Day One: My Acne Story

My first pimple, at the age of 13, was quickly followed by my first acne treatment - a tiny tube of Oxy 10, 5% benzoyl peroxide Spot Treatment. As the weeks past, and my acne continued to get worse, I bought my first foundation to cover my face and allow me just enough confidence to show my face at school - it was Cover Girl Fresh Look in Ivory. I smeared it all over my face and followed that with a generous coating of powder to control the shine and I hung my head low each day as I walked through the halls. I wouldn’t learn until years later that that foundation was highly comedogenic - containing isopropyl myristrate, a very harsh chemical - it was probably making my skin much much worse. For years I struggled, hoping that I would soon grow out of it.

How did I find out about comedogenic ingredients? Well I started to try to understand my acne at age 17 - when I gave up on the idea that I would grow out of it. I wanted to know exactly what it was and what was causing me to break out. I wanted to know the best treatments available and what my options were. My first resource was Acne Rx by James Fulton, M.D., it was very enlightening. I learned, for the first time, what was really causing those tiny red dots of inflammation (too much oil isn’t the real culprit) and why (thanks mom and dad for the bad genes). You can pretty much find all I learned on AcneInformation.org.

My skin did improve using Dr.Fulton’s skin-peeling program, in which you pretty much slather on so much benzoyl peroxide and sulfur that you can until your skin dries out and starts to peel. This is a good thing, according to him, but it pretty much looks just as bad as the acne itself. Of course, once you stop the acne simply returns, so what was the point of all that peeling anyway?

I have to admit though, I have been stuck in a cycle. First, I dry out my skin using Proactiv with no moisturizer until the acne clears and then I ease back on the program a bit, using in only once a day instead of twice. This usually causes the blemishes to return and thus I start the cycle over again.
As far as foundation and concealer go, I have been searching for a good one since the age of 13 but to no avail. I have been through them all, from cheap to expensive, from powder foundations to tinted moisturizers and all of them have failed one test or another (color match?, good coverage?, zero oil/comedogenic ingredients?). One other thing I learned from Dr.Fulton was the oil migration test, in which you smear some of your foundation onto a sheet of white paper and wait for the oil to migrate out (you will see a ring of oil around the smear a couple of hours later). And, of all the liquid foundations I’ve bought that claim to be oil-free, not a single one actually was! Go figure.

So, after getting my first facial last week, I have decided to take the advice of my Aesthetician and stop over-drying my skin! I bought a Boscia skin-care kit from Sephora, a gentle system with natural botanicals (ooooh). And, after years of protesting that I don’t need one, I will use a moisturizer, both morning and night. Here is my (new) arsenal (I was using the Proactiv system for the last year but so far the results have been mediocre at best):

Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel, Boscia Balancing Facial Tonic, Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration SPF 15, and Boscia Recharging Night Moisture

Oh, and I will of course add in a bit of Proactiv benzoyl peroxide cream and some weekly masks to give myself a little piece of mind.

I have also switched to Bare Minerals Foundations, wondering if this so-called “makeup you can sleep in” is all they claim (I have my doubts, but it sounds pretty good).

I will keep you up to date on how treating my skin with kid gloves is working and how I’m coping. Best of luck in your own endeavors.

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