From Cystic Acne to Clearer Skin

Hello everyone!

I’m excited to share with you today’s blog post. I’ve been meaning to talk about this for some time because I just wanted to share my experiences with acne and how I cleared up my skin. I will include photos in the post to show you my progress as well. I hope this post helps anyone out there with acne! Please note I am not a professional in anyway and everything expressed is my own experience. Your results with any products mentioned may vary. I have decided to split this blog post into 2 because trust me, it’s way too long and I could talk about my experiences with acne for days on end.

Part one I will speak about my journey, and include photos throughout (the lighting may be a bit off at times because of artificial and natural lighting but there is NO EDITING to the photos besides the addition of text. I try to keep it real on IG and on my blog, so I really don’t want to deceive anyone). In part two I will show you my product recommendations! I hope you all enjoy this blog post 🙂

Firstly, to get the full scope on my skin progress, I’ve previously spoken briefly about my skincare journey. You can read about that here.

From the beginning – high school:

Basically I’ve had acne since high school and it was pretty controllable. The worst times that it came up was on school photo days 😦 and this was back before I paid attention to makeup haha.

First year of uni – 2017:

As I got older and entered university, particularly the first few months of my first year, my skin just broke out so bad in cystic acne.

At the time I didn’t pay much attention to it because I was still me at the end of the day so I honestly didn’t notice that was how I looked. I went to the doctors and they prescribed me some antibiotics and Epiduo (I’ve tried that before and it did nothing so I didn’t purchase it the second time).

My skin started clearing up and it looked so good, despite some scarring and pigmentation left behind. It wasn’t until the same time the following year where I broke out all over again and this time I even had acne on my neck.

The following year – 2018:

Around this time I had other health complications and went to see a doctor. I had come to the conclusion that my acne was caused due to my hormones, and possibly PCOS. I was also given the opportunity to try out a product that helped with acne – [PRODUCT REMOVED DUE TO TGA REGULATIONS]*. My experience with that is linked above. That helped my skin a lot, it really helped ‘flatten’ the bumps I had on my face and with inflammation.

As months went by, I finished two bottles of [PRODUCT REMOVED DUE TO TGA REGULATIONS] and my skin was so much better. It looked clearer and I had noticed a massive difference between then and the year prior. From then I worked on reducing my scarring and pigmentation with various skincare products – I will discuss my skincare routine in more detail below.

This year – 2019:

I unexpectedly went overseas earlier this year for a family matter and it was winter over there so I brought along some hydrating products because of the coldness and dry air. I began to break out a bit more. When I came back I focused on repairing my skin and as the months went by I dreaded February-March because that was when my skin started spiraling in 2017. But to my surprise it didn’t – phew! My skin was very well contained and I was so happy. I had finally broken whatever it was that caused me to break out so dramatically.

Dieting:

In terms of diet, I just want to say I don’t drink cow milk because I don’t like the taste – I go for almond milk or other plant-based milks. I do eat cheese, I love my cheese I could never give it up. I eat pretty much every other dairy. As for meat, I do eat meat but there were some times where I went vegan for a short period of time but I introduced meat into my diet again. Other days I would eat mostly vegetarian, just to get more vegetables into my diet. As for water, investing in a water bottle by your desk or on the go for the gym or work, is very handy. I’ll be honest, I do try to keep a fairly balanced diet, but I’m human and I do crave things like burgers or fries every now and then and I will satisfy my cravings by eating those kinds of foods. A lot of people think that if you eat fries once then your face will break out the next day. Generally this does happen to some people, but it’s not always the case and you should let yourself enjoy in some indulgence every now and then – it’s healthy and you’re only human!

If you’re told by your doctor to manage a certain diet for your skin then of course take their advice. Most will probably tell you to avoid dairy and gluten, some people have intolerances to certain ingredients which results in breakouts. As I said, I’m in no way a professional so if you seek dietary assistance, please see a professional.

Exercising:

In terms of exercise, I don’t keep very active to be honest. Some days I’m quite active – mainly by walking, and other days I’m just relaxing and I don’t do much and you know, that’s that. I’ve read that exercising is good for your skin because you sweat out the toxins and what not but I get quite anxious sometimes being outside and alone. Sometimes I do workouts at home but I’ll be honest that’s not very often.

