Just a little background on my skin before we dive in!
I have always struggled with acne and combination - oily to dry skin. Ever since I was in middle school acne made its home on my forehead. I was confused because I was washing my face yada yada... I also had an oily forehead and dry cheeks.
Later on my nose became a problem as well. I had and still have really big pores, blackheads and whiteheads on my nose.
When I got to high school my acne started to calm down I found a routine that I stuck to and worked for me. This included me washing my face with Ivory non-scented soap- yes I used a bar of soap on my face. I also used Avon salicylic acid pads. That worked for me and eventually I stopped using the salicylic acid pads and my skin was fine, I at that point just washed my face and used Aveeno sunscreen.
-side note I did not know what ingredients were in the Avon product until about a week ago. I found another pack in my washroom and finally realized what the product was. haha...
My Skin at 25
My skin at 25 feels like my skin at 16... I am not happy about it at all! I thought I was done with my puberty acne phase, apparently not.
It is not as bad as it used to be, it is still annoying though.
My Skin Problems:
-Acne on my forehead and chin because maskne is real!
-My nose- the blackheads and white heads
-My hyperpigmentation- my acne never used to scar, leave discoloration of the skin but now it is. I am not even picking at it and it will leave hyperpigmentation.
How Skin Blemishes Effect your Self Confidence and Emotions
I know my skin problems are pretty normal, but it does effect me emotionally. It gets very frustrating, annoying and you do get self-conscious about it especially when it is on your face!
At first it used to drive me nuts. I am 25 and I have acne... adult acne really?
I was doing everything to get it to go back to normal, but these things take time. It took me a while to accept that it is what it is.
Acne is NORMAL. It is nothing to be ashamed of, let it ruin your day etc... People do not think any differently of you, no one is staring at it, we have all been their. Everyone has had acne, and if you haven't well... let me know your skin care routine haha...
I do feel like once I stopped stressing about my acne it helped to clear it.
The Products I Use
I try to keep it basic. I got great skin originally by using basic , minimum products and I do not believe you need a 10 step skincare routine. I have seen some celebrity skin care routines were they use 10 products and 20 minutes later they are done their skin care routine. I do not have the money nor the tie to spend that much on skincare. I have shit to do, I am not spending 20 minutes on my skin haha...This is what I found has been working for me. If you have any recommendations leave a comment below! Or slide in my DM'S-> ShyyShianne
My face cleanser
I have stepped away fro Ivory soap bars haha.. My mum judged me for using it in the first place. Due to its popularity I started to use CeraVe . I really like the product, I use the gentle skin cleanser, the navy blue one linked below. I at first thought the consistency was way to thick but I like it! It works great my skin feels like it can breath, that there is no dirt, oil layered on the top of my skin. I actually enjoy washing my face, which is hard to believe.
Tip- I try to wash my face for a minute. My favorite blogger Delaney Childs says she does it for 2 minutes which helps to make the product you use be more effective. Which makes sense to me. I am working my way up to the 2 minute mark haha..
Toner
I used to use witch hazel on my face. It still works great ! I did switch over to Mario Badescu .
I have been using this witch hazel and rose water toner since the start of 2020. I found it really helped with my cystic acne. I honestly do not know why but It helped to calm it down, make it less of a regular occurrence.
I have used witch hazel since I was in middle school. My acne was pretty bad, my mum used to take me to spas for facials to try to help. It was their that the facialist recommended using witch hazel.
It can help inflammatory (cysts) and non-inflammatory acne. It has antioxidants but will also dry out the zits.
Salicylic Acid
After realizing this is how I got rid of my acne when I was young I started using it again. Only on the places on my face that produce the most oil.
I know the Salicylic Acid 2% from The Ordinary is always sold out! That is what I use. It does take a while 3-5 days for it to work. It is worth the wait. There is no magical product, these things take time to work!
I also included The Ordinary Salicylic Acid face mask! I have heard nothing but amazing things about this mask, from bloggers, from friends, and co-workers . I need to buy it myself to be honest!
Face Cream
I used to just wear sunscreen, I still do primarily wear sunscreen. There are so many benefits to it. Anti-aging, prevents sun spots, wrinkles etc...I found it worked best for me to use Aveeno Sunscreen. I have said this on my Instagram stories multiple times. I use it more so in the morning, everyday even in the winter.
I also started using The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors. I am always worried that a cream will be too oily, too heavy on my skin. This is so light weight, my skin absorbs it, you only need a small amount.
My Practices
Change your Pillow Cases - I do this at least once a week. Especially when I wash my hair. All that oil, dead skin stays on those pillowcases. When you do not wash them often enough that it touching your face for at least 8 hours a day... so you want to make sure it is clean. I also find the oil from my hair will transfer onto the pillow. This is a practice that is a must!
Drink Water- I used to drink soooo much water. Now I drink half of what I used to, I need to get back to how I was. Drinking water has so many health benefits. When I first started to drink a lot of water when I was younger I found it really helped to flush out all the toxic crap that was causing my acne. Also, I was not as hungry, so I would not eat as much junk as I used to.
Clean Eating - I know food does not necessarily cause acne but I feel like it can contribute. I stay away from too much meat, lactose, and pop! Lactose I found really made a difference, I used to get painful zits because of it, soy is also horrible for causing zits - its all the hormones in it! Pop I stay away from, I do not like it, it is not how I like to consume my sugar haha... I do eat a lot of sweets. I need to stop but my sweet tooth will live on until the end of time.
That is about it for my skincare. I find as the seasons change my skin does too! The Canadian weather drives me crazy haha... If you guys have any tips? Skincare products? That I need to try comment below and let a girl know! :)
