My first zit appeared in 5th grade, which my friends pointed out immediately. From then on, my break outs migrated from my nose, to my chin and forehead, then to my chin, forehead, cheeks, chest and back. At that point my self confidence was non existent. I caked on makeup in attempt to hide the truth, not knowing that the pore clogging substance only irritated my skin more.
Im sure i tried every face wash, spot treatment, moisturizer and face mask on the shelf. My dermatologist prescribed 3 different pills in which none worked. I went through countless sessions of pricey laser and mask treatment, only to end up in dissapointment.
Then i thought to myself.. Instead of playing with the hormones and chemicals in my body, maybe my acne was a sign of my body lacking/getting too much of something. I did my research and found out that acne was a common sign of gluten/dairy allergy. First i tried a dairy free diet, than a gluten free diet, but saw no change. I then resorted to vitamins.
After a month of taking vitamin D, vitamin B12, fish oil and zinc supplements, my skin cleared up completely. Im not sure which one worked best, but im too happy with the results to care.
I also need to give credit to my switch to natural, no-residue leaving soap, home made sugar exfoliants, zinc cream as a moisturizor at night, and babyskin pore minimizor as a moisturizor during the day.
Note- ive been makeup free (aside from special occasions) for a year. Its still a little difficult because of the insane hyper pigmentation and scars, but im willing to do whatever is best for my skin.
I encourage everyone who struggles with acne to turn away from chemical and hormonal treatments and give natural remedies a shot! It may not be for everyone but it worked for me!
There are some home remedies to clear your acne. Don't squeeze or prick your acne at home because your acne will get worse. Avoid long sun exposure because their healing process will slow down and the scars will get darker. Lemon is natural bleach. Vitamin C in lemon helps in rebuilding collagen. When you use lime juice on your acne scars, the spots get lighter day by day.
I have to say my cystic acne is greatly at bay due to tretinoin but these are all wonderful suggestions!
Zinc oxide is scientifically proven to topically help all forms of acne, particularly deep hormonal acne as it actually lowers enzyme activity in your follicles that create dihydrotestosterone (responsible for crappy pore activity and major sebum production). Tretinoin boosts the good enzymes in the follicle that promote pure estrogens rather than dominant estrogens which mimic bad testosterone.
Frequent exfoliation is totally necessary for acne prone skin once breakouts are under control (I use my tretinoin for this) so I'm all for sugar scrubs.
A good, simple and pure soap is also terrific. And to be honest I am clear with jojoba oil as a makeup remover and cleanser and I use a normal hypoallergenic unscented bar soap a couple times a week to restore a good pH and barrier to protect my skin since I exfoliate often. Nothing fancy there!
Good diet like eating vegetables and fruits and drinking at least 8 to 10 glasses of water make our skin naturally smooth and radiant. Daily exercise is also helpful and a must daily routine to detox and flush out toxins from our body that are also causes of acne. A complete night sleep is also needed to help clear the acne. Keep your skin clean always and you can use facial wipes for deep cleansing.