Skin Care.

I got a request to do this post.

HAHAHA.

Anyway, skin care regimens are very important to every girl. And if you ask around, you'd know they change as quickly as the seasons. It's about finding something that actually works for you and sticking to it.

In this post I will tell you the products I have used, how they worked, and the products I use now. And being an African American woman, I have a whole 'nother set of skin problems.

Let's start off with the infamous drugstore acne washes.




Do you catch my drift? I have used ALL of these and more. Here's what I can say about them: EH. They're not bad, not good either. And here's a common trend amongst them: DRYNESS. They dry out my skin so much!! They smell serious too. Ugh. I think I'm done with drug store brands now, unless I'm in between real acne washes. I feel as though these brands are GREAT for the person who doesn't get acne, and just uses these as a means to get their face clean.
BUT I, like many others, actually have an acne problem, and none of these do ANYTHING about it. Seriously.
So my overall conclusion: Great products for a nice clean face, but don't expect any results.
Moving on...

Let's talk about those face washes you can't find in drug stores now. And with that, comes price. Here is what I've used:




I guess you can say I haven't used so many of the "serious" products. Most of the time I've been using the drug store washes, letting my acne ebb and flow and just dealing with it the best I can.
Proactiv: wasted a lot of my life using this. I started when I was in 8th grade, so like, 5 years ago. I think I only used it for a year though. But they kept on mailing and mailing and MAILING it to us. Literally, I still have some left over that I only use when I'm desperate.
I don't like this stuff. Here's the deal. Say you use it for 2 weeks. Great results. No new acne at least, and the scars are healing. Then, one night you get in late and forget to wash with it. Wake up and you've got 10 MILLION PIMPLES. I hate that. It's like you have to use it twice as day for the REST OF YOUR LIFE for it to work. Ugh. No thanks.
Plus it burned the HELL out of my face. Like sticking it into an oven. Ouchies.

Seacret: My brother used this stuff after he bought it from a mall kiosk. Shady, right? Anyway, he called up my mom and said he had used it for like a week, and that there was NO evidence he ever had acne ever. So my mom jumped on this and bought it for me. It's basically a peel, and then a moisturizer. So there's no cleanser involved, which is bad for me because I need something to wash my make-up off.
Anyway, you're only supposed to use it ONCE week, and for the rest of the week, wash with water only. So I knew already that the results would be tampered with because I used another face wash throughout the week (for the make up). So I used it once, and got fantastic results. Used it for the second time, great results. Used it for the third time, okay results. So on and so forth. Worked for the first few weeks only, and its REALLY expensive. Safe to say I wont be using it again. But I still have some of the moisturizer left over, it's the most LUSCIOUS thing ever.
Seacret is more of a buffer, not an acne eliminator.

Clear Advantage: One of my mom's friends had a left over bottle of this from her son, so she gave it to my mom to give to me. They're a pill you need to take every day and they clear your acne from the inside out. New for me. Took the pills and for the first few days I got TERRIBLE headaches after I took them. But I guess after my body got used to them, it actually started to work. I noticed all it did was dry up my pimples and prevent new ones (except for when it's my time of the month. NOTHING can stop those pimples) from coming. Did nothing for the acne scars, although I feel nothing will unless I go get some laser procedure. Whatever.
There was also some free sample of face wash that came with it. Didn't do anything spectacular. Smelled like strawberries and didn't leave my face TOO dry.

What I use now:

Acne.org. My mom and I literally just went on Amazon and typed "acne face washes." We got a lot of results, but this was rated with 5 stars the most so we got it.
I've been using it for a little over 2 days now. It's pretty different from what I'm used to using.
Scent free, light, and hopefully if I stick to it, it will work.
Face wash is decent, not TOO trying. Then you use what's called a "treatment" and that's a gel you put on your face and let dry. Then you use a moisturizer with jojoba oil in it, so it doesn't make my skin dry, which I LOVE!
The secret to this system, according to the owner, WHO IS NOT A DERMATOLOGIST (not as if dermo's know what works anyway coughProactivcough), is a heightened amount of benzoyl peroxide, which oxygenates the skin which limited all bacteria growth, hence no acne. The gel part of it has the BP, and as you get going with the regimen, you're supposed to use more and more BP until eventually you're just lathering BP all over your face. Benzoyl is what REALLY kills acne, but too much is irritating.
We'll see if this works. I like it so far.

Just a little on the make up side:

I don't just use all these acne products on my face and just lather on any type of foundation. I use this Acne Solutions foundation for my skin. It gives dewy medium coverage, and has medicine in it that heals acne. So as you wear it, your acne is being treated. Who knows if it works, haha. But I use it now when I must have foundation. I also use Clinique press powder. Clinque is just an over all gentle and trusty product to use on your skin.


So that's it for my skin care spiel, at least the face wash side of it. My skin regimen is much different once the face is washed and the make up is on. Maybe in another post.


:)

-Millie Michelle