3 replies to this topic

[bige24680]

As I sit writing this, my acne is probably the worst it has ever been in my life, and I am making it my number one goal to never let it get any worse. My acne is primarily on my cheeks, and is extremely red due to current and past cysts. I have tried proactiv, murad, and countless natural remedies such as vinegar and lemon juice, and nothing has ever worked for me.

My acne has progressively gotten worse as of late, and I think I know the primary cause. I am a guy that is very self-consious about my skin, and this self-consciousness caused me to begin wearing makeup a year or so ago. At first, I only used makeup in spots, but as the acne got worse, the makeup began making it's way to all parts of my face. Now, everyday when I apply makeup, I cover my entire face, and I am still not satisfied with the results. This, I feel, has been the main cause of the horrible acne on my cheeks.

Well, yesterday was one of my worst days ever for acne. So, I began thinking. I'm using soaps designed for treating acne and applying makeup, and my acne is only getting worse. Before I did either of these things, my acne was non existent. I am nearly certain that the makeup is causing my acne to progressively worsen. So here's my regimen, which started officially last night at 7:00pm

1. I take two showers a day, it's just what I do. However, I will no longer wash my face with any harsh soaps or any cleansers at all for that matter. Simply water from now on.

2. I will not wear makeup for as long as possible. I am not certain how long this is, but as of right now, it's been 19 hours and 26 minutes with no makeup. At any rate, I cannot go out without makeup, so I will go as I can take it.

3. I will not pick or touch my face at all. Normally, I pick and touch a lot during the day, which I know only makes acne worse, so I will try very hard to stop this (I've tried this before, and never succeeded, it's very hard for me)

I will try to post every day with my progress, and if it works, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

As of now, my acne is very bad, and red on both cheeks. I have a little flaking going on, and my face has an overall "bumpy" texture when in the light.

[bige24680]

Good luck But yes, you CAN go out without makeup. I had nasty acne and red marks all over my cheeks and chin and went out without makeup every day. I even had nasty flaking skin.

I have a hard time not touching and picking as well. I can touch my face and not break out if the touching is casual and not done to actually inspect my acne (like resting my face on my hands or something), but picking led to bad acne this year. I recommend not looking in the mirror when you don't actually need to (at first I would not look when I'd stay home all day, but now I just make sure to only allow myself to look for a minute or less when I actually go to use the bathroom. If I'm just in my room or something and I don't need to go to the bathroom, then I don't look at myself), and do things to keep your hands and mind busy. If keeping your hands busy is hard, or your hands still gravitate to your face, wear thick mittens/gloves so that you can still touch but aren't able to pick.

But please don't post daily. Daily logs are one of the reasons I had a hard time with my skin because I was inspecting my face too much. At the most, update here once a week.

Thank you. I'm just so tired of having acne that I have to do something about it. I haven't decided about posting daily or not yet. Sometimes, if I can write on here, it keeps me busy and keeps me from touching my face, and keeps me motivated to keep it up. I don't know, we will see tomorrow I guess.

[Hayley29]

hiya! i am currently not working and have waaaay too much time on my hands so like you i cant stop picking. The idea that if you pick/squeeze them theyll go but ofcourse it always has the adverse effect!!! But when im busy i dont so much. its just keeping busy ) and for me its hard at mo whilst not working!!! (

[bige24680]

Good luck But yes, you CAN go out without makeup. I had nasty acne and red marks all over my cheeks and chin and went out without makeup every day. I even had nasty flaking skin.

If you don't mind me asking, how bad was your cheek acne? My cheeks are basically the only areas that I am self-conscious about, because the acne on both of them is really bad. There are also very dark red spots left over from previous acne there. When I look in the mirror with no makeup, My cheeks look absolutely terrible, very dark red and inflamed is the general appearance. If I could get my cheeks to clear up, I'd be able to deal with no makeup so much easier because I don't really worry about my acne that I get on my jawline, chin, and forehead. I was just wondering how bad your cheeks got, and if you knew anything about very bad cheek acne that I should know. Thanks