Acne Adventures 5

This post is late going up. The past week or so I’ve just had a total lack of energy to do anything. I think I’m burning out from my kids, everything is a fight with them and it’s exhausting. Oh well. 25 school days left!

My skin is doing some weird stuff. Most of my acne has cleared up on my chin and jawline, which is where the major problems were. I still have a few, maybe three total on my chin. And of course all of the hyperpigmentation left behind.

But all of my acne has moved to my cheeks. Now yes, I’ve had some acne in high school and college (and obviously now). But never on my cheeks! Ah! On my right cheek I have The Bermuda Triangle. On my left cheek I have The Little Dipper. These are seriously the designs that have formed out of my acne. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Now, let’s talk about this hyperpigmentation word we keep throwing around. The most obvious definition is that your skin’s pigment is darker than it should be. This can be from any number of things, generally it’s because your skin has produced too much melanin. I have mine because of acne, so technically I have Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation, which is what is left behind after your acne heals. There’s no raised bump, it’s just a bunch of red spots from where I recently had acne.

There are tons of things you can do to try to lighten hyperpigmentation. I’ve been researching and looking for something affordable that I can start using (easier said than done). I won’t introduce anything into my skincare routine though until I’m, for the most part, acne-free.

Overall, between using the PTR kit for 4 weeks and the Clarisonic Mia 2 for 3 weeks, my skin is looking better. My skin is a lot softer than it was before. And my skin tone is much more even (save for the acne and hyperpigmentation). I used to have little red patches and my pores always looked…pore-y. But the texture of my skin is much improved. I credit this to the Clarisonic, not the PTR kit. I’m not sure who to blame for the acne, as this could still be the dreaded “purging period.”

I’m right at that time frame where if whatever I’m doing is working, I’ll know. Just as I’ll know if it’s making it worse. So hold on tight, we’ll see where this roller coaster has taken us, and if we need to jump off before the missing tracks or brave the jump. Stay tuned!

These photos were taken in more natural lighting as opposed to previous photos. They are fuzzier too, the quality isn't as good, sorry. You get the gist. 

Acne Adventures 4

Well, it's week 3 of using the PTR acne kit. Week 2 of using the Clarisonic Mia 2. Week infinity of acne. Unfortunately, my face has gotten worse. A lot worse.

This week I've gone on an extracting kick every other day. I mostly got everything out, but the next day there were more. Today's led to an awfully frustrating time because nothing was ready to be extracted. So now I have some big, painful pimples all over my face. And it's spread from my chin and jaw area to my cheeks.

I'm getting to the point where I'm about to throw in the towel for anything. My skin is getting worse, or staying just as bad, no matter what I do. Could this be a purging period? Possibly. Will I continue on with the kit? Yes. We'll see how my skin does for a few more weeks while these products can last. So far though, I'm not impressed. I think I may make a return to the Neutrogena Grapefruit Scrub, which I used for several years. Because this is ridiculous.

I've been using the PTR gel in the mornings, then my Olay moisturizer at night. I like the moisturizer because it's a light gel formula, which is perfect because it is HOT! But it isn't doing enough for my parched skin, so I may have to find something else. We'll see.

Overall, a fairly depressing week for my skin. I'm not even attempting to cover up my acne with makeup anymore, it's that ridiculously bad. Eh.

First Impressions: Clarisonic Mia 2

Hey everyone! Today will be a first impressions blog on the Clarisonic Mia 2. I'll take you through what I thought and felt the very first time I used it, and up to now where I've been using it for 9 days (so still fairly fresh in my skincare routine).

What is the Clarisonic Mia 2?
It is a cleansing system devised for your face that uses sonic technology to thoroughly clean your face better than just washing with your hands. The Mia 2 is meant to be a lightweight version that you can take easily on the go! It has two speeds, as well as a 1-minute T-zone timer (20 seconds for your forehead, 20 seconds for your chin/nose, 10 seconds for each cheek). From the clarisonic website: "Unlike spinning devices, our patented sonic technology works with skin’s natural elasticity, oscillating at a sonic frequency that produces over 300 movements per second. The resulting flexing action works to loosen dirt and oil, removing deep-seated impurities from pores and priming skin to better absorb topical treatments."

