Good afternoon everybody!
I posted in the "Emotional effects of acne" forum a couple of weeks ago and you all really gave me some good motivation and tips to not let me skin completely hinder my spirit. Thank you to those who commented!
Just a little background, I've had mild-moderate, occasional cystic acne since high school. I am now a 25 year old registered nurse working in New Mexico. Over the years I have tried salicylic acid, clay and or sulfur masks, lemon/cinnamon masks, Dan's regimen, prescription clindamycin phosphate, Mary Kay Anti Acne regimen, ProActiv, Murad, Oxy pads and Burts Bees acne treatment. I would use each regimen religiously for 4-6 months, not really see a difference, and consequently stop using the products. The only time my skin was gorgeous and clear was when I was on a low dose birth control pill, however the hormones caused me to have high blood pressure; my doctor advised me to never take hormones again (crap, I know haha).
As I mentioned in my other posts I currently do not consume any dairy products, I take an iodine-free multivitamin daily, I ony drink water and unsweetened tea, use fragrance and allergen-free detergent and fabric softener, and sleep on my back (well I try to) to help prevent irritation of my skin. I use Ology Lavender Castille soap 2-3 times a day to cleanse my face. I try to keep each wash under 10 seconds with an air dry. I used to apply Cetaphil lotion lightly afterwards but was shocked to discover it had comedogenic ingredients, even though its labeling insists against this. I stopped using the lotion last night and ordered Moisturel lotion which has a mild formula and no suspicious ingredients. I also used to use Clinique City Sheer tinted sunscreen but was also amazed to find out through this site's reviews that it easily clogs pores. I will hopefully prevent further hyperpigmentation and darkerning of current scars by using La Rosay Poche sunscreen and a light veil of Laura Mercier tinted powder. For makeup I will have to do more exploring/experimenting of brands once my skin clears.
Attached is current situation. Light drowns out how dark each and every single scar is on my face; they are each a dark purple/red hue. I have about twenty scars total, one on forehead, two on cheeks and the rest on chin and two active (very sore) cystic pimples on my jawline. They are mostly under the surface now but hopefully wont be for long.
Day 4: My skin hurts so I know I have new pimples forming on my chin but just trying not to think about them or touch them. Today was my last day to have sweets and potato chips for the next two weeks. I have a small milestone in my life in two weeks and want to look my best 
. Wearing only sunscreen and laura mercier powder but still waiting on La Roche-Posay sunscreen to come in so I don't have to use this damn pore clogging drugstore brand that claims to not be pore clogging haha.
The current skin situation: One small pimple on my upper lip, one on my jawline, and two forming on my cheeks
Day 6: Received in the mail my new sunscreen from La Roche Posay! It is phenomenal. I applied and it literally seemed to melt into my skin with no residue, shininess, or stickiness. That paired with my Laura Mercier powder after my 10 hour shift I am still oil free. We will see if it breaks me out or not in the next few days. For now I am not applying facial moisturizer at night unless I feel dry.
As far as diet goes I've been doing excellently at avoiding processed sugar but am still eating fruit once a day. Last night I accidentally had about a teaspoon of cream cheese in some sushi I thought was dairy free. We will see if I get a cystic pimple in the next couple of weeks....grrrr.
Current situation: no active acne but three small dried pimples on my chin.
Day 10: No cysts or oiliness from new sunscreen. So excited!! Still trying to avoid sweets and oils but not doing a very good job haha. I have about two or three palm sizes servings of fruit or vegan protein bars/cookies every day. I also have about a serving of chips or dairy-free dressing/mayonnaise with my meals.
Current situation: Right now I have four/five tiny active zits that have come to a head on my chin and around my mouth. Scars are still the same but that's to be expected for months. These pictures were taken today...
Update: Ehhhhhhhhhhh shortly after I posted that one of my tiny zits started to hurt and swell! Right now its back to normal but it's crazy how up and down my skin can be during the day. Overall, its much improved since my first post so thats a plus.
Random question but has anyone found a solution to blackheads on the nose that didnt lead to irritation and an actual break out?
Day 13: Switched to eating whole wheat, low sodium crackers instead of chips and really trying to stay away from refined sugars. My skin feels great and looks really good when I apply my laura mercier powder for an ultra light coverage. sunscreen still hasnt broken me out. just a waiting game until my period starts next week. I want to see if my current regimen prevents most of the painful cysts that come with it.
Day 18: Haha, joke is on me. My current regimen does NOT prevent acne when I'm about to start my period. I have a sore small cyst on my chin and another one on my cheeks that I didn't notice until it became a purple scar :((((. Also a small smattering of red spots around my chin and upper lip where I have waxed,However, they are coming to a head and popping on their own fairly quickly. Hopefully these are the only ones I get for this time of the month.
