Lately, so many people ( even strangers) ask me :
“What do you use for ur skin?”
It’s crazy. I’ve NEVER gotten so many compliments like this in my life. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be boastful and I am not proud at all. WHY NOT? Cause I was and still consider myself to be an acne sufferer.
I have pictures 2 yrs ago , when I was in MUNICH and there were these BIG RED ANGRY SPOTS ( which I picked at) all over my cheeks. I still have the scars to prove it and there was a period of time where acne erupted on my jaw area and that really drove me over the edge. I became even more shy, withdrawn, sad and very very miserable because of this SUDDEN ACNE BOUT which lasted for a few YEARS! I’ve always had relatively clear skin and many of my facial scars( i have quite a few big and small ones) were from naughty childhood incidences so you could say I took pride in my clearer skin and it was my confidence boost.
WHEN THE ACNE STRUCK, my hubby was really worried too, cause he had never seen my skin this bad. My friends were all in Singapore and maybe saw a pic or 2 of my pimply face but that was it. I thought returning from MUNICH to SINGAPORE would help my skin but it DIDNT!!!! Pimples erupted every other day and it was coming out in places I never expected… I would SWEAR AT MY PIMPLES when I looked in the mirror and it was a very angry and withdrawn phase of my life…
I was desperate, hated using concealor to cover old and new spots everyday, so I started searching and asked my friends for some recommendations for skin care products!
Then I was introduced to the amazingly EXPENSIVE DR SECRETS.
DR SECRETS is a complete skin care regiment and since I am not paid a cent to advertise their products, I’m just going to say that I have nothing to earn from blogging about this.
This is a skin care regiment that turned my skin around. My acne cleared up 80% in 3 months. I’ve been using it for 2 yrs I think and now I alternate between YAMANO SKIN CARE and DR SECRETS. The whole T-SERIES cost around $430 + SGD, so I was really bleeding through my wallet every 2 months.
SURPRISINGLY, after a year of religious DR S. usage my skin was doing fine for some time and then the small and Big pimples started attacking me again!!! I felt pretty distraught and disappointed that nothing was working and I was picking at my skin more than I should have.
That’s when I was searching the web like crazy for another MIRACLE PRODUCT and bumped into HIGH ON HEALTH website. FRAN the owner is my SAVING GRACE. She spoke about the relationship between emotions and acne, provided excellent resources for the reasons behind my skin picking addiction and her entire holistic approach to controlling acne was something that resounded strongly with me.
Steps I took when I realised that
my emotional wellbeing was
key to clearing the acne:
1) I stopped picking my skin
2) looked at my skin less
3) confronted issues I was facing
4) made a mental note everyday to take it easy and not be stressed
5) started my journey to heal from the inside
6) stopped switching products frequently and kept to mainly what works for my skin – Dr secrets and yamano. That’s a reason why I don’t do much skincare product reviews and why I’m so picky/selective when it comes to what I put on my face. My dream is to maintain clear glowing skin simply with facial wash, moisturiser and sunblock. How much simpler my life would be.
7) My journey towards finding suitable products was expensive, long and very un-rewarding.
I was spending way too much money on pdts that didn’t deliver and I was visiting derms only for them to tell me to use this and that… nothing worked. Discovering dr secrets and it helped calm my acne to a large extent but the smaller pimples would still appear and I had to battle post acne marks and some scaring.
That was until I was recommended to GLYCOLIC WHITENING ESSENCE * truly my HG PRODUCT to reducing imperfections*
* Warning : Glycolic products work wonderfully for me, as do chemical peels and occasional light therapy. Some people have less tolerant skin and their skin might peel excessively or burn from it. Please test it out on a small patch of skin and increase the amount you use very very gradually, till you are very confident with the product. Also, I cannot stress the importance of sunblock when using products that exfoliates your skin. If you do not use sunblock, pls refrain from using glycolic based products.
Our skin is a
reflection of what’s
going on in our
hearts and minds
With ACNE, I will never use the word “ CURED”.Those who have experienced some form of acne will know that it never really goes away. It can flare up when we are
* Stressed\Worried
* Emotionally Unsettled
* In Poor Health
*Picking our skin
* Using Incompatible Skin Care Products
*Excessive use of Products and Treatments
* Sleeping on dirty Pillow cases…
*Using a shampoo that irritates our skin
Controlling Acne
through skincare
I’ll share with u some of the physical aspects of the best way to deal with acne…
1) SUITABLE SKIN CARE RANGE
I did a blog article before on the products I use. Mainly YAMANO skin care and Dr Secrets. I am not sure how widely available these brands are but
these are brands that suit my skin. I tried an arsenal of products before I was recommended to these 2 brands and fell in luv with them.
You may have to do a bit of searching before you find a range of products that is agreeable with your skin. I do not believe a product should make your skin purge continuously before it does wonders. The suitable product line
will not show miraculous improvement overnight but you will notice the
subtle hints that it’s treating your skin well:
* Less redness
*Soothing to acne
*Skin looks brighter
*Fewer pimple popping up
*Acne marks fading
An effective product line should show visible results in 3-4 months.
