How I overcome my Acne

 

Just like any teenager, I had that really horrible phase where pimples, spots and blackheads appears and started to set camp on my face. As you can imagine, I struggled a lot with this. I still remember the day , back in middle school, when a class-mate decided to point out how bad my nose was. ( I still dislike her to this day...not only because of that but also because she wasn't a really nice person. I don't really have contact with her now - thankfully).
Besides that, all the inflammations, scars and oiliness were a major problem. During my late teens I tried to work on the problem but I was a noob at the time and I ended up using products that created more problems. Because I didn't have the amount of information I have nowadays, many mistakes were made.

But in recent year I got the luck of meeting friends who have been studding Pharmacy and know bits and bobs about skin care. I also discovered the fantastic world of online research the amazing blog of Caroline Hirons - the mother of all good skin care.
Changed had to be made and here are some things that I did and personally helped me a lot. Note to the fact that every skin is different, although there are certain points I believe are the same to everyone.

Cut on Dairy
 In recent years studies have proven that out metabolism isn't quite ready to cow milk. Don't get me wrong, there are in fact people that don't have problems with dairy and live happily with it. If you are one of those people, please just ignore this. Now, the fact is that I started to notice that when I reached my 20s, I wasn't able to process milk like I used to. I can still drink it occasionally, eat food with cheese ( like lasagne or pizza) but I can't be drink the 3 or 4 cups of milk I used to. Since I switched it to tea, I've seen major improvements on my skin.

Cut on SLS
Another big move was cutting out foaming cleansers. I remember the first time I heard someone mentioning this I thought they were quite crazy and didn't make any sense. I mean, how was I suppose to cleanse my face? But the truth is that there are better options. I started to use cleansing oils, gels and creams and my skin loved the transition. Foaming Cleansers are quite strong and over striping. They do more harm than good.

Add More Water and Stay Hydrated
Water. Seems foolish right? But it isn't. Just like Caroline Hirons says : " the first state of our skin is dehydrated". Seriously, start to drink more water and you'll see a huge difference - not only on your skin but also on your whole body.  I've been drinking more water during the day and my meals - I also drink more tea and my skin thanked me.
Also, I switched to more moisturising moisturises - without any mineral oil or anything like that and after that my T-Zone stopped producing tones of oil and I stopped having dry patches around scars and spots.

Bye Bye Mechanic scrubs, Hello Hello Chemical Exfoliation
Exfoliation is a really important step, since it removes the dead sells of our skin. Usually brands proceed to make those " get + beads" scrubs - which work nicely as body scrubs - and tell you splash that on your face. The problem is that the skin you have on your face is more sensitive than the one you have on other pars of your body. Those beads end ups damaging more your face than actually doing anything good.
A good alternative is chemical exfoliation. I started with something low ( NEVER, but NEVER start with something super high like Liquid Gold. Don't do that to your face pleaseee!) like a exfoliating mask that contained both AHA and BHA acids and now I use two toners with both acids. The difference is huge - no more spots and my blackheads are less clogged.

Add Vitamin C to your life
Vitamin C is a really important vitamin. There some tutorials and DIY with lemons and orages but...STAY AWAY from them. Vitamin C is a really unstable ingridients and rubbing your face with an orange or with a lemon won't help your skin at all. There are really good Serums with Vitamin C in the market.
Ever since I add it to my routine, there haven't been spots on my face and those really old marks and scars started to disappear.  I'll probably do a review soon about the one I'm currently using so stay tuned.

Add SPF to your life
I mean, another perk of Vitamin C is that it doesn't react really well with sun exposure. But even if you aren't using that, you should add SPF to your life - unless you spend your whole time inside a room or something. Sun protection is a serious matter.

Wash your make up brushes
I always washed my foundation brushes but now I apply this to all of my brushes. Seriously, wash them. I can't really imagine how people can use a dirty brush twice or trice on their face. Like seriously, it's not okay. Bacteria and everything will start to live on your brush and use your face as a camping place. Even if do more spot cleaning than deep cleaning - which please do at least once a week - just do it ( no, I have no intentions to sound like Shia LaBeouf, but if that helps so be it)

You obviously don't have to follow all of this. This is how I overcome my acne, not a set of rules that you should follow. Truth to be told, I never felt as comfortable with my skin as I am now. The idea of just using concealer and powder would be a mere mirage two years ago and now it's pretty much what I do whenever I'm not using lighting base product like BB cushion or Powder Foundation. If you want to treat your acne my advice is to make that a priority and leave makeup behind a little. Also, be sure to know if you aren't allergic to certain ingredients and products. Oh be alert - food poison can also cause skin problems.
Did you like this type of posts? I'm thinking about doing them a bit more since the latest posts have only been about reviews. Maybe School looks and bag essentials?  Oh and I might do a Birthday wish list as well.

Take Care everyone and thanks for reading!

With love,
Diana.