My Journey to Clear Skin! (Pictures Inside)

Hello, everyone! I haven't posted in awhile because I have finally
found something that works! I remember feeling so disheartened at the
height of my acne issues, so I am hoping someone will benefit by seeing
that there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel!

Last year at this time (From November 07-February 08) my skin was just
miserable. I took a couple shots at my worst so that I would be able to
track my journey. Of course, I only lasted a few days because I ended up
getting really depressed over it.

Well, fast forward one year later. I am at the point now where I only have
the rare small whitehead, nothing big, and some blotchiness and scarring.
The blotches and scars are easily covered by a small amount of makeup. I
am no longer embarrassed to leave my house without a full face of makeup.

Here is my regime, I have been following it for almost a year now.

Morning: Rinse face with water, apply collagen filler lotion (CVS brand)
and take 2 L-Lysine pills.

Night: Wash face with L'Oreal Skin Genesis, apply collagen filler lotion.

Plus, a short trip to the tanning salon, about once a week for 8-10
minutes or so.

That is it. I don't use any acne products on my face anymore. I think they
dried my skin out and made it worse. I also haven't changed my diet at
all.

(Note, I did absolutely no editing in Photoshop besides bumping the
brightness since I live in a very dark apartment. The before and after
shots were both taken almost immediately after a shower, so I have no
makeup whatsoever on in either sets of photos! Also, blackouts on the eyes and mouth to try and protect my privacy.)

Without further ado...my transformation!

"Before" Pictures. Taken sometime between December '07 and January '08.
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/th.../102_1354-1.jpg

http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/th.../102_1354-1.jpg

]http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/theendofacne/102_1352-1.jpg

And....the "After" ones! These were taken tonight (February 10, 2009)
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/th.../DSC_0138-1.jpg

http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/th.../DSC_0140-1.jpg

http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt14/th...DSC_0142NEF.jpg

(Okay, so I had it set up so that you could see them in the message, but that didn't work, so you'll have to click the links I guess...sorry!)

Neutrogena Wave

I searched for this, but I didn't see anything.

I bought this today, because I am a sucker for advertising, and it actually made my skin feel a bit better! I am hoping that using it twice a day will help get rid of some of my blackheads.

Has anyone tried this? Any results?

Found a New Lotion!

My skin has been terribly dry due to topicals and antibiotics and the Aveeno, while I love it, wasn't cutting it. I bought Olay Active Hydrating Cream about a week ago and my skin is no longer dry and flaky! It even helped the eczema on my neck. The box says it won't clog pores and so far I haven't had any new breakouts.

Just wanted to pass the info along!

My Current Regimen

Well, my face is finally starting to clear up! I still have some intense scarring from a round of cystic acne I had awhile ago, but I am working on it.

I also have some scarring around my eyes from where I reacted badly to Acnomel and got 2nd degree chemical burns all over my eye lids and under my eyes.

Morning:
Wash face with St. Ives Apricot Scrub
OCM (Oil Cleansing Method) to help with very dry skin
Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer
Prefer-on scar treatment on cheeks and eyes
Multi-vitamin
Anti-histamine to take down redness

Afternoon
Moisturize throughout the day
Apply prefer-on to cheeks and eyes whenever I think of it

Evening
If I have worn makeup, wash face with 10% BP bar soap, if no makeup I skip this step
Was face with St Ives Apricot Scrub
OCM for dry skin
Tretinoinm Cream 0.05%
Moisturize with Aveeno Positively Radiant

The cold Pennsylvania weather has not been treating my skin very well, so I have been extremely dry to the point where I am constantly flaky, itchy, and red. Using the OCM method after washing my face has helped put some of the moisture back in my face.


Here are the pictures I promised. I starred out anything that could identify me, just because I am paranoid like that. The before pictures were taken in December. The After pictures were taken today, a few minutes ago. I just washed my face and applied moisturizer and have no makeup on. My skin is very smooth now, the red marks are all scars from before. I have just one active acne on my chin right now, everything else is scarring.

I'm so itchyyyyyy

I'm going nuts over here. First of all, it is winter so the air is already dry. On top of that the new acne medicine my derm gave me is drying me out. I am sooo itchy and flaky on my face. I have been moisturizing like crazy and exfoliating, but nothing is helping. My face is so red and it looks goofy compared to the rest of my body.

Right now I am icing my face in hopes of getting rid of some of the redness. What do you do when you are this dry?