I'm used to getting cystic acne and whatnot (and that hasn't gone away yet) but about a month and a half ago I broke out in what seemed to be cosmetic acne - lots of little tiny whiteheads all over my cheek area, especially near my mouth. I'd just started using some new products, so I basically stopped one after the other, makeup and treatments and everything. I went with a water-only regimen for a week. It didn't go away. Right now I've been using the Regimen for about a week, I've stopped using all makeup, and these little whiteheads are still there. My acne being as bad as it is, the little whiteheads tend to later develop into big fact pimples, so I would like them gone asap.

The flare started about two weeks after I moved to Japan, so I started to wonder if it had something to do with the environment. It's hard water in Hokkaido (it was soft where I came from in Canada), and the hard water makes me feel sick to drink - I've been drinking only bottled water since I came. I tried washing my face with bottled water only but it didn't seem to help.

Does anyone have any clue what's causing this "cosmetic acne"? I don't use fabric softener, are there certain detergents that are irritating to the skin maybe? There must be something that's irritating my skin but I can't think what.