An update on my last post:

So far so good!

I haven't had any new spots since using shea butter (I usually get one or two coming up every other day) It is now day 4 - the large spot I had on my nose has gone completely and I can't see or feel any new spots under the surface.

No improvement on the scars and discolouration yet, but these are early days.

I've also noticed that the shinyness of my face has reduced massively already - I do have oily skin, but even after washing, my nose and forehead has always remained shiny for some reason... and the shea butter seems to have dulled that down a bit, which is a rather nice, unexpected surprise

Its great to have these improvements so suddenly! I'm hoping this isn't a fluke and my skin will keep on improving, these dark spots are doing my head in.

sounds great so far!

keep updating.

i'd love to know how this works.

I'll definitely keep updating as often as possible

Hi everyone, its now day 5 and I'm really impressed with today's results.

I woke up today with gorgeously soft, glowing skin. No sign of oil or unnatural shine, which was great! And still no sign of any new spots, which makes me think that it wasn't a fluke afterall! I haven't gone this long without getting a new spot since I hit puberty

I used a TCA 15% peel on my scarred/discoloured areas last night and I'm still a bit blotchy in those areas because of it. But despite that, I can see that the dark spots have improved slightly. I'm hoping I'm right and the light in my room isn't just playing tricks on me. Or that the blotchiness is making them look a bit better, due to the surrounding skin being a bit darker.

I've also ran out of my BP, but before I go to my docs to get another tube, I think I'll see how the shea butter copes on its own. I haven't had any amazing results with BP alone, so I'm wondering if I should just cut it out altogether.

I'll see how this goes anyway, and I'll start to put some pictures up soon of my progress.

I've loved using shea butter on my skin in the past. To be quite honest, I'm not sure why I'm still not using it. Maybe I'll start that up again today.

I did want to say though that right now I am totally off of BP. I haven't used it for probably over 4 months or so. I have skin similar to yours, fair combination skin prone to discoloration after even mild acne. I gotta say, if I were you I would go out and buy a bottle of tea tree oil and replace any thoughts of BP with it. My skin color, tone, and complexion have improved immensely since stopping BP and replacing it with tea tree oil, and now I'm under the impression that it was the BP which was causing most of the discoloration after acne, and not the acne itself. Right now I'm using just tea tree oil (although I'd recommend diluting it when first starting usin it), applied directly to the face with the palms of my hands (think of someone applying aftershave ) after showering or washing my face. I think incorporating shea butter into this (or incorporating tea tree oil into your shea butter regimen) could work wonders. In fact, I may actually try this tonight

Anyway, best of luck and keep updating!

Thanks for the info whoalisa!

I think I'll go ahead and buy some tea tree oil asap and try this out.

I heard that BP can stop the discolouration from shifting, which made my acne look a heck of a lot worse. And good news - since coming off the BP I've had no breakouts! I thought coming off it would cause disaters.

I've been on a couple of trips recently, one to London and one to Manchester, which is why I haven't updated in a while. Whilst I was away I wasn't so hot on keeping up with my regimen, so I got a couple of new spots around my jawline and a few on my forehead. The spots I got were TINY compared to what I'm used to though. In fact, they were hardly noticable and covered up easily with makeup. But a pest not the less.

My skin is looking much better from using the shea butter and my discoloured areas are looking much better now! (Sorry I'm not taking any pics, I'm waayyy busy with college work at the moment.) I'm only a couple of weeks into this regimen now and I'm starting to wonder why I didn't try this out so long before.

Now that my discolouration is lifting, I'm starting to notice a few slightly indented scars, but nothing major. Does anyone know any easy ways to reduce these?

Thanks for reading [: x X

Today I woke up to find that all of the spots which had appeared over this past week (due to not being as strict as I should have been with my new regimen... and missing out a couple of days) have almost gone!

It works so fast! All of this happened overnight. Almost all of the blackheads I had gained around my nose and cheeks have gone! There is still some slight redness from where my larger spots were, but it has decresed a lot of the redness I had before, and the tiny spots on my forehead have completely gone now.

So I definitely know that the shea butter works for my skin. And it works wonders!

It feels good to be using a natural product as well, so I know exactly what's going onto my skin, not some crazily-named chemical concoction.

I'd try (unrefined) shea butter out if you haven't already, if it works for me, it should work for other people too! x X

Right, I think I've been using shea butter for about a month(ish) now.

Since stopping the use of BP, I've had no major breakouts, but my skin isn't as smooth as it was before - I have little bumps under the skin in my T-zone. These aren't really visible, but I can feel them when I wash my face and they're a little annoying. I still wear quite a bit of makeup to cover up the discolouration of old acne, which I think may be part of this pore-clogging.

Anyway, the good news is that my skin is still improving! I have only one teeny spot on my face now, which is an old one left over from the week of woe. So things are still looking good

Something I failed to tell you guys is, that I've been on a contraceptive pill called Dianette, which is supposed to be a good acne treatment. So far I've been on it for 3 months and my skin has improved by 50% since I started taking it, so it seems to work! I have 3 months left until I am going to be taken off it and moved onto another pill. Apparently Dianette isn't safe to take for any longer, due to a high risk of DVT :s

(And although this has been improving my rate of spot-birthing on my face, my complection has dramatically improved since adding shea butter into the mix.)

Unfortunately, I still haven't managed to get my mitts on some tea tree oil - my money's been going towards art supplies for my college course at the moment. I can't wait to get some and try it out! Hopefully it will help with those small bumps I have x X

Hi,

Great posting, I think I really want to try the shea butter since my skin is like yours. Is there a certain kind you use? I don't think I've ever bought shea butter before... just cocoa butter for my tummy when I was prego lol Which, btw, is awesome stuff for preventing stretch marks.

Ok, getting off topic there! BP has always worked pretty well but irritated my skin like crazy. Very dry and blotchy. After reading the posts here, I think a lil tea tree oil and shea butter might be in my future!

I also want to add that I too was on a BCP to help with acne, Yaz. I've been on it for almost 2 months (not that long, I know) but it makes me feel really crummy and I'm freaking out b/c there's all these lawsuits going after people who had PE's, strokes, clots... scary stuff and not worth it

I hope you keep posting about how the shea butter and hopefully tea tree oil is working out for you! I'll be hoping for the best and trying to follow along.

skylyre

I recently bought some JoJoba Oil after hearing that it might help acne-prone skin, and my facewash has coconut oil in it. My skin isn't improving though, so I think I will try your regimen, along with the tea-tree oil also. I will buy some tomorrow; I've seen Tea Tree oil on the shelves but any advice where to find Shea Butter? I've seen lotions with Shea Butter in it, but no Shea Butter on its own.

I recently bought some JoJoba Oil after hearing that it might help acne-prone skin, and my facewash has coconut oil in it. My skin isn't improving though, so I think I will try your regimen, along with the tea-tree oil also. I will buy some tomorrow; I've seen Tea Tree oil on the shelves but any advice where to find Shea Butter? I've seen lotions with Shea Butter in it, but no Shea Butter on its own.

I got my shea butter from here: http://www.agbangakarite.com/

It's unrefined and comes straight from Africa. They have a bulk store and a retail store, depending on how much you want to buy. I just ordered a small jar from the retail store so I could see if I like it. Unrefined is good because you're not getting all the other crap in it that might clog your pores or irritate your skin.

Also when you buy tea tree oil, read the label to make sure it is 100% TTO. I noticed the one from the body shop has a few other things in there too, so you won't get the real effectiveness. I found my TTO in the vitamin section at a drug store. I think it's called Nature's Bounty. I've also heard Desert Essence makes some.

skylyre

Finally got some tea tree oil with the little money I have! If you live in the UK they sell it at Wilkinson for ‚£1.99. I made the mistake of getting mine from Boots before I saw this and it set me back ‚£4 for the same sized bottle bad times.

Anyway, the tea tree oil seems to be doing the trick alongside my shea butter. I've been using the two for around 3 days now and the small bumps I had under my skin are gone! I made a mixture of the two by just dripping the tea tree oil into some of my shea butter and stirring it all together, just because I'm a bit lazy really! I love how the tea tree oil makes my skin all tingly after I've applied it

Any problem areas, I just rub in loads of tea tree oil and it seems to sort it out. I've had the odd one or two spots breaking through, but I think that's due to all the stress I've been going through lately.

I'm still not 100% clear, but I sure am looking wayyy better x X

Hi,

 

Great posting, I think I really want to try the shea butter since my skin is like yours. Is there a certain kind you use? I don't think I've ever bought shea butter before... just cocoa butter for my tummy when I was prego lol Which, btw, is awesome stuff for preventing stretch marks.

 

Ok, getting off topic there! BP has always worked pretty well but irritated my skin like crazy. Very dry and blotchy. After reading the posts here, I think a lil tea tree oil and shea butter might be in my future!

 

I also want to add that I too was on a BCP to help with acne, Yaz. I've been on it for almost 2 months (not that long, I know) but it makes me feel really crummy and I'm freaking out b/c there's all these lawsuits going after people who had PE's, strokes, clots... scary stuff and not worth it

 

I hope you keep posting about how the shea butter and hopefully tea tree oil is working out for you! I'll be hoping for the best and trying to follow along.

