It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my acne issues. If I’m not mistaken, the last time I talked about my skin problems was around the time of the big ACV fiasco. It literally pains me to think about it.
With that being said, I want to begin this post by saying that skincare, like almost everything in life, is very personal. For example, ACV works so well for some people but not so much for others (like me). Unfortunately, there is no magic formula!
However, since October/November of last year, my skin has been doing ok acne wise. Some weeks are better than others, but overall, the blemishes are pretty much always there. I’ve been trying to keep my skincare routine pretty simple by washing my face twice a day, keeping it moisturized, and using Proactiv Repairing Treatment at night. On the dietary front, I’ve upped my water intake quite a bit and tried to reduce my sugar consumption (key word tried). Even with a fairly consistent routine, things have been so-so. Not horrible but not great either.
I’m sure you can imagine my concern when our trip to India rolled around – hot, humid, sticky weather conditions combined with lots of pollution. My ultimate nightmare! I honestly expected the worst, which in my mind equaled lots of flare ups.
Well, I am so happy to report that the worst case scenario never became a reality. Over the course of our two weeks away, the condition of my skin actually improved. I was stunned and couldn’t stop thinking about the whys. Here’s what I came up with – I used very minimal makeup about three times total during the entire trip, we consumed very little in the way of dairy products, I stayed away from chocolate for the most part, I used a new to me face wash for the entire duration of the trip, and finally, I swapped the Proactiv lotion for pure tea tree oil***.
Since I didn’t want things to go back to the way they were pre-India, I made a few tweaks to my post-India routine. I’m still using the Cetaphil Dermacontrol face wash and tea tree oil twice a day (fingers crossed that I never have to use Proactiv again). I’m also consistently moisturizing my face both in the morning and right before bed (currently using Cetaphil Dermacontrol Moisturizer). Unfortunately, back to work means back to my makeup routine so that is something I couldn’t change. However, when possible, I wash my face after getting home from work. I think that’s helping.
Hmmm…what else? I’m still drinking lots of water and trying very hard not to consume a lot of sugar. And a new focus of my mine is to cut down (not eliminate altogether) the amount of cheese I eat. While the switch to almond milk was a painless one, this is going to be hard. I love cheese. A lot. We’ll see how this goes…
It’s been a little over a month since we left for India, and I’m cautiously optimistic. Fingers crossed but things are finally looking decent – no new flare ups, a smoother texture overall, and no midafternoon oiliness.
I think I may have found MY magic formula. I’ll keep y’all posted!
***From what I understand, tea tree oil can be applied directly to the skin or mixed with water and then applied with a cotton ball. I prefer the former, and fortunately, my skin can handle it. If you have sensitive skin that does not respond well to new products, I would start with the oil + water mixture first and go from there.
Oh and be patient. I noticed that it took the tea tree oil a good week to do it’s thing.
Acne or not acne, what’s your skincare routine like?
