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[Vanbelle]

That's something at least How is your skin compared to when you started this?

Hey Ashley! My skin compared to when I started? Well, let's see...

I've learned a lot about skin and my acne itself since I started this thread. I've gone through bad breakouts, bad reactions to trying new products, etc. Most of the topics I have posted are like skeletons of my old attempts to clear my skin. I didn't have a good grasp on acne really, or moreso, the multiple causes of acne. I still believe picking will always prevent me from completely clearing though, I'll tell you that!

So now, here are a couple things I know: I have a problem with exfoliation, with makeup clogging pores, still picking, and definitely hormones. My worst skin is right around my time of the month.

(Sidenote: I've talked about going makeup free before, but I never really did, and I didn't really understand how greatly I would benefit from it. Now I know that every day I don't wear makeup, the better my skin looks. Hands down. So this is definitely a priority now. My forehead, thanks to no makeup and AHA, is bump free! Jaw is still horrendous though. That's where my more inflamed acne is.)

I'm still working on combating hormones, but for now, my skin I know always looks significantly better when I do not touch it, do not use lathering cleanser, and right now...though I am very surprised to admit this...Dan's AHA.

The other weekend I spent 4 days not doing much of anything besides chilling at home, makeup-free, not touching my face and coated in AHA. I was always afraid of AHA because everyone always told me you could be too harsh. It appears my skin had the opposite reaction: the more I use, the better the results. I have yet to find a limit. I'm sure it will catch up with eventually, who knows.

So I am in a limbo of going in and out of wearing makeup (I'm a girl, do I have to explain why I struggle with not wearing makeup? lol) and not touching my face. I pick a little in the morning during the weekdays, because if I can make a blemish flat that will look better under a foundation. This is probably common knowledge. I should note I'm not proud of that, but that's how I think about it. I don't feel good the next day knowing I made it worse, but for some reason looking slightly better temporarily outweighs longer term goals. Working on this as well!

At this very moment, I didn't wear makeup to school today. The AHA has given me some confidence (mind you, still really broken out), so I'm hoping I can keep rolling with this. I'll see where I keep going. You can see from my sig that right now I'm doing jojoba for makeup removal, sulfur clay cleansing, AHA/sulfur spot treatment, and AHA and jojoba moisturizer. I'm letting it do it's thing. I'll post progress later.

Ashley I know you've said sulfur dries you out too much. Balancing with jojoba (basically massaging it on before use, and lathering a bit after use) has helped me greatly. Have you tried this?