Properly caring for acne prone skin often means a struggle. While acne is a common and usually temporary inflammatory skin condition rather than a skin type, it can be stressful, frustrating and challenging, affecting our self-confidence and self-esteem. Fortunately, managing acne prone skin requires a consistent skincare routine, patience, and the right science-backed active ingredients. When acne is chronic or severe, medical advice is needed.

While it’s common to link oily skin to acne, and they often go hand in hand, it can also occur with dry and sensitive skin. As a general rule, acne happens when a hair follicle or pore gets clogged with dead skin cells and excess oil, creating the ideal environment for bacteria to grow and leading to blackheads, whiteheads and mild to severe inflamed blemishes and bumps. It usually appears during the teenage years, when hormone activity stimulates excessive sebum production. Still, it can happen at all ages and continue into adulthood (especially for women during periods, pregnancy and menopause). Actually, hormonal changes and excess oil production are among the main causes of acne, but there are others, including genetics, stress, diet, skincare and makeup products and lifestyle habits.

While dealing with acne prone skin will involve some lifestyle changes (a vegetable-rich diet and avoiding smoking and drinking too much coffee or alcohol are key to managing acne-prone skin), ROWSE’s 100% plant-based skincare routine for acne prone skin helps keep breakouts and pimples under control while improving your skin’s tone, texture and overall health. Designed by our pharmacy expert, it’s gentle, effective, non-comedogenic (meaning it doesn’t clog pores) and all free from harsh synthetic ingredients that might disturb your skin’s natural barrier and lead to dryness, tightness, flakiness and irritation.

Step 1: Thoroughly and gently cleanse

This is the very first and most important step in any skincare routine. Formulated with cleansing oils and activated charcoal, our Charcoal & Bergamote Face Cleanser doubles as a super gentle yet effective daily exfoliator. It clears away impurities that can clog pores and helps balance oil production while nourishing and repairing the skin barrier. Leaves the skin feeling soft and fresh but never stripped. If you’re wearing makeup, make sure to double cleanse at nighttime, starting with the Tangerine Cleansing Balm followed by the Charcoal & Bergamote Face Cleanser.

Step 2: Spritz, mist and tone

Steam-distilled from the petals of Damask roses, our 100% Organic Rose Water is rich in toning and hydrating properties. A few spritzes and you’ll restore the skin’s pH and balance, allowing for better absorption of further products.

Step 3: Boost your skin’s microbiome

Thoughtfully formulated with a highly active concentration of pre & probiotics, our Pre & Probiotics Booster supports the good bacteria on your skin and fights the bad ones, minimizing the risk of irritation by strengthening the skin’s natural barrier. Additionally, it helps the skin lock in moisture and stimulates cell renewal for a softer, brighter, more even complexion.

Step 4: Moisturize and brighten

Moisturizing, as well as feeding the skin with vitamins, antioxidants and essential nutrients ensures a healthy complexion. Formulated with skin-repairing niacinamide, moisture-enhancing vegan hyaluronic acid and an antioxidant oil complex, the All-Day Moisturizer helps strengthen the skin barrier, locks in moisture and brightens the skin while protecting it against daily stressors that might exacerbate acne.

Step 5: Nighttime treatment

In the evening, after cleansing and toning your face, make the most of your beauty rest with the non-drying Purify Night Serum. Rich in jojoba oil, nigella oil and tea tree essential oil, this serum is the right anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory synergy to help prevent blemishes while minimizing dark spots and scars and nourishing the skin. Simply warm up 3-4 drops of serum in the hands and gently press into damp skin until fully absorbed.

Step 6: Exfoliate only when needed

Exfoliation helps your skin shed dead cells and can remove excess oil and impurities, which means it will also help to reduce breakouts and achieve a more even tone and improved texture. However, over-exfoliating, using harsh, irritant ingredients, and exfoliating on active blemishes can aggravate breakouts and lead to sensitive skin. Formulated as a super-gentle cream-gel scrub, the Oliveta Face Scrub unclogs pores and promotes cell renewal without stripping the skin barrier. Use it once a week or every two weeks for a softer, smoother, more radiant complexion.