Hey everyone I've been having a hard time finding out what is, specifically, going on with my skin. I don't know if it's erythema, rosacea, PIH, etc. I definitely have some active acne so I wanted to see if anyone can help out with a regimen that can clear that along with the redness/pink spots I have on my face. I'm currently using the acne.org regiminekit. It totally sucks and makes me very self-conscious so any info is highly appreciated, thank you!
Hi!
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.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.
Also, sunscreen. So important. The sun makes marks worse.
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!
Thank you for all that advice I really appreciate it and it really means a lot ! I will definitely try all that out. I've heard many good things about rosehip oil so I'll make a plan to pick it up sometime today and look into the glycolic fix serum. The only question I have is how would I include all of what you said into the regimine I have now? It's just a basic one with a cleanser, benzoyl peroxide, and moisturizer. Or would I have to abandon that completely?
14 hours ago, Calsag said:Thank you for all that advice I really appreciate it and it really means a lot ! I will definitely try all that out. I've heard many good things about rosehip oil so I'll make a plan to pick it up sometime today and look into the glycolic fix serum. The only question I have is how would I include all of what you said into the regimine I have now? It's just a basic one with a cleanser, benzoyl peroxide, and moisturizer. Or would I have to abandon that completely?
No worries, I hope it helps!
No, I wouldn't abandon your routine, I'm sure it's working to some extent. This is what I do: I cleanse first thing every morning and evening. After this, I use the tria blue light for 3 minutes (morning and evening). In the morning I apply Skinceutical's blemish+age defense (you should maybe skip this and instead apply the benzoyl peroxide here), followed by moisturiser. Sometimes I mix 2 drops of rosehip oil with my moisturiser. Then I apply sunscreen. In the evenings, after the tria blue light, I put 3 or 4 drops of rosehip oil directly on my face, on tuesday, thursday and saturdays.You can use moisturiser afterwards if you want but give it plenty of time to absorb properly. On monday, wednesday and fridaysI have started to use nip+fab's glycolic fix serum. I tried it yesterday for the first time so it's early to tell but my skin felt amazing this morning, it didn't break me out and it's meant to fight pimples and marks! On sundays I use a fruit enzyme peel (depends on how my skin feels, doing it every week might be too often, it might be enough to do it every two weeks or even once a month) and then avene's mask.
It might sound like a lot but it's quite an straightforward routine. I also drink water with lemon every morning and take zinc supplements every evening.
Works for me, hope it helps!
This is all great information, I never expected someone to respond so quickly and give me very useful advice. I'm going to take everything you said into consideration and update results whenever I can! I'm glad it worked for yourself, hopefully it will do the same for me.
I'm glad to be able to help, I think we all need each others advice 
I hope this regime works for you, it's the best I have had after years of trial and error.
However, I have been reading a bit about it and apprently zinc can cause men to break out, it's something to do with testosterone. So maybe skip the zinc and see how you go. I forgot to mention it in my original post but I also take vitamin D supplements, it's very good for the skin too!
Best of luck and I hope it works as well as it does for me!