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.