Skin1004 has a variety of skincare lines, tailored to the individual so you can experience quality, natural skincare. One of their favourite lines for acne-care (Tea-Trica) has released a new, gel cleanser that promises a deep exfoliation, whilst maintaining gentle and nurturing skincare. Can it deliver on reducing acne spots, exfoliating skin cells, balancing sebum all whilst providing a good clean? 

The Tea-Trica line contains the famous acne-reducing combination of tea tree oil, blended with refreshing pine tree extract. Both extracts are rich in antioxidants, reduce bacteria on your skin surface and are important treatments to reduce acne. Their new exfoliating cleanser focuses on refreshing dead skin cells, both with chemical exfoliants (such as AHA, BHA) as well as natural cellulose (small plant extracts that help mechanically rub away dead skin cells for a deeper cleanse of pores). 

It’s designed to be effective, yet smooth and gentle enough for sensitive skin. Let’s review the changes over just a few uses and see if it’s a worthy addition to your acne-care routine. 

Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) extract: forms a strong base of the cleanser, a long-time beloved treatment for acne due to its ability to reduce redness, irritation, calm an infection as well as reduce acne-causing bacteria. Creates the bright, herbal scent of the cleanser, as well as containing dried leaves to boost exfoliation. 

Cellulose: fibrous extract from plants that are porous and easily absorb impurities from skin, whilst gently refreshing skin barrier and mechanically brushing away dead skin cells.

Centella asciatica: it would not be a Skin1004 product without their beloved centella extract. It’s a soothing herbal extract that helps boost natural skin moisture, reduce irritation and skin redness. 

Japanese cypress extract: rich plant extract that reduces redness and irritation, whilst moisturizing dry and damaged skin barrier. 

Panthenol: vitamin B5 that helps promote skin barrier healing, refreshing irritation and an important soothing agent for sensitive skin. 

Pine tree extract: boosts UV protection, reduces inflammation and promotes natural skin moisture to stimulate healing of damaged or irritated skin.

Mesima mushroom extract: a famous medicinal mushroom that is used to naturally boost the immune system. Famously used to boost fine lines, even skin tone and heal skin lesions quickly. 

Gardenia fruit extract: rich in natural antioxidants to boost skin health, improve the skin barrier and improve texture for glowing, healthy skin. 

Salicylic acid (BHA): gentle exfoliating acid that helps deep cleanse pores, refresh skin barrier and reduce irritation and inflammation. 

Gluconolactone: gentle exfoliating acid that helps refresh dead skin cells and remove excess oils from the surface of the skin to create clearer, balanced skin and reduce incidence of acne. 

Hyaluronic acid: plumping water humectant that helps draw moisture into skin barrier to boost appearance, reduce fine lines and improve texture. 

Succinic acid: often paired with hyaluronic acid to boost skin texture. Gently wicks away dead skin cells, whilst reducing bacteria in pores to reduce appearance of acne. 

This is an exfoliating cleanser, which is not recommended for dry skin. It’s best for oily or acne-prone skin to help balance oils, reduce bacteria and improve redness. It is designed to be sensitive skin friendly – and not be too drying or contain irritating ingredients, but if you are sensitive to tree extracts or are struggling with dry patches, this cleanser likely won’t improve your routine. 

I was struggling with a few large acne spots and needed a good, rejuvenating cleanser to help refresh my skin barrier. I have combination skin, so aggressive cleansers can leave my face feeling dry – so it’s important for me to always look for the perfect balance. The cleanser has a herby scent to it (due to the tea-tree), which was quite strong on application. [There are no artificial fragrances, but if you are sensitive to smells keep this in mind]. The cleanser has a slightly watery texture, which I like as it adheres to pores well and provides a deeper cleanse. You can see the dried tea tree leaves present in the cleanser and immediately feel the cellulose in the formula (like gummy sprinkles). 

As a cleanser, this formula works very well. It can be a hard balance for an exfoliant to not be irritating, but this cleanser walks the line well. It’s gentle on your skin, infuses soothing plant extracts and even with just one use I could see the red spots on my face were a little calmer. It’s vital to have a good skin-compatible cleanser in acne – and this cleanser is perfect for cleansing excess oil-build up in oily, combination and sensitive skin. It might be too gentle for a really deep cleanse (for those deep oily skin types), but I liked being able to feel the scrubbing action and there was no tightness after. 

After a week of use, you can see the difference in irritation – just from switching from a poor acne cleanser to this one. Red spots were reduced, there were no new whiteheads and I had a far better balance of oils. Overall, it was a resounding success! I do prefer a deeper cleanse, but for something to let my skin barrier heal, calm and provide a deep refresh of pores – this was a great cleanser. 

As an exfoliating cleanser, I would absolutely recommend it for acne-prone skin that ranges from oily, combination and up to sensitive skin (unless you are fragrance-sensitive). Tea-tree can have a transformative effect on acne and combining it with exfoliating cellulose, BHA and AHAs creates an effective product that can be used morning and evening as required. 

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