My skin update and best recommendations for acne skin

Omg, it's been more than 4 years since my last update on the acne blog.  I want to let you know that my face has been in the best condition ever since my early twenties.  If you remember, my acne became severe in my early twenties (see pictures in my earlier posts).  Well, now, I'm in my mid thirties, :(.  My skin has been a lot better.  See pictures below.  And I will tell you what worked the best on my skin.

sorry about the lighting

still a little red from broken capillaries

My chin still gets a few pimples every now and then

1. Moisturizer - most of us with acne prone skin have either oily or combination skin.  Many products on the market targeted for acne skin concentrate on decreasing or even stripping your skin of its oils.  This is BAD.  I used to believe this as well.  But your oily or combination skin is really crying out for help.  The skin overproduces oil to compensate for the lack of moisture.  So what to do?  Start with a light moisturizer that don't clog your pores.  Apply in the morning first underneath the makeup to help the skin hydrate.  Overtime, you will notice that your skin will actually produce less oil during the day.  Less oily skin = less clogged pores = less acne.

2. Vitamin C serum (this is a somewhat recent discovery!)- There are so many serums and treatments sold in beauty stores that will tell you that they brighten the skin, make the wrinkles immediately disappear, and give you a super youthful look.  Well, don't be fooled.  Nothing in the beauty store will actually be able to do this overnight!  It's not possible.  Most active ingredients that they claim will turn back the clock on time are not actually backed by peer reviewed scientific papers.  However, vitamin C is proven to work for the skin when applied topically.  Namely, ascorbic acid is the best form of vitamin C for the skin.  However, you will have to pay attention to the pH levels.  Low pH levels are best for vitamin C to absorb into the skin.  I'm currently using Drunk Elephant C-firma Day Serum, pH = 3.5.  This stuff is really great.  Scientists discovered that Vitamin C will slowly heal sun-damaged skin, fade sun spots, and minimize the look of fine lines / wrinkles (note: not completely make them disappear but fade).  Drunk Elephant vitamin C serum is an oil and the added benefit is that it actually makes my skin less oily and more hydrated.  I love this product (although a little pricey) and I'm not sponsored.

I will continue to post in the future when I discover really good beauty products for the acne prone skin and for the skin in general.

Acne Treatments Review

Over the years, I have tried quite a few acne treatments. So, I have decided to write a comprehensive list of everything that is available to acne treatments. I will then try to give you my opinions on how it works, estimate percentage of people that it actually works, cost, difficulties in obtaining it and all other information that I can think of. Again, I am not an medical expert on any of this. I am simply giving you my personal experiences and what I have seen with others. And I am quite observant of my surroundings.


Neutrogena (OTC) - This is one of the best OTC cosmetic / skin care brand that I absolutely trust. I have been using their products for years.

Biore pore strips (OTC) - Seems to work at first, but your blackheads will come back. Causes irritation for some people with very sensitive skin. Overall, not recommended.

Proactiv (OTC) - Only works for some, but all. Expensive treatment that uses benzoyl peroxide. You can actually buy benzoyl peroxide of different strength at the store.

Murad (OTC) - Uses salicylic acid as their main ingredient for acne treatment. Those that tend to have irritations with the use of salicylic acid should not even give this a try.

Birth control pill (prescription) - tend to work extremely well for some. Those that have acne on the cheeks and chin right before their period will benefit a lot from the right kind of Birth control pills. See my review on my experience with birth control pill.

Accutane (prescription) - extremely effective for the most difficult to treat acne. Last defense against acne and very hard for the dermatologist to give you a prescription. Last chance for those that exhausted all the options.

Antibiotics (many different kinds, prescription) - tend to work at first and with long term use, effectiveness will go down. Bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotic.

Benzoyl Peroxide (OTC) - works wonders for a lot of people that are tolerate of that stuff on the face. For those with sensitive skin, this will only irritate your skin even more.

Benzoyl Peroxide / cladmyin phosphate (prescription) - very effective combo gel, however will only benefit you when you don't have irritations with benzoyl peroxide. Most doctors can prescribe this one for you.

retin A (prescription) - Effective for a lot of person. Has to be used constantly, everyday to begin to achieve results in a week or even longer. Acne may get worse before it gets better. Your skin will be extra sensitive to the sun. So make sure you stay out of the sun and use a very good sun screen. My sunscreen is in my makeup so that I don't have to put any greasy sunscreen on my skin.

