I tried the internet favorite Glossier Solution to see if it would improve my acne scars

You know what is extremely terrible? Adult acne. There’s a special indignity of being old enough to battle age spots and wrinkles and also having to deal with breakouts that rival your teen years. What the heck, Mother Nature? No one told us this was part of the deal. It turns out that finding a solution to this pesky issue might be just that — Glossier’s Solution.
When it first hit the scene a couple months back, Glossier touted its exfoliator Solution’s effectiveness with a series of before-and-after photos. It had me thoroughly intrigued. Since last summer, I have been in the throes of a mid-30s acne resurgence, the likes of which I haven’t seen in over a decade. It’s become an all-consuming quest to fight it, and Glossier’s Solution presents an interesting answer to my problems.
There are two things that make Glossier’s Solution especially interesting: its affordable price point and its ingredient list. Usually, when we see products that feature AHAs: Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid; BHAs: Salicylic Acid, and PHA: gluconolactone, they cost upwards of $80. The fact that Glossier’s Solution retails for $24 is mindblowing.
These powerful active ingredients help to exfoliate, moisturize, and condition skin. The addition of aloe, glycerine, and niacinamide means it will also soothe your skin, leaving it much less irritated than traditional chemical exfoliants. The addition of a PHA is also unusual, making it a unique cocktail for those looking for a new “solution” to skin woes.
When I got my hands on Glossier’s Solution, I was ready to put it to the test. My primary goal was to see if it could heal the cystic acne on my cheekbones and if it would wipe out my blackheads and brighten my skin. When I started out, I was dealing with multiple painful pimples on both sides of my face, along with an array of scarring as a result of months of dealing with the latest batch of adult acne.
The product comes in a super easy-to-use container that doesn’t need to be flipped over upside down, which is great when you’ve been known to drop many bottles of beauty products, like me. It has a very light, almost powdery scent that disappears almost immediately. I took that as a good sign, as other chemical exfoliants have left lingering chemical smells that I find troubling and unpleasant. There is a slight tingle when you apply it, but nowhere close to the stinging sensation than other powerful chemical exfoliators I’ve used in the past. I figure that has to do with the soothing ingredients in the formula.
As you can see, I’m dealing with a fair amount of redness, compounded by the acne and scarring on the sides of my cheeks. It’s been unchanged since last August despite my best efforts.
After about a month and a half of using Glossier’s Solution, I can definitively say that it has helped improve the look and feel of my skin. It’s not a miracle worker by any means. I’m still having occasional breakouts in this same pesky spot. But they are much fewer and farther between than in previous months. Seeing as I’ve changed nothing else in my routine, it has to be the Glossier Solution that’s doing the heavy lifting. The scarring has also faded significantly, much to my joy. I am happy to continue using it as long as we keep heading in this direction.
For my overall complexion, I have definitely noticed that my skin is fresher and smoother. It’s glowy and soft like you just did a scrub, but it doesn’t feel as harsh. More importantly, the Glossier Solution hasn’t stripped my skin, which was imperative for me.
Overall, Glossier’s Solution has been successful. It’s a bummer to not be able to use products with vitamin C when you’re using it, but I feel like it’s done a great job of reducing scarring and brightening spots, which is what I use vitamin C for anyways. If you have very dry skin, it might be too harsh for you, but if you have normal to oily skin, it’s definitely worth trying.
I have much less overall redness and my skin looks and feels less dull. Looking relatively fresh even with my glasses and morning face is definitely a much-appreciated change.
As with all skin care products, results are highly individualized. Before and after photos are awesome, but it is not exactly an indicator of what results will look like for you. Everyone’s skin reacts differently to a variety of ingredients. Until you try it, you won’t know what cocktail works for you. The great thing about the Glossier Solution is that you won’t have to drop $60-$150 on something that might not work out for you.