For the first time in our life, we’ve been given hope that our skin can improve. Over the past two decades, our redness and our spots have been a source of discomfort and left us feeling self-conscious – Aegle’s has changed this.
We now feel more confident going makeup-free and it’s also helped us eat more healthily (if it is Aegle’s that has caused this change!)
The supplements are not cheap. Even on subscription, and especially in the current climate but we’d be willing to pay more for the results we’ve seen.
We were gifted the first month of Aegel’s supplements to test for this review, however, we’ve been so pleased with the results and are now so hopeful about the future of our skin that we recently paid for a monthly subscription. Also because we never want to go back!
If signing up to use this product in the long term is not a testament to just how much it’s changed our skin and how much we believe in it, we don’t know what is.
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| Aegle's | From £38 |
There’s a new acne treatment that promises to tackle the condition from the inside out. We’ve put it to the test as part of our two-month Aegle’s Acne Clear Now review
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One of the most frustrating things about suffering from acne is not knowing its exact cause.
Acne is never as simple as just having a dirty face. Of course, that won’t help matters but it can be caused by dirt clogging pores, it can be caused by hormonal changes, time of year, time of the month, what you eat, what you drink, your genetics, your pore size, and many intertwined and nuanced reasons.
This is why one acne product may work for one person, but fail for another. It’s also why some people end up on prescription drugs, while others grow out of it.
We had acne as a teenager and our skin is still inflamed, and red, and we regularly suffer from breakouts despite being 38 – a condition called adult acne. On bad days, it can be devastating and knocks our confidence and we’re at a weird age where we need to treat acne while also treating the signs of ageing. It’s a minefield.
This is why the idea behind the new skincare brand Aegle’s, founded by Zoe Williams piqued our interest so much. We’ve previously spoken with Zoe to discuss the supplement, the story behind it, and how it works.
Now we’re publishing our Aegle’s review having used the supplement for more than two months. Spoiler alert: We’re shocked by the results.
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Aegle's Aegle’s was founded by Zoe Williams after she began suffering from acne in her mid-20s, despite never experiencing it as a teenager. After spending years trying to clear her skin with over-the-counter and prescription skincare, Zoe was put on long-term antibiotics by her GP
Aegle’s was founded by Zoe Williams after she began suffering from acne in her mid-20s, despite never experiencing it as a teenager. After spending years trying to clear her skin with over-the-counter and prescription skincare, Zoe was put on long-term antibiotics by her GP.
Yet, she tells mamabella, “nothing worked and my skin continued to get worse until I found natural acne practitioner Lili Frances Kerr.”
Lili is an advocate of the natural approach to skincare and is author of How to Heal from Acne Naturally: For Adult Women.
For Zoe, Lili focused on targeting the internal root causes of acne through diet, lifestyle, and supplements, and within a couple of months, Zoe’s skin was clear “for the first time in years”.
More than a decade later, Zoe reconnected with Lili and told her she wanted to create a “complete solution for acne that would work for as many women as possible.”
And Aegle’s – taken from the name of the goddess of radiant good health – was born. The brand officially launched at the start of July 2022.
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Aegle’s mission centres on “helping women heal their acne naturally” and its flagship product is a supplement called Acne Clear Now.
It is the first supplement of its kind said to target the three main causes of acne in women:
You can click the links above to jump straight to the relevant section and find out more about why each of these conditions can cause acne.
Aegle's Aegle’s mission centres on “helping women heal their acne naturally” and its flagship product is a supplement called Acne Clear Now
For as long as we can remember, our skin has never been clear. Either it’s been covered in spots and pimples, or has looked red and inflamed.
As teenagers, we used products like Freederm and Clearasil which got rid of the spots but made our skin more inflamed. In our 20s, we switched to more gentle products but they either made our spots worse or they increased the amount of oil and shine.
We’ve tried eating fewer processed foods, drinking more water, washing with cold water, cryotherapy, regular facials, physical exfoliation, chemical exfoliation…if there’s been a treatment available, we’ve tried it. With the exception of clinical treatments.
At 38, our skin is better than it was when we were younger but it’s still not as clear or as calm as we’d like. There’s also a certain amount of stigma that seemingly comes from having spots and poor skin as you get older. We had almost given up on it ever looking better…until we tried Aegle’s.
Zoe tells us that Acne Clear Now is the “first supplement that balances blood sugar, estrogen and DHT levels.” By targeting these three key, yet often overlooked causes of acne through the use of herbs and minerals, Aegle’s has created a supplement that is said to be both safe and effective for female adult acne.
Acne Clear Now works by:
Marion Dumoulin/David Gaudout/Benoit Lemaire The black bar shows the reduction in spots in clinical trials
In independent clinical trials – the patented blend of ingredients in Aegle’s Acne Clear Now supplement was found to “improve skin radiance by reducing skin colouring, increasing face luminosity, reducing imperfections, and improving skin firmness in women with a dull complexion.”
Such clinically proven ingredients include:
In particular, imperfections (which included acne and spots as well as dark circles) were reduced by 18%. A drop that the researchers described as “significant,” while luminosity increased by 25%.
Zoe stresses that while the supplement helps balance hormones it is “not a pharmaceutical drug or hormone treatment.” Instead, it’s a food supplement that works by supporting the body to balance itself naturally. It’s also vegan, cruelty-free, and contains no preservatives, additives, flavourings, fillers, or sweeteners.
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In order to see the benefits of these ingredients, you need to take two tablets in the morning every day on an ongoing basis, which is why Aegle’s offers a subscription service as well as one-off purchases.
The tablets themselves are on the large side, compared to say paracetamol or similar, but supplements are generally bigger. We never had any problem taking Aegle’s with water, and they never got stuck in our throat.
