Concealer can help you hide the appearance of acne, acne scarring, and dark spots. Here’s a step-by-step guide for finding the right acne-fighting concealer.
Top Ten Things to Look For In an Acne Concealer
In our humble opinion, here’s what we think you should look for in the best acne concealer and also why we think Fade stands with the best of them.
1. Acne Dermatologist Approved
We’re here to take your acne to task, to throw the proverbial hands at your zits, to send those pimples packing. And the best way to do that is to help speed along the healing process with acne-fighting ingredients. Think of it this way: while your pimple is covered, a pimple-fighting formula is working backstage on your angry bumps. We recommend speaking with your dermatologist about what will work best for your skin. Fade has been tried and tested by board-certified dermatologists and you should expect the same from any product you’re going to put on your face. Especially if you have sensitive, acne prone skin.
2. Non Comedogenic Concealer (aka No-Clog)
The best concealer for acne doesn’t clog your pores and give you more pimples. Seems straightforward and like shouldn’t ALL concealers be like that? Well, they’re not. Look for concealers that are non-comedogenic. Quite the mouthful, we know.
To define our terms, our Acne Fader is a non-comedogenic concealer, which basically means we aren’t going to clog your pores (which causes blackheads and other yucky stuff). Yay us, right? The concealer you should look for should do just the same.
3. Blends with Your Skin Tone
Now, despite the popular belief amongst men that concealers will make you look vaguely reminiscent to a 17th Century court noble in Versailles, Acne Fader comes in several blendable shades to match a wide range of skin tones. (No chalky, lead-poisoning formulas here). When looking for the best concealer for acne, look for a product that blends well with your skin tone. Otherwise, the product will just bring more attention to your spots and dots.
4. Cover *AND TREAT* Ingredients
Now, we know some men love four-in-one cosmetic products. And for the most part, we HIGHLY disencourage using body wash/shampoo/facewash brands that claim they can also double as car oil. But in this case, a concealer that does more than one thing, is actually advisable. The best concealer for acne should by no means break your bank and bulldoze your budget. ESPECIALLY, if all they do is conceal. There are a handful of concealers that also contain an acne-fighting formula: our Acne Fader happens to be one of them.
You want that phat two for one deal. Find a concealer that works to dry up and eliminate your pimple while providing ample coverage.
5. Easy Access and Portable
Concealer should be something you can apply anytime throughout the day. Look for an easily applicable product. Our fader uses a roll-on tip that applies our product in small, but effective doses with complete ease of use. Dab it on, blend with (CLEAN) fingertips and you’re on your way. Basically, if you can fit keys, phone, airpods, and a wallet in your pocket, you can fit an acne fader in your pocket. You can’t argue with that logic.
6. Matte finish AKA No-Shine
When it comes to covering acne, a matte (i.e. NOT shiny) finish is the best at offering a natural look and feel. You want a concealer that makes you feel confident enough to enter into any room (virtual or otherwise) with complete confidence. Sometimes shiny concealers can put the spotlight on your pimples and that’s not quite the vibe if you’re trying to conceal those ole’ fellers.
7. Non-Oily Bases
Oil-y bases on products are not the best for acne-prone skin. I’m sure you may have scarfed down a cheap, greasy pizza at 3am and woken up with a raging set of pimples around your mouth. Well, the same concept applies here: Too much oil can exacerbate “pimplage” (a term we just invented) in acne-prone skin. Avoid
8. Lightweight Coverage
So you would think that heavier, thicker concealers would be best suited to covering a pimple. We’d like to offer a rebuttal. Formulas that aren’t super thick allow more natural coverage and give your face some breathing room. No need to cake your face in muddy concoctions. Too thick (and not good thicc) of a formula may actually suffocate and clog your pores. Breathability is an age-old debate (see: boxers vs. briefs). You want the “boxer-briefs” solution to your pimple problem.
9. SPF Formula
One way to avoid acne scarring (besides not picking your pimples) is to wear an SPF underneath your concealer. We recommend wearing a coat of non-oil based SPF underneath your concealer to help eliminate the look of pimples after they’re gone. If you can find a concealer or cc cream that has SPF in its formula, even better.
10. Acne Scar Assistance
Scars can be really cool. And sometimes, especially if you’ve suffered from severe acne, you can be left with dark spots and indentations/textured skin after your pimple disappears. Some formulas of concealer contain vitamin C and E which can help lighten the appearance of hyper-pigementation. We recommend looking for products that contain these vitamins. (Also: Here’s your daily reminder to pop a Flinstone’s vitamin every now and again).
Now concealers can also help reduce the look of dark spots and texture. For textured skin, we recommend a full-coverage concealer and pre-applying moisturizer. SPF also really helps prevent pimples from leaving a dark spot, so sunblock is key (even if you’re a shut-in/hermit and you rarely see the light of day).
Trial and error
Now it’s important to try a few different products to make sure you have ones that work with your skin type and that don’t make your acne worse. Looking up product reviews (Amazon is usually a safe bet to prowl the comments) is a great start. See what other people have said! Look up YouTube videos that review the products you’re thinking of using.
Some Extra Credit Suggestions:
This isn’t super important. Heck, we’d classify this as advanced info. But if you’re suffering from severe acne and pigmentation, this is important. Not to get too artsy here. But, a color correcting formula is basically a tinted formula that cancels out the redness of pimples ( a green tint works best). Think of it like getting your face-painted like the HULK at a birthday party. Same thing (sort of). Essentially, color correctors balance out discoloration in skin. Often pimples come with a reddish, angry vibe and color correcting formulas can help by cancelling this out.
Fade is made from these exact recommendations.
Our Acne Fader, Frontman Fade™ does just that: our concealing solution hides pimples while drying up and eliminating the uninvited guests on your face, using a combination of salicylic acid (which, in layman’s terms, “slaps”) and lemon extract. In short, our non-comedogenic concealer gets a jump on your pimple problems while covering them.
