I felt it was my personal obligation to write this blog, because well… I’ve changed.
My skin care routine, that is.

About a year ago, I wrote a blog about how I cleared my skin.
But the truth of the matter is, although those were the products I was using at the time.
I don’t believe it was the products that helped me.
And I find myself often looking back at that blog, and debating deleting it.
Because about four months after I posted it, my acne came back with a burning vengenence.

Here is photo evidence.

(Left: March 2018, Middle: April 2018, Right: May 2018 with makeup)

As someone who has struggled with acne my whole life, and as someone who posted a ‘How I Cleared my Acne’ two years ago, you can imagine my frustration when this happened to me this year. However, what is different this time around is that I found a long term routine that has actually been helping for a very long time now… as opposed to a couple months.

So to those who read my blog, and found successful results in what I was using… I’m really glad.
But to those who found very minimal results, or not long-lasting ones… perhaps your skin is similar to mine.
So, without further ado… (I think that’s how its spelt)

How I Cleared my Skin… Again.

Hormones

I’m not even going to bother with sharing the rest of my products until I share with you, what I believe to be the #1 contributor to the clearing of my skin. I got my hormones checked, and I started taking birth control. Now, I’m not a doctor. But typically when you’re still getting acne into your early/late 20s, it usually means there is something sketchy going on with your hormones. It’s not ALWAYS the reason, but it’s a common one (other than my theory that some people are just born with an acne bug). Despite my product changes, I didn’t really see a significant difference until I started taking birth control, and that’s why I wanted to start with that.

Milky Jelly Cleanser – Glossier

If you’ve heard me talk about skin, I often say ‘I don’t believe in cleansers’. It spends such a short amount of a time on your skin, that I find it hard to believe it can be a game-changer for acne. Having said that, when it comes to WHAT you wash your face with… keep it simple, stupid. I strongly advise AGAINST acne-targeted cleansers. They are HARSH and dry the shit out of your face. When it comes to cleanser, I suggest the mildest thing you can find, and really just something that is going to take off all your make-up. Usually my go-to is Cetaphil. However, I was recently told that Cetaphil is unfortunately bad for the eyes (and mine are very sensitive) so I switched to Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser and it seems to be working. It’s mild, and it takes off my make-up. Good enough.

Glossier’s Solution

Before you yell at me. I KNOW OK, I KNOW. I wrote a blog about 5 months ago, totally bashing this product. BUT, I stand by my critique and I’ll tell you why; in my original review, I basically said that I didn’t like this product because I felt like it didn’t do shit for acne. And I still stand by that statement. If you have active acne, I don’t suggest you use this product because I don’t feel it’s going to do anything. Having said that, I now use this product as my exfoliant because I don’t have active acne on my face. I don’t like putting rough cleansers or brushes near my skin, because it’s SO sensitive. Therefore, the mild formula of Solution is perfect to exfoliate my skin without being too harsh. So… did this product contribute in the clearing of my skin? No. But it IS helping with the left over scarring and hyper-pigmentation I have now.

Aveeno’s Positively Radiant Facial Moisturizer

My ride or die. Stop spending 80 million dollars on moisturizers from Sephora. You are paying for all this extra shit that isn’t helping your face. Aveeno’s Positively Radiant sits confidently on the shelves of drug stores and promises one thing, moisturized and protected skin. This light weight, SPF infused moisturizer helps with dry, aging, dull skin better than any other moisturizer I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many). One mistake I’ve always made during severe breakouts is spending my money on tons of products hoping for a miracle. When we all know, at the end of the day, the more crazy stuff we put on our face… the worse it’s going to get.

Glam and Glow Supermud Clearing Treatment

I want to start off by saying I don’t actually use this product as a mask, I use it as a spot treatment. I received this little sample for my birthday from Sephora, and I believe it’s the one product I’ll splurge on when I’m done scraping the insides of this little bottle clean. Now that I’m on birth control, my breakouts are less often… however, because I am a forever acne-prone person I still get breakouts at least once a month. When this happens, I will throw this mask on my spots and wear it over night. It’s actually quite crazy the difference that it makes and if any of you are looking for a good spot treatment, I recommend this one.

BW’s Final Thoughts

I recognize that this routine is significantly different from the last one I posted, and if you experienced the same ‘not-lasting’ results as me… I’m sorry for that. I thought those products we’re helping to clear my skin, and they probably were for a second. But when it comes to acne, hormones will always trump products. As of right now, these are the products I use to maintain a clean, vibrant, exfoliated face. Would my results be the same if I used different products, but still kept the birth control? Maybe. But you wanted to know what I use, and this is it 🙂

To all my fellow acne sufferers out there who are desperate for a solution, I GET IT. And I am right there with you. This is what works for me right now, but who’s to say I wont be writing another ‘How I Cleared my Acne.. Again.. Again’ a year from now? But what I can recommend is that you visit your dermatologist and definitely get your hormones checked. Oh, and if nothing else… drink your body weight in water. Every single day.

With love and hyper-pigmentation,

Sarah