Herbivore Botanicals Review & How I Naturally Cured My Adult Acne | Whitney Blake

This post has been four months in the works, and I want to let y’all know up front that it is not in any way sponsored. I genuinely owe my skin transformation to these products and am so excited to share my Herbivore Botanicals review!

Let’s start at the beginning: my skin was in bad shape. In high school, my skin broke out occasionally but never more than a couple pimples a month. For some reason when I got to college my skin forgot how to function and things started going downhill. My first cystic pimples began appearing, and my breakouts lasted much longer than once a month. Now fast forward to last year. I was breaking out with cystic pimples weekly and new breakouts were happening so regularly that they never had time to heal before another popped up. Not a single day went by without a new pimple showing up.

Feeling really embarrassed by my skin, I started what every desperate girl does… the panicked, try-every-skin-treatment-known-to-man routine. I tried new washes, antibiotics (terrible idea, by the way), things prescribed by my dermatologist, diet changes, masks, vitamin supplements, and every spot treatment under the sun. Nothing made a difference.

While in that mindset (“this is never going to get better, I’ve been cursed with adult acne for the rest of my life”) I found my cure. I know this sounds extremely dramatic for skincare, but it has been such a huge change for me.

One night, while I was googling all natural skincare I found Herbivore Botanicals. I was instantly drawn to their beautiful packaging, but after reading every review I could find, I was even more interested in the “results” people raved about. After being let down by basically every skin care routine I tried, I ordered this set with no expectations whatsoever.

I have been absolutely blown away by the changes to my skin over the last four months! I no longer get ANY cystic pimples, and the regular pimples I do get clear up quickly. My pores are much, much smaller. My face produces significantly less oil, and I don’t wake up in the morning feeling greasy and gross. As expected, I still have acne scars that are healing (cystic pimples always seemed to leave a dark mark) but I’ve noticed even the darkest spots lightening.

My morning routine:
Wash with Charcoal Soap
Spritz of Rose Spray
Three drops of Lapis Oil
After a workout:
Charcoal Soap + Lapis Oil

My night-time routine:
Wash with Charcoal Soap
Blue Clay Mask followed by Blue Tansy Mask, every other night
Moisturize with Moon Fruit
Three drops of Lapis Oil (in the winter)

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MY PRODUCT-BY-PRODUCT HERBIVORE BOTANICALS REVIEW:

Switching to using a bar soap after pretty religiously using a liquid face wash was a little weird at first, but the lather is the exact same. If not better! This soap has a really delicate smell and makes my face feel totally fresh and clean, without feeling over-dried. I wash my face twice a day (sometimes three times if I worked out) with this soap, and the one bar has lasted me just about four months. And has probably another 2-3 weeks in it!

I got the Rose Spray as part of a set, and while I love it I don’t think it’s 100% essential to my routine. After washing my face in the morning, I’ll do a quick spray and then apply my Lapis Oil. Having a slightly damp face helps the oil spread and absorb more quickly. And this spray smells completely luxurious!

I never thought that putting oil on my already oily skin could somehow be the cure, but this oil changed the game for me! I read that when you over-treat your skin, it produces excess oils which in turn leads to breakouts. So, through using this oil to moisturize, I’ve retrained my skin to cut back on the oil production. Over the last four months, my skin has drastically reduced how oily it gets throughout the course of the day; which is one of the reasons my cystic acne has disappeared! I’ve used about 25% of the bottle in the last four months (three drops on my face, twice a day), so I expect this one bottle will last a whole year. If you want to try it without committing to the whole bottle, they have a smaller travel size here!

This mask is my holy grail product. It has an earthy smell (my husband says it smells like tea) but oh my goodness the results are no joke. Like with most natural products, it takes time to see real results. But after four months I can confidently say that it really works. I use it every other night before bed and I wake up with brighter skin and smoother pores. The one jar lasted me about three and a half months, and I recently started on my second.

This mask was not my favorite when used by itself, but when followed by the Blue Tansy mask the results are unbelievable. To use the mask, you mix a small amount of the powder with just a couple drops of water, and apply with a brush. After leaving it on for 20 minutes or so, use a washcloth to gently rinse your face. This mask has a distinct (but not too overpowering) smell, which isn’t surprising since it’s clay after all! While some reviews say that this mask starting as a powder is bothersome, I think it adds ton of value! You’ll get a longer lasting product, more product, and you aren’t paying for them to add the water 😉

This moisturizer is one of a kind. It has a lovely, soft lavender smell (perfect for nighttime) and that COLOR is just gorgeous! I also love that since the color is so vibrant, you know exactly how much to apply. A word of caution on it though: I have had Moonfruit for about four months (same as the other products) and this one went bad at about three months (weird smell and it changed color). That is always the risk we take by using natural products (no chemicals to make it extra long lasting) so I’m not bothered by it. I had used almost the entire jar by then, so expect to use this product up around three months.

If you’re on the fence about switching to a natural skincare routine, let me leave you with these facts:

1. There are only 10 banned ingredients in the U.S., but more than 1,400 in the EU.
2. Manufacturers are legally allowed to hide hundreds of chemicals in the ingredient “fragrance” or “parfum” and do not have to list them on the ingredient label.
3. The Red Cross and Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted a study in 2004 that detected more than 287 synthetic chemicals in the cord blood of newborns.
4. A number of carcinogenic contaminants are not required to be listed on your ingredients label. Formaldehyde (from DMDM hydantoin), 1,4-dioxane (from sodium lauryl sulfate, PEGs, and ingredients ending in -eth), nitrosamines (from triethanolamine, or TEA; diethanolamine, or DEA; or monoethanolmaine, or MEA), and hydroquinone (from tocopherals) can be included without informing consumers.

I still have plenty of acne scars that need to heal, but now that I’m not breaking out daily my skin has time to recover. I cannot express how amazing it is to not be embarrassed by my skin, or have extremely painful acne cysts around my mouth!

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I’d love to hear from y’all! Have you tried Herbivore Botanicals or switched to a natural skincare routine? Any favorite (natural) tips and tricks?

XO,
WHIT

Facts via Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen