Hey guys, I know I've been very absent, but I was going through a bout of skin depression so I decided to just abstain. I don't know how many people have gone through a phase where they were so ashamed of their skin that it hindered their social life, but it's a phase that I've gone through and am trying to snap out of. I firmly believe that social life and development of any person completely trumps skin woes but trying to find the confidence to get past it is hard. One thought that gets me through is that nobody really notices because let's face it, if you have bad skin, you've probably had bad skin for a while and people are used to it by now. Besides, people are talking to you and your brain, not your skin. Also, 95% of people (family excluded of course, we all know what those loving comments are like) of the minute percentage who notice will be too polite to mention it. And we all know ignorance is bliss, no?
Anyway, moving past the psych to the physical. These pointers are what has personally helped me get rid of 90% of my active acne and I really really wish I had known all these 8 years ago when my acne bloomed. So no matter if you're a pre-pubescent hormonal teen, or 25 and struggling with adult acne, just hear me out because it can't hurt, can it?
1. Face the reality of YOUR type of skin. Stop reading and believing everything those beautiful bloggers with gorgeous skin write about, look for a reliable community of people in a similar situation to consult with instead
I admit, I am a die hard blogger fan. After all, I'm trying to write one myself. But face reality with me and see that bloggers are special people who have very hardy skin. Not everyone can try out so many products and barely have adverse reactions. You and I, with the acne face, are not one of this special group. To still get the products!favourites!routine! fix, look for communities such as r/skincareaddiction or r/asianbeauty which are full of great advice actually backed by science, not just anecdotal advise partially influenced by sponsorships. It's wonderful to know you're not the only one out there and when people post before and afters, it just puts so much hope back into the world.
2. Stop buying into bullshit product claims (pending patent xxx ingredient!) and learn to read and understand ingredient labels
How many times have you been suckered into a product just because it claims to "get rid of acne in just 10 days!" simply because you were desperate looking for the next "the one magical unicorn product"?
Learning to read ingredient lists is one of the best things I did because I could actually be somewhat able to find out whether the claims can be fulfilled and which ingredients were actually good. For example, if a product that claims to whiten, brighten with vitamin c (listed as ascorbic acid, or xx ascorbyl if it's a more stable derivative) has it listed as the first item in the ingredients list, then it's a winner. If it's way down, put that product back down! I always try to buy products with the "active" ingredients high up in the ingredient list rather than having just plain ol' water and alcohol denat. making up the bulk of the product.
3. Know your sensitivities to ingredients
It's hard to know what products you're sensitive to when you have faceful of bumps. After all, if new bumps appear, they just blend into the many.
I only recommend the following routine because I don't have the balls to go entirely without products. This routine encourages proper cleansing and hydration only. It may not sound like a legit way of doing things, but try it.
- oil cleanse to remove makeup (I highly recommend the asian oils that emulsify with water rather than to remove oil with a washcloth)
- gentle soap (try those derm recommended/formulated types such as cerave, cetaphil, physiogel etc.)
- sheet mask, preferably in the healing or calming variety. Don't apply moisturizer because the sheet mask should be sufficient.
- Spot treat with your choice of treatment that works for you. Benzoyl Peroxide seems to work better than salicylic acid/tea tree oil/niacinamide/sulphur for me, but might be different for you.
Try this routine for a week or 2 and hopefully things calm down (an exception would be if your acne was hormonal - in this case please see a derm).
Now it's time to add other products back into the routine. It should be easier to tell which cause bumps and which don't because the face is clearer. Ingredients to look out for would be cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, coconut oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil derivative). I myself am sensitive to the fatty alcohols (cetyl, stearyl and cetearyl) and lanolin, which are very commonly found in creamy moisturizers/washes, even in those formulated by dematologists. Even my prescription cream had it, so no wonder I was still breaking out! >:( This list is by no means exhaustive, but I've found that running the products through cosdna.com and seeing which ingredients brings up an acne rating is a good start to identify acne-causing ingredients.
There is no choice but to go through this trial and error experiment to identify which products and eventually which ingredients are the cause of clogged pores or acne.
r/skincareaddiction recommends patch testing, meaning to test on a small portion of the face for about a week before applying to the entire face. This way, should you break out, you'll only break out in a small portion rather than all over. Patch testing is for people with extremely good self control in my opinion, I'm of the slather it all over immediately and hope for the best variety. PATCH TEST!!!!
4. Stick with it
I am just about the most fickle and impatient person on this earth. I like things to happen IMMEDIATELY. Naturally, when the new "unicorn product" doesn't work overnight, I'm off the next day looking for the "rainbow unicorn product". Just, NO. If it's not causing more acne, stick with it, stick with it, stick with it, because if it's not causing more acne, there no longer is an irritant in your routine and the rest of the acne will slowly diminish. Then you will be faced with the problems of the aftermath of acne rather than acne. New problems, but better problems hopefully?
5. Don't overdo it
The product is working, LET'S PUT/DO MORE OF IT!!! Worst compulsion ever. This is for products with actives in it. Liquid exfoliators (AHAs and BHAs) or in other words glycolic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, fruit enzymes. Retin-A or Tretinoin. Derma-rolling. Even physical exfoliation such as scrubs or brushes. If it works with the current frequency that you're doing it, just keep it simple and keep at it. Over doing it could cause damage to the skin barrier and result in hyper sensitive skin that reacts badly (I'm talking flaking, redness, dehydrated skin or even rashes) and who would want that right after getting rid of acne?! I learnt this the hard way. Don't be too enthusiastic.
