Today is all about skin!
My skin has always been a struggle for me growing up, especially during those awesome pubescent years. I used to get bad breakouts on my forehead and cheeks which resulted in me being very self-conscious about my appearance. I saw a dermatologist, tried all those commercial products geared towards acne, like Proactiv, but still I would suffer from bad breakouts.
As time passed, my skin sort of calmed down during my college years. I was using my dermatologist's products around this time. Using my dermatologist's products gave me a kind of mental comfort in that I felt that it was better than those over the counter products because it was tailored to me and my skin (even though I still suffered from a breakout or two). I still use them to this day.
During my last two years of college, I changed my diet dramatically. Since I was trying to find better, more natural ways to care for my hair, I started to do the same for my body, which ultimately affected my skin. I cut out soft-drinks, fried foods, white breads, pasta and rice, drank TONS of water, and I incorporated a lot more vegetables and whole grains into my diet. I know there are still many speculations as to whether or not diet is linked to acne, but I am a firm believer that the two are directly related.
Granted I have my days that I pig out on greasy foods, but I still try to maintain a diet that is mostly wholesome foods and again, I try to drink TONS of water. I say "TONS of water" because you want to be continuously flushing toxins out of your system (green tea is excellent too).
Product-wise, however, I am trying to ween myself off of my dermatologist products because they are quite expensive. And in the long run, I am looking for a cost-effective way to maintain my skin.
Nowadays, I get a pimple here or there but it's a few "concentrated" zits compared to having an entire pizza face. I wash my face twice a day and I use a hypoallergenic moisturizer (the Purpose brand). I also mix a few drops of Jojoba oil with the moisturizer as I have some areas on my face that are drier than others. When I have a zit, I use 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide cream (Neutrogena On The Spot Treatment) directly on it at night and it's almost gone the next morning. Sometimes I get a few breakouts around my hairline (probably from the coconut oil), so I just put a light coating of BP around my hairline at night and it works like a charm.
So, a quick recap of my regimen so far is water, healthy food/ lifestyle and Benzoyl Peroxide for those pesky zits.
I truly believe that if you live a healthy lifestyle and are treating your body with care, your skin will glow from the inside out.
