~how i broke the breakout cycle~

 First off, this post is how i was able to actually stop breaking out my way. This would be a long (& believe me, this is loooooooonnnngggg! this might be my longest post..) & boring post. What worked for me, might not work for you so it's up to you.If you somehow find the content 'disturbing' then feel free to stop... I would recommend that you keep an open mind about this. I have a sensitive/acne-prone/oily skin on which makes finding products that works for me as hard as looking for needle on a haystack.

I might receive some negative comments here about this post, but i would just want to bring awareness to all of you who are reading this...keep an open mind. It's not easy making a detailed post like this so i hope that in a way you would appreciate it.

Let's get the ball rolling then...

I started out with clear skin when i got interested in make-up. I got so hooked in make-up application that when zits started appearing on my skin i thought that it's just normal. I'm not exactly the type who frets when a zit popped on my face. That's why it didn't bother me up until i made a post about Aspirin Mask & really get into the itty-griity details of acne. By that time, i'm already starting to break out. I realized right there & then that what's happening to me is not just a simple case of pimples, but already acne.

For those who have been with me ever since i started experimenting with different facial products/cosmetics, im sure you know how bad my acne was (i posted pics on my posts) . Again, i switched from 1 product to another thinking that the more products I used on my skin, the better my skin would be. I'm sure you all must have had the same experience with me, that we get all hyped up because we read good reviews over a certain product & we ended up buying hoping that it would be the same with us. Or if not like that, you would try to follow what is supposed to be the 'basic' way of taking care of the skin.

 As i started out my journey in the beauty world, i got caught up in the so called 'basic' & must-do-steps-to-achieve-flawless-skin process. On which is to use products that should suit your need, I have to agree with this too. But it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to start using everything that comes in it. Take for example, those sets of products that are supposed to be used to compliment each other. I'm talking about the facial wash, toner & moisturizer sets that are available.

I have tried a lot of those sets on which they promise to 'give you a rosy glow', 'fights pimples and stop them from coming back', 'promises to whiten your skin and gets rid of blemishes' (any of it sounds familiar?) ...and a lot more..but to no avail, they did not deliver the promised result. I start with the facial wash, then follow with the toner, then of course the moisturizer. I've always been a good girl, when i start a certain pattern i try to follow it because i really want to be able to feel the result, but it really doesn't live up to my expectations.

Those spot treatments doesn't work either. They might work, but they will leave a big blemish on your skin that you would feel so conscious of every time someone would look at you, feeling that they are staring at your blemish.

Since i got so disappointed with everything that i have tried, on which at the end, just made my acne worse (remember my mint julep post?), i decided to just stop using what i'm using & let my skin breathe. Before i decided to use cosmetics, i was blemish & acne-free. So i stopped using cosmetics, did project 10 pan & i did not open my cosmetic case for weeks & had stopped doing an eyelook post

I decided to just stick with using soap rather than facial washes. No added chemicals on my face, no toners, no moisturizers, etc. And you know what, it worked! My acne stopped! Finally!

So, what did i exactly do?

• I clean my face using Neutrogena Facial Bar
• Then pat it dry (pat..not rub)
• Use tomato mask
• Rinse it...wait for an hour (tomato mask is only used at night)
• Then i make sure that i wash my face again using Neutrogena Facial bar 
• Now, in order to lighten my blemishes i use Likas Papaya Soap as my bath soap. 
• During daytime, i wash my face every now & then... 
• Use a green clay mask once a week

Then, when i wear make-up i make sure that i:

• use a make-up base/primer so that there would be a barrier from my skin & the cosmetics
• don't use too much (i can only wear either foundation or concealer)
• make sure i thoroughly remove everything (1st-use a make-up remover; 2nd-use a wet tissue to take off the excess; 3rd-use witch hazel toner to make sure that it's really clean, then finally i wash my face with Neutrogena Facial Bar

Things that i observed:

•  Sometimes, it's better to not use moisturizer

It is recommended that everybody should use moisturizer (even if you have oil-slick skin). But then i notice that whenever i use moisturizer (especially on very humid weather), it made my skin oilier than the usual. Then i stopped using moisturizer & i notice that my skin feels a lot lighter, letting my natural oils do its job.

