Hi everyone!

Roughly 3 to 4 months ago I was searching on the internet for any treatments towards acne. Before this I was using proactive which didn't do anything to decrease the amount of acne that I was getting. At the start of this year my breakouts were extremely bad. The acne would increase near the beginning of my menstrual cycle and would usually end up being large, painful irritated bumps on my cheeks, and my "hormonal bump" which would appear near my chin would always be large and swollen. It was a very bad time for me back then.

During then I was drinking caffeine non-stop due to stress, working out here and there and not really taking a good look at my diet.

I had many dark spots on my face. I have a fair complexion so the post acne marks would appear very red for a few days or sometimes a full week and the spots were dark, making my complexion uneven. The proactive products had gotten my skin to that point. IF you are using proactive and are NOT getting results, DISCONTINUE USING IT! Don't do what I did and staggered along for nearly 3 years with this joke of a product. It worsens the skin a lot of time and I am telling you, none of their products work!

Anyway moving on¦ (sorry for my rant there.) Long story short, I was getting annoyed, a little depressed that nothing was working. Then I started to research more and more about the connection between one's diet and one's skin. This was around March. I then started to research about probiotics and how important they are. 4-5 years ago I was on a heavy antibiotic treatment that I needed because I was out of surgery. The antibiotics kill the pro ones; regardless that they are actually supportive of your digestive system.

After putting all of this together, I realize that my acne was not really a huge problem that needed chemicals or other forms of facial treatment: it was œme in a sense.

I came across a post on here after a google search about someone taking certain pills found easily in the store and eating more food that made the probiotics more able to survive in the digestive track.

To whoever the poster was, or anyone else that recommended this before, I want to say a huge thank you for sharing that information! Ever since I started making the slight change, I have started to see less and less acne forming. My complexion looks much brighter and glowing even. The spots are even more faded and I have been doing this for 4-5 months now. Even my œhormonal bump is nothing more than a very tiny bump that I easily pop without the risk of it leaving a mark.

I didn™t do every single thing that they listed, but incorporated some of it into my daily routine.

Here™s what I use and what I do:

http://www.dollargeneral.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12547557&mr:referralID=c32dbfa5-4f1e-11e5-8fcd-005056946dac&gclid=CKz7pNz60McCFc0WHwoduToGqQ&pla=pla_12280312&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID12280312&KPID=12280312

I completely stopped using proactive! Instead, I went to my local CVS store and brought a Clean and Clear Black Head Eraser. I noticed that around my cheeks, I have a bit of a blackhead problem. (Not noticeable unless one took a VERY close look at my face, but one I think develop no thanks to proactive and their harsh chemicals.) What I noticed is that the product cleans out the face and ONLY needs to be used for 20-30 seconds before washing it off. That decreases the risk of your skin becoming dried out and it cleans down to the pores. I have been using it for 3-4 months and have seen a overall great improvement of oil production around my cheeks and overall face.

Since I started the regimen I still sometimes get marks from draining acne and they leave a slight mark. It™s not near as bad as before. I have used scar fade products but they ended up clogging my pores and since redden/irritated painful bumps relates to bacteria overload in general, I really needed something that would not only sooth my skin but also supply it with vitamin C and more to my actual skin.

So I picked this out from my local Family Dollar:

https://jet.com/product/2af2caa8872b4732b580c3d64cb1de5c?jcmp=pla:ggl:health_beauty_a3:personal_care_cosmetics_a3_other:na:na:na:na:na:2&code=PLA15&k_clickid=f40ed6e5-c5fa-42cf-ae7d-e2bc11d9d691&kpid=2af2caa8872b4732b580c3d64cb1de5c&gclid=CNi7hez70McCFYyQHwod69wDWw

Vitamins *C* and E + sunscreen. No need to rub it into the skin. You just need to gently massage it onto the areas that have black spots. Give it a few minutes or even less before you put on any makeup or facial designs. It is used twice a day. This stuff feels so great on the skin and it is very light. Highly recommended to those that are suffering from a dry skin problem on their face or those that cannot put up with having to rub on a fade cream onto EACH and every scar (like scar zone *cough*) for 2 minutes each¦

Now comes the muti-vitamins.

I started to get into a probiotic pill intake routine. This was one of the few things I took into my new regime from the poster. Thank you once again for sharing this!

I started with this but higher the numbers = better the overall. This seems to be doing its job at the moment so I am going to stick with this brand. I got online for roughly 10$ including shipping. Ebay + more sell them. Walmart supplies them as well although I do not the actual price for them.

http://www.vitacost.com/nutrition-now-pb-8-pro-biotic-acidophilus-for-life-14-billion-120-capsules

I take muti vitimins. I am a female but I just take the One a Day adult muti. I use the gummies version of the product.

Finally what I add/take away from my diet¦

Onion.

I slice ¼ of an onion onto my food 4-5 times (for 2 of my meals) each week after taking my pills. And¦

That™s it. No I am not kidding. I decreased the cup of coffees to 2-3 times a week now and stay away from shortbread cookies with nuts (Nuts in general break you out, they contain a large amount of oil¦) and chocolate. What craves my sweet tooth? Juicy Fruit gum.

No, I am not joking. Drinking a lot of water is important, not so much though. Doing it after eating each meal (cold water by the way) helps a lot.

Now here is what I do each day or every other day. This may or may not work for you “ I really thought this wouldn™t do anything for me but I take that back wholeheartedly. I say to give this a shot. This will not break your bank and will not consume much of your time!

Morning:

Before eating:

1 Muti pill.

1 Probiotic

Food:

¼ sliced oinion into food that you eat. I eat bread (and yes it has been proven/known that bread is BAD for acne but stick with me for a moment here.) with ICan™tBelieveIt™sNot Butter on it. Sprinkle the onions on it and enjoy. Afterwards I chew on a mint gum or use mouthwash.

Water or orange juice (1/4 of a glass, you do not want to spike your sugar intake.)

2^nd meal:

Every other day I put onion on this meal as well and others I don™t.

Dinner:

Before eating:

1 Muti pill.

1 Probiotic

Food: Same as Morning with the dinner. I sometimes eat my dinner with sliced onions, other times I do not.

Some mornings I eat my food with a cup of coffee and some mornings I replace my bread with a protein drink since I am working out fully again each week.

Ever since I started to do this my face started to look better and better each day. I feel much happier and cannot wait to see what the next few months bring. I will update with anything I notice along with more information or details on the above.

Thank you for reading! Hopefully some of this either helps you all or gives the poster that suggested that help to begin with a smile for helping another person with an acne ordeal!