Hey everyone!! I know how it feels to suffer from embarrassing acne. My face goes through weird phases throughout the year and it seems when the season changes from summer to fall my face freaks out and I start getting big red knots all over my cheeks that never come to a head. They are under the skin, red and painful. Sadly I'm a picker and I always try to pop them which only makes things worse and I end up with dark red hyperpigmentation all over both of my cheeks. It isn't just a red spot here or there but huge patches on both my cheeks. No concealer or make up can cover it without making it look worse. I came to my breaking point this year when my 6 year old niece said something about it. I finally broke down and talked to my boyfriends mom who worked at a dermatologists office and had a ton of different samples around the house. She gave me Tri-Luma to use which is normally prescribed for melasma which is darkening of the skin. I was desperate so I would try anything. You can get this from the doctor or dermatologist and I've seen it run anywhere from $90-$130 for a tube but I swear by this stuff. I don't think insurance covers it. You use a tiny amount ONLY on the affected area at night and you MUST use a sunscreen during the day of 30 SPF or higher or it will make your skin worse. You are only supposed to use it for 8 weeks. I am heading into week 3 and my face is finally back to normal! I still have a few light pink spots left so I'm going to continue to use it until there gone then I'm going to stop using it. I won't even have to go the full 8 weeks. I wanted to share my skin care regimen with you because I know how it feels to be embarrassed by acne. Not only did the Tri-Luma help my hyperpigmentation but it also evened out my skin tone. Here is my daily regimen:

In the morning while in the shower I take a wet wash cloth with nothing on it and gently rub my face to exfoliate it and get any dead skin off (the Tri-Luma dries your skin out so it's good to get this off), then I use an exfoliator gel by Garnier called Expert Exfoliator daily exfoliating gel. This makes my pores feel opened like they can breathe.

Then once I'm out of the shower I PAT my face dry with a towel. Don't rub your face. Then once I've let my face dry for a few minutes I apply a thin layer of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer dry touch sunblock SPF 55. This sunblock doesn't cause my face to look oily.

Then I apply my make up like normal and go on with my day.

At night I use the same exfoliator gel I use in the morning and wash off all the make up so my face is nice and clean and I pat it dry and allow it to completely dry for about 10 minutes.

I then apply a pea size amount of Tri Luma to my affected areas. You shouldn't be able to see the Tri-Luma once you put it on (that's how you know you didn't use too much). Using too much will cause over drying and irritation.

Some people put a moisturizer over the Tri-Luma but I don't know if that lessens its affects or not so I don't. Like I stated before this product will dry your face out but you must stick with it and after about 1-2 weeks of use your face won't dry out anymore.

I've read a lot of negative reviews about people who have tried Tri-Luma and had bad results but after reading how they used it, that explains why. They either used too much or put it all over their face (which you're NOT supposed to do) or didn't wear a sunblock. I assure you that if you use this product correctly, after roughly 2 weeks of use you will see amazing results.

I really hope this helped and gave you some hope that you don't have to suffer from hyperpigmentation any longer!