Beauty Tips For Body Care
I've had acne since my early teens. I tried a couple OTC products at first, but most of them seemed to make no difference or dried out my skin so much it hurt. I tried oil-free "moisturizers" (so many of which had actives in them) that did not seem to hydrate my skin so much as coat it in greasy, plasticy gunk. I went to a dermatologist once, who prescribed me a retinoid, antibiotic, and benzoyl peroxide all at once, with instructions to use all of them daily after cleansing - even though I was not the most diligent kid, that kind of overload hurt my skin horribly. Since all the acne treatments I could find seemed to leave me no better off, I basically gave up after that. I did stumble across acne.org at one point, and a friend let me try their treatment and moisturizer for a few days, but the moisturizer wasn't hydrating enough for me, and I couldn't have afforded it myself anyway. Birth control toned my "moderate" acne down to "mild", and I figured that was just about the best I could hope for.The last few years, I was in a holding pattern, using a couple different Neutrogena cleansers and whatever light hippie moisturizer I could afford. I still had acne, but it wasn't that bad as long as I wasn't too aggressive with my skin, and at least my face didn't hurt.Fast forward to the past couple weeks. I have had acne for over a decade now, and it may be mild but I am just so done. I'm tired of the pimples on my chin being one of the most obvious features in my pictures, and being a pretty small guy, I really don't need anything making me look younger than I am. Thank goodness I found this sub! I couldn't quite resist overhauling my whole routine at once (whoops), so here's what I'm working with now:OCM, using a homemade blend with castor oil + the various non-comedogenic oils in my kitchen. I massage it in gently but firmly for a little bit.Wash off the oil using the Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser I've been using for a while. I think I'm going to opt for something a tad gentler once I use up my current tube, but it's fine for now.L'Occitane Angelica Toner - yay dumpster diving! I used to switch between this and a really drying toner before I learned the magic of moisture. I really appreciate having this on before...Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Daily Leave-On Mask. This is the only 2.5% benzoyl peroxide leave-on I could find at my grocery store. I'm taking it slow, applying it only every other day at first, but it hasn't made my skin angry yet.And I swapped out my moisturizer for ShiKai Borage Therapy Advanced Formula. It has a surprisingly watery texture, which I think is part of why it works for me - it goes on lightly over my oily areas while giving a lot of hydration, and I can rub a little extra into my eyes and cheeks.If I feel like doing a PM cleanse (I don't wear makeup so it's less of a necessity), I use a mixture of honey and bentonite clay. Once again, more hydration, less oil! (then toner/moisturizer.)I've been using a homemade sugar scrub (just table sugar + oil) once a week for a while now. I rub it in small circles very gently with my fingertips, and my face feels so soft afterward.I'm going to be changing my pillowcase more often, and running an alcohol swab over the ear cups of my headphones weekly.I've only been using this full routine for a few days, but the difference has been like night and day. The moisture across my face is more even than it's ever been - my cheeks are no longer dry, not even a little. My forehead may be inherently oily, but it's not slick anymore. I haven't had any new pimples - a few comedones, but everything seems to be healing faster and looking less red. My skin is so obviously better that my sister commented on it and wanted to know what I was using. It's hydrated and bouncy and soft all over.So I'm left here thinking, "Is this really all it took?" My routine isn't expensive, I haven't had the time to get hardcore about optimizing it, and it honestly doesn't take very long to do (unless I want it to - oil cleansing feels gooood.) In all that time, I could have had dramatically clearer, nicer-feeling skin if someone had just told me to use a gentle cleanser, to go slow and careful with any treatments I tried, and to search high and low for a moisturizer that would hydrate me properly without making me break out. Instead, I assumed for the longest time that I should only be using products that were "oil-free" or "for acne", leaving me in a wasteland of stripping, drying, irritating products that made my skin feel worse than if I had left it alone.I know my routine has room to improve, once I've spent a few weeks settling into it - I'm going to be on the lookout for a sunscreen, and I would be (pleasantly!) surprised if the BP totally clears my acne on its own. Even so, it's so obviously better than anything I've tried before that I'm kind of stunned.Thank you, SA! You have saved my face! Now how can we spread the word?
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by iridiumwatermelon
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