 

skylyre

Sorry my reply is so late, I bought my unrefined shea butter from an online store because I hadn't seen any in my local shops, but it looks as though you've gone and got yourself some now anyway xD I got a 100g tub and because a little goes a long way, I can see this lasting me months, so I'd keep that in mind.

I used to use palmers cocoa butter on my face for my scarring but I ran out of it quite quickly, I also found it quite expensive. I don't think it was too great for my skin either, I remember breaking out a bit whilst using it. But my skin used to be awful. It smelt gorgeous though! If only shea butter had such a lovely scent.

I know, the pill is kinda scary, but I've had no problems with it so far. I was on a different one previously for a year too - I was told that if I didn't have any blood clotting and other hazards in the family, I should be fine. This one I'm on now is like danger zone though... so I'm a bit worried about it. The past three months have gone well, only two and a half more months to battle through, then I'll be put on somthing else. I'll be glad then, I've been so paranoid about it lately, but it does look like its working. x X

Hey I'm glad you like the shea butter and TTO reg so far! I'm still waiting for my shea butter lol but I know it will be here soon. The tingley feeling of the TTO is the best and it smells good too! It makes my whole bathroom smell like it, probably cuz the cotton ball stays in the trash haha.

You are lucky to find some TTO for ‚£1.99! I think that's about $4.00 here is the US. I just paid $10.00 for my bottle! At least I don't use a lot though. But I'm gonna shop around when it's gone and hopefully find some cheaper lol.

I started a log too, which isn't official yet since I don't have shea butter, but I started it anyway heh. I'll keep checking yours to see how it goes, good luck with it!

skylyre

I just bought some tonight online so i'll have to wait to start it but as you can see I already added it to my signature!

I'm loving my skin today! This regimen is really working, and I truly wasn't expecting results like this. I really should get my act together and post some pictures soon, it should happen some time next week after I've done my college assignment.

Anyway, the tea tree oil is working its magic on my blackheads?/small bumps under the skin. I don't really know what to call them! My skin feels lovely and smooth, pretty much like how it did whilst I was using the BP, only now my skintone is improving as well as my acne.

The discolouration I have around my jawline has faded massively since using the shea butter. Its only the newer scars that are the most visible. There's one on the left hand side of my face which doesn't seem to want to budge. I'll try and track its progress with photos once I get all my college stuff done and dusted

Hey I'm glad you like the shea butter and TTO reg so far! I'm still waiting for my shea butter lol but I know it will be here soon. The tingley feeling of the TTO is the best and it smells good too! It makes my whole bathroom smell like it, probably cuz the cotton ball stays in the trash haha.

 

You are lucky to find some TTO for ‚£1.99! I think that's about $4.00 here is the US. I just paid $10.00 for my bottle! At least I don't use a lot though. But I'm gonna shop around when it's gone and hopefully find some cheaper lol.

 

I started a log too, which isn't official yet since I don't have shea butter, but I started it anyway heh. I'll keep checking yours to see how it goes, good luck with it!

 

skylyre

I just bought some tonight online so i'll have to wait to start it but as you can see I already added it to my signature!

Wahey! Please tell me about your progress with shea butter too

And something pretty much unrelated, that I forgot to mention-

I found out about this exfoliating method using sticky tape a while ago, which is supposed to help fade scars quicker and all that lovely stuff. Sounds good, so I might give that a go too. Haha I'm trying out so many new things at the moment! If anyone else has discolouration/scarring like me, maybe you should give it a go too. Worth a try 'ey? I'll post more about it once I've had a couple of goes with it, you never know, sticky tape could be the answer to my scar related sorrows xD

QUOTE (sunshine07 @ Nov 16 2009, 02:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just bought some tonight online so i'll have to wait to start it but as you can see I already added it to my signature!

Wahey! Please tell me about your progress with shea butter too

And something pretty much unrelated, that I forgot to mention-

I found out about this exfoliating method using sticky tape a while ago, which is supposed to help fade scars quicker and all that lovely stuff. Sounds good, so I might give that a go too. Haha I'm trying out so many new things at the moment! If anyone else has discolouration/scarring like me, maybe you should give it a go too. Worth a try 'ey? I'll post more about it once I've had a couple of goes with it, you never know, sticky tape could be the answer to my scar related sorrows xD

Are you still using the shea butter?

I read that Jojoba oil helps dissolve those small bumps under the skin. Just by gently rubbing a drop in the areas you have them. Oil dissolves oil (crazy I know...)

As for blackheads I've read great things about egg whites. Whisk up some egg whites and using a brush apply it to your nose/problem areas and then put a piece of clean tissue on there and paint on some more egg whites. Once it dries up and feels hard, slowly peel it off and there goes the blackheads!