History

I have had acne since I was ten so that's about twelve years and counting. The first time I went to the doctor about acne, I wasn't old enough to be prescribed any tablets for acne so I was given a topical solution. I have no idea what it was called but it was in a skinny, cylindrical, matte- glass bottle with a spongey cloth tip that you just dabbed onto the skin. After that I took antibiotics a few times to get rid of the spots but I honestly can not remember how successful these were, so I think it's safe to say the results were unremarkable and didn't clear my acne.

I have tried so many different skin care products and I am still none the wiser as to which works best. The only one that I went back to a few times was a cream clean and clear cleanser. The gels or liquid always seemed harsh, whereas cream based ones felt more gentle on the skin. I tried Cliniques skin range for about two years but despite being expensive and tailored to my skin, it didn't clear my skin. Nowadays I try to stick to those with natural ingredients that are gentle on the skin. I worked in a health shop for a while last year so that influences my choices a wee bit. I was using nothing but products from the health shop for at least 6 months and that did not improve my skin at all, if anything my skin got worse.

I went back to using a chemical laden traditional skin regime using clean and clear for a month or two recently and that didn't help. At the moment I am using La Roche Posay which I believe is the only brand recommended by dermatologists so it must be good...

Oh as a New Years resolution, I vowed to tackle my acne seriously. So I've been doing this in a few ways:
1) I try drink a cup of apple cider vinegar and manuka honey a day
2)I steam my face once or twice a week using yarrow tea and recently some drops of lavender oil
3)I drink 2litres of water a day(well I did for the first month or two!)
4)I had been taking fish oils for the omegas in them for a few months
5) And of course I cleansed and moisturised with 'good' skin care products twice a day.

I have spent hours upon hours trawling every site to do with acne and have tried so many different approaches. I am obsessed! I don't want to waste time worrying about my skin any longer, so lets hope this blog will be an account of how I finally get rid of this monster!