2) EXFOLIATION
When I had acne skin, I didn’t exfoliate and it became worse. I am now using OLAY THERMAL EXFOLIATOR and I love it to bits. I use it every evening but my mom can only use it once a week, so it differs for every individual. In the past I was a big fan of ST IVES APRICOT SCRUB (for blemish skin)but it was too gentle on my acne.
Some frens have warned me against exfoliating my skin cause they say it’s thin and what not… but when I don’t exfoliate my skin, I get clogged pores and dull skin and my skin care products don’t get absorbed well. Trust ur own instincts, u should know when enough is enough
3)FRUIT ACIDS
I have different sized acne scars on my right cheek and forehead. Recent scars( scars that came about 3 years ago) have been lightened and have shrunk to resemble a slightly larger pore opening because of my daily use of YAMANO WHITENING ESSENCE and my chemical peels( I’ve had 5 sessions in the past year and half and it’s been so good for my skin).
Yamano whitening essence is glycolic based and the main reason why I believe so strongly in applying fruit acids to scars is because I’ve gone for chemical peels at 50% and higher and I have seen a difference. I’ve tried MOSAIC LASER too at the derm and the effect isn’t as good as the chemical peel in my opinion. Prior to using glycolic on a daily basis, my scars were not shrinking and they were very red, zits took weeks to go down. After daily usage of glycolic cream, I started to see a turn around in the quality of my skin. My zits go away after 1 day, my scars are shrinking and less red, a subcision scar has surfaced and looks less obvious. OVERALL, GLYCOLIC ACIDS are AMAZING & its my precious weapon against ACNE INFLAMMATION. I couldn’t believe the effects myself until I started getting compliments, questions bugging me abt what i was using and etc.
However do note that really old deeper scars( like childhood or teenage scarring) are usually very hard to erase. I have tried subcision and chemical peels and other stuff but they never show much improvement… I have battle scars on my face that you may or may not be able to see and it sometimes hurts to know they mar my complexion but I’ve learnt to be more accepting and to be grateful for what I have. To be focused on Scar reduction rather than perfect skin is something more attainable and is definitely a healthier approach to healthy skin. Also, don’t pick at ur skin to prevent any chance of scarring in the first place.
NEOSTRATA is a skin care range found in Singapore that is based on AHA and PHA. I’ve tried a few of their products and thought it was okay. I’ve tried DR MURAD products which have AHA as the active ingredient and it broke me out. So, once more, find a glycolic based product that suits ur skin.
When you start using glycolic products, be very very stingy with the amounts you use. Your skin will take a while to get used to it. Some peeling is expected the first few times you apply glycolic products.
* Warning : Glycolic products work wonderfully for me, as do chemical peels and occasional light therapy. Some people have less tolerant skin and their skin might peel excessively or burn from it. Please test it out on a small patch of skin and increase the amount you use very very gradually, till you are very confident with the product. Also, I cannot stress the importance of sunblock when using products that exfoliates your skin. If you do not use sunblock, pls refrain from using glycolic based products.4) BLOCK THAT SUN BABY
After all the stripping of dead and sluggish skin cells, protect it with sun block, be it rain or shine. I can’t stress the point of this enough already!
5) MOISTURISE
Acne skin doesn’t mean it should be stripped of moisture
Acne skin needs moisture to repair itself and to keep the cells nourished. Don’t be fooled into thinking that acne skin should be dry and absolutely clean. U’ll be in for a big surprise.
I used Dr Hauschka and Weleda skin care in MUNICH and it was my saving grace to angry outbreaks. These products were so gentle and the results were gradual and did help calm my skin and lessen the marks somewhat…. Another moisturizer that helped me immensely was CETAPHIL. It is amazing for sensitive skin that clogs super easily.
6) HONEY & ALOE VERA
I love these 2 skin foods. They treat my skin kindly and my skin glows after a aloe vera and honey mask. It’s a combination between healing properties from the ALOE VERA plant and ANTI BACTERIAL properties from MR HONEY. I sometimes blend in yogurt and oats to thicken it into a mask.
7) AVOID BENZYL PEROXIDE LIKE THE PLAGUE
Hate this stuff… will never use it again. I am not a believer, especially when the dermatologist in Munich told me tat PURGING is good and I should use BP. Purging is miserable and BP creates hell on my skin. STASH IT!
8) CLEAR SKIN= SETTLED & STABLE EMOTIONSI don’t mean to sound like a broken record but FRAN from HIGH ON HEALTH pointed out in her excellent articles that clear skin is mostly linked to a happy, settled emotional state and that stress/unhappiness/unstable/negative emotions are all linked to ACNE.
Take some time out and enjoy life. I try to not look at the mirror too much and not think about my imperfections. I try to think of productive things and keep myself busy so that I can focus on living my life instead of how I should prevent that next pimple from popping up.
Do something to relax. I shop and blog to relax. Some listen to music to relax, others dance or bake. Find something that relaxes U!
When I know I am following all the steps above, I’m naturally less stressed and find that my break outs are less frequent.
There will be a second part to this post and it will focus on a list of skincare brands I consider to be very suitable for people with sensitive and acne prone skin :) Stay tuned for that gals and I appreciate all ur comments as it gives me a sense of what works for u and what doesn't :)
I savored every minute of this!
