Hello! For the last 3 years or so I have searched online for answers about why my skin was so red. Could it be from my acne? Could I have rosacea before I was even 30? Would it ever go away? Who else had this kind of redness that I did? I am here to post my progress, and maybe be of some kind of reference or guidance to someone else who is searching for answers, sees my skin, and can relate. I had always had some kind of acne since I was about 11. I never did NOT have some kind of blemish on my face since puberty. I think I have a lot more "good skin" pictures than bad skin pictures because you know, who is going to want to take pictures on a bad skin day? I would spend a lot of time in the mirror inspecting my face on those days but I did not hope to remember it. My acne was fairly mild but persistent through high school and college. There were probably some weeks that were closer to moderate. I'll begin my picture story of progress here, at my high school graduation.
Yep, that's me. With makeup and all, my acne and textured skin still showed through despite my efforts. My skin was also super oily, shiny, and out of balance while I used benzoyl peroxide and other acne things every AM and PM religiously. It may not look bad at all by itself but next to friends whose skin was much brighter and clearer, my skin looked rough. The next picture is an example except I did cut out my friend for privacy reasons. Point is, my face did not photograph well in artificial light. It is also pretty red here.
And sometimes I would have much better skin days but then have a couple super red, ouchy blemishes that would always take multiple days to go away. I also had a really bumpy forehead. Obviously felt good enough with makeup to take this silly picture that day lol.
And in college I ditched the acne products and switched to more natural products that did not really fight acne per say but it just helped skin be healthier. I had some really nice days where WITH makeup my skin looked great in natural light.
I LOVED this picture for a really long time. I felt so good about it.
Finally, when I was actually doing the Oil Cleansing Method, I realized one day that my skin was a lot smoother and clearer. I would still get those painful under-the-skin pimples and tiny whiteheads. But for the most part I realized I had a lot more good days than bad. I had a lot of redmarks and stuff but when there was plenty of natural light, the light diffused my skin tone and revealed much healthier looking skin. All of the following pictures are WITHOUT any makeup.
So exciting! Except in more dull, inside light, this is what my skin was more like.
Luckily since the texture of my skin was so improved, all my makeup had to do was even out my skin tone. I had no idea why my face had become so red over the years, even though I wasn't actively breaking out anymore. It was so frustrating and if I did go out without makeup, people always assumed that I was sunburned!! I hated when they'd actually comment about it or ask "have you been out in the sun?", and I shamefully went along with it anyway. I wasn't going to tell them that my skin was just like that. I thought I looked sick because of the color difference around my eyes and the rest of my skin; it was ridiculous. The above pictures were taken last year.
Continued in next post...
Now jump forward to this year. Still continuing a more natural and gentle skincare routine like the one I have in my signature:
I heard taking pictures in the car is one of the best places to get true light especially when experimenting with make-up foundation shades. So I like taking pics in my car to compare. This pic was a week and a half ago and since I have started using tea tree oil, my skin texture and redness continue to improve. I started tea tree oil mid June.
Seems I have too many images in this thread? I will attach the last three pics and just know I am referring to them in the order they show below as attached files.
The first one below is exciting for me and is what kind of inspired me to write this at all. This pic was taken today, no makeup, and in similar light to the super obviously red skin/white under eyes taken a year ago.
The color difference is certainly not as abrupt between my eyes and rest of face although my face still has a red tint to it. From the side with this dull light it is obviously reddish but my skin in super smooth and no active breakouts at all: Yay
And then the 3rd one was taken in natural light from a window, again no makeup.
My chin insists to always be red and if I do get breakouts that is usually where they occur. But from this year to last year I am very pleased to see the difference and I hope my redness continues to subside. I honestly thought it might be this way forever and now I have hope! Since using a drop of tea tree oil with my toner AM and PM, I have seen the most DRAMATIC change since last year and in very little time (improvement within days). Both in texture and a reduce in redness.
My face is also more balanced, never dry, never over oily, and is not nearly as shiny or dull at the end of the day. I just try to treat my skin good and it has taken multiple YEARS since my persistent acne but I hope to someday have skin that I dreamed to always have. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment below about anything!
I got the tea tree oil at Whole Foods. The brand I have is Now Essential Oils but there were a couple others like Desert Essence and one more I can't think of. As long as it was 100% tea tree oil I just went for the best value. Mine is 1 fl oz but will last forever because I use so little.
You're welcome!
My moisturizer has aloe in it as second ingredient. My diet has not really changed. I've been cooking more from scratch lately but thats only just recently and because I'd rather not eat processed meals if I can make it. I eat what's available but I don't go out of my way. We eat a couple frozen boxed family meals a week, baked chicken, salads, PBJ sandwiches for lunch, tilapia but only lately (don't really like fish), rice, beans, quite a bit of pasta, fajitas... We might go out to eat at a fast food place or restaurant once a week or even every other week. I drink milk with cereal and with chocolate. No vitamins. So no I do not think my diet has much to do with the improvement. It's always been about the same. I've read how some people swear by it though like "that's the answer" to all our problems. I don't know about that.
I came across the seborrheic dermatitis in my research but the only symptom I have would be the redness. No itchy or scaly skin or scalp. No dandruff. My skin feels perfectly fine and healthy.
I've been reading a little about difficiencies in lenoleic acid. If I breakout with anything it is these tiny whiteheads. I read that recurrent whiteheads can be a sign of this difficiency. I've been using sunflower and grapeseed oils a couple times a week bc they are high in lenoleic acid. I haven't had a single whitehead pop up on my face in the last couple days where sometimes I would have 10-15 at a time. Hmm...
Your face looks quite thin in some of those photos, so I was wondering if you were having difficulties with diet and perhaps making that connection to your skin's appearance at that time. I mentioned Seborrrheic dermatitis because your skin looked dry and perhaps being flaky and/or scaly, hence the redness and irritation. And at the same time, your skin looks oily. It differs slightly from your pictures. So perhaps it's what you were using on your face, or your skin trying to counter the oiliness. Well I guess if you don't have dry skin and dandruff, then it's probably not SD. It must be the oiliness that is/was causing the inflammation and redness, due to too much oil secretion. Did you ever get your hormones checked out?
I guess the tea tree oil is working because it's killing the bacteria from there being too much oil, and also acting as an astringent, which is why complimenting your regime with moisturiser with aloe is working well for you. I know you're using tea tree oil externally; it is toxic taken internally and also toxic used externally in larger quantities; it's good that you're diluting it. Some people can have an allergic reaction to tea tree oil. Have you ever considered candida to be a problem for you and your skin? I'm just mentioning the usual things you see on this forum.
Thanks Doodle! I appreciate your insight. I am and have always been very petite even though anyone who knows me will tell you I eat a LOT. I can put it away lol. I am 5'3 and 95 lbs. I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want and never gain a pound. I have always been really thin and small framed. I have not ever been on a diet of any kind, probably eat poorly sometimes, but I try to eat nutritious/healthy meals because being thin does not necessarily mean I'm eating healthy.
My skin is pretty normal but definitely more on the oily side. It has never been dry except for when I was young and I would wash my face and use acne creams and no moisturizer. There were days that my face was extremely dry but I was not treating it properly then and did not put 2 and 2 together. I had to look up Candida. Didn't know what it was. I don't have any of those internal symptoms either.
Hormones have never been tested but I have been on BC pills. When given to me, she said it would clear up my skin. It didn't really. There are not really any trends or patterns with my skin during the month either.
I am glad the tea tree oil seems to be doing great things for my skin. From what I've read and what you say about it I feel like it just makes sense! The whole theory of demodex mites crossed my mind too. Too many of those mites can really affect the appearance of skin for some people.
