[B&A]One Year of SCA

Beauty Tips For Body Care
I realized that it's been exactly a year ago today since I started swapping out my old routine for SCA advice. I found the photo I took that day and wanted to share a year's difference! The before photo isn't as large as my after, and the lighting is different, but here they are: http://imgur.com/a/D1XKhPrior to discovering SCA, my routine consisted of cleanser, toner, the cursed apricot scrub, and moisturizer. My skin has never been too bad breakout-wise, but it was dry and lacked the luster and bounce that young skin should have. When I went off of birth control for a time, I started breaking out with large pimples on my cheeks, which had never happened before, and did not go away when I went back on birth control. My routine was created one product at a time, with a focus on moisture and acne control, a difficult balance.RoutineAM:Cleanse with CeraVe Hydrating CleanserApply The Ordinary caffeine solution (under-eyes only)Apply Bare Minerals Skin Longevity serumMoisturize with CeraVe in the jarApply Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch sunscreen (SPF 30)Apply Aquaphor on dry spotsPM:Cleanse with CeraVe Hydrating CleanserApply Stridex (red box) pads, wait 20 minutesApply The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%, wait 20 minutesApply Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence, pat drySpot treat with 10% benzoyl gel as neededApply CeraVe Eye Repair Cream (under-eyes only)Moisturize with Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night CreamApply Aquaphor on dry spotsWeekly: Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay MaskMisc. info: On birth control (Lo Loestrin Fe), change pillowcase daily, drink 2+ L of water every day.My advice to anyone frustrated with slow change: stick to it! As I said, my skin really was not terrible to begin with, but it still wasn't until 3-6 months in that I started to see any significant change. The most blatant difference I can see in my two photos is how much smoother my skin has gotten!Also, the biggest game changer for me has been swapping my pillowcase daily - well, technically every other day as I flip it over to the cleaner side and then change. The breakouts on my cheeks vanished immediately! Vitamin C was also a huge help with fading the marks leftover from the cheek breakouts that I tried to force into popping.I'm still working on improving the redness on my chin under my lips, which is due to excessive drying. I also get pimples there so it's again a balance of spot treatment and moisturizing. I've started applying Aquaphor on that spot morning & night, and it is slowly but surely helping!I still get pimples occasionally, and the most difficult thing for me to do is to resist the popping urge! To deal with them, I make a small hole using very sharp tweezers (sterilized with rubbing alcohol first), gently squeeze the pus out, apply some Neosporin, put on a hydrocolloid bandage, and sleep on it - the big ones will be a small red spot by morning! Occasionally I do still pop them, but if I apply Neosporin, stick a piece of tissue over it, and wait for it to dry, 9 times out of 10 I won't be left with any sort of mark and the blemish will go away in a day or two.I've never been so happy with my skin! Stick around this sub, it'll do ya good :)
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by wingardium_levibrosa