I was really happy to watch Sam Schuerman‘s video about how to get rid of acne and I nearly jumped for joy out of my chair that someone else expressed how expensive it can be to ‘treat’/’fix’ this. In addition, she was so honest about and had a lot to say. If I had a YouTube channel my acne video would have been just as long or longer.

It wasn’t until my early 20s that I realized I have cystic acne, inheriting it from both my parents. It wasn’t until I was 23 that I understood how to control it! No dairy, no sugar! In my opinion there’s a great difference from hormonal breakouts, stress breakouts, and dietary related breakouts. I’ve taken the time to experiment and pay close attention, as there’s nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable and not pretty in your own skin!

My hormonal breakouts are are concentrated to the same areas. As a teen it was the area around my temples and since my mid-20s my upper cheek bones. Stress breakouts are around my jaw line and lips. Dietary breakouts are straight up on my cheeks and painful. 

I have combination skin and my t-zone is oiliest, also the area of my face that breaks out the least/rarely ever. Crazy, right? You’d think it were the opposite with the oily areas and break outs.. nope!

As a teen I used Proactiv and my face was never so oily. Those chemicals stripped my face dry and my face produced oil like no other. In addition, I’d cry at times because my face was so dry that it hurt. It’s really bad when you’re sitting in class (high school) and one of your male buddies says that they’ve cried/teared up because of how awful their skin feels from their acne regimen. This was when I wore more eye make-up than face make-up, so I wasn’t putting on foundation, concealer, powder, blush, etc. In college I would buy Neutrogena make-up remover, because I started to get heavy on the mascara, and St. Ive’s apricot scrub. My skin reacted badly to Oil of Olay and L’Oreal cleansers and it’d take a lot of convince my even now to try them again. It was THAT bad.

It wasn’t until late college/post college that I started to invest in better skin care. I had a decent job and realized that if I splurge on anything is need to be a good cleanser. That started my love affair with Philosophy products. I ordered Purity from QVC (seriously, the best deal for those on a budget) and eventually tried their acne system. It was okay.

Once my skin became acclimated to Purity, I had to try something else. 

Then came the oil cleansing and treating my skin with the simplest and most cost effective products. I have a variety of oils: apricot oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, grape seed, rose hip, sweet almond, coconut, and I’ve been meaning to add grapefruit oil to the mix. I use a smidge of each to clean my face in the morning, nothing more than a nickel sized amount, total, to use for cleansing. The NOW Foods oils are my favorite to purchase and easiest to find on Amazon.

BUT LET’S GET TO THE GOOD STUFF:

Coconut Oil: This is really all you need. You don’t need all the other oils mentioned above, they’re great and make a difference, but you can easily use coconut oil AM/PM cleansing. I use coconut oil strictly for PM cleansing. It’s the only thing that completely removes my make-up and gets off every last bit of waterproof mascara.

Witch Hazel: In the AM I use Thayer’s Witch Hazel. I happen to be fond of the lavender and rose ones, but any one will do. It’s alcohol free and cleans up any left over coconut oil (not that it’d be a big deal, just moisturizer!). It adds a nice scent to the skin and is refreshing to use.

Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar: I have used this product daily for long stretches of time, it would vary on the state of my skin. There were many nights where I would use this right after the coconut oil. I’d take a cotton round and wipe it all over my face. Hahaha, I’m single, so I can get away with getting into bed smelling like that! It’s not an attractive smell, but it’s natural and does the job. This stuff will dry out your break outs and leave your skin doing its thing with your natural oils. It will also even out your skin tone. AMAZING.

Acne is genetic, and I believe can be controlled by your diet mostly, but can be eased with the most natural and easily accessible products.

What’s your skin type? Do you suffer from acne? What is your acne skin routine?