My teenage years…full of fun activities but one of them did not include having so many pimples on my face that I was embarrassed by my skin!
Starting as young as 15 years old I was dealing with acne and had no idea what to do about it. I spent over 2 years just trying so many different types of creams/treatments from the pharmacy with no results. Right at that moment, I knew I had to visit the dermatologist.
Once I was through with the visit, the doctor had given me a strong prescription of salicylic acid but it dried out my skin to the max. And when I say to the max what I am referring to is that I couldn’t smile, it was so hard to move my face. It also didn’t help that it was the Winter season in New York which made matters worse.
One day I had met up for lunch with a friend of mine, (I was having a difficult time opening my mouth to eat by the way due to the dryness) so she was telling me a funny story to which I reacted and laughed but it made my face hurt so bad from how irritated my skin was from the strong acne cream. I passed by a CVS pharmacy right after to grab some face foundation to cover the whole mess up (this was before I knew that it’s best to not mess with makeup while treating acne or if you have any open wounds as this can cause an infection) I got home and the first thing I did was try on the foundation I just bought on my face and let me tell you it was super HORRIFYING! It was the first foundation that I had owned and thought “why can’t my foundation look nice and smooth like the other girls”. And that’s when I decided to take control, I mean I have to do something about this because it was affecting my self-esteem bad and on top of it, I had flakes from the extreme dryness.
Turning Point
After 5 years of trying every acne cream/treatment from over the counter to prescription with no results was driving me insane plus with the cold months ahead I knew had to do something and that’s when I started to have healthy skin on my own.
While doing research I saw that some skincare was for normal, others were for dry skin so I had to know what kind of skin I had before looking for products. I went to an Estee Lauder store and advised the associate that was helping me that I was looking for skincare and she picked products that were ideal for my skin type. The way she figured out my skin type was by observing where my oily/dry spots were. She observed my skin and noticed that I have a combination because I was only on my T- Zone which means the nose, forehead, chin and dry in other areas.
The associate then started to show me the products that they had for my type of skin. I purchased a cleanser called Perfectly Clean it’s a multi-action face cleanser which cleans my face for the AM and PM and also bought the Perfectly Clean multi-action crème cleanser/moisture mask which I used for when my skin would start to get a bit dry and I only used it for the Fall/Winter/Spring/ months, I used it one time in the summer and noticed my skin got a bit too oily. I also got a moisturizer called Daywear Matte it’s oil- control Anti- Oxidant Moisture Gel Crème and the Advanced Night Repair. Using my new products, I started to see a difference. No, my acne didn’t just magically disappear but my skin felt nourished and hydrated. And when it comes to finding the right skin regimen you just have to see what works best for you! It’s as complicated as having two people with combination skin and you’ll be surprised to know that I might give you the crème that I use and it might just not work for you but you must NEVER give up!
After a couple of years later, my acne has been going away and all I had left were pretty much acne scars. What did I do throughout the years? I simply changed my skincare regimen and added a spot treatment for the newbies that try to land on my face. I switched out my products every 2-3 months just so my skin doesn’t get used to it and also to give my skin something different to try. I always purchased products for my skin type, however, the ones that say “for all skin type” are still good but you will know if your skin will approve or disapprove and you’ll know from there whether to keep on using the product or return it to the store. I usually go on Sephora and I look for new skincare goodies. I also started using masks at home regularly (once a week).
