Acne.org Products
Hello! Just wanted to share a bit on what I went through and I really hope this would help since I've had to live with acne for the past 10 years of my life and I absolutely understand how bad it feels.
I found out about acne.org 3 years ago actually, when I was battling horrible, super painful cystic acne. Now I'm 20, living an extremely stressful life in hot and humid asia, and I'm proud to say that I am more or less acne-free I have extremely oily skin (and I do mean VERY oily), and I used to wake up to a new zit every single day. Every zit I had would leave a scar that takes 2-4weeks to fade. Imagine how it was like during "that time of the month"
I break out from eating spicy food too, which I love, even though they've always said how diet doesn't exactly cause acne. I'm Chinese by the way, and the acne probably came from my dad's side of the family.
I tried the regimen but then I found out that my skin hates BP. It gave me all those dry, flaky skin bits even though I used plenty of moisturizer. I don't exactly have that much money, so all I could try were drugstore products and I did try quite a lot of anti-acne products that never really worked.
The turning point came after I interned at a pharmacy in a hospital and I found out about doxycycline. After consulting a derm, she put me on a 3-month medication course and GOODNESS those 3 months were the best months of my life (at that point). My cystic acne disappeared and everything else was getting better day by day. But the pills had a pretty nasty side effect for me (I'd puke if I took the pills on an empty stomach), and the derm didn't approve of me depending on pills anyway so she took me off the pills and I went back to the pitiful pre-medication stage.
I think that was around the time I had my all-natural/minimalist phase. I used the oil-cleansing method, rose water, olive oil and whatever else. It did help to re-balance my skin, but the acne was still there.
So I went back to the derm and I (kinda) forced her to put me back on the pills for another 6 months (twice daily). Things really started to pick up from there. I changed products according to what I felt suited my skin, and I found that drinking plenty of water really helps (I drink at least 3 litres a day). I stick to products that clean well but isn't too harsh to my skin, and I always wash my face with ice-cold water after cleansing. It helps, strangely. I apply minimal make-up most of the time, and I have "off days" for my skin to let it breathe.
This was what I looked like then:
(This was so bad my friend tagged my zit on Facebook. I used to get this sort of big ones every other day)
A recent photo:
Most of the blemish still visible are already gone by now
So don't give up, everyone! ACNE IS NOT FOREVER. Do let me know if you want to know what products I'm using right now or what make up I usually wear.
So would you say you got clear skin now? as in the acne has gone and now it's just the marks that have to fade away? and may I ask if it's possible you could write up a daily regimen you do so everyone here can know how to cure their acne like you did as well? 
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Really happy for you btw.
So would you say you got clear skin now? as in the acne has gone and now it's just the marks that have to fade away? and may I ask if it's possible you could write up a daily regimen you do so everyone here can know how to cure their acne like you did as well?
.
Really happy for you btw.
Aside from blackheads, I would say yes 🙂 Unless you squint reaaaallly closely at my face, you probably can't see any scar marks at all. Everyone's different so here's what works for me:
AM:
Cleanser - Etude House Baking Powder Moist
Followed by dousing my whole face with ice-cold water. I take about 5-10 minutes to slowly and gently wash my face.
Toner - Etude House Skin Malgem Fresh & Hada Labo Gokujun Lotion
I'll gently swipe my face with a cotton pad for the first one. Hada Labo's toner is more like a light moisturizer actually and I pat that onto my face with CLEAN hands.
Moisturizer - Vichy Normaderm Anti-Acne Hydrating Lotion
I'll top these off with Clindamycin 5%, which I dot onto affected areas.
On those rare days when I can feel a bump forming, I'll dot some tea tree oil (Thursday Plantation) as well.
As for make-up, I stick to using BB Creams instead of normal foundations because I find that they don't clog up my pores as much. I've read somewhere that just because a product is "non-comedogenic" doesn't mean it won't suffocate your skin. It just means that they won't stay inside your pores after you wash them off.
PM:
Makeup Remover - Hada Labo Cleansing Oil
Cleanser - Fancl Washing Powder
Again, I'll douse my face with ice-cold water. Some times I add a bit of green tea in the water for that extra kick 🙂
Toner - Simple Kind-to-Skin Soothing Toner
Serum - The Face Shop Oil-free Control Essence
Moisturizer - Etude House Moistful Collagen Cream or AC Clinic Moisturizer
What I use here would depend on how my skin is feeling. If it feels a bit dry I'll use the former, if not I'll stick to AC Clinic 🙂
I usually top all of that off with Aloe Vera Gel 🙂
Acne - Tea Tree Oil and Etude House AC Clinic Pink Powder Spot
Funnily enough, this combination really works for me. My zits will be mostly gone within 3 days!
I exfoliate once a week with St Ive's Apricot Scrub. It used to be Cure Aqua Gel for me but it worked too well, to the point where it was over-exfoliating my oily-sensitive skin ):
For masks, I always put on a clay mask first, rinse it off, followed by a sheet mask. I do this 1-2 times a week.
What I've learnt is that it really pays to be very VERY gentle to your face and clean your hands every time before you want to touch your face. I used to pick at my skin a lot, which was one reason why I had such terrible breakouts. For scars, I highly recommend this product called Hiruscar. I'm Asian so I use a lot of Asian products 🙂
Hope this helps!