skincare
 

i originally posted this in TGB but considering theres probably a bunch of pimply gamer nerds here i figured id share my knowledge and services with u all

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do any of u care about having nice skin
do you have nice skin
what do you do to have nice skin



heres my story:
as a teenager i had pimply skin which i guess is pretty typical or whatever. then around 17/18 i started to have really nice skin. im not sure if this was genetics or skincare or just the result of being on birth control (which i have been since i was 16). i didnt really care that much about it or think that other people cared that much

then a couple years later when i started working retail at this one place, ppl kept talking about my skin to me. i would get complimented by random ppl on how nice my skin was, and my co-workers would talk about it all the time, and say things like "i didnt think that airbrushed looking skin like in magazines existed in real life til i saw your face" and obviously this made me feel good, or whatever, but honestly i was moreso taken back by how INTO skin people were. it wasnt something i had really ever experienced or heard people talking about before

i enjoyed the perks of having nice skin for several years and i did some things to keep my skin nice but really didnt care that much (like about getting really expensive makeup or skincare products). then last year, for some reason, my skin started to break out a lot more. i even started developing bacne this year, which i never used to deal with. i always had a really smooth nice back. i dont know if this was a change in diet, hormones, change in age, or different medications. i have an IUD now, which is different than taking pills by mouth or using a nuvaring or whatever. but the bad skin stuff started happening before then

when you have really nice skin, one pimple or a breakout feels really devastating. people used to compliment me on my skin all the time and i used to feel good about it, but if i had any kind of blemish it made me get super self conscious because i felt like i was letting other people down. so, with this change in my skin, i felt pretty shitty.

i started to spend a lot of money & effort in trying new skin products and doing basically whatever i could to get my old skin back. i tried a lot of things, from different washes and exfoliators and masks and wipes and vitamins and treatments or whatever. i think i've finally found what it takes to get my good skin back, and it seems to be going well. ive gotten really good results over the past few weeks and i feel like my skin is going back to what it used to be (maybe even better than it used to be).

what i invested in:

Cleaning
clarisonic aria - i use this whenever i shower. it's totally waterproof. the reason i got the aria model over the popular mia 2 system was because you can set it to a 2 minute timer instead of 1 minute. also it came in a kit with these "deluxe" sample sizes (2 of which were things i already used and liked, so it was a nice bonus). this is an expensive item but i really think it started making a nice change in my skin. it's basically a handheld device with a brush and it oscillates. on my 2 minute timer, you use it for 40 seconds on your forehead, 40 seconds on your nose/mouth area, and 20 seconds on each cheek. you use a facial cleanser with this. you can either put it on your face beforehand or put it on the brush head. i put it on my face beforehand. what i use is:

Fresh soy face wash - i dont really like the smell very much but its a good HQ face wash thats very gentle but still cleans very well

burt's bees face cleansing wipes for sensitive skin - i use these before i go to sleep (unless i just recently showered & applied exfoliator/moisturizer) and during the day as needed

Exfoliating
paula's choice 2% BHA liquid - i put this on freshly cleaned skin (whether it was washed w/ the clarisonic or with the face wipes). put it on a cotton ball or cotton pad and wipe on your face

kate somerville's exfolikate - not using this as often any more but if i plan to not use the clarisonic or the BHA i will wash my face (by hand) with the fresh soy face wash and then use this aftewards

Moisturizing
josie maran's argan oil light - its a beauty oil. it's supposed to help with acne. it's not greasy (as long as you dont use way too much of it). i use this to moisturize after cleaning my skin or i use it as a moisturizer before i put on makeup. i prefer the light version to the regular argan oil

i have samples of maracuja oil and an oil by the brand called nude that i occasionally use, but i like the argan oil the most

paula's choice resist 2% bha body lotion - i use this on my shoulders/upper arms and back. this has started to clear up my bacne. its pretty much gone now. i use a loofah & body wash (exfoliating type) in the shower and put this on afterwards.

final notes:
a basic skincare routine should consist of a cleanser, an exfoliator, and a moisturizer. you can do more than this, but those are the basics. well, if any one has any questions or wants to talk about this, im here to talk about it. or any other beauty related concern, really. i have a lot to say about hair, makeup, skincare if anyone's interested. or u can PM me. i will be continuing to try more skin products in the future but that's more along the lines of makeup so i doubt most people want to hear about that. idk why i wrote this up, but i guess i was bored.

also drink a lot of water. and stay out of the sun. use spf.

ok bye

Re: skincare
 

i've been very lucky with my skin i think. i never had breakouts during high school or even in college except for maybe a couple around 'that time' when i was younger, but since i have amenorrhoea now i really dont get spots like, ever.

obviously, if i've put makeup on and i forget to take it off, the next morning i may have a very tiny spot on my nose or something from where the pores get clogged, so i make sure to remove all makeup properly with face wipes (Simple brand, cause my skin is super sensitive).

my skin dries out easily so i always have to use a thick moisturiser just after i get out of the shower, but apart from that, i'm pretty happy with my skin.

