By Alexandra Engler
mbg Beauty and Lifestyle Senior Editor
The best acne routines are holistic, address the root cause, and are preventive. After a decade of hopelessly treating breakouts, my clearest skin only came after addressing my triggers and finding a routine that nurtured healthy skin rather than attacking oil production and blocked pores. But here’s the thing: Even if you’re on your best behavior, you can still develop zits, especially if you’re genetically predisposed to the condition.
And when you feel one coming on, the typical response is to start aggressively treating it. (“Attack mode” becomes just oh-so-tempting.) And spot treatments, by their nature, are reactionary. But these are not the ones you might remember as a teen—with their harsh, astringent chemicals that can do more damage than good. These aren’t going to zap you desert-dry, and cause the pimple to scab or flake. This (mostly) natural batch targets pimples effectively with smart botanicals—and yet treats the skin so gently.