Hi all,
I'm a 26 year old male living on the west coast of Canada, I moved here from the prairies about 1.5 years ago. My first real bad experience with acne was about 3 years ago. Throughout high school I never really had an acne problem, aside from the odd zit here and there. Living in the prairies it is very cold and dry, which I think my skin just adapted too, I moved west where it is very humid and wet thinking it might actually be better for my skin, but I thought wrong. Since i've lived here I've had nothing but bad break outs, I don't even remember a day where my skin was completely clear. FYI my acne resides on my lip line, around my mouth and chin. I've visited a derm and was basically told that it is hormonal. I've spent around $200 on all types of cleansers, moisturizers, spot treatments etc. Nothing seems to help. I should also mention that I work out fairly regularly, eat healthy, wash my sheets 2x a week and so on. I've creeped all the online forums and websites trying out new regimens. Now the whole point of this post is that I've found that when I do actually, and purposefully neglect it, it actually gets a bit better. There are times where I might not be near a sink or any sort of products for 16+ hours (long day at work, might go for a trip, spend a night or 2 at a friends, etc) and it seems it actually gets better, even with me picking and poking (I'm a sucker for popping my pimples, especially when I'm doing something social, the last thing I want everyone to see is a few massive whiteheads). But long story short, I find my skin actually gets better when I simply just "get distracted" away from my acne. Could the products be making it worse? I have very oily skin, so if I shower and forget to moisturize my skin first gets very dry, then very oily which leads to breakouts, so I always moisturize after a shower. Do I just skip the products, shower normally, moisturize my face and go on with my day, trying my hardest not to let the acne stress me out? Has reducing product use and just cleansing your face 'normally' work for anybody else?
Hey!
I just recently moved to Canada...in BC specifically. And although I came from a tropical country my oily/acne prone skin went all haywire over here. My skin had dry patches but was still weirdly oily. So depending on the climate your skin is bound to react differently.
My advice would be for you is to go with a routine you want to test out that suits your lifestyle. If the shower and moisturizer work, then great but with every routine you need to give it time to work out for you so don't expect instant results.
Merely cleansing unfortunately has never worked for me, I have stayed clear for almost three years now from a topical treatment. It is something that requires a bit of effort, but I have done it for so long now that it is almost second nature.
Good luck!