I didn't realize i haven't posted in so long
my skin looks better
my right cheek is basically clear besides redmarks
my chin has redmarks that could form into acne and blackheads
my nose has blackheads
my left cheek has bright red marks, some are raised
about 4 or 5
they are slowly going away but I'm just trying to get rid of them. they are extremely frustrating because i can't pop them or anything.

Yay

Update with skin
I started exfoliating with baking soda every other day and the red bumps on my cheek shrunk but I still have nice bright redmarks. (mostly on left cheek, right cheek the redmarks are kinda fading)
Its my time of the month and I broke out a little on chin and one big zonker =[ on my right cheek but I do not think this is caused by the baking soda.
I always break out during my time of the month.
Its horrible!
Christmas Eve is tomorrow which is great. Then Christmas also great. Then I get to go to a concert. Then I go on vacation. So life isn't horrible. It could be worse.
You know what would make it better...?
CLEAR SKIN
I'm so close. My forehead is clear. thank god. chin covered in blackheads ... don't know what to do to get rid of them. little zit by mouth which is the absolute WORST place to get one. its impossible to cover up.
I should be sleeping all winter break but I'm out all the time so I wear makeup to cover up my "beaaaaautiful" acne which seems to stunt my acne from getting better but doesn't necessarily make it worse.
I like the Burt's Bee's pore refining mask but I have trouble finding the right consistency. I end up using way too much powder and its a big mess.
My skin tone seems to be improving slightly.
But the redmarks are extremely stubborn and make my face look super red. They will probably get worse when I go on vacation. I want to be tan but I have to wear SPF 50 so that I don't get sunburned.
Also, I do not know what to do about my oily skin. It's disgusting My skin is always so shiny. I hate it.
I also need to drink more water than I have been drinking..

I leave tomorrow for my vacation. I have to be careful with the sun and everything because my redmarks are slowly fading and I CAN NOT let them get worse. I would rather be pale.
My skin is getting better
but 2 really small whiteheads pop up every now and again.
I am going to exfoliate with baking soda every 2 days instead of every other day because it is kinda harsh but I can tell it is helping my acne.
I don't really know if the Burts bees mask is good or not I can't tell but I am going to lay off that for a little bit. A lot of times I use way too much stuff and expect quick results.
I am going to stick with my regimen and just pray to god it works.

Back from my vacation!
It was great to be in the warm weather. It is so cold here and my skin gets so dry. I got back friday and on saturday my skin went back to being pretty very dry. When I was in Florida my skin wasn't dry at all!
My big zits are shrinking.
I have a lot of redmarks and my skin is kinda bumpy from old acne.
I haven't been wearing a lot of makeup. Just a few times over break. Only at parties or going out to dinner I wore makeup.
I want to try the Physicians formula Rx concealer. I heard its good.
Also I am considering taking more supplements. I have been reading on these forums about B5. I want to try that and see if it helps with my oily skin.
Also I am going to take Omega 3 capsules.
I might start drinking ACV but it is horrible for my teeth and tastes like shit so I'm not sure if I will do that.
I am still using jojoba oil as a moisturizer mostly at nightime. Sometimes on days when I am not going out I use it in the morning. I recently started applying with a cotton ball and it helps apply it without a mess.
I don't want to go back to school tomorrow! Honestly I hate having to get ready and see everyone every day. I don't want to wear makeup but I also don't want to go to school with a bare face.. =/

SCHOOL SUCKS.
no specific reason but its so gloomy. Everyone doesn't want to be there. It's just bleh.
My skin is getting bettahh. IT IS SO OILY THOUGH. WOW its disgusting. I am so disgusted with my skin's oil production. After I run out of my B5 pills (probably in 10 days) I am going to megadose that biznatch. Yes, it might make my hair brittle but I am willing to take that chance. I am going to do a lot more research online though.
Started drinking ACV again. Just about a tablespoon a day maybe less than that even. It is manageable. And my zits on my cheek flattened considerably. They all came to heads (it's only a few) But they are still pretty inflamed. That is my big problem, my acne is so inflamed! My skin is definitly improving though and I am taking fish oil capsules also twice a day. I don't know what it does but I just started so maybe it will help something! I know its great for you though.
I wear foundation on my cheeks and nose. I don't need it on my chin or forehead so I don't use it. Actually my skin looks worse when I wear a full face of foundation because the mineral makeup accentuates the dryness of my chin/mouth area and forehead.
After I conquer my inflamed acne I am going to have to tackle these blackheads. A lot of people use Mandelic [sp?] Acid on their blackheads. I definitly won't be changing my regimen anytime soon but I'll ask my dermatologist about it when I go back if my inflamed acne is all cleared up. (doubt that will happen soon but I HOPE it does.
I'm rambling a lot today

got to go to Walgreens and get that concealer. I need to be more frugal with my money though...