How much is the Clarisonic Mia 2?
Definitely the priciest thing I've gotten for my skin. It retails for about $150 in stores, but you can shop around online for better deals. I got mine on eBay for $92, but beware of fakes!!! Mine came with the warranty, extra brush head (so 2 total), traveling case and registration. And yes, it is authentic. Ebay has a whole post on fake Clarisonics.

How do you use it?
I wet my face and then apply my facewash to my face (you can also apply it directly on the brush, but I feel like applying it to my face spreads it out more evenly). You wet the brush head, press the on bottom with whichever speed you prefer (I do the low setting) and you go to town! As mentioned earlier it has a 1-minute timer. I start with 20 seconds on my forehead, moving in small circular motions. Then it buzzes twice and I move on to my chin for another 20 seconds. Same motions. After two more buzzes I move to one cheek for 10 seconds. Bzz Bzz. Ok, other cheek for 10 seconds. Honestly, I don't really do my nose that much. I'll go over it for about 2 seconds but that's it.

First Impressions:
I first used this in my shower. It is waterproof (duh) so the entire system can get wet. Just make sure you let it dry thoroughly after each use, you don't want mildew! My first thought was, "How in the world will I use this odd device without looking in the mirror?" I know, weird. I survived with no mirror and just went by feel...I mean I know where my face is. 

My second thought was, "Oh my God...I only have one minute to clean my entire face, what happens if I don't change spots quick enough, or if I don't finish the entire area in the time allotted?!" Well...it happened. I took too much time in certain areas and when it buzzed at me to change spots I had to cheat on the time a bit. I'm sure with enough use I'll get used to it, but for now I count along with the system to make sure I get to everything in time.

My third thought was, "What if I press too hard? I know I'm only supposed to hold it to my face with no pressure, but what if I apply pressure? What if I'm not holding it at the right angle?" So many worries...I think I did press too hard the first time. Literally, you just hold it to your face so it's sitting there, no pressure added. Lesson learned!

My next thought was, "This feels scratchier than I thought it would." Yes, it does feel a bit scratchy, even using the sensitive brush head. But then again, what did I expect? I'm brushing my face with a vibrating device, it won't feel like rubbing fluffy bunnies all over my face. It didn't hurt, but it was more abrasive than I thought it would be.

After inspecting my face when I got out of my shower there were a few things that I noticed: 

• My acne was inflamed and much more red than before. My face gets more red after I wash it, no matter what, but it was worse with this. It did fade quickly though.
• My skin felt much softer than it did before, just after one use.
• My skin didn't feel as tight as it was feeling with the PTR face wash. It still was tight, but not as intense, if that makes sense.

First impression thoughts: Ok, I'll give this a go for a while. 

Fast forward to today. I've now used this 9 times. I use it once a day, in the evenings. My face definitely feels a lot softer and smoother. My acne has started to go down (although I'll credit this to the PTR kit for now). I had 10-12 flesh colored bumps on my left cheek before I started using this, and now they're all gone! I don't think my face can handle twice a day, maybe with the luxe cashmere brush which I really want to try. I am worried that there will be "the purge period," where your face gets worse before it gets better. It doesn't happen for everyone, but with my luck it would happen to me. But we'll see how it goes. I'll use it for at least a few months and if I don't like it after that amount of time...well, there's always eBay. I'll keep you updated though! (:

I have to admit, besides my ridiculous face my skin looks decent here. As do my eyebrows, which I've been trying to grow out for several months now (they were so sparse before!)

Acne Adventures 3

This week was a whirlwind for my skin. Some bad, a little bit of good, some bad again, some worse and finally settling down. I've now been using the Clarisonic Mia 2 for an entire week along with the PTR acne kit (there will be a first impressions blog later this weekend on that!). But let's dive in to how my skin is now that week 2 is complete.

This week had some more stress. We had a break in at our apartment, some guy got in and passed out on our couch in the middle of the night. He didn't steal anything and we aren't hurt, thankfully, but nonetheless it was rattling to have a stranger get in without us knowing. The dogs were going crazy in the morning and we couldn't figure out why. We called the cops and got it straightened out, but we lost some sleep over it, too. On top of that, it's that glorious womanly time of the month and, as any normal person, I did break out a bit right before.

