Wednesday 29 August 2012

Fighting Acne Breakouts

As you know, I like to post about DIY beauty on here from time to time, and I always trial them out before I write about them. Well about a month ago I was using Rose Water as a toner, as I'd heard a lot of great things about it, and after a few days of using it my skin had broken out in acne (so you definitely won't see me recommending rose water on here).

I used to suffer with acne as a teen, and I guess my skin is still quite acne-prone. I usually get the odd breakout now and again, but this was the first time I'd seen my face covered in acne since I was a teenager, but unlike in my teens (where the acne was mostly small bumps), this time a lot of it looked cystic. I stopped using the rose water straight away, but my usual drug store skincare was doing nothing.

I'm a huge fan of Caroline Hirons blog, as she is very big on skincare and if I ever need advice it's the first place I go. I've heard her recommend REN to a lot of people, and found they sold a cleanser for blemish prone skin, so I picked this up and a sample of their 'Invisible Pores Detox Mask'.
I have to say I'm pretty impressed with REN so far, and I saw the acne disappear so fast.

Of course it didn't go away over night, but after a month of using this regime (listed below) my skin is almost back to normal. Even the cystic acne has practically gone. They've turned into normal spots now, and I can tell they'll pretty much be gone in a day or two. I think a month is pretty amazing, seeing as when I was a teenager I had it for YEARS.

My Regime
Morning
REN Clarifying Clay Cleanser
REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask (2-3 times a week)
REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream

Evening
REN Clarifying Clay Cleanser
Freederm 'Fast Track'
(I've found this really helped with the cystic acne, as it helped to reduce them quite fast. You can use this in the morning too, I just tend not to though as it makes my skin look dry, so it doesn't look great under makeup)
REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream

I didn't want to add too many products to my regime as I didn't wan't to aggrevate the problem further. Once I'm completely out of the woods, and my skin has settled, I definitely want to add more products just to help take care of my skin in other ways, not just at fighting breakouts. 

This regime worked for me, but everyone's skin is different. My skin is quite sensitive and reacts quite easily to products (as you can tell by my reaction to rose water). I think investing in a decent regime is very important. I know for a lot of people acne is caused my hormones, but my skin is quite hormonal too so I do think a good regime helps, but you may also need to look into your diet and hormone levels too to combat the problem fully. It's also worth going to your GP, or even participating in Carolines clinics, which pop up on her blog from time to time, if you need more guidance. 

I hope you found this post helpful in some way. It worked so fast for me I thought it was definitely worth sharing with you guys.
Do you have any tips for combating acne and/or breakouts?





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8 comments:

  1. I know nothing about acne but I just switch my toner to Antipodes and it's lavender & sage, no rose hooray as you know I'm not a fan of the scent of rose.

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  2. Ah that sounds good, lavender's supposed to be good at combatting breakouts. I've scared myself off toners for a while though. But I've now joined you on hating rose! Hehe xx

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  3. You did the right thing stripping your regimes back to basics. Often when I'm suffering with bad skin it's because I've got carried away with my regime and over loaded the skin. Although stress also plays a big part in my acne phases.
    I haven't tried any REN skin care and I really want to. I've had REN facials so I know I like them, but I've never used them over a long period of time.
    Great post hun :)

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  4. Aw thank you :)
    I was always changing my skincare anyway because I never found anything that worked, so I was probably destroying my acid mantle. I think the rose water was the final straw.
    I ordered a starter kit from REN and am now hooked! I'm not too concerned about adding a toner back into my regime, but I can't wait to try their serums & other masks (I have samples of them, but waiting for my skin to calm down). Definitely recommend REN to you though :) I didn't realise they did facials though! Will definitely be looking into this :) xx

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  5. I usually try to eat a lot of vegetables and drink a lot! It helps with acne! xoxoxo

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  6. Panoxyl 2.5 5 or 10 its a gel cream that you get over the counter at like superdrug and boots for like £3 it lasts ages as you only have to use a tiny bit but works AMAZING i swear by it! you do however have to moisterise really well after though as it tends to dry the skin when you have larger breakouts and have to use more of it :) xx

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  7. I agree, I definitely notice a difference when I'm hydrated, and my skin always suffers if I eat badly xx

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  8. Ooh thanks for the tip, I'll have to keep my eye out for it :) xx

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