11 replies to this topic

[AutreMonde]

Salut,
I've decided (though it took every ounce of courage and low self esteem) to stop wearing foundation for the time being..

Cons of wearing makeup:
Expensive. Some how whenever I apply it, my skin looks flakey. it feels very dry, and I'm breaking out terribly at the moment so it doesn't look nice anyway.. My face peels whenever I wear concealer regardless of what kind I use. and I'm shiny as it is so its a hassle doing touch ups.

Pros of wearing makeup:
I'm semi-disguised. sort of protected from the elements.


Cons of NO makeup:
My face is utterly exposed. I'm insecure. Difficult to make eye contact. It's annoying when my hair brushes my face. been sort of itchy. I tend to touch and fiddle with my face more. I'm zit city, red like a lobster from inflammation. people stare or make remarks...

Pros of NO makeup:
Saves money. I can TOUCH my face(though i try not to). Maybe I'll clear up a little..? I'm not irritated from removing makeup all the time. I don't have to worry about stripping anything off after school. I can sleep in 30 minutes. Can apply moisturizer when needed. Some friends recommend it..


Is it worth going without makeup?
More importantly, will my face at all benefit from not masking it in foundation every day?

[Playing_In_Traffic]

I salute you if you can do it. I don't think I will ever be able to go 100% makeup free while I still get moderate acne.

Makeup doesn't seem to make my acne any worse. I have attributed at least 95% of it to diet and hormones. Since I have kicked dairy and gluten, as well as lowering my sugar and caffeine intake, the bad jawline, chin, and cheek stuff has mostly gone away. Now I get stuff here and there which seems to be because of my period and stress.

However, I do NOT use foundation. It just looks awful on my skin and makes everything look flaky and gross. I use sparing amounts of Physician's Formula Gentle Concealer stick with a light dusting of Signature minerals soft mint powder. It's light green to cover redness and works like a charm!

Otherwise, I take care in making other things on my face look nice, as it seems to pull everything together. I use a brow pencil to shape and fill and take a few minutes to make my eye makeup look nice. Swipe a bit of color on my lips and my face is good to go.

I think of it this way-even people who don't have acne do things like put on makeup every morning, curl their hair, blah blah blah. Everyone has their routine, so I try not to over think my own.

[Roisin75]

Hi AutreMonde! I am going through the whole 'no foundation' journey at the moment. I understand completely why you are thinking of doing it. I used to have perfect skin, and then three years ago I started to get acne - I have spent a long time trying to work out what has caused it but keep coming back to the thought that I got acne around the time I started wearing foundation on a daily basis. I tried switching to oil-free/ anti-blemish brands etc ... but still got acne.

2 months ago I decided to go without foundation. I just kept thinking that I would never know for sure unless I tried. (I tried last year also, but gave up too soon to know if it had made a difference).

My main advice to you is make yourself a very clear plan and time line - if you stop wearing foundation don't suddenly stop lots of other products/ start new ones - you won't know for sure what's working/causing more problems. The big mistake that I made was to give up using Duac (topical anti-biotic/BP) and Differin (retinoid) at the same time - my skin was not able to deal with these things being taken away so suddenly and became oily and covered in blackheads/bumps. I realised too late that if you decide to give up anything like retinoids/BP/ Salilyic acid you need to do it gradually - or your skin will go into shock.

The same goes for trying new products - don't try more than one at a time and give it a good few weeks to see if it works or not.

The emotional side of giving up makeup has been very difficult - it does lower your self-esteem and I have felt very depressed. I have told myself that I am going to try this for a certain amount of time, but if the acne does not go away after a certain point I will go back to the foundation and take up my doctor's referral for roaccutane (something I really don't want to do if at all possible). Life is too short to make yourself continuously miserable. I also wear it for special social occasions - again - life is too short!

If you decide to continue with no foundation I would give yourself around 6 months to give your skin time to recover. Try and accept that you are not going to look your best for a certain amount of time and get on with life.

I try and wear my hair of my face when I am at home - less irratation and oil on your skin.

At the moment I have been off makeup since January. About a month ago I started taking Tetralysal Lymecycline. 2 weeks ago I also started using a Clarisonic Plus skincare brush (very very cautiously and gently) - I use this to fight the congestion that was caused by coming off Differin and Duac. The only products that I use on my face are Eucerin Dermo-Purifyer wash and Clinique Anti-Blemish moisturiser. I realise that I probably started the Tetralysal and Clarisonic too close together . The texture of my face has improved dramatically and the blackheads seem to be going - I am beginning to feel a little bit of hope!

What other products/medication are you using at the moment?

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[Sima]

I am so proud of you for finally deciding to quit the makeup. That has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It used to take me an hour and a half to do makeup which included: moisturizing, priming, concealer, foundation, more concealer, pressed powder, and loose powder. I am looking back at pictures with my heavy makeup and it almost doesn't look natural. I have always hated makeup, really. I wish I never started wearing it. When I started using Dream Matte Mousse, the real heavy stuff, on my 13 year old skin, everything changed. I didn't know that you actually had to wash makeup off, so I would go to bed with my makeup still on! I did not know any better. I decided to go on Accutane in October and finished on March 15th. Getting rid of the acne, blackheads, shiny t-zone, and having a clear and even skin tone definitely made the process of downsizing my makeup routine so much easier. I don't wake up at 5:30 to do my makeup like I used to a year and a half ago. My makeup routine takes me about 10 minutes at most. I put a couple layers of powder on, dust some blush on real quick, use a light eyeshadow and mascara and I'm ready to go. It's nice to wake up at 7:00 now and leave the house by 7:30. I cannot even begin to express how overjoyed I am that I am getting an extra hour and a half of sleep. It is such a relief. Acne is so debilitating on both your face and your mental psyche. I am finally at peace with myself.