Topical antibiotics (prescription) - somewhat effective. Although, exactly how effective is hard to measure. I don't see the acne lesion getting better or worse. It just seems to be under control somewhat.

Home remedies for acne – things that will lessen acne occurrences

Acne has so many causes that it requires different treatments for different people.  That is why it is such a stubborn problem that is extremely difficult to cure.  Many people like me have suffered with it for many years with many unsuccessful treatments, over-the counter medicines and re-occurrences.  Don’t get me wrong, treatments are great things for acne.  But sometimes it is just not enough to get your acne completely under control.  Over the years, I came up with a list of home remedies / routines for acne that you can do that will lessen acne problems:

1. Develop a routine for your acne skin care, modify it and stick with it to see results.  This can be different for each person but most people with acne prone skin tend to have oily or combination skin types, click here to see my daily skin care routine.  You can see what I am doing to get rid of my acne and keep my skin relatively clear.  Feel free to change the skin care routine to better fit your needs.
2. Get enough sleep, at least 8 hours.  More importantly, sleep before 11:30pm.  Your skin will be nicer when you wake up because like our bodies, it needs plenty of rest to repair and restore itself.
3. Drink plenty of water during the day.  It is not only good for health, but it is good for your skin too. 
4. Drink one cup of water when you first wake up (no beverages, coffee or tea).  This should be the first thing that you put in your mouth.  It will flush out all the wastes that are stored in your body. 
5. Your pillow case should be 100% cotton.  Those of us with constant acne flare ups can experience allergic reactions with other synthetic materials such as polyesters and etc that can make the problem worse.
6. For those that live in a dry area with low air humidity should consider using a humidifier to add moisture.  There should be one in the office and one at home to provide you with more moisture.  When the weather is very dry, our skin will compensate by producing more oil.  Oily skin is one of the worst problems associated with acne skin care and must be avoided at all costs.  A humidifier will help you alleviate some of the oily skin problem.
7. Manage your stress.  Constant stress will cause more breakouts. 
8. Treat your skin gently when washing, toning, or moisturizing.  Acne prone skin is even more sensitive than regular skin.  Lightly tap your skin instead of rubbing is the best way to make your skin less inflamed.
9. Do not touch your acne or skin all the time.  Chances are our hands are dirty from work, school and a lot of other things.  You don’t want to add inflammation to an already infected pimple. 

10. Don’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.  These toxins will make your skin even worse.  Your body will be burdened with more things to deal with once your take up alcohol and smoking.  Acne skin care will be even harder and more breakouts will certainly happen in the near future.
11. Don’t wash your skin more than or less than 2 times a day.  Many people that are suffering from acne also suffers from oily or combination skin type.  It is so important that you don’t make your skin produce even more oil.  If you wash your skin when it starts to produce oil, your skin will think that it needs to produce more oil to compensate for the oil loss.
12. Use only a few products at a time; this applies to the external medicines (over-the-counter) for acne.  You don’t want to pile on a ton of different chemicals on the pimple to help it heal.  This applies to the amount you are using as well.  Don’t pile on the medicine to the point that you actually see the color of the chemical.  Just apply a light layer on the affected area.

Acne skin care essential: how to avoid acne scars

Your acne skin care routine has to include ways to avoid acne scars. Acne is a very painful condition for people to deal with on a daily basis. It lowers self-esteem and ruins your social life. A lot of people that are suffering from acne are very sensitive about the condition of their skin and think they are ugly. Acne scars are more painful than the actual acne itself. It will be with you for the rest of your life. Even when you seek acne scar treatments, your skin will not return to your pre-acne state. It is better to avoid acne scars at all costs because your skin will return to normal after the acne heals itself. Here are some of the best ways for acne skin care that will help you reduce scarring.

Avoid pimple popping is the best acne skin care tip because the chances of it causing scar is huge. Acne scars are caused by deep injuries to the skin that will not be able to heal itself completely. It leaves behind either a raised scar or a sunken scar. In most case, acne scars tend to be sunken scars because underlying tissues were badly damaged due to severe acne or popping a pimple.

