| October 25, 2017 | Beauty | Beauty Hack: Using Sudocrem on your Face Most of us mums know about the classic Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream as a nappy rash cream. I’ve used it on my babies and I
have in the past used it for heat rash on my legs and as a spot treatment on my face too. Sudocrem Skin Care Cream is a grown-up version of Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream and has the same key ingredients, just in different proportions. It comes in a handy sized tube that is easy to use and less messy than the classic Sudocrem tubs. It’s easy to take with when you’re out and about and might want to use it on yourself or your baby. Recently, this product has had some media attention
as celebrities and beauty experts say that applying a layer of Sudocrem Skin Care Cream to your face before going to bed gives them a healthy glow the next day. Some people use it as face masks too. I’ve tried this gentle cream as a face treatment now. What I did is that I put a generous layer on my face then left it for a few minutes before massaging it in to the skin at bedtime. In the morning, my face felt smoother and my skin did look a bit healthier. I’m not surprised really as
Sudocream does a great job healing the skin on babies’ bottoms so why wouldn’t it even out your skin tone and calm any redness on your face too? The antiseptic properties are great for breakouts and spot-prone skin too. I find that it moisturises very deeply too which is exactly what I need during autumn and winter. I will keep using
Sudocrem Skin Care Cream as a face treatment when my skin needs an overnight hydration boost or when I feel the hormonal breakouts looming! Buy yours from your supermarket, pharmacy or Wilko. You can also buy it online from Amazon.co.uk. It’s really affordable too at around £2.00 from most shops. Sample provided for this post. As always, all my reviews are 100% honest and all thoughts and opinions are my own.About The
Author
This blog is edited by a mid-30s mum with over 15 years of professional childcare experience. Now 9 years into motherhood and enthusiastic about finding great products and helpful solutions for busy families to make life more fun and easier too.
Baby cream for acne? What!? Is it OK? Can it work? Is Sudocrem good for spots? It’s white, it’s sticky and mums put it on babies’ bums. Is this for real?
Spots and acne are a pain in the butt.
…especially when you’ve no clue about how to get rid.
Truth: The right skincare can make a massive difference to your spots and acne.
Extra truth: The right skincare is definitely not going to get rid of your spots overnight… but it is going to make it a heck load speedier – so speedy you’re very likely to notice an immediate difference the morning after.
So here comes THE question: Is Sudocrem good for spots?
Can a £2.00 butt cream truly help you get rid of acne?
Can I use Sudocrem on my face? How should I use Sudocrem for spots? Does Sudocrem for spots work?
Dear friend – this is your scientific bottom line for all of the above questions. Are you ready for it? Let’s do this…
You know Sudocrem as a nappy rash cream. What you might not know is that Sudocrem is a multi-tasking professional… and as with all professional things, Sudocrem has an I’m not 100% sure what you mean but it sounds like you do something insanely intelligent job title.
Sudocrem is an antiseptic healing cream.
Meaning read your Sudocrem label a little more closely and you’ll find a whole list of things it’s good for;
- Nappy rash
- Soreness
- Eczema
- Surface wounds
…and in small print;
- Sunburn
- Minor burns
- Acne
- Bed sores
- Chilblains
But – whether Sudocrem is good for spots depends hugely on 1 key piece of information; The active ingredients.
Aka – are the active ingredients Sudocrem cream is using – good for spots and acne?
Can they help get rid of the skin changes which start spots?
Can they help get rid of the skin biology which makes acne hang around?
Fun fact: Sudocrem is a medicine.
But don’t worry – you don’t need a prescription for it. This is because Sudocrem has what’s called a general sales license aka it would be pretty hard to abuse Sudocrem so you don’t need to go to your doctor to get a prescription for X doses.
What this does mean is Sudocrem’s active ingredients are helpfully listed on their patient information leaflet;
- Zinc oxide, 15.25%
- Benzyl alcohol, 0.39%
- Benzyl benzoate, 1.01%
- Benzyl cinnamate, 0.15%
- Lanolin [hypoallergenic], 4.00%
Intrigued to find out more? Keep reading my friend. You’ve got this.
Is Sudocrem Good for Acne?
Whether Sudocrem can help you get rid of spots and acne depends on how your spots and acne are being caused. Helpfully for most people, it’s a mix of 3 things;
- Your skin’s oily… and oil-filled pores collect things like acne bacteria and dead skin cells.
- Your pores aren’t exfoliating properly… and dead skin’s getting trapped inside.
- Your skin’s microflora is out of whack… aka acne bacteria are thriving and healthy skin bacteria have gone on vacation. Yikes.
So how could Sudocrem help your skin get rid of spots? Can it? Is Sudocrem and spots a myth?
One word: No.
Sudocrem really can help you get rid of spots.
Here’s why…
Active ingredient 1: Zinc Oxide.
Zinc oxide is a skincare ingredient most commonly found in mineral sun cream! It has lots of skills;
- Zinc oxide is an astringent aka it can help make skin less oily.
- Zinc oxide is a UV protector aka it can help stop oxidation/things going off.
- Zinc oxide is an antibacterial/antiseptic aka it can slow and sometimes stop the growth of bacteria.
Why is Sudocrem good for spots? Have you guessed reason #1 my friend?
Sudocrem is good for spots because zinc oxide can help stop your skin from being so darn oily.
If right at this moment your pores are full of oil – here’s what’s happening; they’re collecting stuff and they’re breeding stuff.
