Recently while reading up on blemish treatments, I stumbled upon reviews for De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment on MakeupAlley. I consider myself pretty lucky that these days with the combination of birth control pills and my Clarisonic, I'm managing to keep a most of my acne under control. Not all of it though (thanks PCOS and insulin resistance!), so I'm still on the lookout for effective zit zappers. When I found out that the De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment was a mere $4, I was skeptical. I have this backwards notion that skincare products HAVE to be pricey to be effective.
It comes in a small little tub with a screw off lid. The consistency is that of a greasy, gritty paste in a pale lemon yellow color. The instructions say to apply the ointment to a cleansed face and to remove after 10 minutes, like a mask for spot treating blemishes. I found that 20-30 minutes worked best for me, especially on the back where skin is thicker.
The results were pretty immediate for me and for my tester rather unwilling tester, Morgan. I had a fully mature pimple on my cheek with a full blown white pustule. The ointment eliminated the head of the pimple completely, and it definitely was reduced in size. I also had one of those throbbing cysts under the surface of my nostril, after applying the paste the surface of it started to dry out and peel, the area no longer hurt as bad. I also get these sebum and dead skin plugs on my nose (not clogged pores but plugs that make my pores look larger) and the ointment definitely helped clean them out when I applied a thin layer all over my nose like a mask. I had applied a dot on a blemish on Morgan's back that was already starting to heal, when the ointment was washed off the dead skin was shed quite easily.
I was really impressed that the De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment worked really well in a multitude of areas; treating zits that were mature or still lurking below the skin, helping remove plugs from my pores and removing the dead skin buildup around healing blemishes.
As I was reading reviews, I noticed a lot of people used this product overnight, something I would caution against. 10% sulfur seems to be quite potent, even at 20 minutes it made some of my zits dry out completely and the skin around it to peel. Not to mention, this stuff does not dry out. The greasy texture would definitely get all over your pillowcase if you turned in your sleep at all.
The one and only flaw with this product is the smell. Sulfur has a wretched odor, it just can't be helped. Initially I didn't think it smelled too bad. The sulfur was really apparent while I washed my face off, my skin definitely smelled like the lovely aroma of rotten eggs. I used my Clarisonic Mia and Murad Clarifying Cleanser (which has a minty, herb-y, eucalyptus sort of smell) but the odor persisted. I asked Morgan to sniff my face after the wash and he declared that my skin smelled like a fart. Awesome. I would highly recommend using this product at night, I've found that after washing my face with my Clarisonic and cleanser at night then wiping it down in the morning with Avene Micellar Lotion, I don't detect any odor at all. ETA: I've found that using a cleansing oil in conjunction with the Clarisonic eliminates the odor almost completely. If you don't have a cleansing oil, try massaging olive oil into your skin followed by a cleanser to remove all the oil.
I would highly recommend trying this if you have used AHAs or BHAs with little success in treating acne. However if you already know that sulfur treatments don't work, then you know, skip it. I'll definitely continue to use this stuff and perhaps will even incorporate a sulfur soap to help with back acne. It's sold for around $4 at Walmart, found near soaps or sometimes near the "Ethnic" (their words, not mine) haircare and skincare. I've also seen it at some Walgreens locations (pricier, at $6ish) and have been told that it can be found at Hispanic groceries.
Products featured were purchased by me, for my use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.
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