it's been a little over 2 years and i still suffer from very widespread mild acne from my forehead, cheeks, chin, nose, temples, jawline, neck, chest, and back. on top of that, my skin is very red and it's oily in the t-zone. also, very sensitive as almost anything can aggravate my skin. i have tried antibiotics (minocycline which had cleared me up for 2 months and then just got worse), facials (not good at all, also very pricey, aggravated my acne), benzoyl perioxide (burned my skin...face got super red), and chinese powdered medicine (worked for about 6 months and then it just stopped working). however, this past month i have noticed my skin got instantly brighter... less red, and less bumpy. how?

1. stress had a major impact on my acne. i stopped stressing about my acne because i was stressing over my school work instead... i focused more on doing my homework than looking at myself in the mirror. i had no time to waste as i was piled with tests after tests. so try to relax and be less stressed. focus on something else instead.

2. maybe this only applies to people with sensitive skin, but even gentle cleansers feel too harsh on my skin. so my morning routine is to just splash my face with water and top it off with a light moisturizer. my night routine is to use a cleansing oil to remove my foundation, followed by a cleanser, a toner, moisturizer, and finally my acne cream.

3. i recently started to drink lemon water a month ago. it had made such a tremendous difference in my skin in just about a week. my skin felt healthier, more glowing, and moisturized. at first, i was worried about the acidity in the lemon that would damage my tooth enamel and would make my teeth yellow, but i have no problems whatsoever so far. i drink it every other day (one glass only) with room temperature water. tastes great too! it replaced my juices and pop... also, i drank A LOT more water.

4. as i mentioned up there, i was very stressed about my school work so that stopped my skin picking. don't skin pick! i know how hard it is to just stop touching your face because before, i felt like i was ADDICTED. now that i don't have any time to skin pick for hours, i stopped touching my skin. but i still do sometimes which i am guilty. but at least i don't do it for hours anymore... sometimes stress and excessive worrying/anxiety would lead me to skin pick but now whenever i'm stressed, i cry. crying helps me relieve a lot of my stress... and also when i'm stressed, i just pick up my dumbbells and start working out. feels good.

5. be patient. can't stress this enough.. if you're trying out a new cleanser, or pills, or whatever, expect that it won't heal your skin right away. ALSO, DON'T EXPECT IT TO WORK 100%. often times, i expected way too much out of my cleansers and such that when it didn't actually help my skin, i would be hopeless and wanted to give up.

to sum it up....what helped me majorly was to drink lemon water and to not skin pick. EVERYTHING WILL EVENTUALLY HEAL whether it's emotionally or physically, TRUST ME. DO NOT GIVE UP. HAVE HOPE AND PATIENCE.