Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hi! I created a separate account for this so I could share photos with you of what I have going on with my face. Visual aids are always such a plus.Alright, so I don't really have a routine, and that's probably my biggest problem. I'm hoping that after I tell you my tale, I can get pointed in the direction of some product recommendations. I've been lurking for about a week and I'm overwhelmed.Some background info: I started doing the OCM pretty exclusively about a year ago. I've dabbled with a few different oils, but I've mostly used evening primrose oil because it is what I have access to at the moment. I use shea butter as a moisturizer and I occasionally use apple cider vinegar diluted with water as a toner. I also occasionally use raw honey for a cleanser/mask. I discovered the natural beauty subreddit a year or so ago and wanted to dive in head first. I am now second guessing that decision, although I'm not sure whether or not I should be because during the time in which my skin went from clear to severe acne nightmare, I was also using a Mirena IUD.The Mirena IUD is known for causing acne because of the high androgenic activity of the levonogestrel that it uses. I wish I had known this before I got it, but it's out now and I'm now using a non hormonal copper IUD (Paragard) instead.When my acne started getting noticeably bad in February of this year, I chalked it up to moving- "oh, I must be accidentally touching my face after touching the old dirty stuff in the closet" or "oh, it must just be stress." We finished moving, stress was minimal, face was clean, but acne was still persisting. I dug a little deeper with internet research and that is when I became educated about the potential of Mirena causing acne.Fast forward to August 4th, I get my Mirena taken out and I start using Retin A Micro .1%.My acne is worse! I did expect this, however, because "THE PURGE" of Retin A is pretty well know, along with the fact that I was expecting my hormones to be a little crazy for a while as they adapt to the withdrawl of the synthetic progesterone in Mirena.So, I'm still going along with my natural regimen, when it occurs to me that this could be another factor- I slather the shea butter on my face at night and wake up with white heads every single morning. The fact that I have no idea if these issues are connected is my punishment for never patch testing anything in the past- I have learned my lesson.I started using the Retin A twice a week, then every two days, and now I've been doing it every other day. I wouldn't call my skin "scaly" or "flaky" and I'm not experiencing bothersome redness (other than the red of the PIH and acne, or course!) so, I do think that my skin is doing alright with the Retin A.Okay, I'm sorry that was so long, and if you're still with me, thank you for reading! I figured I might as well give you as much information as possible about what's been going on with my skin.I'm losing faith in my natural regimen and feel that I should potentially abandon ship and get myself a cleanser and a moisturizer that is not shea butter. I'm so confused by the myriad of different anecdotes that I have no idea where to begin. I am intrigued by LaRoche Posay, but the price tag is a little frightening. I am also intrigued by CeraVe, but many people seem to say that they broke out from it? Also, I know I need to be gentle because of my Retin A treatment. If someone can help me make sense of this and give me some ideas on where to begin, I will be eternally grateful!Picture time!The "Before" Picture. I believe this was around May 2014- before my skin started freaking out and before the Mirena (which I got in January of the same year) started working it's "magic" on me. It also may be worth mentioning that I was using the Proactiv system at this time.Here is where I started noticing "oh damn, my skin is getting out of control!" so I decided to start regularly photographing it to track its journey.Two days post Mirena removal and around the time I started using Retin A Micro.08/16/2015Aaaaaand yesterday.Thanks for reading!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by YoDawg_I_HaveBadSkin
No comments:
Post a Comment