If you saw my last vlog, I mentioned that I had seen a dermotalogist who told me I didn’t need laser treatment and prescribed me Benzoyl Peroxide & Retinol topical gels instead. She also suggested that I get a series of facial/microdermabrasion treatments to help my scarring fade faster. Here are the photos I’ve taken so far, but don’t be scared! Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better. This is the first in the series of four (I’ve had micro once before), which I had done Moday, August 29th, 2011.
Before my facial.
Before my facial I thought my skin was relatively clear, besides the big pimples on my cheek and forehead.
After my facial.
My face was really red after the facial! And it was really sensitive.
Close up after the facial.
As you can see, my esthetician focused more on the blackhead clusters on my cheek and chin, which I thought were just big pores. She didn’t touch the pimple on my cheek because she said she could see that the topicals I’m using were already helping it heal.
The next morning ...
The next day my face was still red, but not so much. It was however, so dry that I could barely move the features of my face.
Two days after.
Two days after the facial I still couldn’t move my face that much! You would think I had botox or something haha. But my skin was so dry, I literally couldn’t smile.
Three days after.
Three days after the facial I started getting some movement back into my face when it started majorly peeling. It remained this way for the next three to four days, and then the old layer peeled away to reveal a fresh new layer!
Two weeks later (today).
Today my skin is soft, smooth, and clear. So be warned: you won’t see immediate results after your facial. Give it a two full weeks for the drying to take place and your new layer of skin to heal. Thanks for reading :)
A summary video of all the skin-related “events” that have happened to me this summer and what I’m planning to do to continue to improve my skin. My first microdermabrasion appointment in the series that I will do is Monday, so look for photos and a new post then. Hope you enjoy :)
Hellooo Everyonee! I am back from vacation and recovered from the stomach flu and plan on making videos much more regularly now, so stay tuned. Meanwhile enjoy this video that was requested on how I do the Acne.org regime. See you all soon… Anna
Hey guys(: I just wanted to let you all know that my about page has been updated and will probably be so again soon . . . but for now if you wish to find the My Acne Story PI & II videos, they will be there on my About page (which you can find if you scroll down to the very bottom of this page, on the right-hand side). I thought it fitting since I basically chronicled my acne history since the very beginning. If you interested, here they are:
I first saw this foundation in ilyjessicaomg’s Face Routine video, and was instantly intrigued as to having been let in on the potion that makes her already gorgeous skin dewy and flawless. The dewy look had never really looked good on my oily skin, so I was interested in giving it a second go once my skin dried up. I have to say overall, this foundation has definitely impressed me (and I would hope so for $40!). It does indeed look much more flawless-esque with the Cover FX Hydrating Primer, but the foundation is still wearable without it.
What I like most about this foundation is that a little goes a long way. I personally don’t wear a bunch of makeup, which may surprise some of you who have seen my videos and seen me without makeup. At the moment, my skin is clear with the occasional pimple but I still have slight acne scarring. I don’t however wear too many layers of makeup to try to cover it because my philosophy is that makeup should not be used to create a fake you. Makeup should be used to diminish flaws or imperfections, like acne, that may sometimes hold back the real you. I’m comfortable and confident in my skin and I’m fine if you can still see a little breakout or scarring through the makeup, but it did take me a while to get there. If you only use a small amount of this foundation like I do, for minimal coverage, it does not need a finishing powder. If you use moderate to full coverage however, you will need a finishing power to eliminate the “wet” look.
This product is water-based, a characteristic which most people with skin problems lean towards. However oil-based is good for your skin too, as natural oils can be hydrating and easier to blend in a foundation. This foundation however did not make me break out at all, which is always the main characteristic I need in all of my makeup products, and makes this foundation a winner. Check it out ;)
I absolutely love chocolate. Not to sound melodramatic, but it is there for me during the good times, and it is there for me during the bad times. Seriously. So when I started going on this dairy-free rampage as an attempt to clear up my acne, this was the hardest sacrifice I had to make: giving up chocolate. I was able to give up cheese, milk, ice cream and all the rest with minimum difficulty, but chocolate was the toughy. Luckily I found this dairy-free chocolate called Choco Vivo at my local farmers’ market, & did a little happy dance inside. This chocolate is the BEST chocolate I have ever tasted and I am NEVER going back to milk chocolate. Nuh uh. Studies have actually proven that dark chocolate originating from the cacao bean, when consumed, releases endorphins into the body (the things that give you a happy feeling). That must be what the nutritional value of hand ground chocolate is, haha. Comments much appreciated!
