Hi friends!
I'm at my wits end with my skin right now...
Just wanted to pick your brains about what products I can use/ what I can do to tackle my SUPER acne prone skin.
A little bit about my skin:
I was on Diane 35 for about 1 year because I was breaking out severely on my forehead and cheeks. It got better with the BC as well as a regimin consisting of the Cosrx Good Morning Cleanser, Sunday Riley Lactic Acid and pure Argan Oil. Then I got off Diane 35 about a year ago and it wasn't until 8 months ago It started coming back. It's been the 5th month i got back on Diane 35. I first thought it was fungal acne , but a trip to the aesthetician as well as the dermatologist confirmed it wasn't.
My forehead gets abnormally oily, and I have lots of bumps which eventually come to a head (these seem to never end). I used to have these on my cheeks and they would turn into whiteheads but my cheeks are clear now and left me with some scarring.
For 3 months I took 50 mg zinc, l-lysine 1000 mg, and calcium magnesium, milk thistle, and DLM supplements daily. And drank 1-2 cups of organic spearmint tea a day with ZERO improvement. Now I've stopped taking supplements all together. I don't eat sugar, diary or gluten (maybe once in a blue moon), drink lots of water, work out minimum 3x a week
About 3 weeks ago I went to a new aesthetician who did extractions and high frequency (I am used to getting these at least once a month), but this one went well as it looked like she got all the gunk out. And my skin looked great after the first 2 days of redness went down. But a week later the bumps started coming back and my skin is becoming like it was before. She recommended me to get a enyzme exfoliant or physical exfoliant and not use a chemical exfoliant such as the Paula's Choice BHA I was using. Im trying out both the AmorePacific Enzyme Peel as well as the Juice Beauty Exfoliating Peel Spray (just purchased yesterday), and if anyone here has experience with the two please let me know!
Current routine
AM:
Cosrx Good Morning cleanser
Hada Labo Hylauraunic Acid Toner
Hada Labo Gokujyun Essense
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream
Elta MD UV Clear Sunscreen
Cosrx Good Morning cleanser
Hada Labo Hylauraunic Acid Toner
Hada Labo Gokujyun Essense
Cosrx advanced snail 96 power essence
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream
- Paula's Choice 2% BHA liquid 3X a week
- Peter Thomas Roth Sulfer Acne Spot Treatment
- Alternate between aztec indian healing clay masks, innisfree green tea sheet masks 2-3 times a week
FAILS
- I tried using the ordinary marula oil as well as the rosehip oil and they both gave me little bumps under my skin
- I have 0.04% Retina-A that i stopped using (It wasn't working for me)
- As well as Sunday Riley Good Genes (I used it for about a year which kept my skin clear but stopped working about 5 months ago so i stopped
- I have cosrx AHA 7 whitehead power liquid but after using it a few times I think it made my skin worse
- I also bought a few other products but haven't given them long enough to be effective Melazapham (I think it was congesting my pores more), Pixi Glow Tonic (Don't think it did much), Differin 0.1% (Didn't really use it), TO Madelic Acid, Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel
My question is.... WHATS GOING ON WITH MY SKIN.
Do I need to scale back and not exfoliate to make my skin more dry, or do I need to exfoliate more to keep my pores clear? Is there any types of laser that would benifit my skin. I have no idea whats going on here!!
This looks similar to what ive been having. at the moment im using avene soap free cleansers three nights a week. avene extra gentle lotion mornings and the other evenings. then been using glycolic acid 4% every night for a month. aside from a purge of a week or so its seemed to keep things at bay although the bumps havent completely gone so will be trying to add a low concentration of saliyclic acid in a couple of weeks.
not sure if this helps at all. do you get the breakouts anywhere else? for me its just my forehead and blackheads on my nose that generally can be controlled
Not sure where you live but if youre in the UK ive been going to Sk:n for microdermabrasions which i feel helps speed up the crap coming out. but i tend to have it for pigmentation more than anything. might be worth considering?
And although you probably dont think so your skin doesnt look too bad at all!
Yeah for me right now its just on my forehead, its really frustrating because im not sure what the cause of it is. I dont want to overexfoliate and make it worse but I feel like if i dont exfoliate enough it makes it worse also! It's a really tough situation.
yeah im thinking to go for some laser treatments, or chemical peels, but havent looked into micro dermabrasions, I will though!
Thanks