Personal - Thank you, SCA! Worst breakout of my life clearing up beautifully, and I've learned a lot on the way.

Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hi SCA!TL;DR started paying attention to my skin, paid a lot of misguided and overblown attention, broke out in a smattering of huge painful cysts and gritty white closed comedones, knew Reddit would have not just one right answer but many different experiences from which I could hopefully determine a good path for myself, found /skincareaddiction, wept for joy, started reading labels, went to derm today, she said you guys were right on a lot of stuff, and I'm noticeably on my way to the best skin I've ever had. SCA, I love you.LONG VERSION: Around the start of this year, I was really broke and in a transition phase, so personal care became a huge priority for me since I decided that if I was going to feel dirt poor, I wasn't going to look it. Skin care was one of the most important steps I took this year to feel better.I went a little overboard and started using - SCA, have mercy on my dumb ass but I humbly accept your ridicule if you deem it necessary - grocery store olive oil as a moisturizer twice a day, as well as night cream (Sephora's house brand) and an Avène sunscreen.Oh, and guess what! I was using lemon juice as a toner, occasionally white vinegar, definitely baking soda as an exfoliant, and was regularly congratulating myself on my "all-natural" routine with so many one-ingredient products that made my skin look oh-so-soft and my pores like...vanish!I was also eating a lot of dairy, which I now know can trigger really painful blemishes for me.So, I found SCA, thought it was almost religious, and then noticed that there were several things that seemed to work for a lot of people. Progress photos really sold me on it all, especially when I found ones that looked similar to the problems I was having. If I hadn't been so ashamed of my appearance when this all started, I'd have some before & after for you all.About two weeks ago, after using La Roche Posay's Effaclar set (salicylic acid cleanser, glycolic acid toner, benzoyl peroxide spot treatment), I spread some Vaseline on my face and let it sit, then lightly rubbed my bumpy cheek to find a bunch of little gritty seeds on my fingertips. I woke up to find that a whole section of the awful closed comedones had disappeared!I went to my derm today after snagging a cancelled spot and she confirmed pretty much everything I've learned on here.She also gave me a routine, which, thanks to SCA, I know isn't a high-maintenance or absurd thing to have.Thank you, SCA!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by alewu17