December 8, 2011

Out of Control

My skin, that is.

Awful. Just awful.

What's even more awful is the rental car I've been pimping as of lately.
I've respectfully nicknamed her "EGG".
Fitting, right?

Egg has an oh-so-glamorous hatchback and one (yes-one) functioning radio station.
...iiiiin Spanish.
I'm sure these next 2 weeks we'll be spending together are going to be just delightful.
Good work, Enterprise.Good work.

Oh! Where were we??

This is not a pity party so don't go feelin' sorry for me. Well, you can feel sorry for my ridiculously uncool rental car but as far as my skin, I've always and forever had skin issues.

Here lately, it is all jacked up and I've had it.

[HAD. IT.]

I'm the girl who puts on makeup just to go to the gym, pool, beach, river, lake, you name it...just to cover up all the redness..

Three main causes:

1. Birth Control 
I had been on it since I was 15 and just got off a little over a year ago. Needless to say, the birth control did help my skin tremendously however, learning that counterfeit hormones (such as BC pills) contribute to not only breast cancer but many, many other hormonal issues later on in life, I chunked 'em mid-pack last October and never looked back. (Sorry, Beau)

2. Dad
Yep-got his oily skin genes. Although I constantly curse him for it, at least it's one thing that reminds me of him on the daily. 0:) Thanks, Dad!

3. Hormones 
Working for all-natural hormone doctors, I've learned I'm not the only twenty somethin' woman out there with this problem so girls-looks like we're not alone.

Anywho-I have tried countless cleansers, toners, astringents, on-the-spot treatments, all natural make up...you name it and still suffer with those deep, cyst-like bumps around my chin and jawline that are not only super painful but they last forever...purely adult/hormonal/cystic acne. 

Great.

From Pro-Activ to Skyn Iceland to Bare Minerals to the Clarisonic...nothin' changed.
Nothin'.
(Well...nothin' but more bumps.)

Talk about makin' a girl feel self conscious?!

[Insert Mr. Badescu]

 Mario Badescu, that is.

Three weeks ago, I remembered reading a post on Meg's blog where she raved on and on about his product line, specifically the Buffering Lotion so off to Ulta I went...

to "just get the Buffering Lotion"

Pssh ya-we all know how that goes...$60 later and a bag full-a-goodies, 
I had myself a new skin care line. (Actually-I think it was around $54 but who's counting?) I needed something to "prevent" future breakouts rather than just "treat" the ones that I am prone to having.

Voila!




As with any new product line, I'm always skeptical but for $54 and a face lookin' more like a hormonal 16 year old boy that a 25 year old woman, I was willing to test it out.

As for the Acne Facial Cleanser, it's a little different but I think it definitely helps in getting majority of your makeup off. It's kinda weird because it doesn't bubble or anything but I think I like it. It's extremely gentle, which is a bonus because my skin is el sensitivo. Plus-for a little 6 week trial-sized bottle for $8, I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try. After all, what I've been doing clearly isn't working.

Onto the Special Cleansing Lotion "C"-LOVE IT. This is the bread and butter right here. You put several drops on a cotton ball after you wash your face and continue doing so until your cotton ball comes out clear (not brown). This is what gets every bit of your make up off and leaves your face feeling squeaky clean.

Now for the infamous Buffering Lotion. It's an on-the-spot treatment for erupted pimples. Works like a charm! I even put it on the big cyst-like bumps that never erupt and I swear they don't even stand a chance in lasting 2 weeks like they used to.

And last, but definitely not least, the Drying Cream. This one takes the cake, too. It's a cream that dries out any and all pimples and since it is nude in color, it actually covers the redness to so you can wear it under your makeup AND treat your bumps ALL. DAY. LONG

[Angels just sang.]

Sooooo overall I'm not completely, postitively, 100% sure the products I'm using are totally "preventing" breakouts considering I still get a few patches of bumps on my cheeks/jawline here and there but what I can say is that the bumps don't last near as long as they used to. I'm gonna go ahead and run out of everything that I have and see how it fares.

