Rules;
1. NO PICKING/SQUEEZING!! I think this is one of my biggest problems, as I seem to only get spots recurring in the areas I pick at. I really don't like going out with a load of whiteheads on my face, especially when I'm supposed to be seeing my boyfriend, but I know my skin breaks out 5x worse and gets so inflamed and leaves dark PIH when I do. This is going to be the hardest thing for me, but I know I need to stick to it.
2. Stop obsessing over the condition of my skin - the world isn't going to end if I go out with a couple of spots on my face!!!
3. Only eat sweet things 2-3 times per week (I'm excluding the dark chocolate squares I eat a couple of times a week from this haha).
4. Only eat dairy 2-4 times per week.
5. Exercise for 30 minutes 4-5 times per week
Routine;
You should take a folic acid supplement when you are taking a birth control pill, it depletes the vitamin in the body. My gyno said to take around 1000 mcg while on a birth control pill .
Ooo, I'll look into folic acid, thankyou melmel87!
Sorry for the photo guys, yeeuck. I'm only going to be posting photos on my chin because that's pretty much my only problem area.
Day 179
Day 181
Current condition of my skin;
Breakouts from picking are nearly all gone. It's taken more than a week for them to heal. Skin is less red and inflamed. Mum commented that my skin looked better yesterday, yay!
Forehead; clear
Cheeks; clear
Chin; 2 active, 3 healing
Days without picking; 0 (god damn)
I panicked yesterday when I felt another clogged pore becoming a pimple and I squeezed it before it was ready, even though I knew full well that it'd just come back. And it's back today. I haven't touched it since yesterday which I'm pretty proud of. I've resigned myself to that fact that I will be seeing my boyfriend with a whitehead on my chin today, which is making me nervous. BUT at the same time I'm not going to worry about it too much. One pimple is not going to make him run for the hills, especially if it's covered with a bit of mineral makeup. I'm going to make my eyes look super pretty with some pink and brown eyeshadow and heaps of mascara, AND I'M GOING TO THINK POSITIVE. Every negative thought is going to be replaced by a positive one. Forgot about that damn whitehead, it'll be gone in a few days!
I also picked the one on my cheek, but I don't feel as guilty about that one because it was ready. But I still picked. I did less damage than usual though, which is a good thing.
Day 185
Current condition of my skin;
Lots of clogged pores seem to be purging at the moment - great I've had maybe three or four spots form in the past week that were the result of some err irritation from the weekend, but the rest are clogged pores that have become inflamed whiteheads, which mine always do. Despite the spots, the overall skin tone of my chin is looking in better condition, probably because I've been trying my best not to pick.
Forehead; clear
Cheeks; clear
Chin; 7 active, 3 forming, 5 healing
Days without picking; 5
I've seen my boyfriend twice with a whitehead or two on my chin, along with a few painful bumps, and I have to say I don't think he cared - yay! This is a massive step for me, and I have to say I do feel a lot more relaxed about my skin knowing that there's no pressure for me to be picking/squeezing at my spots before I see him to make myself look better.
Day 186
Current condition of my skin;
Only one clogged pore came to a head today, and it isn't painful or inflamed... yet. Four large painful spots on the left side of my chin, I hope they calm down soon.
Forehead; clear
Cheeks; clear
Chin; 6 active, 6 healing
Days without picking; 6
I've decided to simplify my skin care routine and really cut down on any products that have comedogenic ingredients as I don't remember having so many clogged pores in the past. I checked the ingredients of the acne serum I was using and it had butylene glycol in it, so I've decided to stop using it for a while to see if it makes a difference. I'm currently using (2x per day):
- Mirenesse Power Clear Cleanser
- Benzac AC 2.5%
- Botani Boost Balancing Moisturiser (I think this moisturiser is really helping with my redness/PIH too, as some marks on my cheeks have lightened quite a lot in the past week)
I've found a really effective spot treatment too. I dab on some tea tree oil onto any active spots, let it dry, and then dot on some Pro Activ Refining Mask (pretty much the only Pro Activ product that doesn't burn my face off). I then leave this for 30 mins to 1 hour (I find any longer makes my skin dry, and it becomes hard to get the mask off without ripping the spots off underneath if the mask sets too hard). This works particularly well for non-inflamed pustules, which dry up within 1-2 days when I do this. I find I can do this 4-5 times a week without drying my skin out.
Day 189
Current condition of my skin;
Lots of red marks left over from the breakouts, ugh. Every spot I get leaves a red mark that lasts weeks or months, even if I don't touch it. My chin is definitely looking calmer since I've stopped picking though.
Forehead; clear
Cheeks; clear
Chin; 3 active, 4 healing
Days without picking; 9 (woo!)
I've decided to cut down massively on my BP usage this week to see if it makes any difference. BP is only for emergencies (i.e. needing to dry out a pimple quickly)!! I can't say that my skin is any better since using it as a spot treatment, though it does dry whiteheads quickly, I've just noticed my skin gets ridiculously dry and red, and I think this could be contributing to my breakouts because these dry patches last for days after I stop using it on that spot (I seem to get clogged pores around these areas which then leads to more whiteheads).
I'm incorporating more Botani products back into my daily routine as I think these products are really good for my skin. So my routine, for this week at least:
morning;
Mirenesse Power Clear Cleanser
Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Medicated Gel (only on active/scabbed pimples)
Botani Rescue Acne Cream (on active/scabbed/healing pimples and on red spots left over)
Botani Boost Balancing Moisturiser
night;
Botani Purify Facial Cleanser
Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Medicated Gel (only on active/scabbed pimples)
Botani Rescue Acne Cream (on active/scabbed/healing pimples and on red spots left over)
Botani Boost Balancing Moisturiser
I've started taking 2000mg fish oil per day, mainly because we have two massive tubs in the house and I've heard it can be good for acne and joints. I also haven't been able to exercise for about a month because I haven't been very well and I've just been too tired to do much. I'm starting again, trying to do it every second day. I'm starting from the very beginning again too, doing Couch to 10k. I used to hate exercising, but now when I don't do it I really miss it. Hopefully this will have a difference on my skin too.
Day 194
Forehead; clear
Cheeks; clear
Chin; 3 active, 6 healing, 1 forming
Days without picking; 1
Sigh. Had a bad couple of skin days. I was clear for 2-3 days, which was amazing, but I broke out with about 6 new whiteheads within a day. I was upset and annoyed because my boyfriend had invited me to sleep at his for the first time and I didn't want to have all those yucky whiteheads on my face, so I picked them all. To be honest, it did make me feel better (I usually feel bad afterwards) because I'd rather him see me with a few red marks and scabs on my face than whiteheads. And he saw me without makeup and didn't say anything or act differently, which is a good thing.
Along with it being that time of the month, I ate a massive amount of sweet stuff in the days leading up to my breakout, so I'm cutting all sugary foods out to see if it makes a difference. If I want something sweet, I think a square of two or dark chocolate may be the way to go!