First up – oil is sticky and therefore your oil-filled pores are magnetising dead skin cells, pollution particles and more.
Next up – acne bacteria love oil. Acne bacteria [known as propionibacterium acnes or p.acnes for short] thrive in anaerobic environments aka places without oxygen. When there’s oil in your pores, oxygen gets shoved out, acne bacteria thrive and BOOM – you get spots and acne.
Extra science: It’s actually not the acne bacteria themselves which are thought to be the cause of your spots but what acne bacteria poop out. Oil goes in and ingredients that aggravate your skin and activate your skin’s immune function come out.
But being an astringent isn’t all zinc oxide does. Zinc oxide is also a mild antiseptic. Which brings us to active ingredients 2, 3 and 4.
Why Is Sudocrem Good for Spots?
Sudocrem is fab for spots because Sudocrem contains known antibacterials. Aka Sudocrem can help prevent, stop and slow your skin’s growth of acne bacteria.
…and as it’s acne bacteria which cause your skin the irritation which makes spots and acne happen – prevent, stop or slow acne bacteria growing and you my friend are well on your way to helping get rid of spots, fast.
Spots, acne & bacteria. This is the how; #bbloggers #skintips pic.twitter.com/OptX001nXg
— Cheryl Woodman [@HonestyForSkin] 7 January 2019
Imagine what would happen if you left a bowl of just washed, but not towel-dried [I mean who has time to towel dry ;]] raspberries on your kitchen counter for 4 days. Furballs! But now imagine what would happen if you left that bowl of raspberries in your fridge.
> Fresher for longer.
Furball making bacteria hate cold. Cold makes them slow down.
Acne bacteria hate antiseptics. Antiseptics make them weak and wobbly.
Which you guessed it. Helps you get rid of spots and acne. Pretty awesome for a £2.00 butt cream eh.
Psst – you can buy Sudocrem here for as litle as £2.00 but if you’re going to use Sudocrem for spots and acne I strongly recommend getting a big pot. This is why…
Can I Use Sudocrem On My Face?
Yes, dear friend, you can. But – Sudocrem is not a traditional moisturiser. Sudocrem is going to shock you on first application.
Yes really!
If you have not to this day used Sudocrem before – you will open your 1st ever pot and think how the heck am I supposed to use this?
Sudocrem is a very thick cream. Probably the thickest you will ever use. It’s like paste. A paste that you aren’t going to be able to rub in without your skin looking white.
Which is why the best way to use Sudocrem for spots is to start sleeping with Sudocrem on your face.
How to use Sudocrem on spots;
- Use it in PM only
- Apply it like a face mask – as if you were slugging your skin [on areas of your skin that are oily/spotty/acne-prone – usually your T-zone]
- Or apply it as a spot treatment i.e. spotted on-top of your spots
- Sleep in it
- And by morning your face will not look like you went to Geisha school
Is Sudocrem right for Your Spots or Acne?
Here’s the deal – not every spot treatment is the perfect spot treatment for everyone. Your skin my friend is as unique as you. While Sudocrem is great for lots of people’s spots and acne – you’ll want to think twice if your skin can be described as;
- Dry or flaky
- Allergy prone
Situation 1: Your skin is dry or flaky. Use Sudocrem on dry or flaky skin and it’s going to make your skin more dry and flaky. Remember how Sudocrem contains zinc oxide and that zinc oxide is an astringent? You got it. Sudocrem helps dry up your skin’s oil – but when your skin’s dry it lacks oil. Using Sudocrem on dry skin is not a good idea. It’s also going to leave you with semi-permanent ghost face.
Situation 2: Your skin is allergy prone. The 3 benzyl antiseptics used in Sudocrem are declarable allergens on the EU’s list of must declare allergens. Do you have a known allergy to balsam of peru? If you do Sudocrem is not for you. Benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate are both major ingredients found in balsam of peru. If you have an allergy to this – do not use Sudocrem.
Is Sudocrem good for spots? If your skin is oily/combination and you’ve never had an issue with skin allergy, yes my friend, Sudocrem is good for spots.
Does Sudocrem Get Rid of Spots Overnight?
Before I answer this question for you my beautiful friend, take a think on this question…
Can doing squats once get you an unbelievably firm butt in a day?
No. Why? Because your body’s biology needs to change and change takes time.
Using Sudocrem tonight will not get rid of your spots overnight. But – using Sudocrem tonight is likely to make a visible difference from day one aka help your skin start healing quicker. Especially if you have an extremely oily skin type or T-zone.
It’s also important to get yourself a supporting acne diet. Sudocrem can’t do it alone. And in fact, if healing your acne were like a cupcake, diet would be the huge cakey bit and skincare would be the thick dollop of icing on the top. Get yourself started with my free acne diet cheatsheet here. It has a list of yes, no and sometimes foods which will help make starting an effective acne diet simple. Click here now to get your free copy.
There you have it my friend. The scientific word on is Sudocrem good for spots. Still have questions? Want to share your experiences of using Sudocrem for spots? Come chat with me in the comments below…
Cheryl Woodman is a scientist, skin health expert & award winning skincare formulator who’s more friend next door than bow tie wearing professor. As creator of Honesty For Your Skin her aim’s to help you get healthier, happier skin you feel comfortable, confident and like the freakin’ awesomesauce you are in. Select the option which best describes your skin health here to see and hear the amazing transformations you could be getting.