I think that's enough of this great wall of text. I genuinely hope this advice will help someone out there, and if you do try this out do let me know how it goes!
Anyway, moving past the psych to the physical. These pointers are what has personally helped me get rid of 90% of my active acne and I really really wish I had known all these 8 years ago when my acne bloomed. So no matter if you're a pre-pubescent hormonal teen, or 25 and struggling with adult acne, just hear me out because it can't hurt, can it?
1. Face the reality of YOUR type of skin. Stop reading and believing everything those beautiful bloggers with gorgeous skin write about, look for a reliable community of people in a similar situation to consult with instead
I admit, I am a die hard blogger fan. After all, I'm trying to write one myself. But face reality with me and see that bloggers are special people who have very hardy skin. Not everyone can try out so many products and barely have adverse reactions. You and I, with the acne face, are not one of this special group. To still get the products!favourites!routine! fix, look for communities such as r/skincareaddiction or r/asianbeauty which are full of great advice actually backed by science, not just anecdotal advise partially influenced by sponsorships. It's wonderful to know you're not the only one out there and when people post before and afters, it just puts so much hope back into the world.
2. Stop buying into bullshit product claims (pending patent xxx ingredient!) and learn to read and understand ingredient labels
How many times have you been suckered into a product just because it claims to "get rid of acne in just 10 days!" simply because you were desperate looking for the next "the one magical unicorn product"?
Learning to read ingredient lists is one of the best things I did because I could actually be somewhat able to find out whether the claims can be fulfilled and which ingredients were actually good. For example, if a product that claims to whiten, brighten with vitamin c (listed as ascorbic acid, or xx ascorbyl if it's a more stable derivative) has it listed as the first item in the ingredients list, then it's a winner. If it's way down, put that product back down! I always try to buy products with the "active" ingredients high up in the ingredient list rather than having just plain ol' water and alcohol denat. making up the bulk of the product.
3. Know your sensitivities to ingredients
It's hard to know what products you're sensitive to when you have faceful of bumps. After all, if new bumps appear, they just blend into the many.
I only recommend the following routine because I don't have the balls to go entirely without products. This routine encourages proper cleansing and hydration only. It may not sound like a legit way of doing things, but try it.
- oil cleanse to remove makeup (I highly recommend the asian oils that emulsify with water rather than to remove oil with a washcloth)
- gentle soap (try those derm recommended/formulated types such as cerave, cetaphil, physiogel etc.)
- sheet mask, preferably in the healing or calming variety. Don't apply moisturizer because the sheet mask should be sufficient.
- Spot treat with your choice of treatment that works for you. Benzoyl Peroxide seems to work better than salicylic acid/tea tree oil/niacinamide/sulphur for me, but might be different for you.
Try this routine for a week or 2 and hopefully things calm down (an exception would be if your acne was hormonal - in this case please see a derm).
Now it's time to add other products back into the routine. It should be easier to tell which cause bumps and which don't because the face is clearer. Ingredients to look out for would be cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, coconut oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil derivative). I myself am sensitive to the fatty alcohols (cetyl, stearyl and cetearyl) and lanolin, which are very commonly found in creamy moisturizers/washes, even in those formulated by dematologists. Even my prescription cream had it, so no wonder I was still breaking out! >:( This list is by no means exhaustive, but I've found that running the products through cosdna.com and seeing which ingredients brings up an acne rating is a good start to identify acne-causing ingredients.
There is no choice but to go through this trial and error experiment to identify which products and eventually which ingredients are the cause of clogged pores or acne.
r/skincareaddiction recommends patch testing, meaning to test on a small portion of the face for about a week before applying to the entire face. This way, should you break out, you'll only break out in a small portion rather than all over. Patch testing is for people with extremely good self control in my opinion, I'm of the slather it all over immediately and hope for the best variety. PATCH TEST!!!!
4. Stick with it
I am just about the most fickle and impatient person on this earth. I like things to happen IMMEDIATELY. Naturally, when the new "unicorn product" doesn't work overnight, I'm off the next day looking for the "rainbow unicorn product". Just, NO. If it's not causing more acne, stick with it, stick with it, stick with it, because if it's not causing more acne, there no longer is an irritant in your routine and the rest of the acne will slowly diminish. Then you will be faced with the problems of the aftermath of acne rather than acne. New problems, but better problems hopefully?
5. Don't overdo it
The product is working, LET'S PUT/DO MORE OF IT!!! Worst compulsion ever. This is for products with actives in it. Liquid exfoliators (AHAs and BHAs) or in other words glycolic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, fruit enzymes. Retin-A or Tretinoin. Derma-rolling. Even physical exfoliation such as scrubs or brushes. If it works with the current frequency that you're doing it, just keep it simple and keep at it. Over doing it could cause damage to the skin barrier and result in hyper sensitive skin that reacts badly (I'm talking flaking, redness, dehydrated skin or even rashes) and who would want that right after getting rid of acne?! I learnt this the hard way. Don't be too enthusiastic.
I think that's enough of this great wall of text. I genuinely hope this advice will help someone out there, and if you do try this out do let me know how it goes!
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