About a month ago or so, I reached out to Michelle Ornstein from Enessa Organic Skincare, (which I discovered while reading the Empowered Sustenance blog) to see if she could recommend anything that would help me. She very kindly sent me several products created for acne prone skin, and though I’ve only been using them a short while, I felt I needed to share with you how they have been working for me.

Founded by Michelle Ornstein, a licensed esthetician and aromatherapist, Enessa Organic Skincare is dedicated to purity in skincare and uses only the highest quality essential oils, bioactives and plant and marine extracts available. What they don’t use are parabens, sulfates, petro-chemicals, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrances or fillers. Any preservatives used are completely natural and plant based. And they do not test on animals. All products are made in small batches to ensure potency and freshness and they are packaged in dark bottles to protect the integrity of the ingredients.

Now, let’s take a look at some of these lovely products! :-).

*PR Samples. Photo by The Brunette Ecoholic

1) Bergamot Purifying Cleanser – Formulated for normal to oily skin, this gel cleanser is rich in anti-oxidants and draws out impurities using natural foaming agents from Coconut Oil and Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice. It also contains potent ingredients such as Red Seaweed and Bladderwrack to stimulate circulation and eliminate toxins, and Ginko Biloba and Rooibos to fight inflammation and help with collagen production. The citrus-y scent is due to essential oils of Bergamot and Orange, which also provide antiseptic and calming benefits. What I loved about this cleanser the most is that it left my skin feeling really clean, yet hydrated. My skin sometimes (lately especially) has a tendency to get dry and irritated on certain areas after cleansing, but so far, so good with this cleanser! 🙂

Price – $29.95 for 4oz
Ingredients – Aloe Vera Leaf Juice*, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Lauryl Glucoside, Coco- Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Vegetable Glycerin, Bladderwrack Extract, Ginko Biloba Leaf Extract*, Roobios Leaf Extract*, Red Seaweed Extract, White Tea Extract*, Olive Leaf Extract*, Green Tea Extract*, Japanese Honeysuckle Extract, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Essential Oils of Bergamot*, Grapefruit* and others.
* Certified Organic

2) Tea Tree Hydraclear – This facial toner contains a plethora of powerful anti-acne ingredients (besides Tea Tree), such as Lavender Hydrosol, Aloe Vera Extract, Olive Leaf and Reishi Mushroom to name a few, all of which were carefully chosen for their anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, nourishing and healing properties. Like the cleanser, this is a very hydrating product, which I love. What I am not loving is the scent – I don’t know how to describe it, other than it’s maybe a little too “medicinal” smelling? Strange smell aside, I still love this product and will continue to use it as it seems to be helping my skin!

Price – $38.95 for 100ml
Ingredients – Tea Tree Hydrosol*, Lavender Hydrosol*, Aloe Vera*, Goldenseal Extract*, Reishi Mushroom Extract, Echinacea Extract*, Carya Ovata Bark Extract, Pink Himalayan Salts, Olive Leaf Extract*, Lactobacillus Ferment, Sclerotium Gum, proprietary blend of anti-bacterial essential oils. *Certified Organic

3) Seaweed Bio-Exfoliant – Since my skin has been so overly sensitive lately, I’ve only been able to tolerate this as a spot treatment, which even as such has been quite effective at helping to reduce the amount of blemishes on my face. This is in large part due to the inclusion of Dead Sea Salts, which kills bacteria, and Lavender, Lemon and Orange essential oils, which have antiseptic, anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits. To use, I dab a small amount on blemishes, leave on for 5-10 minutes then rinse off and say buh-bye to those painful pimples!

Price – $37.95 for 2.5oz
Ingredients – Seaweed Powder, Flaxseeds*, Dead Sea Salts, Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate (derived from Coconut), Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl pg-dimonium chloride (a phospholipid complex derived from pure Coconut Oil), Glycerin, Sucrose Cocoate, Rose water*, Aloe Vera Gel*,Plantain extract*, Linden Flower extract*, Hydroxyethylcellulose,Gluconolactone, Sodium Benzoate and Essential Oil of Lavender*, Lemon* and Orange*. *Certified Organic

4) Clove Acne Control – This is hands down my favorite product of the bunch! I love Clove Oil as an acne treatment (read more about my love for it here), so I was really excited to see I had been sent this! And I was not disappointed in the least! Because Clove Oil is so very potent, only a small amount is needed to do its job! I’ve been using this on any nasty cystic blemishes that have popped up and this takes care of them pretty much overnight!

Price – $37.95 for 1/2 fl oz
Ingredients – Certified Organic Golden Jojoba, Essential oils of Clove and others

5) Juniper Sebum Control – This light, soothing serum helps to control oil production by restoring the acid mantle to a healthy state. And balanced, healthy skin equals less breakouts! Juniper essential oil works to kill acne bacteria, while Calendula Extract calms irritated skin, and Green Tea Extract provides anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits. My skin has definitely shown improvement since using this!

Price – $48.95 for 1oz
Ingredients – Aloe Vera Juice*, Tea Tree Hydrosol*, Olive Leaf Extract*, Calendula Extract*, Vegetable Glycerin*, Reishi Mashroom Extract, Cocoyl Honeyate, Epilobium Fleischeri Extract, Carya Ovata Bark Extract, Anise Extract, Sodium Hyluronate, Juniperus communis, Origanum marjorana, Sclerotium Gum, Green Tea Extract*, Sodium Phytate, Lactobacillus Ferment, proprietary blend of anti-bacterial essential oils.