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Needing some advice...

MemberMember
0
(@michaelw96)

Posted : 12/05/2016 12:28 am

Hi everyone, 

Kind of nervous as this is the first time I've ever put photos on the internet of my skin. 

I suffered with mild breakouts in my teen years (16-18) and obvously I wasn't completely aware of acne and how horrendous it actually would be so used to pick, pop, squeeze and literally man handle them... 
Which has now left scarring on both my cheeks.
I'm 20 now, I should add. 

I'm posting this for advice really. 

I still get breakouts from time to time but I can handle them. Quitting smoking and drinking my daily amounts of water has extremely helped and I recently started using Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish. 

I'd say my skin is dry? Kind of tight. Even though I have breakouts and scars, my skin is always super soft, dry and feels amazing to touch even though I try not too. I've tried using moisturisers before, most recent being Aveeno which completely broke out my entire face. 

I'm just wondering what people would suggest. Would you consider this moderate acne? Just scarring? Severe? I'm going to the doctors in the morning but I know they'll either fob me off or refer me to a dermatologist which will take months for an appointment so kind of wanting something in the meantime to help bring back my confidence which is slowly dying day by day. It's getting to a point I don't want to leave the house. I suffer with extreme health anxiety and the thought of this ever getting worse is causing me to lose sleep and panic on a day to day basis. I can't cope anymore like this.

Apologies in advance for the hair in the pictures. I can only shave when my stubble grows to a certain length otherwise it's very irritable and causes me to breakout even more.

Thank you. 
And if I've posted this in a completely wrong place, I'm sorry, I'm new here.

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MemberMember
14
(@rikime)

Posted : 12/05/2016 12:52 pm

Hi Michael,
Welcome!
I also get spots and have an acne prone skin with an oily t-zone, but dry skin. And sensitive! What works for me might not work for you but given that we seem to have similar skin, it might be worth trying.

All I have is the photos you posted, but your acne doesn't seem to be that bad at all. I personally would focus on hydrating the skin and trying to get rid of the red marks. However, I will tell you everything that works for me and you can decide, as you know best. I'm 29 now and my skin is under control, but it used to look very much like yours.

Before I go into products, two simple things have helped me immensely:

1) Taking zinc supplements. I can really see the improvement. It's not very expensive and totally worth the money.
2) First thing when I wake up, I squeeze half a lemon into a glass and add warm water, and drink it. Your skin will be much healthier. Wait 15 minutes before you drink/eat anything if you can.

Now, products.I would definitely recommend rosehip oil. I know the word "oil" is scary but this product is my best discovery so far. I personally use Pai's rosehip bioregenerate oil and it works wonders. You should give it a try, it's worth for its price. It hydrates your skin AND stops spots, honestly. It also fades red marks! I use it 3 times a week before bed, giving it 15 minutes to make sure my skin soaks it fully.If I feel my skin needs an extra boost, some mornings I mix 2 drops of it with my moisturiser, it feels great and it doesn't make my skin shiny at all.

I have recently discover Avene's Soothing moisture mask and I love it. It's oil free and non comedogenic. Leave it on your skin for 15 minutes (or overnight) and you will feel a much softer skin, hydrated. Normally I use Avene's cleanance matte moisturiser during the day.

I have also been using Skinceuticals blemish+age defense. It's a liquid serum, a bit pricier. I use it twice a day. I feel it has improved my acne but it does dry my skin slightly. Having said that, I can see it's helping with my red marks and I have only been using it for a month.

I haven't tried this yet, but tonight I'm starting to use Nip+Fab's glycolic fix serum. I have heard very good things about it and it's meant to fade marks and fight spots. I want to use it mainly because it also soothes and smoothes the skin, after so many years fighting acne my skin is looking quite good now but I do have slight scarring. Using a product with glycolic acid it's important if you wanna get rids of red marks, however different products work for different people so you might need to try a few before you find the one. In any case, introduce it slowly so your skin gets used to it gradually. Using it 2-3 times a week is enough.

Without over doing it, if I were you I would also use a fruit enzyme peel once every two weeks or so, it's gentle but it helps with skin regeneration. There are plenty out there, mychelle's incredible pumpkin peel or aromatherapy' polishing essential enzyme are pretty good.

Tria blue light. it's pricey but it works on my skin. It doesn't get rid of cystic acne but it's not my main problem, I used to have lots of small spots, specially on my forehead, and they have disappeared. My skin is smoother. Also, if a spot is starting to form, tria stops it. As I said though, you might not need this.

So basically, if I were you I would start taking the zinc supplements and drinking a glass of lemon juice with warm water every morning. I would also get rosehip oil and the glycolic fix serum, and see how you get on with that. Remember to introduce the products slowly though. See if they help. And don't forget about the moisturiser! Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Oh! And sunscreen too! The sun makes marks much worse, more difficult to get rid off, so always use a high spf sunscreen. I'm currently using Anthelios ultra fluid 50 sunscreen and I love it. It's milky, doesn't leave a white face, non greasy and has a matte finish.

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MemberMember
29
(@naturalcure1)

Posted : 12/05/2016 11:59 pm

Hey there! I commend you for your courage of posting your pictures, and the good news is, there's hope! For your type of acne/scaring I highly recommend the "oil cleansing method." I know,  the thought of applying oil to acne prone skin seems crazy but after tons of research I decided I had nothing to lose, and it is one of the MAIN components that cleared my skin. There's tons of further information about it on YouTube/google- the results are amazing. Also, check out my skin blog if you want further information came a natural skin care regimine. Feel free to reach out with any other questions. Best of luck! I'm cheering for you! :)

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MemberMember
0
(@michaelw96)

Posted : 01/15/2017 8:02 pm

Thank you for replying! 
After posting this, I went to the doctor's and was prescribed Zineryt which has killed nearly all of my blemishes. (Dry skin still a problem though, but nothing a bit of Liz Earle moisturiser cannot solve). 

Now I'm left mainly with the scarring and I've been debating whether or not to pay for a private laser treatment to reduce the severity of it... Just wondering whether either of our know anything about lasering? I know it does not completely get rid of scarring but it does fade them a lot, I've been told.
 
Just wondering whether you could advise of some/best products to use in terms of an exfoliator or best cleansers to use once I play this treatment of Zineryt for my breakouts. 

Below I have attached some  pictures of what my skin looks like now, compared to 2 months ago. Same bedroom, same lighting  and same camera.

I'm aware I still have a long way to go but I'm slowly getting there... Just need another little push to fade my scars and reduce the dryness from the Zineryt treatment.
 

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