My skin looks pretty good. I just woke up though and it always looks good when I just wake up..
I have bright redmarks on my left cheek still but they aren't bumpy and I have an inflamed zit that is shrinking. My right cheek is one recent redmark from an inflamed zit that is going away and then old redmarks that are faded. My chin is clear except for blackheads. My forehead is clear except one incoming zit inbetween my eyebrows. oh boy. bad place. I might spot treat that because it is still quite small and has not surfaced but I can see it got more red since yesterday. I am proud of myself for keeping up the routine of B5, Fish oil, and ACV. A lot of times I forget or slip up but I have not forgotten once. I usually messup on the weekends but even when I got home last night I remembered!

On a completely different note I want to dye my hair.. I have dark chocolatey brown hair and dark eyebrows. I want to lighten my eyebrows ever so slightly. I don't think I'll do that myself tho because I would probably mess it all up and turn my eyebrows blonde hahaha. With my hair I was talking to a couple of my friends last night at a party and they said a reddish brown would look good for my hair. I think it looks neat when people have a subtle lighter color on top and darker on bottom.

Soo today I popped the pimple between my eyebrows. It came to a head and seemed ready to pop. I did it with a sterilized needle and then just applied a little pressure with tissue. I also iced it with a paper towel and ice cube. Then I put neosporin on it. When I do this it usually helps reduce swelling and inflammation. It is still inflamed but its getting flatter. The redmarks on my left cheek don't seem to be getting better but no new zits are popping up on that cheek(knock on wood). My t-zone is extremely oily right now. It has been 4 hours since I woke up and washed my face. 3 hours since I showered nd my face looks wet. I am going to megadose the B5 in a week or so once I get more pills.
The good thing about my skin right now is that it is not too dry and I can cover up my redmarks. My main problem is the oilyness.
What I hate about my skin is how large my pores are on my t-zone but they are fine everywhere else. A lot of people have said that olive oil helps with redmarks. I wonder if it would help me. I'm not going to switch to it or anything because My skin is improving and I'm not about to f*ck it all up and add things to my regimen.

I haven't gotten any new zits for the past five days. I am not going to megadose the B5. It is too expensive and I was reading that it only temporarily reduces oil. I think that seems like a waste to do all that. I'm just going to do 2 gs a day. I can't find the 500mg bottles anywhere except online and my parents won't pay for that so I'm just going to reduce my rate of taking the B5 because I used up the bottle in a couple of weeks.
Well my redmarks are kind of getting better. Idn They are still there and really hard to get rid of. I started doing the eggwhite and lemon mask every night and that seems to help tighten my pores a bit and reduce the inflammation of my redmarks. I also added a little more water to ACV and it helped a lot with my skin. I think it was too strong because now my skin is less dry. No more baking soda exfoliating. I exfoliate once or twice a week with yogurt, aspirin and honey and that helps a lot with my skin tone and texture.
Maybe my dermatologist will help with my oily skin. I haven't asked her about it before because that wasn't the main thing on my mind.
Hopefully my skin will only get better. My regimen seems to be working well for me I just have to make sure to keep it up, drink lots of water and have hope!!
Today I have to do a movie for my english final. Then I have to study for the other finals. UGHHH i hate finals! My grades are good at this moment but finals could change all that =/..
Also I tried this new mascara, L'oreal double extend and its good because it doesn't smudge. I need stuff like that since my eyelids are so oily.

blueahslfisdha
two new small zits
and one fleshy colored bump on my chin.
this puts a damper on my day.
i hate acne. yes i do. i hate acne. how about you.
ALL MY FRIENDS HAVE GREAT SKIN.
my new enemies could be due to timeofthemonth or just stress from finals.
I want to be able to not wear a shitload of makeup to school. It looks gross anyways by the end of the day.
If I didn't have oily skin I would not have such a big problem with dealing with acne because I could at least cover it up and not worry about it fading off during the day or turning into a flakey strange mess.
Well hopefully these babies on my right cheek will go down. I put aspirin on them to spot treat.
I do not know how to spot treat well though nothing really works very well for me.
Also I am breaking out slightly on my back again.. what the heck its been clear for like 6 months.
I got a zit on my neck aswell..
on my left cheek the redmarks have smoothed over but they are still very bright. I don't know what to do about them. I am going to ask my dermatologist what to do about that next time I see her but I don't know when that will be.
I'm dying my hair next weekend after finals and im going shopping so that will lighten my mood and once finals are over I can relax!


p.s. does anybody love buying new school supplies?