[jriyya]

Although it is brave of you to try this, I honestly think that it comes down to what makeup you wear, how you wear it, and how much. Back when my acne was a lot worse, there was no way I was stepping out of my house without some cover up on my face. And the products I was using weren't right so they kept making it worse, so there was a vicious cycle.

However over the past 2-3 years I've really researched different makeup brands and products, and by far the best one I've used is Bare Minerals. Ever since I started using it about 2 years ago, my acne has dramatically cleared up. Before this I was using liquid foundation, and I really believe there is nothing worse for acne prone skin than liquid foundation. It gets into the pores and clogs them up. However, bare minerals is so light and all natural, I put on a tiny bit and it goes a long way. Now I can even go out without putting on any concealer. I still get the odd pimple now and then when its the time of the month but in general there is a 95% improvement.

If you can you should definitely try using bare minerals, instead of not wearing any makeup at all. Because with me I find that when I'm not wearing any makeup at all my skin tends to get greasy a lot quicker and makes my face really shiny and awful looking. With the bare minerals it absorbs the excess oil so it looks much better.

Hope this helps.

[Heartless]

Like all others thus far, I congratulate you on your courageous choice.

I started out just using concealer to even out my skin. Now I apply a very light layer of mineral makeup (Pur Minerals) as it seems to help control my constantly oily skin. The Pur Minerals hasn't made me break out plus it has helped matte my shiny skin for at least part of the day.

[AutreMonde]

I've not worn makeup for a week and a half! I've seen a lot of improvement, but I'm not sure if it's from not wearing foundation. But I'm happy that I made this choice.
I still put on eye makeup though and have applied foundation once or twice last week. Other than that, I feel free.

[Sima]

I've not worn makeup for a week and a half! I've seen a lot of improvement, but I'm not sure if it's from not wearing foundation. But I'm happy that I made this choice.
I still put on eye makeup though and have applied foundation once or twice last week. Other than that, I feel free.

Exactly! I am proud of you. Foundation, regardless of whether or not it claims to fight acne with its .5% salicylic acid content, will still aggravate skin and make it more irritated.

[iCogito]

I guess it depends. To my surprise I've realized that makeup actually makes me break out less. I've noticed in days I didn't wear makeup I broke out more.

[Bonbonique]

I don't even remember the last time I used liquid foundations. My daily make-up routine consists of the following:

My face make-up:
- tinted sunblock SPF 30
- concealer
- powder( I touch up many times :/)
- blusher

Plus lipstick and eyeliner.

I still feel it's a lot of things to be putting on my on a daily basis but really I need some coverage and I have zero self esteem. I know I don't have normal skin and I'm constantly being surrounded by flawless perfect skinned girls in college...that's why I resort to make-up. I wanna feel normal

[anon91]

I don't have time to go through all 400 posts but I thought to share my experience with you.
Only about two months ago I started the same journey as you. I had REALLY bad inflammation that hurt LIKE HELL when I touched them, but I absolutely LOVED my makeup and I was able to cover my acne very well.

However, it started getting to a point where my right cheek started pitting. I would have an inflammation and it would go away, then reappear and stay longer. It was absolutely CONSTANT. And I hated every moment of it.

Then I realized that I wanted to be clear and not fool anyone, especially myself anymore. I wanted to be beautiful both with and without makeup. It just felt awful going home and taking my makeup off only to be greeted with an inflamed face!

So, I did a few trials, switched makeups a few times (didn't clear me), used different cleansers, different moisturizers- and finally I got tired and decided not to wear any more makeup.

I know how low a girl's self esteem can get. I was one of them! I would always look down on the ground when walking past someone, no eye contact, lumpy clothes, minimal contact with people-just awful! But you know, it's worth it to forgo your makeup for now. This self-esteem is temporary IF you work on it. Hold your head up, look people in the eye that shows them you're confident in your own right. Studies show that confidence matters more than looks when it comes to interacting with people. So there you go. I swear this isn't 'loser' talk, but try to concentrate on what makes you beautiful aside from looks. Are you kind? Hard working? Easy going? Relaxed? etc. Then work on areas you're lacking and LEAVE YOUR FACE ALONE. You'll be amazed at the results you'll start seeing permitting time.

Also, I think if you're not on already, you should try going off makeup in conjunction with using the Regimen. This way, BP kills all of bacteria (since even without makeup they can still get there right?) And you will really see results.

Best of luck to ya!

[AutreMonde]

It's been a while since I've posted this topic, but I wanted to give an update:
Thanks to dan's BP Treatment, my skin is completely clear (see my success story on my blog) I no longer wear foundation (unless performing, then it's required), rather maybe some concealer, powder, maybe blush, and eye makeup. I'm very happy with my decision and outcome. Thanks for your feedback!