While searching through the aisles of my local drugstore, I came across this highlighter/liner duo. There is one for each skin tone: light,medium, and dark. I picked up the light and medium ones for variety, but they were out-of-stock of the one made for dark skin tones. After using this highlighter/eyeliner duo for about two weeks, I am overall unimpressed. The highlighter duo for medium skin tones, while it does have a nice chocolate brown pencil liner, lacks in the highlighting end. The highlighter is a champagne color and fails to do what it is meant to do: highlight. The highlighter on the duo for light skin worked much better for me, and I am even wondering if maybe the champagne highlight would work better for lighter skin tones. Besides that, this duo is not long-lasting and would melt off completely by the end of the day. While I do carry a few essential cosmetics with me in my book bag, I scarcely have time to reapply throughout the day so I need one that needs none. Also while the fat pencil works well for the highlighter end, it does nothing for the pencil liner end. It is very hard to apply a pencil liner precisely with a thick pencil tip and easy to mess up your liner if you do not stick very close to the lashline. My liking towards Almay products hasn’t been diminished completely however, I still like their eyeshadows and blushes, which are very acne friendly. When I don’t have time to apply a whole face in the morning I like to wear a little eyeliner, highlighter on my inner corners, and mascara. This puts the focus on my dark brown eyes and not my pimples. Any highlighter reccomendations? Comment below. Or any foundation reccomendations that are for dry, acne prone skin and affordable? Put those too please(:
This is the combination that is clearing my skin, and my skin is the clearest that it has ever been. Watch the video below for all the details. If you have any specific questions regarding this process I put together-i.e. how often I upped the B5 Vitamin dosages, overall costs, etc.-please feel free to leave me a comment below. Enjoy!
In the upper lefthand corner you can see how my skin was peeling, but it was like this all over my face
My forehead was the dryest :/
Day 20-Wearing makeup in natural lighting.
You can see that the makeup only made the dryness look worse.
Day 22-No makeup, natural lighting.
Day 27- Natural lighting & wearing makeup.
5 weeks, 10 days, and 4 hours . . . approximately(the hours part at least). In this amount of time my skin has gone from broken out, to excessively dry, to, finally, clear. My skin is almost completely clear at this point and I think if I were more digilent about my diet, it would be. For the past couple of weeks I have had the munchies reallyy badd. At first I thought it was PMS, since it is that time of the month, but now I think that I have simply been taking out my stress about finals next week out on food. I’ve been taking it out on my body really. I am 5’6” and weigh 130lbs, and usually when I gain or lose weight-as weight fluctuates during teen years-it comes in the form of tummy fat or loss. So I definitely need to cut down on the snacking, because it is showing :0 But enough of my blurbs. Above I’ve posted my skin progress since before I started the Acne.org treatment until now. I might be switching to some different products soon because while this did work to clear my skin, the cleanser and treatment are a bit harsh, but we’ll see. Above all, this product worked to clear my skin and I suggest you try it too. Remember however that I used this in addition to the B5 Vitamin, which took an active role in clearing my skin too. I should probably just do a combined video at the end of all this talking about the B5 Vitamin and Acne.org treatment in combination….hmmmm….[wheels turning] Well back on topic: side effects is MAJOR DRY SKIN. After following The Regime for only two days, I experienced a lot of peeling and later on, itchyness. After about a week, I backed down and only used The Treatment once a day-at night. About a week after that, I bought my facial buff and started using that at night. It did take off the flakies and make my skin smoother, but by the time morning came around my skin would be dry again :/ So I started using it in the morning, that way my foundation has a clean, smooth base to apply to. I’m aware that it is reccomended by many dermatologists to not use cloths or exfoliators on acne, but my skin was starting to clear up at that point, so I didn’t have to worry about rubbing the buff against my pimples and irritating them. Otherwise I would n e v e r use an exfoliator on my skin. At the end of four weeks my skin was completely clear, but still pretty dry. Even today, my skin is dry and itchy, but the flakies have reduced and are no longer noticeable. I think I can attribute part of this dryness to the B5 Vitamin as well, because one of the side effects of that is dehydration. I’ve been drinking lots of water though, grrrrr. To recap: I reccomend this system, be aware of excessive dryness(get facial buff!), and take time off from foundation makeup while you are trying this system out. It may make you feel self-conscious but makeup is only going to make the dryness worse. If you’d like to see how my skin currently looks, check out my channel on YouTube TalkingAboutAcne. Good luck!<—Imagine me saying this in a smooth, sultry voice like Michelle Phan ;)
Beginning Saturday night, I’ve been using products found at Acne.org which include the cleanser, the treatment, and the moisturizer. Following The Regime I have starting applying these products to my face twice a day, being as precise as possible. So far it feels good, I haven’t experienced any excessive dryness that is common when using benzoyl peroxide (the treatment contains 2.5%). However I do have to say that the process of washing my face, letting it dry, applying the treatment, letting it soak in, and lastly applying the moisturizer is time consuming. Also it’s really hard to use the technique that Dan Kearn, the founder of Acne.org, teaches which is “barely touching” your face with your fingers. It makes sense that you should be as gentle to your skin as possible, and even more so if you have breakouts. But it is tedious making sure that you barely touch your skin while still spreading all the product around. With practice I think you get faster, I mean it’s a whole new skill you’re learning! Who knew washing your face could be such a chore? I agree with Dan’s philosophy though: if it’s supposed to clear acne, I’ll try it!
