My Undying Love For Sulfur

Sulfur soap does look like pastries after all.

I am not the type of person who goes bashing around people and their products, nor do I give an opinion about a product I have never tested. I prefer, and probably enjoy, trying new things and doing some little experiments with myself. I have to try things for myself so with that I can be the one to claim first-hand that a product is worth the trial or if it was just a waste of time.

Way back to my childhood days, I used to have skin allergies brought by sweets, especially chocolates. I know, it is as if I am grounded in hell like forever. Going back to my allergies, I tried different products my dermatologist had given me. If I remember it correctly, I've tried using Carica (it's a brand name) and I think it worked for me back then. Aside from that topical, I also used Dr. Wong's Sulfur soap (a medicinal soap) and if I am not mistaken in any point, my red marks, which eventually led to dark spots, diminished thanks to my continuous use of that medicinal soap. The darkening of my red marks stopped for a long time, and my allergy only came back now. Now that my allergy has been irritating my skin again, I once had been to a drug store and remembered about Dr. Wong's Sulfur soap however I found only Dr. Kaufmann's Sulfur Zinc Oxide soap. With a new chemical introduced to me, as compared to Dr. Wong's, I was a little anxious to try it out. As written in the box, it cures skin diseases including acne. Thus, I became curious and decided to try it out for my face.

Ever since I started living in Manila, about more than five years from now, my skin started to be irritated and eventually led to pimples and blemishes, as well as "backne". I tried benzoyl peroxide products but it extremely dried out my oily face. I also tried salicylic acid, however I can't exactly remember the result. A dermatologist said I should use tea tree oil products, however the soap was probably harsh for my skin and it caused my cheeks to turn red and dry. Well, that same dermatologist gave me erythromycin solution to stop the redness. I also used to take Doxycyline, however the medication seem to intensify the symptoms of acne during the early week of use.

Trying sulfur soap for my face, I can say that it alleviated the symptoms of acne as early as three days, though I didn't have much acne, just marks. I've been using it for half a month now and my pimples are not, or at least prevented, from showing up. It doesn't seem to dry my skin. The only downside is its unpleasant odor. However, what is odor if I can gain back my young skin. :p

Researching on its active ingredients, sulfur and zinc oxide, the following are the details that I've gathered.

Sulfur, a naturally occurring, inorganic element has germicidal action, which aids in killing bacteria. It is also keratolytic, from the root words keratin and lytic, then we can assume beforehand that it breaks down the outer layer of the skin. Since acne is a skin disease caused by dirt, oil and bacteria build-up which clogs the pores of the skin, this keratolytic action will be helpful in removing and shedding the dead skin cells clogging the pores. Certain compound os sulfur, such as sulfonamides, are believed to retard the growth of bacteria by limiting the acids that they need in order to reproduce. Even though the use of sulfur as medication for skin diseases has not been well described, it has been used as skin treatment for about 500 years to combat skin conditions such as acne, fungal infections, eczema and the likes.

So this is how sulfur works for the skin.

Now moving on to the next active ingredient, zinc oxide, this compound can help prevent acne as well as to regulate the activity of the oil glands, since acne is also brought by too much oil production of the skin. When it is combined with oxygen, it can be effective in allowing protein synthesis and promoting a healthy immune system. Since acne is a superficial wound, a good immune system can aid in the healing of surface wounds due to the body's ability to fight bacteria that may cause acne flare-ups.

If this product keeps doing well for my skin, then this is a sure for keeps!