Acne

Today I want to talk about something that has controlled my life for nearly eight years.  Acne.

“It is something that started out small, but soon began to control my self confidence.  I felt horrible when I would look at my own reflection and see other girls with perfect healthy skin.  It really pulled down my self esteem when I would touch my face and there wouldn’t be one smooth area on my skin.  I would look at myself in the bathroom mirror and tell myself ‘you are not pretty because of this mess on your face. ‘
Do you know how much I’ve tried to help it?  I and my parents both have probably spent thousands of dollars trying different treatments, and all attempts have been fruitless.  I’ve cleaned, moisturized and put creams on my face everyday for the last seven years.  I’ve had people who don’t understand try to give me advice about my skin.  They think they know what they are talking about; by the way they say it and what they say to me, I can tell they don’t know a thing.
I wear full makeup everyday to hide the millions of scars that cover my cheeks, nose and chin.  Usually that works, but when  I break out, it is so obvious.   It sounds petty and unimportant, but acne is really what causes insecurity.”

That is something I wrote only a few months ago.  >>>Here<<< is my acne story.

Acne really is a skin disease that 9/10 people experience in their lifetime.

It can make you feel horrible about yourself.  

You can cover it with make up, but it still shows through, and most make up makes it worse.

You can try product after product, and spend hundreds of dollars, and there is no guarantee that it will help.

What makes it worse is everyone’s skin is different, so there is no one way to treat it.  I'm no dermatologist, but I have learned some things about skin care.

Today I want to tell you steps to figuring out how to achieve clearer skin.
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1.) First, you must figure out what skin type you are.

NORMAL type:  You probably don’t have acne very often.  Your skin is not particularly oily or dry.  Although this type is called “normal,” most people do not have this type.  Lucky…!!

DRY type:  You get flakey skin after wash your face.  Sometimes your skin becomes oily to compensate for the oils that are being stripped from your face.  Make up gets cakey on your face easily.  What you desperately need is a good moisturizer.  This type of skin is more prone to aging faster.

OILY type: Your face becomes shiny very fast, you have large pores, and it seems like no matter what you do, your face always looks oily.  Believe it or not, you still need to moisturize.  One good thing about having oily skin is that your skin will stay young-looking throughout your years.

COMBINATION: You have dry cheeks but an oily T-zone (forehead and nose, chin).

SENSITIVE: Your skin gets redness or irritation very easily with common type of products.  It can become itchy or dry also.


2.) Next step!  Evaluate your lifestyle:

a. Are you washing your face at least twice a day, once in the morning, once before bed?
-you must wash your face, especially if you wear make up


b. Do you remove your make up before you sleep, before you work out, and after a long day?
-dirt will absorb into your pores if you don’t wash it off 


c. Do you drink enough water?
-water is what cleans your skin, not just on the outside, but in the inside
-for every ten kilos that you weight, you should drink a glass of water.  If you weigh 50 kilos, you should drink 5 glasses a day


d. Do you treat your face with a 3-step process? (cleanse, tone, moisturize)
-for most people, doing this type of routine can really help your skin.


e. Do you drink alcohol?
-drinking can lead to toxic build up.  This was a huge factor for me.


f. Do you eat a lot of bad foods?
-this was one of my main problems.  If you eat a lot of junk food, you are making your skin reflect your unhealthy lifestyle


g. Do you use mineral make up?
-certain mineral make ups, especially Bare Minerals, can clog your skin.  Did you know some are make from toxic substances?  If you breathe it in, you can get cancer.  If you can get sick by breathing it in, then why would you let your skin absorb it?


h. Do you get the proper vitamins from your diet?
-your skin NEEDS certain vitamins to be healthy
-if you do not get vitamins, I suggest a supplement


i. Do you wash your make up brushes at least weekly?
-make up brushes hold all of the germs that came from your skin


j. Do you sleep on your back?
-if you sleep on your side, your cheeks are exposed to your pillow case, which can irritate the skin by not letting it breathe, or simply because dirt collects on pillow cases


k. Do you use an exfoliator that feels abrasive?
-St. Ives Apricot scrub is one of those types.  Anything that FEELS like it’s scraping your skin is actually making little tears in your skin, giving your skin a chance to be infected.  If you need to exfoliate, use a microbead scrub or a peel mask.


