love these pads! I've been getting a mess of breakouts on my chin recently, and these help clear them up within a day or two. It's recommended to use 3 times a day but it's a bit too drying for my skin, so I keep it to morning & nighttime. There is a slight tingling, but nothing that my sensitive skin can't deal with.

I am 47 years old. Aging skin is my main concern, but I still have blemishes to contend with (which doesn’t seem fair after all these years!). My skin is hard to categorize: it is sensitive and tends toward redness and flaky dry areas in reaction to unpleasant products; at the same time, I have T-zone oiliness with frequent blocked pores in that area as well. And finally, I have red undertones with rosacea. So, with all these issues I have to be careful to keep my pores clean, but not stripped.

I can recommend the Envy Medical acne treatment pads for people with oily, breakout-prone skin, or skin that is not sensitive. I do think it will help clear your skin. For my extraordinarily sensitive skin, which tends to be too dry already, this product was just too irritating and drying. While I think the pads helped clear up some of my breakouts, I felt that my skin was too dried out after using this to justify continued use.

The last time I used an anti-acne program was Proactiv, circa 1999. This time, over a decade later, I opted for a more informed, less commercialized option: Envy Medical Skin Clarifying Acne Treatment Pads. Soaked in the exfoliant salicylic acid and the foaming surfactant sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate, the pads deliver a well-rounded punch to acne. These skin-cleansing ingredients are balanced out by aloe vera gel and menthol to soothe and cool the skin. Instead of denatured alcohol, often added to acne-fighting products because of its astringent and antimicrobial properties, these treatment pads incorporate the gentler witch hazel. The benefits of this natural extract extend beyond its astringent effect, which constricts body tissues and closes pores. Witch hazel’s tannin and flavonol components endow it with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers as well.

Salicylic acid is also a keratolytic agent, which functions by relaxing the cohesiveness of the outer layer of the epidermis and dissolving the intercellular cement. Envy’s treatment pads contain the optimal amount of the active ingredient without stripping the skin of natural moisture, since concentrations of salicylic acid greater than 2% are known to trigger skin irritation.

My sensitive skin is no stranger to burning, itching, and peeling from even the most benign irritant. But swiping my face with Envy’s pads did not produce the usual drying sensation that I have come to expect from anti-acne solutions. A few days later, the majority of the red bumps had subsided. After two weeks of incorporating the Envy pads into my post-cleansing ritual, any adverse effects had given way to a relatively clear complexion. I haven’t been able to shelve my concealer quite yet, but I can thank Envy’s treatment pads for giving me a respite from a stubborn environmental breakout befitting a teenager.