I do not know if this is relevant at all but one thing I have noticed I do that is very different from most people is that I drink VERY little while I eat. I have heard some people believe drinking liquids while eating has a big effect on digestion. I don't not drink much during meals for any reason other than I just don't like to. Even when I was a kid I would eat all my food in my lunch and not even open my drink until after I was done eating. I rarely get refills at restaurants while my husband goes through 3 glasses during a meal lol. It is not easy for him to maintain a weight he is happy with, but his skin is always flawless and we eat the same meals daily. I drink more throughout the day when I am not eating.
I do not know if this is relevant at all but one thing I have noticed I do that is very different from most people is that I drink VERY little while I eat. I have heard some people believe drinking liquids while eating has a big effect on digestion. I don't not drink much during meals for any reason other than I just don't like to. Even when I was a kid I would eat all my food in my lunch and not even open my drink until after I was done eating. I rarely get refills at restaurants while my husband goes through 3 glasses during a meal lol. It is not easy for him to maintain a weight he is happy with, but his skin is always flawless and we eat the same meals daily. I drink more throughout the day when I am not eating.
You are doing right by not drinking with your meals, as liquids neutralise the stomach acids that aid in digestion. Some people have claimed to have healed their acne by not drinking fluids with their meals. It is wise to drink water on other occasions to help flush out toxins. An excess of water is also not good, as it can thin the blood and what have you.
Thanks Doodle! I appreciate your insight. I am and have always been very petite even though anyone who knows me will tell you I eat a LOT. I can put it away lol. I am 5'3 and 95 lbs. I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want and never gain a pound. I have always been really thin and small framed. I have not ever been on a diet of any kind, probably eat poorly sometimes, but I try to eat nutritious/healthy meals because being thin does not necessarily mean I'm eating healthy.
My skin is pretty normal but definitely more on the oily side. It has never been dry except for when I was young and I would wash my face and use acne creams and no moisturizer. There were days that my face was extremely dry but I was not treating it properly then and did not put 2 and 2 together. I had to look up Candida. Didn't know what it was. I don't have any of those internal symptoms either.
Hormones have never been tested but I have been on BC pills. When given to me, she said it would clear up my skin. It didn't really. There are not really any trends or patterns with my skin during the month either.
I am glad the tea tree oil seems to be doing great things for my skin. From what I've read and what you say about it I feel like it just makes sense! The whole theory of demodex mites crossed my mind too. Too many of those mites can really affect the appearance of skin for some people.
All acne is hormone induced. I believe, without the secretion of oil, nobody would have acne. And the consistency of a person's oil who has acne, tends to be very waxy. I think perhaps the over-proliferation of dead skin cells is because of the abundance of oil, bacteria and inflammation within the hair follicle.
I haven't seen a mention of antibiotics, have you ever tried a course of them?
I just signed up because I need HELP! I started the Oil Cleansing Method and it is the ONLY thing that has ever worked to clear my skin. However, I do get the hormonal acne, as seen in my profile picture and the red face!! I need to know a natural thing that will help also get rid of my "sun spots". Can anyone direct me to a post that has it, I am talking like using Apple Cider Vinegar or baking soda, no over the counter products. Your face looks amazing, I cannot wait until mine finally clears up!
Thanks Crossfit. Apple Cider Vinegar acts as a toner to readjust pH of skin. If you are looking for reviews about it, check out makeupalley.com. You have to dilute it properly. I would not use anything like baking soda. The things I have said I use in this post is what has helped me the most. Keep a gentle skin routine and it will take time but your skin will recover.
Look on Esty for natural products. Google the shop Batty's Bath and she has a Patchouli moisturizer that apparently is a cure all, very beneficial product for many people. I have not tried it yet bc I have too much of my current moisturizer left.
Another thing that helps is exfoliating with natural honey and cinnamon. I think exfoliating it good to do at least a couple times a week. Sugar and cinnamon are good natural ingredients in a homemade scrub because they naturally break down and won't tear your skin like those synthetic beads in commercial scrubs.