The beginning of the weekend/week for my skin was not pleasant. I had some major breakouts again, possibly some purging (although purging may be an urban myth that people have made up to justify using products that they like). Around Tuesday I had a nice extracting session with my extractor (see previous post)...I think I cleared up close to 8-9 whiteheads. Like I said, it was horrible for my skin this week.

After that my break outs started to lessen a bit. But that's where the horribly dry, cracked and peeling skin came in. Especially around my mouth and my chin. It's gotten to the point where I can't even put makeup on those parts because it just cakes up and looks diseased. Not the end of the world, but still sucks. And fast forward to now, today my skin decided to breakout again. Right before the following pictures I had another extracting session. About 5 this time.

I've changed up my routine a bit. I'm now using the Clarisonic once a day, at night with the facewash. I've started using the clearing gel every other day, as I think this is the culprit of my extremely dry and patchy skin. I've also added in my moisturizer that I was using before: Olay Fresh Effects Dew Over. This is a nice, light gel moisturizer with plenty of glycerin (that's good!) to help lock in moisture. It's definitely helped a bit, but I hope it won't interfere with the kit.

So it's still hard to tell a difference in my skin. I'm still having flare ups, some bad and some worse. The clear parts of my skin are loving everything that I'm doing, they look great! The one thing I have noticed is the Clarisonic Mia 2 has cleared up the flesh colored bumps I had on my cheeks. They're completely gone! I had about 10 on one cheek, very tiny flesh colored bumps that you could only notice in the sun because they were raised.

For the pictures below, this was directly after washing (with clarisonic) and after my extractions so my skin is a little bit more red and irritated than usual. Thankfully most of the dry patches I had aren't as bad as they were earlier, but they are still there! Even exfoliating isn't helping them though.

That's it for now. Until next Friday!
Chrissy

Beauty Tool Review: Tweezerman Blemish Extractor

Today I'll be "reviewing" the Tweezerman Blackhead/Blemish Extractor. This is a stainless steel tool that has two looped ends: a small loop on one, and a larger loop on the other. The smaller loop is for blackheads, while the larger loop is for whiteheads. The premise of this tool is to help you extract open comedones (those that have a head) without damaging your skin or pushing the gunk further into your pores.

When you pop a pimple, which we've all done at one point, your nails pinching your skin removes thing layers of you skin, which can lead to scarring. This can also push everything further into the pores, instead of removing it. And, of course, there's always the worry of infection.

I don't have very many blackheads. In fact, I get very few (I would say 5-6 a year) that I can see, and they're mostly focused on my forehead. My skin issue is whiteheads. I cheat with this tool and switch sides around depending on the size of the whitehead...shhhh! Don't tell!

I find it does a fairly good job of removing the gunk...when it's ready to be removed. I've had some stubborn ones that just won't budge and I have to convince myself to put the tool down so I don't wreck my skin further. And I'm not going to lie, it can hurt! TMI: I've had some painful ones that required a little bit of extra pressure that made them explode. Satisfying, disgusting and painful. And a little bloody, those are the ones that take a while to close up and heal.

Is this better than using your fingers? Well, I find it more hygienic. And it can apply pressure easier than your fingernails sometimes. And it is easier to get everything out, not just the top layer. Overall I'd say this is a win. This retails for $10-$13 at drugstores, I think I got mine at Walgreens during a sale.

PROS:

• Less damaging to skin
• More hygienic
• Extract everything from a pimple
• Works on whiteheads and blackheads (use a magnifying mirror to help!)
• Double-sided
• Can apply pressure that fingers can't

CONS:

• Can be hard to clean (gunk gets stuck in the loops, blech)
• Doesn't work on ALL pimples
• Can be painful and damaging if you push too hard

And now for pictures

The tool itself

Sorry that this one is blurry! :(

A difficult one to capture because of location.

The tool wish some gunk...yum.

EDITED TO ADD:

To elaborate on how it works, you center the whitehead within the loop, apply some pressure (towards the tip of the loop), wiggle a bit and then boom! Gunk is out (if it's an easy one!)