I also ordered Lani Tropical Serum. a mix of essential oils for the skin so I might start using that in place of my moisturizer if I like it more. Current moisturizer is Moisturel but while it is not making my acne worse, the ingredients are not having any nutritional benefit either.
Interesting read. There are points I do not understand completely.
QuoteI also ordered Lani Tropical Serum.
Why do you except a positive effect from it?
Quote... using that in place of my moisturizer if ...
Why do you need a moisturizer? I would expect your skin to produce enough sebum to keep it moisturized, since ance
correlates with sebum flow rate.
Btw, starting a new I'm-trying-to-not-give-a-fuck-anymore-regimen-but-I-actually-do-so-going-to-put-in-a-little effort-into-getting-better haha. Here's what it includes (of note most of these things have already been implemented for some time now but I have strayed):
Morning: Rinse with diluted water
Evening: Rinse with diluted water but if really oily gently cleanse with Garnier Clarifying Face Wash for 10 seconds, pat dry.
-Avoid dairy, chips, peppers, chile, soy, tomatoes and processed sugar as much as possible.
-Take Vitamin A and C a couple of times a week on top of already eating fresh veggies and fruits.
On 9/25/2016 at 11:52 AM, tensidskill said:Interesting read. There are points I do not understand completely.
Why do you except a positive effect from it?
Why do you need a moisturizer? I would expect your skin to produce enough sebum to keep it moisturized, since ance
correlates with sebum flow rate.
Good question lol! I got sold watching a YouTube video about the Lani serum. The theory that dry skin produces excess oil made me think I needed a good moisturizer to combat flaking and excess sebum. Of course got frustrated when broke out into tiny little red marks from the oil. Use it only for dry frizzy hair now.
Update: Had a HUGE breakout last week. It was god darn awful. Decided to stop wearing makeup to really let my skin breathe. It's not good because I have scarring and active pimples but I am no longer in pain. Trying to keep my hair out of my face as much as possible and on a modified caveman regimen. Have another thread going because I had to vent about my frustration with my breakouts. Posting an update pic on Thursday. Wont be pretty but at least there's no major redness or swelling anymore.
My breakout is spreading and is painful but so far I think the worst is over. I've been icing the skin around my mouth twice a day (I put ice in a baggie and rotate it so every area that has a history of breaking out gets five minutes of ice time). So here is my updated regimen. To be noted,I know I wanted to post newpics of my skin but I feel like there's no big change since the Big Breakout of last week lol:
So I took a good look at the picture above after I posted it, andmy skin seems really greasy! Therefore I stopped the caveman regimen and went back to washing my face twice a day (using as less time as I can and being really gentle) with Garnier's Clarifying Wash for Sensitive Skin. My skin feels really good today but not going to jinx it by posting a picture. I will post one Saturday for sure!!
Current DailyRegimen:
1. Wash quickly with tap water and face wash. Rinse with BPA free bottledfiltered water.
2. 8,000 IU Vitamin A
3. 50 mg Zinc
4. 500 mg Vitamin C
5. Ice for 10-15 min around mouth (if I have active acne I just hold ice in bag against skin gently and wait. Wipe bag between rotations)
Night Time- Repeat steps 1 and 5.
Diet- No dairy, no chips, processed food choices with low sodium, seasoning cookedfood with iodide-free salt, limited processed sweets, as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible.
42 minutes ago, NMSunflower said:So I took a good look at the picture above after I posted it, andmy skin seems really greasy! Therefore I stopped the caveman regimen and went back to washing my face twice a day (using as less time as I can and being really gentle) with Garnier's Clarifying Wash for Sensitive Skin. My skin feels really good today but not going to jinx it by posting a picture. I will post one Saturday for sure!!
Current DailyRegimen:
1. Wash quickly with tap water and face wash. Rinse with BPA free bottledfiltered water.
2. 8,000 IU Vitamin A
3. 50 mg Zinc
4. 500 mg Vitamin C
5. Ice for 10-15 min around mouth (if I have active acne I just hold ice in bag against skin gently and wait. Wipe bag between rotations)Night Time- Repeat steps 1 and 5.
Diet- No dairy, no chips, processed food choices with low sodium, seasoning cookedfood with iodide-free salt, limited processed sweets, as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible.
I'd be super careful with the Zinc...it made me breakout horribly. It can raise T levels, especially if you're even slightly deficient. And this worsens acne. Not washing my face also made me a lot worse too so don't feel bad.
@cloudydreamer Thank you mama! I'm going to go ahead and stop using it and continue with Vitamin A and C.
