Isn't it sweet that after so many months, that'd would be 6
years of battling severe Acne, i am suddenly getting great compliments on my
skin? Who would have thought! Now i get the "Oh you are so fine" "Chai, God took his time to make you
sha" "You are the girl i have
been searching for" - Na so. Thank you gbogboyin! LOL.
It would be really a waste of an experience for me to have
gone through battling Acne and bad skin, finally getting through it and not be
able to share it with you - Whoever you are, dealing with your acne issues one
new product off the shelf at a time. I just want you to know, i have been
there, done that, Look at me now! I may be clueless as to how severe your Acne
is or isn't, but as you can see from my progress photos, i battled with really
severe acne. Continue after the cut.
Goodness me, i literally could not step out of my house! I
was home bound for weeks on end, forming "I'm an introvert, i don't go out
much", when deep down inside i was in so much pain and stress, which
obviously helped a few more zits pop out of every free corner of my face. No
matter how hard i tried, i just couldn't get it off my face.
acne before after
Sorry for the not-so-clear before photos. We never get money
buy iphone that year. hehehe
Bottle after bottle of toners and astringents, pills, dark
bitter concoctions, soaps, creams of varying names and packet design, not to
mention an ailing bank account that was deteriorating rapidly from my weekly
experimental expenditures on the next big thing promising to clear my face. I
bought every soap, every cream, every toner, the big brands, the small brands,
the DIY Home made recipes, Chemical peels, the 'bury your head in a bowl of hot
water, wrap a towel around your head and cook your face' therapy, 'First urine
of the day as a toner' therapy, Facials and Facials and even more facials, all
to no avail. It even seemed at some point that my face would get better and
then all of a sudden get even worse again.
Plus It almost seems like every one you know suddenly
becomes a skincare specialist when you have acne.
You get the
"Ha, oma se ooooh! Who do you this kine strong tin
na?"
"Why don't you try this and that product"
"You should drink your urine, it would cleanse the
toxins from your system"
"Use the first instance of your next period as a toner,
it has nutrients that will clear it."
I kid you not, i got all of these and more. If you haven't gotten these kinds of
attention before, then E be like your face never jam better pimples. LOL. And in all this time of worrying about
myself and locking myself indoors, what did i do about my Acne? That question
should be more like "What didn't i do?"
Ok now lets get real. The bigger question now would probably
be "How did i do it? How did i get my skin so clear of Acne?" Truth
is you might even be asking these questions now, without asking How long it
took. That's what happens with Acne, or any skin issue for that matter. We want
it off now now. Unfortunately, the bad news is, It is not going to just up and
leave your face like a visitor who came for lunch. As a matter of fact the more
you worry about it, and disturb your face on and on about it, the more it
lingers. So the first tip i am going to give you,'
1. Worry Less
As much as you are going to care for your skin with hopes of
getting better, you also need not worry about it so much. I didn't notice any
huge improvement on my face until i began to let it be.
2. Ditch the Astringents and Alcohol. Use an organic toner
This worked for me amazingly. As soon as i stopped the
constant swirling of an alcohol infused cotton ball around my Acne eroded skin,
i noticed a dramatic improvement with my skin. I haven't bought or used Acne
clearing astringents in the past 3 years and i am the happier for it. Pure rose
water should do you just fine.
What i use: A mix of Vitamin C serum in my Rose water.
Vitamin C serum helps renew dead surface cells and fades dark spots left by
Acne.
Sutirosewater
Our skin has the unique ability to renew itself over time,
replacing dead skin cells of the surface/epidermis. This is totally dependent
on the activity of the epidermal stem cells. And you have the power to increase
the efficiency of this process or cause a major decline, depending on what you apply
topically and what you feed your body. Which brings me to food!