Many people are attempted at popping the pimple when they see the white part. However, it can cause your skin more harm when you do that. Our skin has its own ways at healing itself and any external injury or pressure applied can leave a scar. Many may say that popping a pimple helps you heal faster. It could be true in some cases especially when we were younger, 15-20. However, as you get older, you skin tends to heal slower than before. If the pimple pops by itself, chances are the site of injury will be very small thus easier to heal. As we get older, our skin doesn’t heal itself as fast or as well as before. It also depends on your specific case as well; but in general the best acne skin care is to avoid pimple popping.

Acne skin care should be focused on the actual acne and help it heal rather than popping. When a pimple is inflamed, it will be more likely to leave a scar as it heals. The bacteria in the pimple should be killed so that the pimples slowly heal instead of popping. Benzoyl peroxide acne cream is pretty effective at all kinds of inflamed acne. It works by killing the bacteria. For most people, acne will not pop. This is so important in preventing scars because the acne would not cause injury to the skin. Here is a table of all the advantages and disadvantage with using a benzoyl peroxide product. One that I highly recommend is the Neutrogena’s on-the-spot acne treatment cream.

Those that do not want to use benzoyl peroxide product for their acne skin care routine can choose the Zeno brand bacteria killing hand held device. It works the same way as benzoyl peroxide but it uses heat to kill bacteria instead of a chemical. Like all other acne treatments, it works for some people not everyone. When it is effective, acne will not pop, it will go down by itself in short amount of time. This will leave you with no scars, no red spots, and just clear smooth skin.

Daily acne skin care routine for oily, combination skin

I have oily, sensitive skin ever since puberty. In my opinion, this is the hardest skin type to care for because it is highly sensitive and prone to acne at the same time. It all started with very mild teenage acne that is small and non-inflammatory. However, it developed into moderate to severe acne over the years. There are times in my life where I had many pimples covering the majority of my face. Over the years, I did a lot of research and tried several dozen skin care products. Here is my daily acne skin care routine that I use right now which works well for me.

Wash my face twice a day, once in the morning right after I wake up and once at night before going to bed. The cleanser listed below is used both times for washing my face. The blackhead eliminating scrub is great at getting rid of blackheads on the nose; this is used only occasionally. The eye contour cream is used around the eye area in the morning. Neutrogena’s on-the-spot acne treatment is used once in the morning and once at night on active pimples only. I also drink a cup of the home made medicine for oily skin / acne control and take 1 pill of the Kirkland brand daily mulit-vitamins & minerals.

Here are some more details about each product:

1. Neutrogena Cleansing Bar for Acne-Prone Skin
Active ingredient: none
More information: This is good for people with oily / combination and sensitive skin. It has no active ingredient because salicylic acid seems to irritate my skin. Many other acne cleansers contain salicylic acid for acne control causes lots of redness on my cheeks.

2. Neutrogena Blackhead Eliminating Daily Scrub
Active ingredient: 2% salicylic acid and small beads
More information: Don’t use this everyday if you are sensitive to salicylic acid treatments like me. It is very effective at getting rid of blackheads. I usually only use it on the nose occasionally.

3. Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Eye Contour Cream
Active ingredient: none
More information: Even for people with active acne or have acne prone skin, anti-aging products should be used too. The eye contour cream is anti-aging eye cream for younger people.

4. Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment
Active ingredient: 2.5% benzoyl peroxide
More information: This is one of my most favorite products of all time. It is so effective at healing acne and preventing acne scars. Benzoyl peroxide will kill bacteria which is part of inflammatory acne. Instead of the acne popping, it will gradually go down. This will decrease the trauma on the skin which usually leaves you with no visible scars. This product is highly recommended on my list because it is super effective. However, it will cause the skin to dry out so make sure you only use it on the active acne itself.

5. Natural home remedy for acne, will explain this in a future post in more details

6. Kirkland brand daily multi-vitamins & minerals
More information: contains lots of essential vitamins and minerals. I think it might help with some biochemical process in our body by getting rid of toxic things. It is also highly recommended because it seems to make me less prone to acne with everyday use. You can get it at your local Costco.