Favorite Things: Belli Acne Cleansing Facial Wash

My food experiences are mundane enough to make it impossible for me to write about it for all 30 days of this challenge, so I decided to share, on occasion, stuff that I'm really digging.  Today it's Belli's Acne Cleansing Facial Wash.  Belli is a skin care company that focuses on products for pregnant women, mothers, and babies.  Pregnancy brings a whole host of skin problems including, but not limited to, stretch marks, acne, and discoloration.  I was surprised to discover that certain over-the-counter skincare products aren't pregnancy safe.  Salycilic acid is one of these products and is found in many daily facial cleansers, including the ones that I'd been using.

After searching for a pregnancy safe option, in this case lactic acid-based cleansers, I found Belli's line of pregnancy products.  You can use the facial wash as a daily cleanser or leave it on for five minutes as a "mask".  The cleanser/mask works really well with some caveats.  I need to make sure I use it every day.  I'm not terribly careful with my skin, but I break out if I skip a day or two.  This is probably because my breakouts are usually related to hormonal changes and since my hormones are crazy now, I've been breaking out like a teenager without some sort of cleanser.  I find that it works best in combination with a non-comedogenic facial moisturizer because it tends to dry out my cheeks.  Additionally, this doesn't have any exfoliating beads, so it's smooth.  I always rub it off with a washcloth so I can get a bit of exfoliation in, rather than simply rinsing it away.

My biggest problem with it is that it's CRAZY expensive.  I purchased it for $22 at Ulta (for a 6.7 oz bottle!), which I'm hoping will last for most of the pregnancy.  I haven't tried any of their other products because I'm not made of money, but if you have some cash to burn and find yourself harboring a friendly-ish uterine parasite, you should check out this product as well as the rest of their line.