3. Change your diet. Or improve it.
foods for acne photo Instead of investing your hard earned
money on drugs and skin care products over and over, how about adding fruits
and vegetables to your diet. The good
news is that the foods that happen to be good for your skin are also good for
your overall health. What i noticed was a huge change in the feel of my skin
one particular week when i decided to increase my intake of Oranges and Citrus
fruits. My skin felt smoother and seemed to glow, which was weird for me as i
always had to wear foundation to get that before.
Vitamin E is also very vital for the overall health of your
skin and since the human body cannot produce Vitamin E naturally it should
essentially be consumed from external sources.
What you need: A diet rich in Antioxidants, this means More
Vitamins, A, C and E and Omega -3:
oranges, grapefruit, papayas,carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes,
strawberries, kiwis, red and green peppers, tomatoes, vegetables, broccoli,
mangoes, oranges, Brussels sprouts, Nuts, fish oil.
4. Water
Water should become your best friend if it isn't already. 8
glasses of water a day. I beg you to try this strictly for 1 week and see what
difference you experience on your skin. It would help to flush toxins out and
even do your kidneys and liver a favor. And when those babies are working
smoothly, guess what happens on the surface? Your skin would literally smile!
That's when you notice a glow that you didn't think was there before.
What i do: 1 glass + 2 limes or 1 lemon first thing in the
morning and last thing before i go to bed. In between 6 other glasses of water.
5. Enough with the Scrubbing!!
Scrub your face morning, scrub again at night, wake up
tomorrow and do it all over again like say i nor get work. Seriously, Stop. You
are doing more harm than good by scrubbing and scrubbing ever so often. Your
face needs time to heal, it needs time to renew itself. The more you scrub the
more your pores stay open, increasing your risk of sunburns and more zits
developing into spots held tightly together creating little communities and
townships on your skin. I recommend a light touch exfoliation once a week and
see how you can improve from there to twice a week.
What i do: I use Honey + Sugar or Sheabutter + Sugar for
exfoliating my skin
6. Cleansing
You should always cleanse or wash your facial skin with a
soft touch. All that gra-gra washing doesn't necessarily mean you are going to
rinse off and have the acne falling to the floor. You are doing more harm than
good to your skin.
What i use: The good ol' African black soap never seems to
tire me. Whether you get your soap from Lagos or Ghana, if it is traditionally
made, it becomes my best friend. I do a mix of Black soap, Honey and Lemon till
it becomes a sort of washing liquid. No water. Your honey and Lemons would be
just enough to liquefy
Yoruba-Black-Soap
7. Sunscreen
Acne makes your skin even more susceptible to sun burns
which it why it seems the spots get darker and darker no matter how hard you
try. You should be wearing sun screen on a daily basis to prevent more damage.
Choose a sunscreen with SPF 30 and higher.
8. Less Makeup
This is a no brainer really. You want to minimize your use
of makeup as much as you can till your skin is in a better condition. Makeup
clogs your pores and make it even difficult for your skin to breathe, let alone
smile. Plus we both know you would be needing a hell lot of product to cover
those zits up. So please bare for a while, do without it when you can. Your
skin smiling days are only weeks ahead trust me. And if you do wear makeup,
ensure to take it all off before going to bed.
9. It gets better with time!
This is so true, well depending on how early you stop
worrying so much about your skin. I used to have 4 big zits appear on my
forehead and chin as soon as the monthly came knocking. Infact i stopped
checking my calendar and started telling it was time just by the acne popping
out. Now, i don't even get them anymore. Not one pimple! My Mom says my body
grew out of it, and my hormones balanced out with age and i would like to
believe that.
However depending on genetics and other hormonal factors
this would likely vary from person to person.
10. Believe
As queer as this sounds, it is probably the best tip i would
be giving you. Just believing that your skin would clear up in no time is
enough to calm your nerves, have the good vibes flowing, have your heart
pumping nicely and reducing stress, and in all reflecting improvement on the
surface. So be calm, sincerely believe that your skin is going to get better
and begin to imagine all the beautiful pictures you'd soon be showing off of your
Acne-less skin.
Follow Me On Twitter &
Instagram: @effiongeton
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