If I don't see a dramatic difference within the next few weeks, I'm considering switching to Rodan & Fields' (creators of Proactiv) new skin care line called "Unblemish" which is a line of products formulated especially for adult skin. Adult, hormonal, cystic acne skin, that is. They have a 60 day, empty bottle guarantee. 

Win/win? I think so.

Forgive me if this totally bored you all to death but I need any/all feedback you might have. For those of you with flawless skin, I envy you like nobody's business. For those of you with troubled skin like mine, have you tried any of these products before? Do you have any advice for little ol' me to get my skin in top-top condition?!?! I'm willing to do [almost] anything.

29 comments:

  1. You could also look into acne.org. They have a lot of facts and I have liked the treatment so far...

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  2. Have you been to a dermatologist? I've had acne problems since I was in middle school. Been on every antibiotic and topical treatment you can think of. Even accutane. My skin is not perfect, but basically all I do now is wash morning and night with purpose and sometimes use clinique step 4 toner before I moisturize with clinique's facial lotion gel for oily skin. I swear by purpose face wash and have forever. I use retin-a if I ever have a break out. I can go on for days so email if u want to know more.

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  3. i might need to see if mario can help my face. if not, i'm on to Unblemish. Proactiv really helps but it dries my face out really bad so i only use the refining mask has a spot acne treatment.

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  4. That stinks about your rental car. Last time I was in an accident, I had to drive a 4 door cobalt and I was ashamed.

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  5. Thanks for keeping it real Steph, your posts are informative and funny too.

    My younger sister suffers from breakouts alot and has tried pretty much everything you mentioned. Would you recommend her trying the Mario Badescu collection? I understand everyone has different skin complextions but did you find it helped your skin overall?

    Thanks girl!

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  6. I have *ahem* 'problem' skin too. I appreciate the skin care posts!

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  7. Nice ride babe!we will be sporting it in dallas this weekend.

    Hubby

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  8. That Mario stuff sounds legit my Stephy, but if it persists I would say get an evaluation at the doctors office! I'm not much help bc I use Proactiv and it works wonders, but I once freaked out last yr when I went off the pill bc I got these bumps on my forehead and I went and she prescribed me this awesome lotion. If I feel them coming, I just put a little on. They seemed to stop though.

    I hope your 16 yr old face stops when I see you

    I'll love u either way

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  9. and by doctors I mean dermo :)

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  10. I laughed when I saw your rental car cause my friend from high school had a car similar to that one and we always called it Mr EGG!!! I am sure that is a big difference from your other car. I am sorry you are having troubles with your face though:( I have good genes in my family when it comes to skin except in the winter my I look like Im a snake losing my skin hahaha I know my friend had my skin problems and come to find out she had food allergies which caused her redness and break outs. Now as long as she doesnt eat certain foods her face stays clear. Hope you find something to help you soon.

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  11. That ride is epic. There are honestly no other words to describe my love for it. Bahahaha. Bless your sweet heart.

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  12. I can totally relate to your skin problems and I'm 43!! It totally sucks having the face of a teenager at this age.

    I'm going to give the Mario Badescu produts a try. It couldn't hurt.

    Thanks for the info!! :)

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  13. I can definitely relate to the skin issues. I thought the zits were supposed to vanish with my teenage years?! Apparently not. I guess I'll have to try out those products too. :)

    And as for the car, Egg may be a fitting name but it could be worse...hang in there!

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  14. Definitely not boring! You have me EXCITED! I have the same problem, hell I'm pregnant and my face is not glowing that's for sure. My chin and jaw line are disgusting! Please let me know if this really works! How long have you been using it? I may go take a looksy this weekend!

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  15. Praise baby jesus you posted this! I was just commenting to Alex a few days ago about how my face looks like it did in junior high again! Not pretty! AND I'm still on BC. Not acceptable! I'll be trying this line out tomorrow during my trip to Ulta, pending it doesn't have benzol peroxide. My face does NOT like that stuff.
    Thanks!

