I don’t often post non-hair related posts but I thought I’d share some tips on skin care. I’ve had acne off and on for years. The acne itself wasn’t a huge deal, but the hyperpigmentation it left behind is still something I’m dealing with. I’m hoping routine exfoliation with my soon-to-be-shipped Clarisonic Mia will help with that. That said, to control the hyperpigmentation, I first needed to control the acne.

As a teenager I didn’t have a lot of acne. I maybe had one or two spots at a time and breakouts were weeks or months apart. I will say that I did (and still do) pick at them. It’s a bad habit. When I was younger I figured since I had freckles the marks would just blend in with the freckles. I did not realize that many freckles fade as you age. I soon went from not worrying about the marks on my skin to being somewhat fixated on it.

Contrary to popular belief, acne is not only a teenage issue. My acne was actually worse when I hit my mid twenties. If you have constant hormonal changes like most women do, you can get acne. If you eat certain foods that don’t agree with your body, you can get acne. Both of my nieces had baby acne for quite a while…my point is it’s not something that happens in an isolated time frame. We call it baby acne, acne, or adult acne…but it’s all the same thing and many times has the same causes- hormones and diet. Prior to realizing this, I was very frustrated at the fact that I was well out of my teenage years and starting to get acne.

I tried many drugstore products in an attempt to clear up my skin. I looked at the active ingredients and always tried to up the medicine I was using. I used just about every item in the Clean and Clear brand and it did nothing to help my skin. In fact, I now know it probably made things worse. I bought the strongest benzoyl peroxide products available on the shelves and the strongest salicylic acid products available. I used spot treatments, washes, scrubs, lotions…all with one of those ingredients. I tried sulphur soap and black soap. I’ve used Dr. Bronner’s (available at Target) which I’ve used on my body for almost a decade but I don’t like it for my face because the high pH. I even tried Proactiv which literally burned through my skin and left me with large scabs on my face. I got my money back but it not a good experience using those products.

So…here’s what made my skin improve. First- there’s diet. I alway try to eat healthily but it doesn’t always happen. A few years back, I got really serious about making sure I drink at least 2 liters of water a day. These days I drink about 3 liters, plus my tea or coffees. After my year of eating strictly vegetarian, I went back to eating animal products and just focused on eating clean. For me that meant cutting out a lot of white flour based foods and sugary foods. Sugar in general does not agree with my body. I saw huge changes in my body overall just by doing those two things.

The other thing I did to clear my skin was something I figured out accidentally. Out of pure laziness, I started washing my face in the shower, rather than at the sink. I didn’t bother to move my face wash so I ended up using regular Dial hand soap (which I keep in the shower to clean my piercings). After a few weeks of using Dial, I noticed my skin improving a lot. I no longer had the random breakouts that I was used to. Any breakouts I did have cleared quickly without leaving a scab. When I finally went back to OTC acne treatment the acne came back and each time I got a spot it healed in a very unsightly way. I finally figured out that it was the chemicals I was using- benzoyl peroxide and  concentrated salicylic acid that were exacerbating the problem.

At most, the mild antibacterial- triclosan, found in Dial, was all I needed to keep my skin clean.  Currently, I use a cleanser with no harsh ingredients or antibacterials. I have dry skin so Simple’s Moisturizing Facial Wash is what I use morning and night. These days, I have occasional hormonal breakouts around my time of month and a bunch right after I thread my face. If I have any spots, I use Elf’s Zit Zapper from Target. The spots are completely gone overnight leaving no trace behind. I moisturize with Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream. I do wear a full face of makeup often… partly because I don’t like the hyperpigmentation. People often say you shouldn’t wear makeup if you have acne but when you have clear skin they say “you don’t need makeup.” It makes my head spin. Anyway, I use MAC Face and Body or Kevyn Aucoin stick foundation for coverage and spot cover with Studio Finish concealer. I love makeup and it doesn’t cause any skin issues for me.

Below is my bare face now. Ironically, when I took the picture this week I actually did have a pimple. It is much smaller (believe it or not) than the acne I’ve had in the past. For the most part, my skin is acne free and my main issue is scarring. 

It took me years to figure out that I should just leave my skin alone. It can heal itself without the aid of chemicals. Consistently drinking lots (2-3 liters per day) of water and eating clean, whole foods and little sugar have kept my body balanced from within. I’m still working on getting rid of the old acne scars. I’ll probably do a chemical peel sometime this year. I by no means had what would be considered “bad” acne. But being in my late twenties, I expected to have no acne at all. This is a long post but I want to encourage anyone going through the same thing to switch to products not marketed for acne or mostly natural products and try something milder. Stronger is not always the solution.