When I was a teenager I would get a pimple in the same. exact. spot. every month. It would always come on either my nose or my chin. I used all of the acne products that I could get my hands on to try and prevent it from happening. I would literally try something new every week because I felt like nothing worked for me. I’m sure my poor diet, an inconsistent regimen and lack of water drinking only added to my problem.
I have to admit that I used to pick at my pimples like crazy!
I’m sure pimple picking didn’t help either but now that I’m older, I think I’ve finally figured out what products work best for me. The first thing I had to do was determine what was causing it. I realized that I suffer/ed from hormonal acne and it had to be treated differently than other types of acne. I also had to simplify my regimen and stick to using only a few products.
These days my regimen is pretty basic; I cleanse, tone, and moisturize. However, when I know that I’m more likely to get a breakout, I will switch things up a bit.
A few months ago I learned about the Peter Thomas Roth Acne System ($35 at Sephora). This system comes with an acne clearing face wash, AHA/BHA acne clearing gel, acne spot and area treatment, max complexion correction pads, and one sheet of their acne-clear invisible dots.
Of these products, my favorite are the acne wash, clearing gel and the spot/area treatment. My least favorite is the dots because I don’t feel like they don’t do much of anything for me. The other products always come through for me though. The main ingredients in these products are glycolic acid, allantoin, aloe vera, and salicylic acid. I’ll be doing a post soon about the different types of acids.
I usually switch over to the PTR acne face wash about a week before my monthly visitor (Aunt Flo) comes. This helps to clear my skin of any bacteria that may cause or add to the breakout. The clearing gel is great for those pimples that haven’t come to a head yet while the area spot treatment is best used when pimples have already come to a head (turned white). In addition to the ingredients mentioned, the treatment also contains sulfur. This helps the product to act quickly to get rid of the inflamed pimple.
I find that using these products the week leading up to my period and a few days after really does the trick.
The other products that I have found to be super helpful when trying to clear my acne are from Mario Badescu. I have both the glycolic acid toner ($18) and the drying lotion ($17). Both of these are available at Sephora and Ulta. I just started using the glycolic acid toner recently so I haven’t noticed too much of change but depending on how quickly I need a pimple to go away I’ll use either the PTR spot treatment or the MB drying lotion.
The MB drying lotion does just what the name implies, dries out the pimple. Like the PTR spot treatment, this one is to be used once the pimple has already come to a head.
Finally, the last thing I have done that has helped my acne tremendously is increase my water intake and be cautious of foods that may cause hormonal imbalance. Dairy and fried foods used to be my go to items. I’ve actually cut dairy out of my diet for the most part (I’ll still have the occasional slice of pizza or other delicious food item containing dairy) and I’ve limited the amount of fried food that I cook and/or consume.
I do have to say that I’ve never suffered from severe acne so I’m unsure how the acne products I’ve mentioned will affect someone in that situation. However, each item was formulated for acne and acne prone skin. Unless you suffer from acne that requires medical attention, these products will likely work for you too.
At the end of the day I just try to keep things simple. Properly cleansing my skin, increasing my water intake and watching what I eat, have all had a huge impact on improving my acne and minimizing breakouts. I’m starting to become a believer in the saying less is more and when it comes to dealing with my acne, this has held true so far. If you feel like you are unable to get your acne under control on your own, it’s probably worth speaking with a dermatologist. If you need help finding one, try searching for one on the American Academy of Dermatology Association website.
What are your go-to acne products? Let me know down in the comment section!