I'm in a good mood today. Haha why am I so flip floppy this week. Well finals are over. thank god. I hope that I got B's or higher on all my finals. I had straight A's but 3 of them are 90's so it's one of those things where it can go either way depending on my final.
I just talked to my history teacher about next year and I'm going to move up to AP American History. ahh thats intense.
So I have a 5 day weekend, I am dying my hair tomorrow. I decided to buy henna dye for the top section of my hair. It is semi-permament and is actually good for hair so I thought it would be a good idea to do that since it is my first time ever "experimenting with color". Hah watch my hair look exactly the same afterwards. I have darkish brown hair with golden undertones I think.. and I got mahogany henna hair dye and then "dark auburn" for my lowlights. The lowlights I'm doing are permament dye and have ammonia which isn't so good for my hair.. I don't know how I will exactly do that but I'm probably just going to do the lowlights another day. So interesting... my hair coloring adventure... sike.
Anywho my skin looks dcent I haven't broken out since lke 3 days ago. The zit I popped on my lower left cheek (actually it popped on its own when I did the oil cleansing method) It is healing kind of. I don't know how to describe it but you know when a zit like gets the layer of skin over it a day or two after you pop it and it like flakes off kind of?- tmi? sorry..
Redmarks are still a pain in the ass but they seem to be shrinking but not getting less bright. Does that mean the eggwhite and lemon mask I have been doing is working?..
I have been good about remembering to take my supplements and meds! Now I need to drink enough water. I seriously drink 4 glasses of water a day. It's horrible.
If anybody is reading this and has a suggestion to stop my horrid oily skin I would love to hear it. Once my redmarks fade I am not wearing makeup anymore because my oily skin just makes it all worse.

Hiya sweetie.

I really know how you feel! Everyone at work has clear skin and just seems like I'm the only one with acne. =/

However I think blotting papers are great for absorbing oil. Have you tried them? xxxx

I get you. I got acne at age 8 and have gone to so many derms and so many products I 'feel like a guinea pig'!! I get so jealous of all my friends. They seem to be able to do nothing ti thier skin, but it is still flawless. And I hate having to wear makeup. I have had to wear it since I was about 10-I'm 13 now. The only way to cover my acne is with tons of makeup. And the oil does not help.

But yes- I ♥ buying new school stuff! And getting it all ready and labeled is so fun.

yeah! thanks for responding. I just bought OC8 and ill post back on how it worked for me. Right now I don't have any zits *knock on wood* and my redmarks are kind of getting better. I got put in swimming for gym!!! it sucks.
well im going to a huge masquerade party tonight. im excited!

OC8 is not too great at controlling oil. I've tried applying it before and after makeup. No real difference.
It maybe keeps oily skin looking not oily for an hour but then its back to normal. I am going to ask my dermatologist next time I see her what to do about my oily skin - Even though she will most likely just prescribe a product that will make a 2% improvement.

my skin looks good right now. I broke out a little but that was expected & it went away with neutrogena's rapid clear gel. I started to do a mask with turmeric powder (the spice), cinnamon, egg, honey, and lemon. My face loves this mask. It has helped with redmarks noticeably in a week. I feel like I am wasting a lot of eggs though, I want to make the mask and put it in the fridge but I feel like it will gross out my family..

Congrats on finding something that works ! Not sure what exactly OC8 is... but hey... if it works, go for it lol. As for oil control, it used to be a big problem for me, going through oil blotting sheets, now... I rarely use them. My face used to get really oily if I stayed in an enclosed, unventilated room for hours and hours. I'm up and about most of the time now, going out and such, or just not bothering to consistently blot helped it out ?

I do drink a lot more caffeine lol >_> but that's not the case. I moved to a place where it snows prolly the condition of the air. Winter = makes skin dry, less oil too. But I'm back in no snow zone and my skin's oils are staying under control. I'll let you know if I discover something !

