Oh my goddd. I was randomly browsing around google and just *had* to make an account to reply to this after I came across it. I totally feel you. My acne has generally been mild to moderate and I've dealt with it for 12 years! I've also definitely had some moments where my acne issues were very similar to the photos you posted above. Even though it was never completely terrible and I never had cysts, I was still also the only one I knew who struggled with it while everyone else at school seemed to have flawless skin. I could honestly make the biggest compilation of all the times I spent staring at my skin in the mirror, picking at it, criticizing it, and feeling disgusting. I would even cancel plans with my friends and crushes multiple times when my acne was having a bad phase. Good thing is though, that like you, I've finally achieved pretty good skin. I hope it lasts forever. Right now, my face is about 95% completely clear of acne. However, I do have hyper-pigmentation scars as well. I only have one tip for that so far, *but* I have a dermatologist appointment next week and will find out more options for sure. 

My tip is to wear sunscreen religiously. I never wore it until a few months ago for a big beach trip I was attending. It made a gigantic difference for my hyper-pigmentation thanks to the physical barrier between my skin and the sun, preventing the darkened spots to darken even more, and protecting them enough so they can heal faster. It made such a huge difference that I looked it up on here and there was a thread where people were wondering why sunscreen wasn't a more popular recommendation since it worked so well, so I know it wasn't just me who noticed a big change. It's great to wear indoors as well, since damaging sun rays can easily pass through windows. My only warning with this though is to be absolutely sure that it is oil-free, or else it will probably irritate your acne. The one that works for me is the Neutrogena Moisture SPF 30 Oil-Free Facial Moisturizer. It's cheap, lasts for months and is very light in texture. I wear it in the morning after washing my face, sometimes throughout the day, and even at night. A different, greasy one I used before this just oiled up my face and made everything worse, so please make sure you choose the correct one for your skin type. Oil-free is usually a safe choice. Another thing I'd like to add is to make sure the sun screen doesn't hurt/sting your skin if you have any open acne wounds or cuts. However, there are literally thousands of sunscreen options out there and it's worth finding the right one. A good start is 

Anyway, I totally relate to you and though my journey isn't complete and I don't exactly have wise words to share yet haha, please know that you are so blessed to only deal with hyper-pigmentation issues and not intense box-scars, ice pick scars, rolling scars etc. because those are often extremely difficult to treat. From what it looks like, your skin seems to only have hyper-pigmentation spots and luckily, I know for a fact that those will disappear in time. Treatments can greatly accelerate the process though  Trust me, you will be very happy about this at the end of your journey. I even met a friend who beat acne a long time ago and is completely clear of it all, yet has intense scars that are so deep and pronounced that it basically looks like she still has severe skin problems, which is devastating. Scars are another beast on top of acne, and hyper-pigmentation isn't actually scarring at all, so please know that this will all be so much easier for you as it will be for me as well. Besides knowing this, what helped me was learning really nice and simple eye makeup (basically eyeliner and mascara, lol) along with eyebrows and very simple foundation + putting in some effort to make my hair look good. Personally, it helped me feel very cute until the demon was to be defeated  

Hopefully you get some great suggestions on this thread. Good luck! 

I read this when I was in school and it made me really happy! Sorry I couldn't reply earlier.
Thank you so much. I really really appreciate that you took the time to make an account and such a long reply! 
I totally relate to the picking part. In seventh grade I would touch my face all the time- i would pick and pop and scratch, with dirty hands.
This year I have hand sanitizer with me wherever just in case i need to touch my face for whatever reason. 
I do have a pretty good full-coverage foundation by Mineral Fusion thats got tons of good things for your skin in it. I wear that everyday after applying a ton of moisturizer, because my skin is super dry. It doesn't necessarily cover a lot of the big red marks I have left over, for that I'd probably need something like Dermacol. 
Again, thank you so so so much. I wish you all the best  

On 2017-08-24 at 3:51 PM, nonniva said:

I read this when I was in school and it made me really happy! Sorry I couldn't reply earlier.
Thank you so much. I really really appreciate that you took the time to make an account and such a long reply! 
I totally relate to the picking part. In seventh grade I would touch my face all the time- i would pick and pop and scratch, with dirty hands.
This year I have hand sanitizer with me wherever just in case i need to touch my face for whatever reason. 
I do have a pretty good full-coverage foundation by Mineral Fusion thats got tons of good things for your skin in it. I wear that everyday after applying a ton of moisturizer, because my skin is super dry. It doesn't necessarily cover a lot of the big red marks I have left over, for that I'd probably need something like Dermacol. 
Again, thank you so so so much. I wish you all the best  

Life has been crazy hectic for me but your reply made me feel so good <33 I'm so glad I could help, even a little! I wish you the best of luck ¤ï¸ 
You're totally welcome, look forward to the day when your skin will look amazing <3