Preface: I've been suffering from acne since i was in high school. I remember how extremely depressed and desperate i became, even bordering on obsession with my acne. It's needless to say that i "tried everything", antibiotics, changing my diet, creams, etc. If there's one good side for this situation, is that now i definitely posses a lot of knowledge on the subject. Now cutting my bio short, i currently am 99% clear, and have been for about a month now - with no signs of anything changing, and i attribute it all to my latest "regimen" and my latest findings. In a couple of days i have the biggest interview of my life, and I'm very happy to be able to look in the mirror and feel confident that my complexion is no longer an issue. Now these are the things that have been working for me, but that i believe will work for just about everyone:
1. Diet
I'm a firm believer that there's a strong connection between diet and acne, and a lot of studies show this, despite almost all of the dermatologists claiming the opposite. You should be aiming towards eating a paleo diet. Limit as much as possible the consumption of:
> Simple sugars
> Starchy carbs
> Junk Food(high in saturated fats, sugar, additives, etc.)
> Dairy
Instead, eat meat, eggs, fish, vegetables and fruit. What I used to do was to google "(name of the food) acne" and research first if there's any correlation between the two. What you need to keep in mind is that a diet high in sugar and such will cause inflammation and raise your insulin resistance(which stimulates the production of sebum) that in turn is bad for your acne.
2. Hygiene
Again, there's a lot of shit and a lot of methods written about this part. I'm not going to go into detail here because as i said in the preface, i'm only going to write what has been working for me. Because of my bad financial situation I refused to blow money on expensive skincare products. If that's not an issue for you just look for a mild, non alcoholic cleanser, a non-comedogenic moisturizer and Benzoyl Peroxide. I'm not gonna go into detail on how to 'use them' since it's pretty straight forward, except for the BP which you won't need to use regularly, this is not part of the regimen, but it's good to have in hand in case of a breakout and to use on the existing pimples.
3. Lemon Water.
Lemon Water? Yes, lemon water. This baby right here has been so effective and so cheap i consider it a miracle. It will reduce inflammation, cleanse your blood, improve immunity and keep your skin blemish-free. This is all godsend for your quest with fighting acne. You can read more on the benefits of lemon water on google.
What you will need: Water, lemons and a lemon squeezer. If we have it/afford it in Romania, so can you.
What to do: Buy some fresh lemons. No, don't use the shit from the supermarket in the little plastic bottles. Cut up a lime in half, squeeze half of it in a 1L bottle, fill it with water. Now drink it today. There's only one con to this: you will piss a lot. It will also freshen your breath and aid with digestion. Drink a 1L bottle every day or every other day.
4. Yoghurt-Lime juice mask.
Yoghurt contains zinc, and zinc is very very good to treat acne. A lot of people report good results just by supplementing with zinc. The yoghurt will shrink your pores and help fight the blemishes. Lime Juice as we established is packed full of anti-oxidants and other good stuff, it's generally the best "natural" blemish-fighter. Just take 2tbsp of 2% fat natural yoghurt, squeeze some lime juice in it and add some honey if you want to. Wash your face with warm water to open your pores. Spread the mixture all over your face once every 2 days and keep it there for about 15 minutes. Look in the mirror and try not to laugh. Rinse off after 15 min with colder water.
Try it for a week, I'm convinced it's gonna do wonders for your skin. I could go in much more detail but it's late. What you might notice if you have some knowledge on the subject is that this 'regimen' is very simple, but think about it, it's pretty much all you need to fight acne and it's also probably why it works so well: you will keep your hormones in check through diet, you reduce inflammation, boost your immunity and cleanse your digestive system - all of which are proven to help with acne - through the lemon water, and you moisturize, cleanse, shrink your pores and reduce irritation on your skin with the mask. This is so perfect also because many people(including me when i was younger) go crazy with products on their skin out of desperation, which in turn irritates the skin causing even more inflammation and sebum production. But by using only natural yoghurt with lemon juice you will prevent that.
1. Diet
I'm a firm believer that there's a strong connection between diet and acne, and a lot of studies show this, despite almost all of the dermatologists claiming the opposite. You should be aiming towards eating a paleo diet. Limit as much as possible the consumption of:
> Simple sugars
> Starchy carbs
> Junk Food(high in saturated fats, sugar, additives, etc.)
> Dairy
Instead, eat meat, eggs, fish, vegetables and fruit. What I used to do was to google "(name of the food) acne" and research first if there's any correlation between the two. What you need to keep in mind is that a diet high in sugar and such will cause inflammation and raise your insulin resistance(which stimulates the production of sebum) that in turn is bad for your acne.
2. Hygiene
Again, there's a lot of shit and a lot of methods written about this part. I'm not going to go into detail here because as i said in the preface, i'm only going to write what has been working for me. Because of my bad financial situation I refused to blow money on expensive skincare products. If that's not an issue for you just look for a mild, non alcoholic cleanser, a non-comedogenic moisturizer and Benzoyl Peroxide. I'm not gonna go into detail on how to 'use them' since it's pretty straight forward, except for the BP which you won't need to use regularly, this is not part of the regimen, but it's good to have in hand in case of a breakout and to use on the existing pimples.
3. Lemon Water.
Lemon Water? Yes, lemon water. This baby right here has been so effective and so cheap i consider it a miracle. It will reduce inflammation, cleanse your blood, improve immunity and keep your skin blemish-free. This is all godsend for your quest with fighting acne. You can read more on the benefits of lemon water on google.
What you will need: Water, lemons and a lemon squeezer. If we have it/afford it in Romania, so can you.
What to do: Buy some fresh lemons. No, don't use the shit from the supermarket in the little plastic bottles. Cut up a lime in half, squeeze half of it in a 1L bottle, fill it with water. Now drink it today. There's only one con to this: you will piss a lot. It will also freshen your breath and aid with digestion. Drink a 1L bottle every day or every other day.
4. Yoghurt-Lime juice mask.
Yoghurt contains zinc, and zinc is very very good to treat acne. A lot of people report good results just by supplementing with zinc. The yoghurt will shrink your pores and help fight the blemishes. Lime Juice as we established is packed full of anti-oxidants and other good stuff, it's generally the best "natural" blemish-fighter. Just take 2tbsp of 2% fat natural yoghurt, squeeze some lime juice in it and add some honey if you want to. Wash your face with warm water to open your pores. Spread the mixture all over your face once every 2 days and keep it there for about 15 minutes. Look in the mirror and try not to laugh. Rinse off after 15 min with colder water.
Try it for a week, I'm convinced it's gonna do wonders for your skin. I could go in much more detail but it's late. What you might notice if you have some knowledge on the subject is that this 'regimen' is very simple, but think about it, it's pretty much all you need to fight acne and it's also probably why it works so well: you will keep your hormones in check through diet, you reduce inflammation, boost your immunity and cleanse your digestive system - all of which are proven to help with acne - through the lemon water, and you moisturize, cleanse, shrink your pores and reduce irritation on your skin with the mask. This is so perfect also because many people(including me when i was younger) go crazy with products on their skin out of desperation, which in turn irritates the skin causing even more inflammation and sebum production. But by using only natural yoghurt with lemon juice you will prevent that.