Hey thanks for replying. OC8 kind of works but it only delays the shine an hour or two.
So today I have been looking for ideas to help with blackheads, red marks, and oily skin. I am going to the dermatologist soon because she told my dad I had to see her if I wanted her to continue my prescription of the antibiotics.
But yeah anyways I am going to ask her about mandelic acid. I got a sample of it when I bought the OC8 and have been using it on my nose and chin. My chin has a little red bump and it is shrinking but I can't tell if the blackheads are changing at all.
Also my pores are huge. It really bothers me, especially on my cheeks.
I usually use the ACV toner and it is very diluted, but today I changed it a little and added more vinegar and then I added pomegranate green tea(with hibiscus) to it. Supposedly green tea soothes the skin and helps skin tone, pomegranate and hibiscus are both good for the skin too. I doubt that will make me break out.
I am also adding olive oil to my nightly regimen instead of jojoba oil. Olive oil supposedly helps red marks so I am going to try that.
I figure I should try cheaper alternatives before investing in mandelic acid, micro dermabrasions(sp?), etc.
My regimen thus far
Wash face with Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser
Apply Clarifoam EF
Moisturize of Oil of Olay SPF 15 for Sensitive Skin

Nightime
Wash face with Cetaphil
(sometimes use egg white and lemon mask)
Apply toner
Apply Tazorac to cheeks, and Mandelic Acid sample to nose and chin
Apply Olive oil

I know I am switching my regimen around but not really drastically,
So the Clarifoam I use still makes my face slightly red and I don't think it helps breakouts so I am going to stop using it.
Regimen:
AM
Wash with Cetaphil
and a few times a week exfoliate skin
Moisturize with Oil of Olay and drop of olive oil

PM
Wash with Cetaphil(only to remove makeup)
Egg white and lemon mask
ACV+tea toner
Tazorac

orally, I take amoxicillin, fish oil, and multivitamins. The B5 is expensive and I don't think it makes a big difference unless I megadose it.
I am going to my dermatologist on Thursday, she will probably prescribe me something new. Hopefully it won't make my skin worse. I am going to ask about my red marks and oily skin, maybe she will have some ideas.
I'm on spring break right now and I'm enjoying taking it easy

today I went to see my dermatologist. Wow what a waste of time. I haven't seen her in a while because I hate going and my skin has been kind of improving.
But anyways the visit lasted about 5 minutes. I honestly would like a little more time spent on looking at my options or talking about what I can do. She will look at my face from like 2 feet away take notes and then prescribe me something new. Today it was aczone (dapsone 5% gel). I asked her about my red marks, she told me there was NOTHING I could do besides laser treatment. Oh really? Is that so? Hmm... OK. I know for a fact that is not true. She lowered my dosage of antibiotics to 1 a day instead of 2. That actually made me happy because it is expensive to have to buy a new bottle every month. I wasn't happy coming out of the office because I feel like she should have at least pretended to care. I go to the pharmacy right after with my dad and the lady who works there warns my dad that we will have to pay $162 per tube for the aczone, so he says know obviously and tells her that he won't need that filled. She was very nice, understood and told us that there is a cheaper version of the same product for about $30. I am happy my dad didn't fill the prescription for the aczone and I completely understand because it is ridiculously expensive. My skin is not bad at all. I broke out slightly from my period(sorry if that grosses you out) and that is it. I have redmarks and oily skin but aczone is for inflamed acne not redmarks or oily skin! I am not going to even bother looking for the generic/ cheaper version of aczone because I do not feel like I need another topical/harsh chemical to make my skin better. UGHHH I feel like there are products out there that CAN help my blackheads, oily skin, and red marks.
I am sticking with my current regimen but I will wean off of twice a day to once a day with the antibiotics.
So far my skin looks good (IMO) It is still oily, but I feel more secure to go without foundation. I only used a little layer of cover up on the zit on my cheek and chin. I bought the Queen Helene Mint Julep mask and I used it as a full face mask a couple days ago. I love the minty smell! --I also used it as spot treatment at nighttime and WOW it helped a ton. The zits on my chin totally shrunk and are less inflamed. The one on my cheek is still the same size but is now almost flat. It never came to a head. It just looks like a big ugly red mark.
I bought self tanner stuff for my face because allll my friends are tan from spring break or are going tanning and I am the palest one but I don't want to go to an indoor place because the two times I went made my red marks super bright. I bought Olay Touch of Sun Daily UV facial moisturizer and it was $15(kind of expensive but hopefully worth it) . It got good reviews on makeupalley.com I am crossing my fingers it won't cause any breakouts. I was going to get the Dove Energy Glow for face but I couldn't find it at CVS, Walgreens, or the supermarket.
long post today heheh.

So I stopped using Clarifoam because it was making my face red and I broke out a little bit,
I started to use aczone because my dermatologist gave me a box of samples. Hopefully we can mooch samples off of her every time we run out. It is so expensive!!!
I hope it helps. It is supposedly good and helps with inflamed acne which is mostly what I have.
I want to eat healthy for my skin and everything but it is so had for me to do that!
I am wearing less foundation to school and I am proud of myself for that, my skin gets better when I wear less makeup but idn.