Budget Facial Pads

Pre-soaked skincare pads appear to be all the rage recently so I thought I’d go through my collection of the “drugstore” skincare pads that I have.

The first ones I tried and the most expensive of my collection are the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Exfoliation Facial Pads (Why do they give these things such long names, geez), I got these as I wanted something I could use daily in substitute for my Alpha H Liquid Gold that I used twice weekly. As you would guess these contain Glycolic Acid, they also contain Hyaluronic Acid and Blue Daisy; you get 60 of the pads in a pack. I like these because they feel really gentle but are still quite effective, I didn’t really think they had been doing anything until I stopped using them for a few weeks; these leave my skin feeling totally refreshed and because they’re so gentle there’s no sting/tingle. These are £12.99 at Boots but are always on offer (Currently for £8.66).

These Superdrug Deep Action Pore Cleansing Pads are something I picked up when my skin was acting up and I wasn’t at home near my vast supply of lotions and potions, they’re  more abrasive than the others I have as they’ve got manually exfoliating texture on the pads. These contain Salicylic Acid, Witch Hazel and Chamomile; I tend to grab for these when my skin is in full breakdown as they’re pretty strong and get the job done. You get 40 pads in a pack but I can’t seem to find these on the Superdrug website so it could be that they are discontinued.

The most budget friendly pads I’ve come across were a 99p Store find, they’re the Derma Pad(s). I have the Exfoliating Facial Pads and the Anti-Wrinkle Facial Pads, I’ve included them both together as I find they both basically do the same thing; they are a toner stage pad. They have little raised dots on the surface that sort of act as a stimulous for the skin. These aren’t all that effective, I’m basically just using these up so I’m not sure I’d purchase them again.

I also picked up the Clearasil Triple Action Deep Pore Cleansing Pads at Poundland; these are quite similar to the Superdrug version only slightly less abrasive so these are something you could use on a daily basis. You get 65 pads in a pack and I’m assuming these are either discontinued or are an import as I cannot find them on Boots or Superdrug. I actually prefer these to the Superdrug ones because they are less abrasive but still feel as effective.

Finally we have the Clearasil Superfruits Refreshing Pads that I picked up at Boots when they were on offer, you can pick them up for around £4-£5 at and you get 65 pads. These were suggested by Caroline Hirons because of their amazing quality; they contain Salicylic/Citric Acid and various fruit extracts. These have to be my favourite as I feel like I get the acid effect of the Nip + Fab whilst also getting the blemish fighting action from the other pads (Win/Win).

These facial pads have become an important part of my skin care regime and now I’ve tried them I certainly wouldn’t go without. I tend to mix and match these dependent on how my skin is but the Clearasil Superfruits would have to be my suggestion to cover all bases. I’ve not ventured into the high end version of the facial pads because I think they’re seriously over priced for something you use once and throw away.