Products A Marketer Can Love: Alba Botanicals

I consider myself a bit of a retail critic.  Being in Marketing, I like to think I see past packaging, price, shelf position, advertising, etc. to what the product really is a little more than other people.  That is why there are just a few products I will sing the praises of.

Since about Thanksgiving, I have been using a skin cleanser called Alba.  I deal with moderate acne and since I was about 12 or 13 I have tried a zillion different products, routines, methods, concoctions, etc. to get the face I longed for.  I had hoped I would grow out of it, but I'm 25 now and I still suffer from it.  Some times are worse than others.

When I was on birth control for a year and a half, I felt like it did not help, maybe even made it a little worse.  I was feeling hopeless and my husband ordered me some Proactiv.  I used it for about a month and was really liking the results when I found out I was pregnant.  When I found out salicylic acid is thought to be unsafe for pregnant women, I asked my doctor about it.  Salicylic acid was not in the ingredients of Proactiv, but my doctor said that there have not been enough tests to be sure it is safe, and she firmly advised me to stop using it.  I did, and I started searching again for something that I could wash my face with. 

My two cousins and best friends came to visit me the week of Thanksgiving.  When I told Corinne about my face troubles, she told me about her face wash and I bought a bottle of it to try.  She said she noticed a difference about a week after she started using it.

It is not an acne face wash.  It does not even contain soap.  It smells delicious, and it kind of feels like you are washing your face with lotion (but not greasy).  While I still get plenty of pimples, I have found that they rarely come to a head anymore and they go away faster, like they are healing quickly.  The biggest thing I love about it though is that my skin no longer has dry and oily patches; it is extremely balanced.  My whole preteen-adult life I have felt the need to rewash my face in the middle of the day due to excess oil, but I have found now that my skin feels fresh and balanced all day.

It's not the cheapest - runs about $10 a bottle at Target and Walmart - but it is less expensive than the Proactiv system (about $20/mo).  I just purchased my 2nd bottle, so using it every morning and evening, it has lasted 2 months.  Will I get back on Proactiv after my baby's born?  I don't think I will.  The feeling of healthy skin is what I have been wanting all of this time, it makes the zits seem like not such a big deal.  So there you go, I just talked a whole lot about a $10 bottle of face wash!