The Skin Care products that ended my 6-month acne battle

The last 6 months have been a roller coaster ride for my skin and my emotions.

I've experienced yet again a very bad breakout ever since adult acne onset happened when I was 25. Since then, I think I've had 4 grave breakouts; not a lot compared to some so I may be overreacting, but you have to understand that I never had to deal with this problem and my clear skin was one of my prized possessions so every time I experience something like this, I feel really bad.

When I encounter a bad breakout, I would always go for my trusted acne skin care line, Mario Badescu; I just use it for one month straight and I'm all good. It still worked, but for some reason, my skin decided to play a sinister game on me as acne kept on coming back that it came to a point that my skin got used to Mario Badescu and it wasn't working as effectively anymore. I have used hydrating skin care because I thought my skin was just dehydrated and this usually helps my skin recover from acne, but to no avail. I went for acids and it worked for a while, but eventually cystic acne came out of nowhere because it's either I had a bad reaction, or the acids only suppressed the breakout for a while. I tried sleeping early, managing stress, drinking lots of water, and exercising, but my hormones seemed to be in bad shape! My husband noticed my breakouts; I didn't feel really good about my face that I sleep with my back towards him because I didn't want him waking up to a face full of zits. 

ACNE! YOU ARE BAD FOR MY LOVE LIFE LOL!

In my recent acne saga, I noticed that there were some individual products that stood out and did a lot of good to my skin so I went back, took note of everything, and formed a customized skin care routine.

THANK GOODNESS, THIS TECHNIQUE WORKED!

Now I'm at the tail end of my 6- month war with acne and here are the products that helped me win that:

 Here are the products I used during daytime:

For cleansing, I used Althea Korea's Contour Cleanser; this product from Althea's pilot skin care collection is very moisturizing and soothing to the skin; it also has a minty fresh effect.

For toner, since my skin endures a lot of salicylic acid at night time and to prevent my skin from getting oilier from lack of moisture, I use Shiseido White Lucent Luminizing Infuser, a softening lotion followed by Shiseido White Lucent Luminizing Surge, an emulsion that's great for daytime moisturizing needs. I incorporated Shiseido in my routine to help heal my post- acne marks. For makeup, I swapped my full coverage foundations for powder foundation for a lighter coverage; if I needed more coverage, I go for IT Cosmetics CC+ Oil- Free Matte Cream.

For night time, I wash with the same Althea cleanser followed by Eskinol Pimple Fighting toner; this is one of the last products that I incorporated in my routine and surprisingly yielded the biggest results; it dried out some of my zits it about 2 days and the liquid formula penetrates my skin easily to do its job underneath. 

Since Eskinol can be drying, I follow up with Kanebo Bloom On Serum; this serum is actually developed as a "period skin care" so I thought it would help with the hormonal effects on my skin; it did help; I noticed that it made my skin look healthier and more rosy despite all the treatments that my face has been getting. Afterwards, I seal it with Shiseido White Lucent Multi-Bright Night Cream for post- acne marks lightening benefits.

I used spot treatment heavily in the last 6 months; I still used Mario Badescu Drying Lotion because this stuff has always been effective on me. When traveling, I bring CosRX Pimple Patches; this works even on cystic acne.

Twice a week, I scrub with St. Ives Apricot Scrub. It's a good ol' favorite and I thought, why not go back to this classic? 

The very last product I incorporated in my routine was The Votary's Salicylic Acid 2% and Tamanu Oil; THIS STUFF IS AMAZING. I used it once and overnight, my two fresh cystic acne spots were flattened immediately; by day two, they were almost dead; by day three, they were dead. Take note, I didn't have to experience all the stinging, burning sensations that 2% salicylic acid usually has; Imma blog about this real soon! This stuff is major love!

I've used everything from end of February until now; this is now my face by last week; it is back to its old, resilient self; there are still zits and some still pop out every now and then, but not as crazy and alarming as 6 months ago. My jaw line had the hardest hit, but it's doing really well now. What I'm dealing with at the moment are whiteheads and post- acne marks; so far, no more zits and painful cystic acne; we're all good, skin, we're all good.

Acne, please don't come back in the next 10 years!

P.S. If you experience hormonal/seasonal acne, this skin care routine may work for you, but please be wary of personal allergies and sensitivities. If you have genetically- induced acne and sensitive skin, please see your dermatologist before trying out any of my recommendations.

Have you tried any of these products already? What are your go- to anti-acne skin care products?

DIRECTORY:
Kanebo- Rustan's department storesShiseido- Greenbelt 5, Alabang Town Center, SM Department StoresSt. Ives, Eskinol- leading department stores, drugstores, supermarketsMario Badescu- sephora.ph (use my code MARTHA10 and get 10% off on purchase); RustansIT Cosmetics- sephora.ph (use my code MARTHA10 and get 10% off on purchase)The Votary- sephora.ph (use my code MARTHA10 and get 10% off on purchase)Althea- althea.ph

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