

For someone struggling with blemishes, the ingredients that give lotions and creams their feel and appearance can clog pores so those types of products should be avoided. Gels, liquids, light serums, or watery lotions are unlikely to cause problems for blemish-prone skin. Every ingredient skin needs to fight wrinkles can be found in those types of products if they are well formulated.

To fight mild to moderate acne, the absolute best option is to start with a product containing 1% to 2% salicylic acid. This not only exfoliates the surface—which is one of the absolute best ways to fight wrinkles—it also has the ability to reduce, and in many instances practically eliminate, breakouts.

If you still need help resolving breakouts you should add a benzoyl peroxide-based product with a 2.5% or 5% concentration once a day, preferably at night. Research has clearly shown that benzoyl peroxide can be as effective, if not better than, prescription options to deal with mild to moderate acne.

Of course you still need a sunscreen because up to 70% of the wrinkles and aging you see on your face is a result of sun damage. Although if you are experiencing breakouts, a moisturizer with SPF in a lotion or cream form is likely to make matters worse by clogging pores. What I strongly suggest is wearing a foundation with SPF 15 or greater and a pressed powder with SPF 15 or greater.

You would also want to use a more emollient moisturizer just around the eyes. The eye area rarely, if ever, has a problem with breakouts and because the skin is drier there it helps to use that kind of moisturizer only around that area. But of course, it absolutely does not have to be labeled as an eye cream; any well-formulated lotion or cream will do.

It takes experimenting with effective products to find out what works for you. Here is what I recommend from Paula’s Choice:

Skin Balancing Cleanser (twice a day)
Skin Balancing Toner (once a day, under makeup as your moisturizer)
Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Concentrate (at night, over dry areas)
2% BHA Liquid (at night, but can be used twice a day)
CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Fighting Treatment (at night)
Moisture Boost Hydrating Treatment Cream (around the eyes twice a day)
Healthy Finish Pressed Powder SPF 15
Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 20

As long as I can remember, my husband kept a tub of St. Ives Apricot Scrub in our shower. Occasionally, I would use the stuff, but I always regretted it immediately. The apricot pits and walnut shells would get trapped in my hair or end up in my ears, and my skin always felt sore and irritated, rather than smooth and soft. Until I started working at Paula’s Choice, I thought that exfoliating was supposed to be painful so I continued scrubbing my skin raw. I soon discovered that none of my assumptions were right!

The years of negative experiences I’d had with exfoliation were written all over my face: dry skin, acne, blackheads, and overall dullness. What I didn’t know was that exfoliation didn’t have to hurt, and that a well formulated exfoliant could very well be the answer to solving the majority of my skin problems. It only took a few minutes of reading the dozens upon dozens of customer testimonials raving about Paula’s Choice 2% Beta Hydroxy Acid Liquid for me to decide to give it a try. Anything was better than that awful scrub!

When I started using a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) exfoliant, I was sure I was doing it all wrong. It all seemed too easy! At night after using a gentle cleanser, I applied a small amount to my face with a cotton ball and that was it. I couldn’t believe it. Nothing burned, and there was no grit—how could this product actually be working without me having to scrub? Skeptical, I went to bed thinking I’d missed something, but when I woke up, my face had an unmistakable glow. Looking in the mirror, I didn’t care how it worked—I was just overjoyed that it did!

As a member of The Cosmetics Cop Team, I now understand the science. Exfoliants that aren’t scrubs usually contain beta hydroxy acid (BHA) or alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), both of which encourage cell turnover without the risk of tearing skin. At this point, it’s impossible for me to go back to my old ways, and my husband’s tub of St. Ives is long gone! I also now know that it’s very difficult to find products that are carefully formulated to actually work like Paula’s exfoliants do. Doing research for Beautypedia, I see promising product after promising product come through our offices, only to discover that the pH is too high to permit exfoliation or that it contains some deal-breaking irritant that will cause more harm than good for your skin. Paula’s Choice customers were right all along: Paula’s exfoliants truly stand alone!

A few months ago, I blogged about the one product I really can’t go without: Paula’s Choice 2% Beta Hydroxy Acid Liquid. And, yes, this is yet another blog singing its praises. I guess even I’m one of those crazed fans, but I can’t help it. I credit that one product with breaking my acne and blackhead cycle, staving off fine lines and wrinkles (even as I turn 34 next month), and giving me the skin I always hoped I could have. My only regret now is that I didn’t start exfoliating the right way sooner!

Adding a BHA exfoliant to my daily skin-care routine was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made—period. What about your experiences with exfoliants? Did you notice an about-face after switching from scrubs to an AHA or BHA product? How has your skin changed since you began using an exfoliant?

Here’s a secret: I didn’t really wash my face until I was 25 years old (Paula is probably gasping right now!). During that time, I kept thinking that if I did wash my face, it would upset the balance of bacteria on my facial skin and cause breakouts. Of course, not only is that theory ridiculous, I now realize it probably contributed to the moderate breakouts I already had. At this point I’m willing to admit that I was just being lazy or arrogant (doesn’t every young person know everything there is to know about everything?). Ah, youth.

