Skin Care
I Spent Thousands Battling Hormonal Acne, and a $20 Regimen Cured ItThrough a four-year trial-and-error method, I finally found what keeps my acne under control |
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I have naturally dry skin (proof that you can be non-oily and acne-prone, regardless of what skin care commercials might have you believe), so a couple of days into my newest experiment my skin was dry and flaky. I was actually afraid of using moisturizer because I associated it with breakouts. I figured my natural face oils would do their job.
They didn't, though, and I kept getting new pimples. I tried a makeup and product-free lifestyle for two months, and my skin didn't change. Since my skin felt better (less tight) when I used products, I decided to try a gentle cleanser and moisturizer, but to leave out the acne treatments since they seem to make my skin angry.
With the cleanser and moisturizer, my skin felt calmer, but I still had acne. Since some of my blemishes were of the cystic, lurking-under-the-skin type, I realized (after some research) that my acne might be related to my hormones. Since I didn't want to go to extreme measures yet, like Accutane or birth control, I decided to take a holistic approach.
First, I tried "Acne Free in Three Days," a popular e-book. It claimed that my acne would be eliminated by just eating apple for three days. Sounds crazy, but if you've had acne, you know that you'll try anything to get rid of it. I tried to eat just apples for a few days, but my energy levels were so low I caved and had real food. I also tried cucumbers, since people (i.e., the Internet) said that they're supposed to be cleansing and cooling to the body. I also tried eating chicken butts (seriously), which some people believe help heal the skin due to the hormones. I even rubbed garlic on my acne, since people say it's antimicrobial and claim it helps kill the bacteria.
When that didn't work, I took the opposite tack and started cutting things out. My sister cut dairy out of her diet and noticed an improvement in her skin, so I decided to nix dairy, too, along with sugar and processed foods. However, it didn't really make a difference for me.
A whole lot of weird grocery lists later, I still had acne.
SEE NEXT PAGE: Picking My Acne Battles
