My skin
I can't remeber the last time I looked at myself and wasn't ashamed of my acne. It really doesn't help that all of my friends have sparkling clear skin and they don't even wash their makeup off! I have black heads covering my nose, chin, and some in the skin between my under eyes and nose. Near my time of the month I develop cystic acne on my cheeks and my forehead near my hairline. I'm also a compulsive picker. I can't understand why but I have the urge to pick everything off my face, bad I know. My acne is mostly on my cheeks, chin, and forehead. It's not super terrible but it is enough to make me really insecure. Every time I look in the mirror it's a dissapointment. I really just want clear skin. Clear enough skin where I don't need makeup and I can feel confident doing things like swimming and things with my friends.
My Journey
I have tried a lot to cure my acne with exception of prescribed medications. Recently I have been using Neutrogena Rapid Clear Cleanser for stubborn acne. It helped a lot with my acne but made my face extremely dry and rough. My face was peeling, my acne was drying up, but I looked terrible.
New Routine
I have started a new routine as of last week. I decided to go a more natural route. This is what i have been doing.
Morning:
Cleanse with honey mixed with lemon
Apply apple cider vinegar toner
Apply coconut oil under eyes
Apply primer and makeup
Night:
Wash with my rapid cleanser stuff
Apply ACV
Apply coconut oil under eyes
Sleep
I heard you are supposed to be exfoliating twice a week so I decided to exfoliate of Sunday and Thursday. I will do this with a mask made from green tea leaves, lemon, and honey.
I will then do a moisturizing mask on Tuesday. This will be done with warm honey and coconut oil.
I will be documenting the changes in my skin on this forum. I made this post for me to look back on once I see if this routine works but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will keep this up dated.
I decided to start recording on Sunday because that is when I will start this exact routine. I just wanted to note what has happened with my skin in the last week since I started washing with honey. To begin with I was washing my face with just honey but eventually I added lemon to help with scars. Throughout the week I have had the same amount of blackheads. I developed two blemishes, one near my hairline on my forehead and the other on my cheek. I picked at the one on forehead but forced myself not to touch the one on my cheek. I discovered the power of not picking! The one on my cheek went away in about three days, the other one lingered for much longer, scabbed, then scarred. CURSES!!!
Other than those two I had another small pimple on my chin and one on my other cheekbone (that I developed yesterday). Once again, I know stupid, I picked at the one on my cheek. It is still here today but the one on my chin is gone. My skin has cleared up a lot since I started but skin colored small bumps are still on my skin. I also still have blackheads.
I have noticed that my under eyes look less dark since I've been applying coconut oil. It's great for under my eyes but I'm very careful not to get it on the rest of my skin so it won't clog my pores.
I will start the routine I outlined above on Sunday. I'll keep updating!