Just Me and My Skin!

Hope these first days of 2015 are treating y'all well. So far, so good here. Prepping for a gig tomorrow night as I type this and waiting for my face to dry. The weather in NYC has been a little weird. Around Christmas it was rainy and a little warm. For NYE it was North Face with the hood up and zipped over the mouth weather! It was BRICK!!! Brutal on my skin! I struggle with bad acne as it is and this weather doesn't help! Actually it didn't matter what kind of weather, my acne was out of control! I covered it up pretty well but here' s pic with no makeup where you can see some damage:

Nevermind the beer bucket! Check out the side of my face! YIKES! For a long time I suffered with some pretty bad skin but I used a lot of makeup. I couldn't hide the raised bumps but I could definitely hide the scarring. Fast forward from around July 2013 when this picture was taken to May 2014. Pretty clear skin with just a few light scars left! Don't laugh at my mugshot inspired selfie:

No makeup, no filter. Here's a photo after a few months of treatment with light concealer and powder:

I have to send a HUGE thank you to my friend Miss Monét because if it wasn't for her I wouldn't know about acne.org. I've been using it for over a year and a half and it has SAVED my face!

I had those pimples that you could not pop. They'd just show up, hurt like hell, scar and make me miserable. I called them "soul zits" because when I would touch them they felt like they were hurting all the way to my soul (a little melodramatic, I know). I also had the regular pimples and a crop of scars on my forehead, sides of the cheeks and jawline. The scars would be so dark in comparison to my skin as you can see in the photo. I would not go to the gym without concealer on my scars. Now I'll go out without makeup on and not feel self conscious about my skin at all. I tried a lot of products and systems before my friend put me on to this one. I had pretty much given up. I highly recommend this regimen if you are suffering with acne. Be sure to follow the directions, listen to your skin and be consistent! I think being consistent is the most important thing. And also drinking a lot of water! For me the regimen dried out my face and was a little harsh so I will admit that at first I was following it to the letter day and night but after about 6 months I started to use the peroxide step of the treatment only at night and I continue to do that. I waited until my skin cleared before I went down to once a day. When my skin is super dry in the winter I use an exfoliant to get rid of the dead skin. I know it's a huge no no but for me it works and I don't break out from it. I use this exfoliant by Natura Bisse and it is incredible!!

I use this oil by Kiehl's in addition to jojoba oil at night with the moisturizer step:

It's been a lot of trial and error and learning as I go but I feel like I finally have my acne under control!

I've been lucky to not have any trouble with acne on my body (knocks on wood). I stay moisturized from head to toe! I use Kiehl's Creme de Corps body lotion during the winter and it works really well.

I use Jergen's Shea Butter lotion too.

They both work great. The Kiehl's lotion is a little expensive but it lasts a long time. The Jergen's is inexpensive and works really well. A couple of options to combat winter dryness! If you're itching from dry skin, the sensitive skin version of Sarna lotion is a must-have! The regular version of Sarna has a stargazer lily smell to it. I did not like the way it smelled!