Hi!
I am a 24 year old female who has always been told how lucky I am to have such clear/perfect skin! Well all of that has changed in a matter of months and I am not sure what the heck happened or what to do! I didn't start washing my face with face wash until I was about 20. I've never really used lotion on my face either and the only make up I've owned up until recently is mascara and eyeshadow.
So I started going to yoga at the end of May and around the same time I noticed a few pimples appearing on my back and forehead. I figured it was just from sweating and maybe from having to rest my head on a yoga mat. I started applying rubbing alcohol on my back thinking it might help clear up the pimples. I work at a pizza place and I'm in and near the kitchen a lot. In the beginning of July I started picking up a lot more shifts at work and stopped going to yoga.
I let my best friend who has struggled with severe acne all her life do my make up a few times using her make up.. This was the first time I've ever had face make up on (Bronzer and Concealer). Well I liked the way the bronzer looked so she started putting it on me every time we went out. The little bumps on my face started spreading around the same time. The pimples on my back started spreading. I also noticed little bumps on the top of my shoulders and a few on my chest. So after these bumps on my face started showing I went to Ulta and bought bronzer for the first time and start using it to cover them up. I noticed things were only getting worse so for the past few weeks I haven't put any make up on. I'm pretty mad at myself because I've gone 23 years with out ever applying face make up and then I decide to try it out and I mess up everything!
So I don't know if this is from the yoga, my friends make up or work! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Apparently I don't even know how to pop pimples because when I did I was left with four ugly scabs on my forehead! . Sorry for the novel :/ I'm just freaking out over here!
First of all make sure you're not picking or popping anything. This will just spread bacteria leading to more breakouts.
With the makeup, did your friend use her makeup brushes on your face? It's never a good idea to share makeup because this will transfer bacteria and oil. Since your breakouts sound mild but are spreading, I'd see your regular doctor for a recommendation (you may not even need a dermatologist) of a anti-biotic or topical to stop the breakouts (which can snowball). That may take care of it. Also, what type of facewash, bodywash, shampoo do you use? Is it possible you tried something new and your body is breaking out from it? Stop using anything you're noticing is triggering acne, including the specific type of bronzer your friend had.
Did your acne correspond with starting work at the pizza place? Aerosolized cooking oil (airborne droplets and ambient baking oils) can effect sensitive skin just like working in an environment with chemical fumes.
I'm sure your skin isn't happy with your friend's makeup, either. Check out the link in my signature to look up the ingredients and see if they're comedogenic.
If you wear makeup and it's not a normal part of your routine, it's the best habit to cleanse twice to get it off at the end of the day (not even kidding, we learned this in esthetician school.) Sensitive skin doesn't like a lot of cleansing, either, so be gentle, tepid water, and use a pH balancing toner after.
The yoga could be making you detox. Your skin will definitely be trying to get rid of the pizza grease. Make sure you're showering and exfoliating within 10-20 min of working out- sweat goes rancid in 10 min.
And one final note, as you age, your skin cell turnover slows so it's important to exfoliate or use a salicylic wash in the shower. I recommend sulfur soap.