l.  Where you live, what is your climate like?
-climate can affect your skin tremendously.  I have heard of people who had perfect skin until they moved to a different country, where the climate was different.
-if you live in a cold, dry climate, you must must MUST moisturize!  Someone I know lived in Scandinavia, and he said sometimes his skin would peel off from being too dry.
-if your climate is humid, you should wash with a soapy type cleanser and use a gel moisturizer


m. Do you sleep enough?
-people ages 13-18 should get 10 hours, or at least 8
-people between the ages of 19-40 should get 8 hours, or at least 6
-sleep is the time when your skin repairs itself, so if you don’t sleep, you’re not letting your skin heal


n.  Are you ALWAYS stressed out?
-stress can cause hormonal imbalance, which causes breakouts


o.  Are you healthy inside, such as your liver, digestive and mouth?
-if your internal parts are unhealthy, it can cause your skin to break out.  Your skin is a indicator of how healthy you are inside.


p.  Do you sleep really late at night?
-your skin’s sleeping schedule is different than yours.  It’s from around 11PM to 4AM.


q.  Do you clean your cell phone after you’ve talked with it pressed up against your face?
-collecting dirt on your cellphone is certain to make your cheeks break out


r. Do you have a hormonal imbalance?
-for girls, going on birth control can help

There are other factors, but those are the main reasons why people break out.

3.) Now, for people who have been trying products to treat acne:

Not everything works for everyone.  When those Pro Active ads tell you that this is the one solution, THEY LIE.  Not only did it not work for me, but also they gave me a really hard time when I was quitting their program.  However, Pro Active worked fine for my cousins who have NORMAL type skin.  I have COMBINATION type.

So, how do you know if a product will work?
You must take care of those things mentioned above in step 2.  Then, you have to stick with one product for at LEAST a month in order to see if it is going to work.  You may even break out initially.  But stick with it.  Some people have to go through a detoxifying period before it works.

If you are sure it’s not working, then try something else.

People usually want some miracle product to help them, but they don’t even take care of themselves first.

I have tried it all, but my acne didn’t improve until I detoxified my body.  I had a build up of toxins inside of me, from eating poorly and drinking too much.  I also did not wash my make up brushes, and didn’t get much sleep on a regular basis or drink enough water.

So maybe your main problem is toxins.  Or maybe it’s sleep.  You have to get yourself in line before you can expect products to work.

4.) Some products:

Benzoyl peroxide: This was the first thing I used.  This can work if you do not use too high of a dosage (no more than 5%….I used 10% and it did not help).  Also, if you have DRY type, this is NOT going to help with dryness….

Salicylic acid:  This is one of the main treatments for acne.  This usually works for spot treatment.  It can be good to use a face wash with 2% in it.

Antibiotics (oral): This can be very dangerous, but it can produce amazing results.  There are so many side effects, but when I used this, it cleared up my skin in one week.  I will soon make a post about my experience with this treatment.

Antibiotics (topical gel): This takes longer to work than oral antibiotics, but it usually works pretty well if you give it a few months

Soap and Water method:  If you think you have used too many products, you might want to try the Soap and Water method.  However, be aware that you will go through a detoxifying period of a few months when you will break out a lot.  But afterwards, your skin should clear up quite nicely.  I couldn’t do this method because I’m a bit impatient, and I was sick of breaking out.  However, it has been said that people who go through this method never break out again after they have succeeded with this.  More info from a girl who only swears by this method >>>HERE<<<

Pro Active: This will work for people who do not have sensitive skin or dry skin.  People with normal skin or oily skin might be able to make this work.

5.) Sun

I know it’s popular to tan in western culture.  But it’s very harmful to your skin!  It can make you more at risk for skin diseases, cancer, sun spots, and aging wrinkles.

If you have sensitive skin, DO NOT PUT ON BENZOYL PEROXIDE if you know you’re going to be out in the sun.  It can give you sun poisoning.

When you go outside, make sure you put on sunscreen!!!!

6.) Other tips

-make sure your powders and foundations are talc free, as talc powders can clog your pores
-if your pores are large, try to use something to make them smaller
-Do not touch your face excessively.  Don't lean your hand on your face when you're sitting at a desk or table, don't pick at your face, or put on make up with your hands unless you've washed them.

Acne is a hardship.  Believe me, I know.

Best of Luck!


Ning.