PHILIPPINES — As the world changed drastically because of the unprecedented stop brought by an unseen enemy, we all have been pushed to the wall and forced to live a “new normal” of doing things, starting with the mandatory, and necessary wearing of masks.

However, the result of mask-wearing has brought acne breakouts, spots and scars to the skin of many. The ‘maskne’ (mask and acne) problem may seem like the last of our concerns this pandemic, but a hassle to deal with nonetheless, totally dampening our spirits along with the many struggles we are already facing today. However, of the many things we are not sure of and have absolutely no control of because of COVID-19, the surfacing of the maskne problem among most us isn’t one of them.

Photographed by Christina Zabat for Rank Magazine.

For me, finding the right product to remedy this has been challenging, and costly at that! A lot of trial and error and definitely a ton of patience were required for this mission. I’ve tried a ten-step beauty regimen and even natural home remedies. But after a few weeks, they didn’t do much to combat this.

With this search, Pili Ani came into the picture. Newly-launched and tested by beauty experts, the homegrown brand’s Self-Care Night Recovery Oil promises a better formulation for their serum than foreign skin care brands. It definitely upped my expectations, especially with beauty gurus swearing by the fresh product release, that it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Products photographed by Christina Zabat.

All it took was two drops at night after cleansing my face for two weeks. And those two drops definitely were enough to cover my face and neck. I started noticing changes to my skin’s texture and lightening of the smaller dark spots in my chin area after a week since using it.

A deep dive into the serum will tell you why it’s being raved about. It is formulated to boost hydration and made of Pili Oil which is intensely moisturizing, and rich in natural antioxidants and Vitamin E. The Pili Ani Self-Care Night Recovery Oil also contains Elemi Oil which has firming and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s the one that’s at work to reduce various skin problems such as dry skin and acne.

Photographed by Christina Zabat.

The Self-Care Night Recovery Oil also contains natural oils to help with skin rejuvenation. It also has squalene, Arnica Montana Flower extract, Evening Primrose, Calendula, English Lavender, Sampaguita, Rosemary Leaf Oil and Blue Chamomile to make sure that your skin is moisturized and firm.

This can then reduce redness in the skin, fine lines and address dryness. It’s really quite a lot of oil extracts but we’ll do anything for healthy skin!

Two weeks into trying out the Pili Ani Self-Care Night Recovery oil and the skin rejuvenation process is evident.
Photographed by Christina Zabat.

Two weeks later, even with continued mask use, my acne has been controlled and some dark spots were even more noticeably reduced! It is also not hard to notice that my skin has become, and more importantly, felt brighter with less redness than usual and there’s no denying that a great deal of this is because of a homegrown product I am more than satisfied to have tried.

Consult your dermatologists to see what product best suits your skincare needs. Learn more about Pili Ani via their website https://piliani.com.ph/ and their official social media accounts.