So, i stopped using moisturizer but i have to wash my face every now & then. It's said to be bad if you wash your face every now & then, but it worked for me. I only use a gentle cleanser so im not exactly stripping all the oils away from my face. My acne stopped when i stopped using moisturizer & wash my face every now & then. This works for me.

Now, during make-up application, i use a make-up base (monolaurin gel)..nothing more... I don't use moisturizer anymore. I hate piling on things on my skin which makes it feel suffocated.

If there are some times when i feel that my skin was stripped off of its natural oils then that's the time that i use moisturizer. I use my trusty ol' Celeteque moisturizer for this.

• Get to know your skin. 

Don't get into the hype of doing everything by the book because it is recommended that you ought to. You yourself know your own skin. If your skin reacted to something immediately, stop it. You might just be doing something bad for your skin, don't continue using it just because it's supposed to be like that. You might have already been destroying the layers of your skin & you're still not aware of it.

Basing on my past experiences (Local Obagi Kit, Kojic Soaps, Strong toners, etc), I realized that instead of helping my skin, im actually just destroying it because i thought that it's really supposed to be like that. Give your skin a favor & let it breathe. You, as a person, needs to take a break from a stressful environment,right? Why not your skin?!

• Use a gentle cleanser

Even if you are using a moisturizer, i think gentle cleansing is still a must. If you use toners & moisturizers, it would already contain a lot of ingredients that works for a specific area... whether it's for skin whitening, pimple-fighting, pore-reducing, etc. Using a gentle cleanser would ready your skin from everything that you are going to pile on apply on. Too much ingredients i think can cause more harm to your skin rather than good. Put yourself in your skin's shoes... Don't torture it...

Don't get me wrong,ok?
I posted this not to tell you to follow me... that would just be plain stupid. I posted this so that you ought to be also be aware that you have choices. You don't have to follow the "SOP" because it has been like that forever... as what i said, do what you know works for you.

Products that did not work for me:
As for reference, i would include little notes on the products that i have tried & some notes on them. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I usually don't do negative reviews because i prefer to blog about products that work for me & that it makes me remember to keep this product in mind because it's worth blogging about. But now, i'll be mentioning a few of the products that did not work for me just keeping it in 1 post.

I repeat, products that did not work for me might/would work on you

~Local Obagi Kit~
I purchased it on a seller from multiply because it was recommended to me. I bought a set & when i used the entire set, i bought another one just to make sure that i really tested it out, so no one can ever tell me that i didn't give the product a chance. The first day that i used it, it burned my skin..it was like my skin was sunburned (like those third degree burn).

I am almost to the point of crying whenever i apply the astringents & creams. I kept telling myself that the road to beauty is not a bed of roses... no pain no gain... etc. I tried so hard to really follow the routine even though my skin was telling me to stop the torture. But since i wanted to have a flawless skin like how the girls who have tried it had now, i continued. But it was a really depressing & sad product for me. Depressing because for the first time in my life, it dawned on me that we would do everything just to have a great skin..even to the point of burning it just so that the new layers would come out.

I'm pretty sure by now you know that my attempt with it is not successful. It didn't stop my acne, but just burned my skin. I will never try it again & will never recommend it. For me, beautifying yourself should be happy & a good experience..not something that would create trauma for your skin.

~Kojic Soaps~
I notice that the Kojie-san soap review that i made is one of the most popular post on my blog. I will stick with what i said that it is great for whitening. If you are looking for a fast way to whiten your skin, Kojie-san or rather Kojic soaps would be your best bet. But then, i would only recommend this for those that got normal & oily skin. People who got dry & sensitive skin should stay away from it because this product stings a lot to the point that it's already painful!

It will zap the oils out of your skin therefore promoting skin shedding. I have tried a couple of Kojic soaps, plus my local obagi set also included kojic soap as the main facial soap. It is pure torture for my skin.

