Today I'll talk to you about my personal experience with acne. I’ll start by saying that I’ve never had any issues with my skin. I always thought I was one of the lucky ones that goes through puberty with no acne problems... The only thing I would get, was a pimple or two during those days of the month (you know..), and they’d always appear on my chin. That was all...

When I was 33 though and within a week acne paid me a visit! The area around my chin and my mouth was filled with zits that hurt  A LOT! Also my skin changed completely! From being combination to dry in certain areas, now it was really oily and full of blackheads! I can’t even begin to describe to you how awful I felt and I was trying to cover up everything with foundation and concealer!

In the beginning I thought that all this was due a different moisturizer that I was trying during that period. It was one of those all organic and natural creams, since I was going through an organic and natural period in my life! Everything I was using on my body, face, hair and even my food (I turned into a vegetarian) had to be natural and organic! So, I stopped using that cream straight away and decided to change my whole skincare routine! I went and bought the new skincare line by Dior and hoped that this would solve all my problems! I used it religiously for a month, but unfortunately there was no change....

Then I decided to go to the dermatologist. She said to me that I had dermatitis and gave me a new regiment that consisted of a face cleanser and moisturizer by Avene. She also gave me an Adaferin 0.1% cream that I had to use on my zits every night. So, I pushed aside my Dior skincare products (that I had just spent a small fortune on) and started my new regiment hoping for the best! The Avene products were really nice and gentle for my skin, but the Adaferin cream was a nightmare! It made my skin to peel and it felt just awful! Great! Now I had blackheads, acne AND dry patches! My situation was getting worse and worse by the day!

So then, I chose to stop using the Adaferin cream altogether, and did my own research online to see what I can find for myself... So, after reading lots of reviews and posts about similar acne cases, I decided to try some products from Dermalogica. I bought the Skin Smoothing Cream moisturizer, and the Gentle Cream Exfoliant, as well as the AGE Smart Skin Resurfacing  Cleanser (I bought everything from the site Cosme-de.com).  These products were really nice and I noticed a small change on my skin, but unfortunately the blackheads and the acne were still there...

The worst time was during the Easter period, when my acne around my mouth and on my chin was so bad that I couldn’t even smile without aching! So, I decided to go and see a second dermatologist that I was introduced to. He was supposed to be really good, with masters and degrees and, and, and!!! When I wend for my appointment, I was taken into a room where a doctor came and asked me some questions, and then another one came and examined me and in the end the professor himself came and examined me as well!!! He told me that I had acne (Really??? Get out of here!!! I knew that already and I don’t even have a dermatologist’s degree!!!), and that it happens  to a log of people after 30. He asked me to do some blood tests to check my hormones and see if that is the cause of it. In the mean time he asked me to take antibiotics in the form of pills, antibiotics in the form of cream, to change all my skincare routine and to use another cream on my zits every morning. He asked me to do all these for a month and then to go back to see him... As I was leaving, the girl at the reception asked me to pay €150 for the visit, and then I almost fainted!!! 

I went ahead and bought all the creams that he prescribed me and started using them as soon as possible... I also took the pills like he told me, which made me feel very nauseous, so much so that my husband thought I was pregnant again and then he was the one that almost fainted!!! I also did my hormonal tests which came out fine, so we knew that this was not the cause for my acne. I followed this regiment for a month but again I had no results!!!!

By then I was so so tired from all these new regiments and the pills and generally from all this acne situation!! And I really didn’t want to go back to this ‘professor’ to pay him another €150 for nothing! As I was searching online, I found a video on YouTube by MakeupbyTiffanyD who was talking about her very similar situation with acne and how she dealt with it.. She mentioned the skincare range Proactiv that she used, which cleared her skin completely! So then I thought why not try this one too?  The 3 steps cost me $19.95 and I got the Refining Mask for free!! 

The parcel arrived within a few days and I started using the products straight away! I have to say that in the first week I saw some dramatic results! By the end of the month my skin was almost completely cleared from acne! I’ve been using the line for the past 2 months and the change is unbelievable!!!

You can clearly see the deference!! I only have some marks from the zits left, but even these ones are slowly fading away! My blackheads are almost cleared and my pores are much smaller than before. After almost 2 years that I went through all this, I can go out of the house with no foundation on! 

The Proactiv line consists of 3 Steps:

This is a facial cleanser that has small particles that help to exfoliate the skin. It consists of Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5%

I use it every morning and night and it leaves my skin really clean and soft without any dryness! On the packaging it says to use it once a day in the beginning because it can cause dryness, but I didn’t have any problems like that.

This is lotion with no alcohol that moisturizes the skin.

It contains Glycolic Acid.

I use it every morning and night after I cleanse my face. It’s a really nice lotion and it’s gentle with my skin. It’s very moisturizing and keeps my skin in balance!

It is a form of serum/lotion that you apply at the areas where you have the problem. It contains Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5%

I use it where I have the acne and the blackheads. It is fairly moisturizing and (at least for me) hasn’t caused me any dryness. The only thing that you should be careful is the sun, and that is why they advise you to use sunscreen so that your skin won’t get irritated.

Also the Refining Mask that I got for free is amazing! When you feel that a zit is coming, or even if you already have one, you can put a small amount of the mask on it and leave it all night. In the morning it’s gone!

That was my acne story. Have you ever had acne problems? How did you deal with it?