I swear by quite a few of the skincare products from Avene and I think it’s a fantastic brand if you’re looking to get serious about skincare. Their sunscreens are excellent, their products contain good levels of active ingredients protected in adequate packaging and they are gentle on skin – a favourite of plastic surgeons and dermatologists.

All of their products contain a large percentage of thermal water, now I don’t know whether being ‘thermal’ makes much difference but all of the water definately keeps my skin feeling hydrated and irritation-free.

Avene is a French company and you can easily find their products if you live in Europe and parts of Asia. If you’re in the US, you can buy them at drugstore.com or skincarecentral.biz
So let me run you through a few of my favourite products from Avene and what they can do for you.
Cleanance K

This is a lightweight moisturiser you can use at night if you have rough skin, uneven pigmentation or blackheads. It contains both BHA and a combination of 5% glycolic and lactic acids. It doesn’t contain a lot of BHA so this won’t work well if you have a lot of blackheads and pimples. This is an excellent way to work AHAs into your skin routine – they will exfoliate your skin to make it appear smoother and more even in tone. I have clear skin with occasional pimples and blackheads and this keeps my skin in great condition. I use it after swiping my skin with BHA solution.

Diacneal

This is a great treatment for acne, probably the best over-the-counter product I have ever come across. This contains 0.1% retinaldehyde (retinol) which is both antibacterial and improves the texture of your skin (the horny outer layer of acne-prone skin promotes the growth of acne bacteria). This also contains a healthy dose of 6% glycolic acid to exfoliate the skin and take care of acne scars. In addition to being great for acne, this combination is fantastic for anti-ageing due to the combination of retinol and glycolic acid – probably one of the best anti-ageing combinations out there. It’s a pretty potent formula so I would recommend you use this every couple of days as a night treatment rather than a regular moisturiser. Highly recommended for acne prone skin and for older people who want to fight blemishes AND have an anti-ageing treatment in one.

Eluage

This is a fantastic anti-ageing retinol product – if you want to work retinol into your regime for anti-ageing, definately try this. The 0.5% retinol content comes in the form of retinaldehyde which penetrates the skin faster than regular retinol. This will fight cellular ageing, make your skin more firm and improve deep wrinkles in the skin – an anti-wrinkle cream that works! You can also pat this around your eyes to fade fine lines and crows feet. As a bonus this contains hyaluronic acid which is a fantastic moisturiser designed to make your skin look and feel hydrated and more plump. Use this if you’re 25 years old or older and starting to think about anti-ageing products other than sunscreen. Apply at night once every 2 or 3 days. As your skin becomes used to the formula you can start using this every night. Comes in cream or gel.

Diroseal

Great for those with irritation and rosacea. This cream contains 0.05% retinaldehyde to calm down redness by thickening the epidermis to conceal visible blood vessels. This also has a nice green tint to instantly make redness appear less prominent.

For Men

The ‘For Men’ line is sparse but that’s because everything a guy needs is in their regular line. Standouts from the men’s line include the antibacterial shaving gel which is great and the Dermo-K which is an exfoliating cream containg glycolic and uric acid to prevent ingrown hairs (although you’d be better off buying one of the products above rather than this one).

Thermal Water

Yes this is basically water in a can but the thermal water really helps to calm down skin irritation. I use this after shaving and my skin instantly feels calm and redness is gone. The thermal water comes in a pressurised can so you can spray this on your face without it looking wet or distrubing anything else you have on – great as a pick-me-up on vacation and on planes too.

Remember to use a sunblock during the day if you’re using any product containing retinol or AHAs at night. If this is your first foray into using AHAs and retinol, be aware that your skin needs time to adjust to them. Use the products once every few days at first and then build up your frequency if you think your skin can handle it. Wait for 15 minutes after application and then apply your regular moisturiser if your skin feels dry. Your skin should never be irritated for prolonged periods so if use them for more than 2 weeks and these products still don’t seem to work with your skin – ditch them. Try a lower perentage of AHA or retinol or use an alternative to them (which i’ll cover soon).

Only use one of these products at a time, don’t mix products containing retinol or AHAs or you risk irritating your skin. Also be sure to read my post on retinol and remember to read the instructions on any skincare you buy.

All in all I think this is an excellent range and they have lots of other specialist skincare products that I haven’t mentioned so go and have a look!