After a week of use, we were disappointed not to see any noticeable changes in our skin. However, this reaction was unfair. Aegle’s doesn’t promise to solve your skin woes overnight – and to be honest, any brand that claims to do so should be viewed with some skepticism.
Instead, it took around a month to six weeks to see changes, which makes sense because that’s how long it takes for our skin cells to turn over as part of their natural cycle. What’s more, not only did we see small changes day-to-day as time went on, but the changes were even more significant and impactful when we compared the after photos to those taken before. As you can see in the image below.
The left-hand image was taken on day one of taking the supplements. The right-hand image was exactly six weeks later. There are no filters and the only makeup we have on in the right-hand image is mascara.
mamabella/Victoria Woollaston-Webber The left-hand image was taken on day one of taking the supplements. The right-hand image was exactly six weeks later. There are no filters and the only makeup we have on in the right-hand image is mascara
There have been a number of other changes we’ve noticed too that, while we can’t pin directly on Aegle’s with any great confidence, we’re pretty sure that the changes are related. Mainly because they’re the first time we’ve experienced them. We don’t have anything more than a hunch to back this up, though.
Firstly, our hair feels thicker and stronger. It doesn’t grow particularly well as it is but we’ve seen a noticeable growth spurt in the past two months.
Secondly, there has been a drastic drop in our cravings for sugary treats. In fact, our appetite generally seems lower, which is a positive thing for us as we tend to overeat. This has a knock-on effect on our skin as we’re eating more healthily, which helps clear the complexion further.
Thirdly, our period cramps are far less intense. Again, we can’t attribute this directly to Aegle’s other than the fact they’ve all occurred since taking the supplements.
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We do have two complaints, however. The tablets smell horrible. The first time we smelled them, we physically recoiled and we still haven’t really got used to this scent. It can also linger on your fingers if you don’t take them fast enough. Thankfully, they don’t taste as bad as they smell but it would be remiss of us not to mention this!
We also mention it because we wouldn’t want this to put you off. The pros that we’ve seen far outweigh this negative.
And these supplements don’t come cheap.
Acne Clear Now is available on subscription or can be bought via one-off purchases. What’s more, Aegle’s ships internationally which is incredibly rare for a new launch.
We’ve included the standard prices for each option, as well as shipping costs below:
UK shipping costs £3.90, Europe costs £7.50 and the US is £12.50. International shipping to other countries is calculated at checkout.
Zoe also tells us that Aegle’s is committed to sustainability and the company offsets 5x its carbon emissions through On a Mission‘s reforestation project. It will also be donating 5% of its profit to MSF and The Climate Coalition. You can read more on Aegle’s charity page.
All of its products and packaging are manufactured in the UK; its bottles are made from part-recycled glass and its boxes are made from recycled paper and printed with vegetable ink. To reduce waste and carbon emissions, Aegle’s offers subscriptions that cost £33 a month and orders come in refill pouches.
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For the first time in our life, we’ve been given hope that our skin can improve. Over the past two decades, our redness and our spots have been a source of discomfort and left us feeling self-conscious – Aegle’s has changed this.
We now feel more confident going makeup-free and it’s also helped us eat more healthily (if it is Aegle’s that has caused this change!)
The supplements are not cheap. Even on subscription, and especially in the current climate but we’d be willing to pay more for the results we’ve seen.
We were gifted the first month of Aegel’s supplements to test for this review, however, we’ve been so pleased with the results and are now so hopeful about the future of our skin that we recently paid for a monthly subscription. Also because we never want to go back.
If signing up to use this product in the long term is not a testament to just how much it’s changed our skin, we don’t know what is.
Buy now from Aegle's
The information below explains more about how Aegle’s works and why it targets the causes of acne in the way that it does.
Getty Images/iStockphoto Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a male sex (androgen) hormone that is also found in the female body.
As Zoe explains: “Acne is caused when hair follicles in the skin become blocked by the sebaceous glands producing too much sebum. The sebaceous glands are highly sensitive to androgens and increased levels can cause the glands to produce more sebum than the skin needs, resulting in acne.
“DHT is much more potent than testosterone. So when a woman’s levels of DHT are high, she can experience more androgenic activity such as a greater increase in sebum production in the skin, and therefore acne.”
Oestrogen dominance occurs when a woman’s oestrogen-to-progesterone ratio is too high. “This means her levels of estrogen are too high, and/or her progesterone is too low,” continues Zoe.
Progesterone is a hormone that rises during the second half of a woman’s cycle for about five days, before dropping again just before menstruation. At the same time in a woman’s cycle, her sebum production increases with an increase in circulating insulin in the body.
Healthy progesterone levels reduce sebum production. A woman with a healthy estrogen-to-progesterone ratio is less likely to experience excess sebum production and therefore acne, “simply because she has sufficient levels of sebum-reducing progesterone.”
According to Zoe, there is a direct connection between how our body responds to sugars and acne.
When glucose enters our bloodstream, our blood sugar level rises. In response, insulin is released by the pancreas, which helps to regulate this blood sugar level. This is a healthy and normal process within the body.
However, insulin resistance occurs when our body becomes resistant to the insulin that our pancreas is producing. As a result, glucose remains in our bloodstream, which causes our blood sugar levels to remain high.
Insulin resistance can typically have no symptoms, but it can cause imbalances in the body. One of these imbalances is an elevation of 5a-Reductase (5AR) activity, which is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of the male sex hormone testosterone into DHT.
“With elevated levels of 5AR, more testosterone is converted into DHT, resulting in more sebum production and acne,” Zoe adds.
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