~Spot Treatments~
Yes, i've had my shares of spot treatments. While it may be true that it could dry zits faster, it would leave you with blemishes so dark you wish you did not set eyes on it. I'm talking about those cheap/drugstore spot treatments (i haven't tried any from high-end brands for it's too expensive).

Of course it stings a bit, just enough to know that it really is seeping down to your skin. But the mark it will leave you will take weeks to disappear. Imo, it's better to let the natural course of pimple run through for it will leave you with blemishes, but not as big & ugly as how these spot treatments do leave. *cough*Clean & Clear Active Clear Acne Control Speed Gel*cough*

~Apple Cider Vinegar as toner~
OMG! This is one nasty stuff!
Smells horrible & works horrible too! I guess the only thing that this is good for is when being used as a dip/dressing. Feel free to read Sis Golden's review, for I agree with what she said. I have also tried using this a hair rinse & i can't stand it myself. I have a very sensitive sense of smell & i became nauseous with this for i can still smell it even after i've shampooed like 3x already...& im very serious when i said this!

~Acne-fighting sets with either Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide~
I think they do work... provided that you don't use it every now & then that your skin would be immune to it. I think some have higher concentration of these chemicals that might not be suitable for another skin type. Just be aware that some might not work for you even when half of the world's population promises that it does work for them.

Yes, i'm talking about that brand!
I just wasted my money on it & it's so darn expensive!

I still have the kit that i bought with me & i only use them when i really need to use it.. like when i got new zits that came out. But i don't recommend that you use this as a maintenance. Plus, it's too expensive to be used everyday when you don't actually need it,ne?

~Oil Cleansing Method~
I prefer natural method compare to using harsh chemicals & everything so when i heard of the OCM, i jumped at the bandwagon & said to myself that i know that this would work on me because of the logic behind it that only oil can take away the oil on your skin. Plus i covered everything on my research before actually doing it. Big mistake! This gave me cystic acne. From then, i learned it the hard way to trust my instinct!


~BB Creams~
Now, i might not have tried every BB Creams on the market, but i have tried a couple & it didn't work for me. The finish of BB Cream is good, but it's causing me to break out even more...ekkk!! acne alert!

A couple of the BB Creams that i have tried & didn't work for me are:
-The Face Shop Quick & Clean BB Cream
-Lioele BB Cream
-Skin Food Aloe BB Cream
-Skin Food Agave Cactus BB Cream
-BRTC Perfect Recover BB Cream
-BRTC Perfect Protect BB Cream
-BRTC Gold Caviar BB Cream
-Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream (21 & 23)
-Diamond The Prestige BeBlesh Balm (pink)
-Cosme Hanskin Caviar Gold BB Cream
-Purederm 3 in 1 Beauty Magic BB Cream (black)
-Dr. Jart+ BB Cream (Silver Label)

Again, i haven't tried everything but now looking at my list of BB Creams & knowing that nothing worked on me I think i can gain say that i won't be trying any BB Creams for the time being. If ever i will be trying out a BB Cream again, i'd go for L'egere. But not now..i developed a trauma for these supposed-to-be magic creams!

I think i have tried more but for the love of heaven, i can't remember what others...i lost count on them already since i thought that my condition would be hopeless. I don't want to go to dermatologist although i know that that is the best option for me. I just don't like the thought of someone poking my face...

For now those are what i can remember, again, im stressing that what worked/didn't worked for me might have been/would be your HG items. It only indicates that each one of us have different skin. I'm not saying that now zits don't pop on my face anymore because it would be almost impossible. I still have an occasional zit popping once or twice, but not like before where it feels like a zit is giving birth to twins or worse, even quadruplets!

Listen to what your skin is trying to tell you..this is just the gist of this post...Feel free to try out different products but make sure that you do know the products you are going for. Check the ingredients, look for reviews, know your skin condition,etc...better be safe than sorry.

Wow!
that took a lot of explaining,huh?
hehe

Hope that you find this post somewhat helpful even though it might be confusing.
Let me know what you think & share your experiences in dealing with acne..let us all help each other in overcoming acne!

Hope y'all have a great day!

Jaa ne~!
^_^