Go For What You Know

I have never been one of those people that buy knock off anything; that goes for handbags, jewelry, hair (yes, there are knock off extensions) or anything else. You do have those people that say the off brand stuff is just as good as the regular stuff, you're just paying for a name. Well, to those people I say kiss my ass and you get what you paid for. I got more than I paid for! I ended last evening as I do all, I washed my face prior to getting in to bed. I don't care if I've washed it in the shower even 15 minutes prior, I still wash my face before going to sleep. That's just me, I have always taken care of my skin. From middle school through most of high school I battled with acne and acne usually won. I tried every product for the market on acne from the low end to the high end, over the counter to prescription and nothing worked. My senior year of high school my doctor suggested I try another product from the shelf, I began using Johnson & Johnson Clean & Clear products and noticed immediate results. My skin cleared up within a matter of days. No matter how the weather was my skin remained clear as long as I washed it daily with Clean & Clear. This product kept my skin clear through harsh east coast winters and extremely humid summers.

Last night I decided to try the CVS equivalent (but really it's not equivalent) to my beloved Clean & Clear. The product texture was a little different, it appeared to be kind of greasy but I figured I'd still give it a try. I followed the instructions and used it on my face. I woke up this morning and my cheeks were itching. Not just a regular itch, this was me wanting to dig my nails into my skin and scratch itching. I immediately jumped out of bed and headed to the mirror. To my absolute horror and amazement my face which was smooth and blemish free the night before now resembled the face of Edward James Olmos (I love his work but let's face it, that guy has some serious dermis issues).

I ran through everything that happened the previous day to see what I could have come in contact with that could have done such a number on my skin. I went through food - that list was short since I only ate rice and a Boca patty that day. I didn't put anything out of the ordinary on my skin...except that CVS clearing scrub. I consulted my sister, who just the day before had remarked on how well my skin looked and unfortunately she used the same CVS clearing scrub to see how it worked and she suffered the same fate as me except her skin looks even worse.

Pictures of the damage are immediately below. My right and left cheeks have darkened in under 24 hours and are both covered in some sort of rash like, chemical burn thingamajig (that's not the technical term for it). This has been an ugly lesson that I have learned but I am definitely never using CVS brand products again. I am now in the process of trying to get my skin back to its former glory and glow. Just so you don't think I'm being dramatic, I am including the pictures of the damage. In a word – catastrophic!

I wasn’t even trying to save a buck; I just wanted to see if the product was the same. When I find a brand I like I am loyal to it but I’m willing to try something new if the product guarantees me the same results/performance. In this case it didn’t! I have contacted CVS and am hoping to receive a response from them soon, next call is to the doctor. The lesson here is the same as the tile of this post: Go For What You Know. Stick with the brands and products that have always worked for you or you may suffer the consequences I did.