I’m sure there have been times when you’ve spent twenty minutes in the drugstore aisle, looking at all those ingredients, picked out the one you think will be the least harmful, and ended up with three new bumps four days after application?
Yeah. Because that happened to me almost every single day during my twenties.
If you have oily/acne-prone skin, finding a good moisturizer that will help you not to get more pimples than usual is one of those tasks which sound easy enough until you end up at midnight in your bathroom wondering if your skin is having personal issues with you. If it’s too rich, you’re shining like a disco ball during lunch time. If it’s too thin, your skin starts feeling uncomfortable midday.
So, here’s what I currently use, why it works for me, and why the ingredient which helped me out is probably not the one you would expect.
But first – something I wished someone had told me before.
Your Skin Needs Moisturizer. Especially If It’s Oily.
I did not use moisturizers for several years. I had combination-oily skin and thought that applying more product onto such type of skin is a disaster waiting to happen. However, I had it all wrong.
When our skin lacks sufficient amounts of moisture, it reacts by producing additional oil. This means that skipping the step will not help you get rid of oily skin. On the contrary, it will make your skin even oilier. Additionally, if you are using retinol and acids as well (many people do due to the presence of acne), the skin barrier gets damaged. Weak skin barrier is like an incomplete fence where anything can pass through freely: irritants, lack of moisture – whatever. Your skin stays inflamed and reactive despite any treatment.
In order to solve this problem, one should not cease using the moisturizer but find a suitable product for the needs of the skin. There are such products on the market.
This list is quite small.
The Ingredient I Wasn’t Expecting: Panthenol
Everybody is talking about hyaluronic acid. Everybody is talking about niacinamide. Those are both fantastic, and I don’t disagree – but the ingredient that has done the most for my skin without all the fanfare is panthenol, and it doesn’t get anywhere near the recognition it deserves.
Panthenol is Pro-Vitamin B5. Upon application, it converts to Vitamin B5 and works in two ways that make it amazing – it attracts water to the skin like a humectant, and retains it like an emollient. This unique ability to hydrate the skin and then keep the hydration locked in is something not too many ingredients can achieve – most skincare products use five different ingredients to achieve the same results.
It actually reduces redness. Not in a “we put one drop in so we can call it” kind of way – in high concentration levels, there is quite a bit of scientific research backing its anti-inflammatory qualities, which means that it helps with soothing irritated skin, wound healing and recovery from any sort of stress on the skin caused by any actives used.
At 10% it is actually working. Properly.
Why I Landed on the PURITO Panthenol 10% Barrier Cream
After much trial-and-error with different creams for skin barrier for sensitive skin – some too thick, others pilling under sunscreen, one that smelled heavenly but broke me out by week two – I found the PURITO Panthenol 10% Barrier Cream.
It can also be called the Mighty Bamboo Panthenol Cream, depending on where you buy it from; it is something of a cult product among Korean skin products. Which I was a little wary of, because when a product is described as a cult product in skincare, it is either a really good product or it has some brilliant marketing behind it. And this is a really good product. Here is why:
10% Panthenol – the hero of the formula. At this percentage level, it does something besides make an appearance in the ingredients list. It hydrates, heals, calms irritated skin, and fades out those pesky marks from past breakouts.
Damyang Bamboo Extract – the one that was not expected to matter much. Damyang Bamboo Extract is extracted from bamboo stalks found in Damyang, South Korea. It has unique minerals and amino acid composition almost identical to natural moisturizers in our skin. In other words, this ingredient strengthens the skin barrier and keeps the moisture in place.
1% Niacinamide – the gradual change. Although the dosage is small, niacinamide is used intentionally here because over time, this ingredient will help to reduce the appearance of pores, fade out dark spots and discolored areas due to post-acne. Changes will be barely visible after a few days of use, but after 4-6 weeks, you will be able to see the improvement.
Squalane – the secret hydrator. This ingredient is a lightweight oil almost identical to sebum in our skin. In other words, people with acne-prone skin type won’t feel clogged pores after using squalane as it’s not heavy at all.
Sodium Hyaluronate + Madecassoside – finishing touches. Sodium Hyaluronate (small molecule Hyaluronic Acid) pulls water into skin deeper. Madecassoside is an active form of Centella Asiatica.
No fragrance. No silicone. Non-comedogenic. Vegan. Dermatologist-tested.
The texture is a gel-cream, which sounds boring but is actually exactly what you want as a non-comedogenic Korean moisturizer — it absorbs fast, doesn’t pill under SPF, doesn’t leave a white cast, and somehow manages to feel hydrating without any of that heavy, can’t-touch-my-face feeling.
👉 Check the current price on Amazon right here
How to Use It
In the morning: After cleanser, serum if you have one, and then a small amount of this pressed into the face and neck. PURITO has the specific recommendation to wait 30-60 seconds before the SPF is applied. Strange recommendation, yes? But that’s the time required to avoid that dreaded pilling which makes some folks assume their cream does not get along well with their sunscreen. Do this – it works!
Evening: Now it’s okay to go a little crazy. You should use two layers of this cream here – first one to absorb completely, then another to form the moisture seal. This “face sleeping bag” technique might seem ridiculous, but after you try it you will feel how much softer and healthier skin you’ll have in the morning.
When using retinol or acids: Seriously, this cream goes well with any kind of active ingredient regimen. There are very few ingredients that will help to ease the irritation that comes with retinoids without messing with their performance.
Is This Actually For You?
It is definitely not a universal product suitable for all skin types out there, so I do feel like it is only fair to warn about this before diving into more details. If any of the following apply to you, you should give PURITO Panthenol 10% Barrier Cream a try:
You get acne because of virtually all the moisturizers available and you feel like giving up on finding one that does not make you break out. You have an unhealthy skin barrier that is tight, reactive, prone to irritation, shows patches of redness, as a result of active ingredients or just due to several seasons of poor product choice. You have oily or combination skin and need a moisturizer that would work effectively in humid weather without making your face glow by 10 am. You have been actively using retinoids or acids and need a good skin barrier cream for your sensitive skin.
When it won’t work for you: if you have dry skin type, you might find it too light for the wintertime.
What Other People Are Actually Saying
There seems to be a pretty uniform kind of feedback for this cream across multiple platforms. People with skin that is prone to acne say it is the first time in quite some time that they have come across a moisturizer that doesn’t give rise to any breakouts. There is more than one individual with combination skin using the cream both during mornings and evenings without any problems. There is a lot of people who were fearful about having fungal acne who have found this cream relatively safe because it is a clean formulation.
There is always the issue of the texture of the cream, and it is surprising because the cream seems too light for people who are expecting barrier creams to be thick.
My Honest Take
And I do not believe everything that has to do with skincare needs to be hyped up. There are many things which look great but have no use at all. Not this. The product itself is truly thought out – panthenol in large amount, clean formula which won’t hurt the sensitive skin, and a texture which works well with your regimen.
So if you have been experimenting with moisturizers looking for the best moisturizer for acne prone skin which would not irritate your skin and didn’t try something with panthenol in the formula – I suggest this product for you.
Use it for a month. Then give me a reason why I am wrong.
👉 Grab the PURITO Panthenol 10% Barrier Cream on A
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I’ve genuinely researched or would use on my own face.