Beauty Tips For Body Care
This thread is just a giant thank you to this sub! I have always had pretty good skin, except for a period of about 1 year in college, when my acne became terrible. I later realized that it was due to the fact that I gained 20 lbs in just a few short months my sophomore year of college. I did Retin A and topical antibiotic wipes, and my skin stayed more or less clear for years afterwards, aside from one or two little hormonal cyst-like bumps on my chin around certain times of the month. I got pregnant in 2015, and the entire time, my skin was BEAUTIFUL. I breastfed after giving birth and my period stayed away for about 6 months, but when my baby started to wean and my cycles came back--BAM! Hello acne. Terrible acne. Worse than in college. Worse than ever. I also dealt with post-partum anxiety and mild post-partum OCD, and it led to lots of nervous habits, skin picking being among them. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I was a scabby, scarred, pimple-filled mess. I didn't want to leave the house. I have never felt less attractive-there I was with my new post-partum body (which frankly, is something to be celebrated), and my horrible scarred up face, and I felt about 3 feet tall. I went to the doctor to see about going back on Retin-A, but my insurance changed, and it was really expensive. With the new baby, we don't feel comfortable spending hundreds of dollars on a cosmetic item. So, I turned to this sub.First, I tried Stridex (in the Red Box) for months. My acne never got better. I kept breaking out. Every month it got worse, and I kept picking. It was bad. My skin was like one giant open sore. My now-toddler who has nothing but sweet and loving intentions, (but is brutally honest) pointed to my makeup-free face one morning with a big sad look on his face and said, "Uh-Oh"--which is his word for an owie. Like I said, it was bad.Next, I thought I would give Benzoyl Peroxide a try. This is so bad, but I had a several year old tube laying around the house, so I started to apply it nightly over the areas of my face prone to breakouts. This sub taught me how to use Benzoyl Peroxide correctly. Of course, I had always relied on it as an (ineffective) spot treatment, so I thought it didn't work. Thus, the nearly full tube sitting in a drawer. Within about 2 weeks, I had no new pimples. Within a month, my skin was nearly completely healed and I was able to focus on researching what to do about my scars and hyperpigmentation. Still though, having hyperpigmentation is ten million times better than open bleeding bumpy pimples, since it is relatively easy to cover with a light layer of makeup and look like my skin is nearly perfect. And yes, I did end up buying a fresh tube of Benzoyl Peroxide!Now, I still get one or two pimples around the time I ovulate and right before I get my period, but the pimples are small and form whiteheads almost immediately. They aren't the deep and cystic zits I got before. I hope with time and continued use of BP, my skin will improve even more.When I think back to how desperate I was for clear skin, and how horrible I felt, I never would have guessed in a million years that a less than $5 ointment could fix my skin. It's like a miracle.Furthermore, the fact that my skin got bad when I gained weight, when I got my period, and after having a baby, goes to show that the cause of my acne is likely hormonal. Since I have had some other issues (like a miscarriage and trouble getting pregnant again with baby #2), I have an appointment with my OB/GYN to run some tests. Hopefully if there is a hormone issue, it can be easily fixed with supplementation and then my skin and my health will improve further. The whole thing taught me that it is important to listen to your body. Your skin is the largest organ in your body, so if it is having trouble, there might be something deeper going on.Oh, and I was able to stop skin picking by getting artificial nails or a gel manicure. It makes the nails thicker, so you can't easily squeeze zits or scratch scabs, and my hands look pretty too. <3TLDR: Benzoyl Peroxide was a miracle for me and the condition of your skin says lots about your overall health so don't ignore sudden and dramatic skin changes.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by pootypus
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