[Personal] SCA - I want to thank you

Beauty Tips For Body Care
I've been a lurker of SCA for about two years now. I initially sought out help on reddit because I started having a cystic acne breakout at age 23 and I was absolutely devastated. I had gone through breakouts during puberty and they disappeared once I was in my later years in highschool. They left no pigmentation, scarring or anything that would indicate breakouts....And then I was hit with this and I was shocked at how awful my face looked. I would wash my face with my regular cleanser (Aveeno Foaming Cleanser) and nothing helped. I remember laying on my back in bed after washing one night and my face throbbed and was on fire from the intense amount of breakouts and inflammation I had. I cried and felt hopeless... until I came across you guys. I was intrigued by the method of using mineral oil to get grits out (I've always had very prominent sebaceous filaments on my nose and thought this might help, even though my main issue was my cystic acne). To my dismay, it didn't. I even felt like it made things worse for a while.After reading more about the HG products and the routine examples, I decided to simplify it and just got a bottle of CeraVe cleanser and moisturizer along with sunscreen. Over the following few weeks, I made sure to be strict with my routine and with not picking at my skin/acne. My skin started improving and I started to regain confidence. I still had lots of pigmentation and scarring so I branched out more and more into serums, eye creams and my routine got more complicated - BUT I was seeing results so I didn't want to stop.Today, I went without foundation for the first time since highschool (save for concealer in my under-eye area - still working on that!). I feel... free. I want to thank everyone for their posts, advice and recommendations (even though they weren't directed specifically to me). You guys are what helped me get to here and while I'll never abandon foundation for special events (I love playing with makeup lol), my daily routine is so much easier now.To those that are currently struggling: don't give up!!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by alkynejellyfish