My Acne Experience And My Top Tips

 Hey everyone, hope you're all doing ok!

The other day I was just thinking about how much my skin has improved and it inspired me to share my acne experience with you all and help in any way that I can. If this post helps or makes someone more aware of the cures for acne, then it would make me very happy indeed. Note that my acne has not completely gone, I still have it around the sides of my face, but with make-up its not so 'in your face' and people don't know that I actually have it. I have made one change to my diet that I believe is helping it a lot so I am excited to share that, too.

My Experience

It all started when I was about 13 years old and my skin started to get quite bad with spots. Note: they are those red bumps under the skin as opposed to white heads. I then started to wear makeup to cover it all up and I think that is the reason for  my make-up addiction and most probably, this blog that I have today. Anyway, it was getting worse and worse and really got me down to the point where I cried over it. My skin used to be so purple and angry. All of my friends had nice skin and I didn't understand why it was happening to me. I thought I must not wash my face enough or something, but in the back of my mind I knew it was something I could not control. I once remember one of my 'friends' saying to me: 'Just use Clearasil!' It really upset my little 15 year old self as she made out like it was my fault and like I hadn't being doing anything about it, when that's all I thought about. I went on all kinds of antibiotics (more about those later) and then I finally went on the pill. That kind of helped a lot to be honest, as it was hormonal acne that I had (teenage spots, if you like) and the pill really takes care of hormones and what have ya. To cut a long story short I felt that the pill caused mild depression and made me feel sad a lot so I decided it was best to come off it. I'd rather have spots than be feeling like that. In the end, I just let nature run its course with the help of a healthier diet and more expensive skincare. This has dramatically improved my skin and I hope in a few years, my hormonal acne will have cleared itself (it's supposed to last 5-7 years and I'm on the fifth year).

Skincare

Most of what your skin looks like comes from inside, but what you apply on the exterior is also important. You need to keep the skin clean to avoid build up of dead skin cells and bacteria that cause those nasty white heads. I used to use the brand 'Simple' as it was gentle but I found what I was using didn't have the correct ingredients for acne prone skin - they could be used on all skin types. It is important to use brands that cater for your specific skin type; personally I really love REN. They do a 'Clearcalm3 anti blemish' range and I think their cleanser is really nice and gentle. It is all organic and natural ingredients so you know you aren't using any nasty chemicals on your face.

Try to go for products with Salicylic or Glycolic acid in as they is great for removing dead skin cells. I'm currently using an Elizabeth Arden Oil free cleanser which is working really well but note that it does contain parabens which may not be the best. I currently have a MURAD blemish control cleanser on order which I am very excited to use as it contains Salicylic acid and other spot fighting ingredients.

Oil is not bad for your skin (unless it is mineral oil - stay away from that!) Oil in products is not bad and please do not strip your skin of all it's moisture. Despite your acne, you still need to use a moisturiser! I recommend a mattifying moisturiser; try to stay away from heavy ones as they may clog your pores and make your face more oily. But using no moisturiser at all will make your skin produce so much of it's own oil, so please.. just moisturise.

Another quite note to mention, you cannot 'dry' spots out. They are not made of water. They are a mixture of oil, bacteria, dead skin cells and inflammation.

Make-Up

I assume if you have acne skin, your skin is oily. This means you need the correct base under your make-up in order for your skin to stay looking nice all day. Try go for a mattifying primer and probably not a silicone one, over the top of your mattifying moisturiser.

It is important to think about having the perfect foundation that won't break you out. This means spending a little more money, but it is most definitely worth it. Just spend less on lip and eye products as 'drugstore' make-up in these categories are just as nice as higher end brands.
I recommend getting a foundation that is specifically for your skin type. A good video to watch is the one by Lisa Eldrige - link here - as it gives a range of foundations for all budgets for combination to oily skin. I have tried a tester of the Clinique Anti Blemish Foundation and it is absolutely brilliant. It contains Salicylic Acid so is good for your skin too! Gives great coverage and is a nice matte (ish) finish.

If you have oily skin, you are most likely going to want to apply a powder. I recommend Rimmel's Stay Matte. Cheap and ah-mazing. My make-up slides off my face a lot less than it ever has done and my skin aint getting any less oily. I would stay away from cream products, e.g. cream blushes, bronzers and highlighters, just because they are more likely to slide off your face and could make your spots more visible.

Antibiotics

If you go to the doctors and say your skin is bad, they will put you on antibiotics. They give them out like sweets and it's quite ridiculous and quite frankly, lazy. They mess with your stomach and do not really ever cure your acne. If you have severe severe acne, then you will get sent to a dermatologist (where you should go in the first place really) and they may give you a very strong antibiotic that will sort your skin out but could have health implications, but that is up to you. I am just urging you to not take antibiotics that the doctors give you because they will just dry your skin out and never really clear them up.

Food

Sugar is bad for your skin. When people say 'chocolate causes spots', they aint far off. It contains both sugar and dairy which are the two biggest culprits for acne. Sugar is unfortunately in everything, think salad dressings: they have a huge amount in, unfortunately. I am one to talk on this front, as I eat sugary food everyday. Not a day goes by where I haven't had a chocolate biscuit or a chocolate bar and a cake; it is one of my greatest weaknesses in life. I don't really put on weight so I just eat it all the time absent-mindedly... not good! Apparently, if you don't have sugary food for 72 hours, you will stop craving it. I need to put this to the test.

Try and stay away from Red Meat if you can as it aint good for inflammation. Inflammation = redness = spots look worse.

Next... Dairy. Oh, where do I begin? THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is what has helped my skin. Dairy products derive from cows milk and it is just so unnatural. It contains all sorts of hormones and this is just not good for acne! I have almost completely cut out dairy. I now have rice milk on my cereal (not dairy) and I have converted to soya yoghurts. Obviously, I don't have my toast dry, so the occasional Lurpak creeps in there, as does the occasional pizza (not often). I do like chocolate, as I said before, but apart from that, dairy is a no go. No milk, no cheese and no yoghurt. I have seen an improvement since cutting these things out, so it proves that what goes in your body really does reflect what you look like on the outside.

Exercise

Exercise not only makes you feel happy, but it also gets your blood circulation going. This means your skin will be more plump and youthful. It will get rid of dead skin cells a lot quicker this way too. Just make sure you wash your face after exercise and sweating.

So, there you are, my top tips for acne and my experience! To round it off, I would generally say: eat healthily, stay away from dairy, exercise, use the right make-up, use natural skincare and DO NOT GO ON ANTIBIOTICS.

Have you got an acne experience story to share and would you like to give any advice? Let me know in the comments section below or leave a response with your blog post!

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