Chrissy

Acne Adventures 2

Well, it has officially been one week of my Peter Thomas Roth Acne Kit use (PTR). So how is my skin doing? Well…that’s difficult for several reasons:

• It’s only been a week, who knows what my skin is doing right now. Probably rejoicing that I stopped the other kit, confused because I went back to using my Garnier products for a week (which I truly love, perhaps a review will be coming), confused about this new kit…WHO KNOWS!
• Stress. There has been a lot of stress in my life the past few weeks which I’m sure isn’t helping my acne problem. I’m slowly but surely starting to let go of the drama and live my own life with the people that want to be in it (cue Let It Go music). Hard, but it’s what I need to do.
• The parts of my skin with no acne (so most of my cheeks, most of my forehead, etc.) look FANTASTIC! Really glowy and radiant, before I’ve had super dull/dry skin.
• No moisturizer. That’s the one thing I hate about this kit. There is no moisturizer in it, and while my skin hasn’t been flaking it’s been tight, and certain areas are itchy. I’m hesitant to add in my moisturizer in fear of messing up what the kit is doing.
• I’m anxious for the clarisonic. I know that sounds ridiculous, why did I buy it then? I’ll go more in depth once in comes in, but I’ve read that it makes your skin worse before it gets better. Hmm…
•  I’m still getting breakouts from whatever I’ve been using/doing. Quite a few.

So, there you have it. I’m liking parts of the kit, hating parts of the kit and still have no idea how my skin is doing. Unfortunately my updates will be like this until the one month mark (ish) where I can truly start to see the results, good or bad. I will, however, break down the kit for you now that I’ve used everything in it a few times at least.

In order from left to right:

PTR Beta Hydroxy Acid 2% Acne Wash
This is the daily cleanser in the kit. Beta Hydroxy Acid are ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, which I've used on my skin before with really no results (in the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Scrub). BHAs work deep in to your pores to get rid of dead skin cells, dirt, makeup, etc. It allows the skin to produce new skin cells (obviously). 

The face wash lathers up decently, I prefer a little bit more but it’s better than ones that don’t lather at all. There are no exfoliators in it. Very basic, very smooth. It rinses off easily and doesn’t leave any residue, but it does leave my face feeling tight and dry. Overall, I like it and I feel like it’ll work well with the Clarisonic, which I'm trying tonight! Yay!

PTR Blemish Buffing Beads
I have used this 2-3 times, and usually in the shower. Honestly, I don’t like this. The buffing beads are really abrasive for my skin, it almost hurts more than helps. Also, the buffing beads don’t dissolve. They’re those evil ones that stay whole. I really hate those ones! You might as well wash your face with a rock. I will continue to use it, I know you need to exfoliate your skin to get all the gunk and dead skin out. But I won’t enjoy it! L

AHA/BHA Acne Clearing Gel
This is a gel that you apply to the affected areas. I’m essentially using this all over my face: my entire chin/jaw line, my cheeks and at my forehead where my eyebrows are. I use 1 pump and it’s more than enough, this stuff will last for a while.  It’s more of a runny gel consistency, very smooth. It does sting a little on open skin, so those pimples that have popped don’t like it too much. 

I've already talked about BHAs, but Alpha Hydroxy Acids are a little bit different. AHAs target your upper layers of skin, instead of deep down in the pores like BHAs. These are ingredients such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, etc. 

I feel like this gel will do more than the face wash will. This actually gets to absorb into your skin, whereas the face wash simply removes anything for a matter of 1-2 minutes, then it's rinsed off. So the BHAs don't really get to absorb like they should. 

PTR Sulfur Cooling MaskI love this. The smell is manageable compared to other sulfur/charcoal masks that I’ve used and it doesn’t linger. This mask is super thick and has a really nice consistency. I hate runny masks, and this is definitely not one of them! I spread this all over and wait 10-15 minutes and then rinse it off. I don’t feel a cooling effect, as the name might suggest, but my skin feels better (if that makes any sense). My redness is more prominent, but any acne that was hurting doesn’t hurt as bad. And again, the rest of my skin without acne looks amazing!

PTR Acne Spot and Area Treatment
This is a yellow cream that reminds me a lot of Jake’s ear medicine! I have used it on occasion. I put some on the back of my hand (I don’t even have to squeeze, the pressure pushes it out on it’s own) and then spread it on the severe areas of my acne. So if I have any that haven’t come to a head, or if I have some that are just humongous I’ll apply it. Not sure if it really does much, but maybe it’s because I’m not using it often enough.