Re: skincare
 

skin is a finicky thing and the same treatment methods can have vastly different effects from person to person, at least in my experience...i know a close friend who's been to specialists a couple times and dermatologists haven't been able to help them with their issues (flare-ups and redness).
pimples amuse me though, they're fun to pop hehe

Re: skincare
 

So much of it is genetic.

I had god awful cystic acne that nothing helped for ~5-6 years. It made me so depressed. I had to go on 4 cycles of isotretinoin (accutane) to fix it. Nothing else helped. Literally nothing.

Now that it's gone, honestly I don't need to do anything to my skin to keep it nice.

Well, I have to moisturize because I'm really susceptible to rash if I don't but I have an NSAID for that that works pretty darn well. Need to refill that soon, actually.

Re: skincare
 

My mother had really bad acne and I had pretty bad acne and resorted to one round of accutane to clear mine up almost entirely. I still have some breakouts and residual, but that's fine. It cleaned up the worst of it and I had no bad side effects from the medicine.

Reach, do you have scarring from the acne and do you do anything for it?

-o24

Re: skincare
 

I had pretty intense acne when I was in middle school. started using some acne pads later (don't remember which brand, might not have stuck to the same one anyway) and that seemed to help. much less of an issue for me later on.

still far from perfect for me, and I get the occasional pimple etc. back doesn't have too much going on but there are (permanent?) marks around my upper back.

I don't do much of anything to take care of my skin tbh. try to wash my face fairly regularly, but not with legit face cleaning stuff. I do drink lots of water tho.

if my skin suddenly got significantly worse, then I think I would look into it. and prob check back on this thread and read the tips here. I kinda wanna be out in the sun more rather than less though, oops.

Re: skincare
 

Acne sucks. I used to be riddled with it. I still have it but not as bad as before. Currently on round 4 of Accutane and that's clearing it up again

Re: skincare
 

Not much at all really. I can notice them but most people don't, unless I point it out. It's pretty subtle.

It was bad for the first year or two after I finally got clear consistently, I was really scared I would have bad scars. However, they faded so much over the years without doing anything other than just your usual face care. I'm pretty happy with my skin now.

Re: skincare
 

I've used different skin care products, but I've found myself at home with Noxzema Classic Clean Original Deep Cleansing Cream.

Re: skincare
 

I like shaving and then putting on salicylic acid based face wash

is that weird

Re: skincare
 

Used to have pretty bad acne on my upper back, chest and shoulders. Saw a dermatologist and they prescribed something called tretinoin cream along with some pills called monocyclin or something like that. The couple weeks of treatment is brutal since you will itch to the extent of wanting to scrape the entire epidermis off, but it works like an absolute charm.

I've also seen some pretty good results from spending time in the sun. Seems to kind of "bake" the acne off. It's my understanding though that this is more harmful than beneficial and will actually hurt you in the long run.

Re: skincare
 

I used to take minocycline and my acne only got worse lol. The tretinoin cream I used was brutal though. Made my skin feel like it was on fire all the time.

Re: skincare
 

sweat opens pores, etc

Re: skincare
 

Exactly what I do at my work. At least 8 hours a day in the sun unless I can find some shade. Southeast Texas heat and humidity can be brutal.

w00t! w00t!

Re: skincare
 

In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.

Re: skincare
 

I took tetracycline and doxycycline. Neither worked.

Re: skincare
 

This may be obvious, but washing your sheets more often can potentially help. You pillow case slowly gets covered in oils from your skin then you lay your face on the next day.

Even when you wash your face perfectly you might later that night just rub your face in pillow oil and not really solve anything.

Re: skincare
 

I'd need the blemish prone, acne prone, not going to cause me wrinkle face stuff now...if I bothered with much that is.

My diet seems to affect it more than anything I use on my face. No sugar helps.

Re: skincare
 

:???:

Re: skincare
 

Im 20 and whenever I eat chocolate I get a major breakout 3 days later that lasts for like a week.