Hello everybody. I am a 20 year old female who has been scourering the Internet for years searching for answers to my acne problem. After all these years, I am finally ready to make my first post. I am going to tell you my story and share with you how I have finally gotten my skin to be clear and smooth (for the most part!)

It all started when I was in eighth grade. I had the most beautiful skin you have ever seen. I'm serious. But I suffered from OCD and I craved regiments and routines in my life so I began using proactiv before I ever really had any acne. So when I started developing some acne when I was about 14 I already had an acne product I depended on. My skin got increasingly worse as I turned 15 and by the time I hit 16 I had the worst skin I had experienced yet. What used to be nasty t zone break outs and cystic acne turned into acne all over my cheeks. It was miserable. The shame and embarrassment was unreal. I tried switching off of proactiv and onto clearasil but the breakouts would become unbearable so I would hurriedly switch back.

By the time I was turning 17 my skin was improving and by the time I was 18 I had skin that I could finally be proud of. However, when I went to college, my skin began breaking out again. It wasn't quite as bad as when I was 16 but I still would get big pimples all over my face and on my cheeks. It was moderate acne but enough to take a toll on my social life because of the embarrassment. Thought out the age of 18 and halfway through 19 I suffered from breakouts and horrendously oily skin. An hour after using my proactiv my skin would be shiny and wet from all the oil.

I finally decided enough was enough. Besides my skin regimen, I used all natural and organic products. I decided I was done with the harsh chemicals and the oily skin due to over drying. I wanted to treat my skin with natural products. I prepared myself for the worst breakout of my life. My skin was adjusted to 5 years of proactiv use. BP was all my skin knew. But I did things differently this time.

I didn't quit cold turkey. I eased my skin off of proactiv. I used Burts Bees Acne Solution Gel Cleanser once a week, and then twice a week, and then three, then four times, until I was completely replacing proactiv with it. It took a few months to replace the proactiv. I also tried using Andalou Naturals Pore Serum. It did not help my acne but it did not break me out. Throughout the transition I had breakouts. I had pimples on my face throughout. However it was nothing that I hadn't experienced before and my skin thankfully did not absolutely blow up.

Once I was using the Burts Bees I had to try a few things in order to discover my perfect regimen. What I now use that keeps my skin pretty and clear...is tea tree oil. I am going to write my routine below. It is natural and effective and it has given me my life back. I would recommend my routine, or at least the tea tree oil, to anyone suffering from different types and levels of severity of acne.

NIGHTIME:

Each night I use a washcloth to clean my skin with Burts Bees Acne Solutions Gel Cleanser. The wash cloth helps exfoliate and get all of my makeup off.

I follow it up with tea tree oil. What I do is mix one part water with one part tea tree oil in a little dish and use a cotton ball to rub it all over my face. I wake up every morning with clear skin. With tea tree oil on my face all night, I NEVER wake up with a new pimple.

MORNING:

Now my morning product is not something I would normally try. Acne is something that terrifies and depresses me so if a product isn't intended for facial acne I don't usually bother with it for fear it will be ineffective and break me out. However, what I use to wash my face every morning with is actually not a face wash. I use Nubian Heritage African Black Soap Bodywash. I initially used it only as a body scrub but someway somehow I started using it on my face and it's been GREAT.

It is a bodywash and scrub. However the label says it is for balancing your skin and it is intended for acne prone and oily skin. It also has aloe and vitamine E. I NEVER moisturizer my face. My skin is oily and my pores get clogged. So I don't do it. This made me want something that would be gentle on my skin. Nubian Heritage African Black Soap Bodywash is both gentle and effective. If I ever get new breakouts I get them throughout the day but they are small and easy to manage and the tea tree oil takes them away overnight.

I recently tried switching to a new morning face wash. I figured the tea tree oil was the main component keeping my acne away and my morning face wash didn't matter, however my skin broke out. This showed me the effectiveness of the Nubian Heritage.

Products I recommend investing in: Burts Bees Acne Solutions Gel Cleanser, tea tree oil, Nubian Heritage African Black Soap Body Wash.

Thanks for reading!