Finally, once I started washing my face, it was only sporadically—and never with a well-formulated cleanser (something I’ve learned to identify since becoming part of The Cosmetics Cop Team). Like so many young women and girls, I gravitated toward the cleansers that would tingle (because I thought that meant it was “working”) or the ones that were really strong (labeled as “deep cleaning”) and, sure enough, the breakouts persisted. Then, at around age 30, I started mixing my own facial cleansers at home with olive oil, glycerin and lavender water. Those moisturized my skin well enough, but they didn’t address my blackheads nor did they help my breakouts. And while my homemade cleanser made me feel confident that I wasn’t putting anything mysterious on my face nor was I over-spending for products—alas, my face never really felt clean.

Then, I was offered a job at Paula’s Choice, which I enthusiastically accepted. Once I started working here, I began experimenting with our line of products, which is encouraged (if not expected), and I still remember the first product I used: One Step Face Cleanser for Dry Skin. I followed the directions to the letter, and sure enough, my face felt clean, but not tight; moisturized, but not greasy. My makeup was gone, but there had been no lather and no awful burning in my eyes. It was truly the most revelatory skin-care experience I had ever had—that is, until I tried the 2% BHA liquid the following day! Suddenly things were happening on my face—and not happening on my face—like never before.

It’s been a year now, and the 2% BHA Liquid, or my “Magic Potion” as my husband and I affectionately call it, is the one Paula’s Choice product that I simply could not go without. I’ve tried all of our cleansers and moisturizers, and while I have my favorites, I could certainly substitute one for another in a pinch. That cannot be said for the 2% BHA Liquid. As an equal-to-none exfoliant, it has diminished my blackheads (chin & nose), improved the smoothness of my skin, reduced the size of my pores, evened out my skin tone, and when I put it on at night I can count on waking up with glowing skin. And breakouts are truly a thing of the past! Not only did I never really think this kind of skin was possible, but I certainly didn’t think that a single, affordably-priced product could do it all. I’ve come a long way from homemade olive oil cleansers and half-baked theories about bacteria, and my skin is all the better for it.

All of this has led me to wonder: What’s your can’t-live-without-it product? I’d love to know which ones you love from any lines—but especially ours!

I stopped by the Clinique counter at our local Nordstrom yesterday to purchase their new Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector so I could review it for www.beautypedia.com. Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector is a reformulation of Clinique’s Even Better Dark Spot Corrector (the change is the addition of the word Clinical). Both are supposed to fade discolorations, including marks from acne. The Clinique Consultant, decked out in the usual white lab coat, told me they had not received the new Clinical version yet but if I pre-order it now they’ll include some goodies as a thank you for being patient. I thought, “why not?” and went ahead with the pre-order.

While she was filling out the paperwork, I asked if she had used the new Clinical version (Clinique salespeople typically get new products in advance so they can use them before they’re sold to the public). “Oh yes,” she said. “In fact, I’m surprised at how fast it worked to lighten some dark patches on my cheek. They’ve already faded in less than two weeks! I keep looking at where the spots used to be and wonder if I’m imagining the improvement!” I told her that her skin looked great but noted she was wearing enough foundation to hide minor discolorations. In turn, she asked me if I had used their existing Even Better (non-clinical) product, the one that launched about a year ago. I said I had tried it but didn’t notice any results that made continued use worth it (hey, why not be honest?).

After my admission she happily exclaimed, “Yes, the original Even Better didn’t work all that well for most people. That’s why Clinique created Even Better Clinical! It works much faster on discolorations than the original version and has lots more antioxidants!” Her comment about the original correlates with our review of this product (though I’m sure when the original version launched she wasn’t sharing this with her customers). We stated the 0.5% salicylic acid was too low and the pH of 4.4 too high to permit exfoliation to occur. Exfoliation can definitely help improve skin tone and assist with fading discolorations, but Clinique’s Even Better wasn’t good enough.

I asked the Consultant if the original Even Better (which I noticed still lining the shelves behind her) was going to be discontinued. “No, at least not yet. Clinique doesn’t want to disappoint the people that like this product, and, you know, it hasn’t been around that long—it would look odd if we suddenly took it away.” What an admission.

Long pause. “But wait,” I said. “Didn’t you just tell me that Even Better Clinical works much faster and is, for all intents and purposes, a much better formula than the original?” Her response was, as expected, “Yes.” With a confused look on my face, I asked, “But you’re still going to sell the one that doesn’t work that well?” She nodded. “OK,” I said, “but I’m still confused….who wouldn’t want the version that lightens their dark spots faster?” This assumes, of course, that the new Clinical version really does have a better formula than the original.

At that point, all she could do was hand me my pre-order receipt, smile, and move on to the next customer. It was so odd. I knew she agreed with me, that my logic wasn’t lost on her, but she really didn’t have a plausible explanation as to why the company is keeping an inferior version of their product around. She also couldn’t explain why the new version works better; instead, she just stated that it did. It’s true that some Clinique customers may like the original version of Even Better, but why not train the Consultants to sell them on the benefits of the (allegedly) improved formula? If anything, it seems Clinique agreed with our original assessment of Even Better’s inability to improve skin tone and discolorations; otherwise, why launch a new version so soon?