After suffering through horrible, debilitating acne for more than ten years, I have finally managed to get my skin under control.

As I'm sure many of you can understand, severe acne has scarred me in more ways than one, and even now making eye contact still carries the thought of "oh god, what if they notice my skin??", despite the fact that now I carry little more pigmentation and pot marks.

Unfortunately, there was no great secret for me. "Fixing" my skin was a combination of reducing irritation, stricter adherence to a routine, and finding alternative outlets for skin picking. After a year, my skin is certainly not perfect, but it is so much better than it's ever been.

My skincare consists largely or cleansing and moisturizing with oils. I cleanse every evening with a concoction of castor oil, coconut oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil, then moisturize with rosehip oil and hyaluronic serum. Some of the Acne.org treatment helps keep breakouts at bay, though I rarely use more than a pea sized amount in problem areas.

Adult acne is a humiliating experience, and my heart is with all of those reading these posts, desperate for answers. It is so exhausting to hear people say "you'll grow out of it!", when you both know that you're far past the age for that to happen. I was guilty of trying any sort of "heavy duty" product, hoping it would take care of my skin, only to find that not only did I have acne, but I had aged my skin in the process.

Be kind to your skin, you guys. While cleansing acne with oil felt very weird at first, the reduction in redness and irritation happened almost overnight, and I was convinced that this might be the solution I was hoping for.

As I'm sure you'll understand, posting these pictures is incredibly embarrassing. However, so many of you have bravely posted your own photos that I feel it is only fair to share my own experience.

The pictures are roughly one year apart. Again, my skincare routine is (currently) as follows:

MORNING:

-Cleanse with Cetaphil facial wash

-Acne.org treatment

-Rosehip oil + Hyaluronic acid

-Firming Eye Serum

EVENING:

-Cleanse with oil (castor oil, coconut oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil)

-Rosehip teatree oil spritz

-Rosehip oil + Hyaluronic Acid

-StriVectin-AR Night Cream (I have a free sample at the moment)

Again, these results aren't perfect, and I still get lots of little breakouts and stuff. However, it has been a long time since my last huge, painful pimple. I'm sure you guys will understand the small victories that come with bringing your skin back to at least a "normalish" level. Recently I went to the gym without makeup on and didn't spend the WHOLE time obsessing about how hideous and disgusting I must look compared to the other people there. While it may seem like a small thing to most people, to just not look disfigured, for me, it was a miraculous moment.

Love to all of you out there. You are not alone.

P.S.

Please forgive the huge change in lighting in the two pictures. I moved and was unable to recreate the same light situation.