Acne.org Products
Hey all,
About two or three weeks ago I started a different holistic approach for controlling my acne-prone, oily skin. I stumbled across this article about hemp seed oil cleansing (and later moisturizing), tried it out, and I think it's really helped my skin in junction with Paula's Choice 2% Liquid BHA, and once a week I use the 4% BHA too. Now, in the article, this lady talks about creating her own SA toner which I wouldn't recommend on account of all the alcohol that's in it. I imagine that's extremely irritating for your skin.
As for my chest/shoulder/bacne, I just stopped using soap altogether and simply rinse with water every night. My skin's a little dry but I'm about 90% clear of bumps! I kinda miss the squeaky-clean feeling I get after a shower, but I'm starting to believe that a lot of commercial soap (even Dove, Cerave, and Cetaphil) are all irritating in some fashion because everything tends to make me breakout except for water. It's very bizarre. Since I'm not using soap, I sometimes wonder if I stink, but I don't think I do. If anything I may smell a little like the hemp seed oil which is a grassy scent.
As for my face, I remove my makeup (Origins Silkscreen Powder) with a washcloth and water, then do the oil-cleansing with the hemp oil, follow up with Paula's BHA toner and moisturize with one drop of hemp seed oil. I believe it is helping! No new bumps though I'm still working on getting rid of the old ones. These little boogers are quite stubborn! I'm tempted to use an extractor but I'm a sissy and that thing is painful. I hope this option could be of use to some of you! I'm not stating it's a miracle solution for oily-congested skin, but I think some may benefit the way I have. I started out with my whole face covered in clogged pores due to my oily skin but now I'm getting the oil under control and am able to start treating the lingering acne. I'd say I'm 75-80% clear.
Hello, all!
I wanted to 'bump' this thread, or rather update everyone on my skin status! Today, I visited my aesthetician, and I asked her for her professional opinion on using oils as a beauty/acne-treating product. She highly recommends cleansing with oils as a "pre-wash." Her suggested oils were grapeseed and coconut (though she is aware that coconut can clog the pores when not washed off and used as a moisturizer. Needless to say, I'm not doing that!). To further back up the claims of "oil absorbing oil" thing, my aesthetician seconds this but instead describes the oils applied to the face a magnet working to pull out or loosen the clogged pores and, as a bonus, it removes makeup quite well and does not burn the eyes.
So I've modified my routine here thanks to the advice I received:
AM routine
Cleanse with Paula's Choice Resist Perfectly Balanced Cleanser (this is my first bottle of it but so far I have nothing bad to say about it)
Moisturize with Neutrogena's daily lotion for combination skin. I no longer moisturize with the hemp seed oil. I feel like the oil is drying me out.
PM routine
Pre-cleanse with hemp seed oil (I don't time myself as strictly as the article does. I just massage until I feel I'm ready to rinse)
Cleanse with PC's Resist Cleanser
Exfoliate with PC's Liquid 2% BHA
Moisturize with Neutrogena lotion
It doesn't sound like a lot but it feels like it. I wish I could be a minimalist and simply use the oil and that's it but it's just not enough for my persistent acne. Additionally, I'd like to incorporate Tretinoin (I've used it before with some decent results) and use it twice a week. I'm not looking to wreck havoc on my skin. I just want to speed up the healing and skin turnover here and tretinoin is helpful for that.
I also want to say that for the last month I've been on birth control and it has not improved my skin--it's actually made it worse. And so I cannot tell you how successful this method is yet. I feel like I need another 6 weeks before I can start seeing results. (I believe it's six weeks for a complete skin cycle...Someone please correct me if I'm wrong).
Thank you for reading!