PTR Max Anti-Shine Mattifying GelThis. This I don’t even understand. This is the driest gel I’ve ever seen, coming out of the tube it looks like a little worm whose body couldn’t stay connected. I have no idea how much to use…I’ve tried varying amounts but it all stays the same. This is pointless for me. Maybe it would be better for those of you with very oily skin, but to me it’s a waste of time, so I don’t even use it anymore. I’ll probably use it, just to finish up the tube, but I really don’t understand this.

Overall, the kit has some hits and misses. I do really wish there was some kind of a toner and a moisturizer included in the kit. I'll be using it two times a day until I run out, I'm still hoping this is my miracle for my skin. 

Be on the lookout for a Clarisonic post this weekend! I'll leave you, once again, with pictures of my pimply face. Sorry that they're a little bit blurrier this time, the lighting was funky so I did the best I could, but it messed with the focus. This is directly after washing with the BHA face wash this morning.

Chrissy

Acne Adventures

**Note: I am being really open about certain things, so if you don't want to read about hormones, birth control, etc, then don't continue.**

I never broke out as a preteen or teen. Apart from the one or two blemishes I would get every few months, my skin was perfect. I rarely wore makeup, didn't moisturize my face, rinsed with water (that's it!), and I wasn't on any birth control pills that would affect my hormones. I also always wore my hair in a ponytail, didn't have braces, was fairly tan for a white girl and was a size 2-4. Boy, things have certainly changed! Well...most things.

I'm now 24 years old, I still wear my hair in a ponytail most of the time (it's just so thick and unruly), I had braces in college for 14 months, I;m extremely pale, I've been on and off birth control and I've gained plenty of weight (another issue that I'm tackling and will probably blog about). And now, for the past 1-2 years, I've been struggling with my acne. Adult acne. The worst words, ever.

I first started to notice it when I went on Depo-Provera, a birth control shot that you would receive every 3 months. I loved the idea of it, it was something I didn't need to constantly think about, such as the pill, and I was comfortable with it. Or so I thought. After the second or third shot everything changed. I started to get huge, cystic acne that I'd never had before. My hair turned into a dead-tangled-damaged-knotted mess. It was so bad that I had to get several inches cut off (and I was trying so hard to grow it out for my wedding). I immediately did research and found that acne is a rare side effect. Well, of course I had to get it! I immediately stopped getting the Depo shot and returned to the pill.

Unfortunately, ever since that shot my hormones have never been the same. I've been on and off the pill since then, currently off because I didn't have insurance for 8 months, but now I do so yay! Anyways, of course that has some play into my acne, but this time around it's not letting up. I've never had acne so bad before. And another horrible aspect is the hyper pigmentation that is left behind. I have bright red marks from every single zit. Every. Single. One. Yes, they fade. But super slowly. It's awful.

And so began the hunt for the products that would help my acne in any way. I tried glycolic acid, salicylic acid, benzol peroxide, mandelic acid...quite a few things. Most of them made my skin worse with horrible dry patches and peeling skin. Others did nothing at all.

About 2 months ago I started a new skincare regime with the Michael Todd True Organics Acne Kit (also for Oily Skin). I have combination skin in the summer and severely dehydrated/dry skin in the winter. The first week was amazing! I know it takes anywhere from 3-6 weeks for acne to pop up, but I swear after that first week my skin was amazing! My acne had all gone down and my skin was glowing. So I kept it up. I kept at this routine for about 5-6 weeks, and that's when all hell broke loose. Huge cystic acne on my chin and cheeks which just now, 3 weeks later, are starting to disappear. I immediately stopped use.

Now I'm on to the Peter Thomas Roth Acne Kit. I'm on day 4 and I have to say, my skin is looking great again. All of my cystic acne is gone, and save for a few pimples all that's there is my hyper pigmentation. I hope this isn't a precursor to how the Michael Todd kit worked. I'll be taking pictures every week to show the progress of my skin with this kit. It may get better, it may not. But at this point I have nothing left to lose.

I'll be doing a more in-depth review of each product as I get to use them more, but for now I'll leave you with a picture of my skin before any treatment with this kit started, as well as the kit itself. Keep in mind I also have flesh colored pimples that are harder to see in the photos. I'll update you on my Acne Adventures on Friday! (Because I know this is what everyone wants to read about in their free time).

Chrissy

PS - I did just buy a Clarisonic Mia 2 at a great price, so once it comes in the mail I'll be adding that into the routine and I'll review it.