Skincare:acne

Hi everyone,

Over my teenage years, there's no doubt that I have struggled with acne. So I thought I would write a blog post about what I have learnt over the past few years. I am not saying I am an expert on this subject but I would love to share my process with you.

First off I will start by telling you about the basics of my skin. My skin type is normal at the moment, but it does change with the weather. My skin use to be very oily and I had a lot more blemishes. At the moment with the skincare routine I am currently using I am not finding my skin to be so oily and my blemishes are a lot better.

About three years back I had very bad skin. Which I felt I had to cover up with make up as I felt so embarrassed by it. I lack in confidence anyway and this was not helping me to feel more confident. One day I decided to talk to the beauty therapist I work with about it. This did help and she recommended that I start having regular facial with her. So that's where it all began, I started seeing her once a week for facials. Now I will be honest with you, you don't see results straight away. But with something like this it takes time. So don't rush it.

It has taken me these three years to get my skin where I feel confident with it. I am not saying I have flawless skin, because I don't. I have just reached a point where I feel I can go out and not think about needing to put on a ton of makeup, if any. This to me is a ground breaking point as before I didn't even feel happy around friends and family with no makeup on.

My skin with no make-up on

Here are a few tips I have picked up along my journey:

1. Regular facials with the right products do make a difference to your skin. You just have to give it time, blemishes wont be there one day and gone the next. I personally started with having one facial a week. I am now down to having them once every four weeks as my skin doesn't need to have that kind of treatment every week now. How often you have a facial will obviously depend on your budget and how often your therapist thinks you need them. 

2. I know how tempting it is to pick your blemishes. No one wants them. But don't. In the long run it can leave your skin worse off. I have been left with scarring from when I was younger and didn't know better.

3. This one sounds so simple its stupid. Drink more water. I know what your thinking, its boring. Trust me I said the same. But I do believe that this makes a difference. If I have a week of drinking water and then the next I don't. I notice how my skin reacts to this, I get more blemishes and my skin just doesn't look good. If you want it to be less boring try adding slices of lemon to your water.

4. Again another simple one. Clean your make up brushes. Just think of all the bacteria that is on them and then you just apply it to your skin. They only take a few minutes to clean, be it everyday or once a week.

5. My last point is pick the right products for your skin. I personally use Neal's Yard Remedies products, and I love them. I was first introduced to them by my beauty therapist and automatically loved them. Shortly after I became a Neal's Yard Remedies consultant because I love what they stand for and their products are truly incredible. I am not saying this is a brand that you have to use. I tried so many different products and brands before NYR and I just found NYR products were best suited to my skin.

Two NYR products I recommend for people with acne are:

1. Neal's Yard Remedies Rose Facial Wash:
I love this, the smell is gorgeous. This has helped so much with my skin as it does not dry it out, like some facial washes I have used in the past. I also find this to be very gentle and it works well with my Clarisonic Mia 2.

2. Neal's Yard Remedies Rose Formula Antioxidant Facial Mask:
Again this product smells incredible. I use this once a week on my blemish prone areas. This really helps to dry my blemishes out which helps to clear them up.

As I said at the beginning, these are all my personal opinions. They are just a few things that have helped my skin. Again this is a long process and it doesn't get better overnight. So take your time to care for your skin. If you are unsure what products to use find out your skin type and look for products that are suited to this. I usually give my skin about a good couple of months to get use to a product before I write it off. Just remember your skin wont be use to it straight away it takes a little while. Its all trial and error. If you are really unsure visit your local salon/ beauty therapist and see if they can help. I understand not everyone can afford to pay for facials, so why not try an at home facial?

If you would like to see my skincare routine or an at home facial routine. Also if you want me to write about any more skincare for different skin types. Let me know in the comments below.

If you have any feedback for me about my posts leave it in the comments. I would love to know what you all think.

Love 
Zoe x