Is Bare Escentuals Bad For Acne?

Lorian’s looking for a green light: You guys are fantastic. Thank you for cutting through all the marketing bullsh$* and giving us the real deal. My question concerns the “bareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper” by Bare Escentuals. Apparently, it’s some sort of serum you’re supposed to smear on your face before applying makeup, thus making the surface of the skin smoother for the powder. I’m a little nervous to try it, because I’ve got incredibly acne-prone skin and I don’t want to risk the breakouts. I’m hoping you can give me the green light.

The Right Brain runs a red light:
Skin Rev-er Upper is claims to “rejuvenate your complexion like a daily multi-vitamin supplement.” Reading the reviews of this Bare Escentuals product we see mixed results: some people love it and some hate it. As with all cosmetics, personal taste rules supreme. But is there anything about the science of this product that would be likely to encourage acne breakouts? Let’s take a look at the formula:

Ingredients: Water, PPG-14 Butyl Ether, Cetyl Dimethicone, Methyl Gluceth-20, Salicylic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Oat Kernel Extract, Saponaria Extract, Grape Fruit Extract, Honey Extract, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin E Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Bisabolol, Allantoin, Peg-100 Stearate, Ceteareth-20, Glycolic Acid, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Diazolidinyl Urea, Tetrasodium Edta, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

The good news is that the product contains salicylic acid, a betahydroxy acid that is proven to fight acne. The bad news is that it also contains 3 other ingredients that are known to be comedogenic (which means they can contribute to acne):
Glyceryl stearate
Cetearyl alcohol
Cetearth-20

So if you’re really worried about acne, we’d suggest looking for a similar product that doesn’t contain these potentially zit-promoting ingredients.