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  16. girlfriend, i had some of the same problems you did (though im a bit older than you). the ONLY thing thats helped me is regular appointments at the dermatologist. she gave me a acne face wash, a topical gel called Epiduo AND set me up with bi-weekly microdermabrasion treatments (which praise the lord are covered by my insurance. they bill it out as "acne surgery")... she also said using TOO MANY products on my face was confusing it and it didn't know what to do! I love most Mario products esp the drying cream and the drying lotion, so i've slowly worked those back into my regimen as needed, but i'd really recommend seeing a professional if your insurance covers it! :)

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  17. I tried some On the spot pimple treatment stuff from Mario years ago and it worked wonderfully. I completely forgot about it until now! Thanks for jogging my memory. I'm gonna have to try it again soo

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  18. my story totally mirrors lindseys. I have had skin issues my WHOLE life like bad. I swear the accutane cleared up a lot of it (however I don't even know if thats still on the market? It was sketchy even back then) and I have tried EVERYTHING. I have super oily skin but as far as what has worked for me, proactive is what has worked the best, but you already tried that, so if you find something that works magic, let a sister know!

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  19. NOT boring at all! I have the same problem...27 and still get small zits, big zits and those awful, painful cysts. I've gone off BC cause well, I wanna start making some babies, and since then my face has been AWFUL. I've gone to the derm and nothing prescribed works for a long amount of time. Tried Proactiv, it stopped working after a couple months. You could also go the an esthetician to get a 6-step acne facial process. It helped for a bit and made my skin SO soft, but again it takes maintenance and moo-lah. Let me know how this stuff works and I'd love to try it out.

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  20. Not boring.. great post! I have oily skin as well and my face gets really red. I too put make up to go to the gym, lake.. you name it I at least need some cover up on to cover the redness on my face. I am going to look into the Mario skin care line.. sounds like it works great.

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  21. whenever my acne flares up ( I had terrible acne as a teen & had to go on medication) I revert back to my skin id. it works amazing!

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  22. I have never used any of these products! Buttttt I am so going to try that buffering stuff! Sounds awesome! Thank you

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  23. I'm glad that the MB is helping (and thanks for the shout out!) - but I can't really attest to the rest of his line aside from that buffering lotion. I feel the key with that buffering lotion really getting those deep cysts is that I just put it all over my face at night, not just to the "erupted areas" like the instructions indicate. I wonder if by trying that it will help! There's really not much you can do about hormonal acne... it's all about prevention and shortening the length of your breakouts. I can guarantee you that trying something that isn't really formulated for hormonal acne will not do anything for you. I recommend a dermatologist, but I will warn you they might just write a prescription for Retin A and call it a day... really talk to them about the root of the problem being hormonal. I really hope you find something that completely works for you!

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  24. Ok...so funny that I am just reading this NOW! LOL!

    I just got home from Ulta and I just bought the whole freakin Mario line for my skin!!!!

    Tonight was night numero uno using it. I hope it works. My skin looks AWFUL. I'm 30 years old. I have never had acne this bad. I'm too old for bad skin.

    I just thank God that the bad skin waited until AFTER the wedding!!!!

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  25. I use a prescription cream from the dermatologist! It is part acne medicine and part antibiotic cream and works amazingly!! Plus, it lasts forever!!!

    And I totally came off BC a few months ago for similar reasons!!

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  26. OMG! I just started getting those big nasty ones on my chin... and it SUCKS! I might be trying this skin line... :)

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  27. THANK YOU for posting about this. I am having a HUGE issue with my skin, I have more acne now then I did when I was a teenager. Not pretty on a almost 24 year old. It's nice to see that it is an issue for others as well. Thanks again!

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  28. So excited to read this and have another option for my skin! I live in Florida and have never really had "bad skin", however I moved away for a few years and upon my arrival back in Florida the skin fairies are cursing me. My face is reddddd in patches, like friends call me Rudolph jokingly, the tip of my nose was the worst. I used neutrogena, then baby shampoo hoping the mildness would help. Nada. Will be checking back for an update to see how you fared with it. thanks!

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  29. I am truly inspired from your write-up and sharing this too with my friends and colleagues. Rated Acne Treatments

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