I have attached my before and after. This is from 2/20 to today, 2/24. I DO have tinted moisturizer on. And it still doesn't cover my scarring all the way.

I have never been a face picker until a few years ago. Around the time I was living on my mom and dad's living room floor with my husband. We were saving up to buy a home. I was 20, he was 21. After we bought our home and finally settled I still kept picking. I knew it was a nervousness thing, because I also used to be a habitual cheek-chewer... Well, whatever you want to call it.

Needless to say, all the picking has wreaked havoc on my complexion.

Finally, I had a really bad breakout last week, and I went to work on it. At the end I was left with numerous scabs on my face. Working front desk at a hotel, I have to see people face-to-face for eight hours a day. Then, after that, I go to school full time where I also have to see people.

I decided this really has to stop. So I looked into why I do the picking, and found that it's completely in my head. I know picking won't fix my acne because everyone says so, and it never worked before. But I'm such a perfectionist and I don't trust my body to heal itself properly.

I also learned why I've been having such bad breakouts. For me, it's all about diet. I eat like a southern woman should. Luckily, I work out a LOT so I keep a nice figure, but my skin can't recover from the greasy, salty, and sugary foods.

I did three very simple things:

I stopped picking at my face, I fixed my diet, and I started treating my skin better.

I stopped touching my face. I stopped rubbing my face, looking for new bumps to squeeze. I just stopped.

Every time I felt like searching for a bump, I took a drink of water instead. I've been drinking so much water my husband thought I was pregnant from going to the bathroom so much!!

On top of that, I made it a point to stay away from salty and sugary foods. I LOVE potato chips and I LOVE ice cream. I probably used to eat them both every day. And not sparingly, either. Instead of eating like a pig, I decided to have a hard boiled egg, or a teaspoon of peanut butter to curb my snacking appetite. I hear those aren't necessarily good for your skin, but it's better than the alternative, right? I have been eating a lot more greens and have upped my zinc and vitamin A intake through food, not supplements. I also switched out my Captain Crunch cereal for Special K to further lower my sugar intake... Booo. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

I used to wash my face twice a day with a gentle cleanser. I didn't usually use toner or treatment or moisturizer or any of that.

I looked up the Regimen and I found my old tube of Proactiv treatment, and it said 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide, and I was happy! I used my same Clean and Clear Morning Burst face wash for the last few days, my Proactiv 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide, and some vitamin E oil moisturizer I found that my old roommate had used and left behind.

Just doing the best with what I had at hand, I can see an amazing improvement.

I think the key for me was the picking, and then the next most important thing was the diet. I drank LOTS of water, and I think it really helps to hydrate my skin. Maybe even more than moisturizer. You get zits from the inside out, you know. The stuff that clogs up your pores, the sebum, that comes from within. So you can't just focus on the outside of your skin. You have to think about the inside of your body, too.

So that's how I completely changed my face in just four days. Amazing what your body's capable of, huh?

I am going to get Purpose cleanser, and probably Ponds moisturizer. I will order the treatment from Acne.org I think, but money is tight so I'll cut corners with a different cleanser and moisturizer. What do you guys think of that? Maybe I should post that question in a different thread, hehe.

Thanks for reading this.