Previous skincare routine:

So as I do reviews for products, I sometimes get sent PR and I use those products in my skincare routine. I try to incorporate them slowly, rather than all at once. My skin isn’t sensitive and it very rarely reacts to certain products (both makeup and skincare). I’ve never had the same skincare routine because I like to rotate products and try new ones. In the past couple of years, my skincare was mostly cleanser, toner, serum and moisturiser (SPF in the mornings as well). I don’t use many eye products because I don’t feel the need to, but if I happen to get my hands on some eye products then I just add them to my routine.

Current skincare routine:

So my current skincare routine is pretty similar to above.

Mornings:

• Cleanse – I used to use cleanser in the mornings and sometimes I do because I just want to finish up some cleanser samples, but most of the time now it’s just a good splash of water.
• Toner – I use whatever toner I have on hand, I’ll list some of my favourite skincare products below. I pour some toner on a cotton pad and sweep it all over my face and neck. What I like about toner is it gets rid of any excess dirt I missed from my initial cleanse, and I just get a more thorough clean.
• Eye cream – Like I said, I only use eye products when I happen to get them. My most recent one I won from a giveaway and the one before that was a gift.
• Serum/Essence/Ampule – It’s usually a Korean one, but in the past I’ve used some from The Ordinary. You can check out my review on the Niacinamide here. There are so many different ones with different properties – if you’re interested in using these in your routine then find one that works for you. In the past I’ve used the niacinamide – BTW I loved it, it really helped with scarring and brightening my complexion. I’ve also used the Cosrx Propolis Ampule which I bought to try because I love the brand and because it’s very moisturising and claimed to leave skin looking glowy.
• Moisturiser – I have a few favourite moisturisers, but I tend to use whatever I have on hand. I always have a stash of unopened, new skincare (and makeup) waiting for me to use lol. I don’t think there’s a real need to splash your money on an expensive moisturiser, but that’s just me.
• SPF – I also use whatever for this because I always want to try new sunscreens. I’ve previously used the Cosrx Aloe Sunscreen, read my review here. I’ve used La Roche Posay, Avene and Sunsense. Don’t really have a favourite just yet though.

Evenings:

• Makeup remover if I wore sunscreen/makeup in the day – I prefer cleansing balms for this step or cleansing oils. I’m not a fan of cleansing waters though because I find it kind of wasteful using all these cotton pads. Also not a fan of wipes, I think they’re too drying and I’d rather go through that extra effort to get my face clean, as opposed to a quick cleanse.
• Cleanser – Any one will do, don’t really have any favourites.
• Exfoliator – 2-3x a week, physical and chemical. If it’s physical I use it after I shower. If it’s chemical I use it after toner.
• Toner – Same as the one in the morning.
• Eye cream
• Sheet mask – 0-2x a week, since starting my job last year I’ve been slacking with sheet masks. I know a lot of people think they’re gimmicky but I think of it has a serum/essence/ampule treatment that deeply moisturises the skin. Because you leave it on for 20-30 minutes, the product penetrates your skin better. Also my makeup applies so much better the next day 🙂
• Serum/essence/ampule – sometimes I do this step before the sheet mask just because I forget I was meant to sheet mask that day or just because haha.
• Moisturiser
• Sleeping mask – only when I have it because this isn’t a staple in my skincare. It’s great for colder weather though.
• Lip sleeping mask – Usually use this after I brush my teeth to bring moisture back to my lips. I let it rest on my lips for some time before it dries down and I can sleep. I used to use this right before sleeping and it was terrible – so sticky and got everywhere, so I learnt to apply it much earlier.

Stay tuned for part two for my product recommendations!

If you ever have any questions about any of the products I mentioned or just general skincare questions I am happy to help. I will do my best to give you helpful comments, and remember I am in no way a skincare professional or anything.

If you’re interested in checking out my other acne blog posts, click here.

Thank you so much for reading this very special and personal post from me this week.

I hope this helps you with your skincare journey, I would love to know about yours in the comments below!

As of July 2022, this post has been edited to remove mention of a TGA approved product, due to TGA advertising regulations.