My story with acne starts like so many. You hit puberty and you get blemishes like most teenagers. But, I thought when I hit my 20′s and then my 30′s, that it would fade away. But, it didn’t really happen that way. I washed and washed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. In my teens, I used Noxzema, Oxy and Stridex. End result: acne. Then, after years of frustration, I decided I would learn about skin. After all, skin is your largest organ. I read book after book. I read product ingredients.
I learned all I could about skin and acne breakouts. I learned you can get pimples from excess oil from the subaceous glands in your skin, an imbalance of hormones, bacteria, and dead skin cells that haven’t sloughed off on their own. I learned it would help to drink more water. I learned to eat better to be healthier.
I also eventually learned it was unnecessary to harshly scrub my skin EVERYDAY- twice a day. I did it thinking that my skin must be dirty if I kept breaking out. Actually, scrubbing excessively and too often actually made the acne worse. I needed to learn how to cleanse and scrub.
And, I learned – believe it or not, Fish Oil and Vitamin E oil actually help your acne by helping hormone imbalances.(You can find them in capsule form.) Also, exfoliating your skin helps to remove dead skin cells, helping to unclog your pores…but it’s not necessary to do it everyday – it all depends on YOU and YOUR skin!
So, I learned: cleanse with a gentle cleanser, exfoliate according to your skin type (see our information page for more information on how often you should exfoliate), then use a daily benzoyl peroxide treatment in low concentration to help fight future breakouts. And, watch what you eat.
It’s not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on skin care products. What is necessary is learning how YOUR body works, being gentle with it, and learning patience in your skin care regimen. Slowly but surely, you’ll get the skin you always deserved!