Been dealing with a relapse on the left side of my face these last few weeks; most likely from picking at one or two spots. The breakout is drying up and going away now but I still have some bumps next to my eyebrows and a couple of spots on my forehead - they're all the big red kind unfortunately. Having a lot of hormonal and stress issues at the moment as well; thankfully using the Duac every night seems to be working to get rid of the current acne.

It's been a year since I began this regimen now. I currently have one active on my forehead and 5 small dark bumps on the lower part of my left cheek that are almost flat. Overall my skin is much clearer, smoother and in better condition than when I began. I'm currently using ClearZit 10% BP gel in place of the Duac to see if I can get by without the topical antibiotic element. It burns a bit but my skin is accustomed enough to BP to take twice daily application on the effected areas with no lasting redness or burns.

I've begun taking Saw Palmetto to regulate my cycles and help deal with some PCOS symptoms from excess androgens.

My acne has gone and I'm clear again. Now I just need to wait for this new hyper pigmentation to fade.

Visual update:

I'm not very happy with that big red spot on my left cheek (it's a mark, not an active pimple). Otherwise my skin's doing pretty well. My hormones have regulated again naturally for the time being: I decided against the Saw Palmetto as extra testosterone does have it's benefits and it's been a part of who I am for a long time now. My dad's started smoking again, I try to avoid being near him when he does but it sometimes means getting up and leaving the room for quarter of an hour. I wish he'd at least think about our lungs if he doesn't care about his own. Stress isn't as bad as it was.

I have the itchiest spot in the universe on my jawline. It's shrunken considerably in size since it appeared a week ago but I can actually feel it there. Grr.

My skin is pretty bad right now - lots of clogged pores, but it's the large red dots that are getting me down. It's still not as bad as it used to be, but I suppose the pressure of final year and my PCOS flare ups is really doing a number on it. I suspect that my poor circulation in the winter doesn't help either. I'm trying to be more strict about adhering to my skin care routine.

I took 50mg of zinc and 1000mg of vitamin C last night before bed and this morning quite a lot of my actives have gone flat. Sticking to not touching or picking at my face and applying quite a lot of green tea periodically.

Currently got 4 actives, 3 white heads and 1 with no head. I also have some hyper-pigmentation, some small clogged pores and a burn on my jawline. Staying very strictly faithful to my skin care routine seems to be helping quite a bit. My diet has slipped lately so I'm getting back on track with that. I've started eating oranges this week which I've never eaten before (I know, I know - my diet as a child and teen was horrific) and I've upped my intake of kale for the extra vitamin A.

I tried dry skin brushing on my face today (I know there's a link between irritation and acne, but I already physically exfoliate with no difference in the amount/severity of my blemishes). The bristles on the brush are black so it's easy to see any dead skin that comes off. All the clear areas of my skin had none whatsoever and everywhere that I get blemishes had a ridiculous amount, even though I did a face scrub not too long ago. It makes sense - I don't have oily skin at all and I wash twice daily, so my skin not shedding properly could well be the issue behind all of my clogged pores. Hopefully this doesn't break down my cells walls in the lower layers, because if it doesn't it could potentially be a fantastic way of avoiding all the clogged pores. My skin feels great currently, ridiculously smooth, not red or inflamed at all, and the benzoyl peroxide is sinking in much better. Oh well, I shall experiment so you don't have too! I'll keep you all updated at any rate.

Put some calamine lotion on over night and it seems to have calmed down the worst of the actives and faded some pigmentation a little.

No new actives today. Less dry skin from the dry brushing but still a surprising amount.

Still no new actives since I started the brushing. I put some salicylic acid on my spots last night to see if it does anything. Still completely ineffective. Thank goodness for benzoyl peroxide.

Skin looks awful, mostly my own fault for over treating. Redness and inflammation everywhere. Honestly don't know what to do at this point other than leave it alone. I wish makeup covered it up properly. I can't cancel my plans for tomorrow just because of what my face looks like but I really, really don't want some people to see me like this.

Found a new makeup technique that works a treat to cover up my blemishes for important days. May upload it some time soon. My skin's definitely healing and getting better now.

Acne is all flat marks now. Feeling a bit better about it.

Skin is looking better. Should be clear again for New Year. Merry Christmas everyone!

Been following a cleanse-tone-moisturise routine very strictly twice a day. The cleanser is still the New Dawn soap, toner is undiluted ACV, moisturiser is jojoba oil. I figure if ACV can burn off skin tags then it can deal with acne. It doesn't make my skin go red or sting but it does irritate my eyes from the smell. It's brought a few of my bumps out into full blown non-inflamed whiteheads, which are gross but actually heal and go away unlike the bump stage. Most of my skin is flat now, but quite red from hyperpigmentation. There's a few bad spots that are getting me down a bit but I'm glad they've come out of stasis at least. I have 5 days until a very, very important day, and I'm hoping my makeup will look better on by then.

Picked at some of the spots which made them red and inflamed. Doused them in calamine lotion and they look a lot better this morning.

Junk food, stress, PCOS flare up, lack of sleep, dehydration. Am I surprised I'm breaking out? Not really. I'll be able to get back into a proper routine soon enough. Been sticking with my skin care regimen 100%.

Made the ACV toner properly with 1:1 ratio of ACV and water and poured into a spray bottle to mist on after washing. Why is that it burns when the neat ACV didn't? Ah well.

Been sticking with cleanse-tone-moisturiser twice a day. My back is breaking out with mild inflamed acne and my chest has one or two spots so I'm using the toner on them as well. My cheeks are the worst part of my face at the moment.

Skipped the moisturiser last night and woke up to better skin. Going to lay off it for a while until this breakout is cleared up.

Skin is steadily improving with just washing and ACV.

Visual update.