THE TRUTH ABOUT ACNE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

Those of us who have struggled with acne know how painful it can get, with scars left not only on your face but on your confidence as well. People making it less of an issue because, somethings you never really understand until they happen to you right?.

Well, if you have been or are suddenly suffering from pimples/acne,  it will help to understand that the enemy will not just go away overnight and doesn't necessarily need for you to own all those fancy face brushes and cleansers on the market. 

Most people who've struggled with acne and skin problems for years understand that it only takes the simplest of products and the simplest of routines to get your moving skin towards "perfection".

Remember how you used to wash your face and slather on some Vaseline or that acquous cream and the likes when you were younger? Life was a breeze right?. What happens is we get into panic mode the moment our skin starts acting up and jump onto those expensive cleansers, toners and what not while all our skin needs is a little bit of love, patience and understanding. 

I'm not saying we shouldn't use cleansers and acne products, don't get me wrong. However, I would recommend that you lay off the heavy stuff for a bit and try using a pure soap or an acquous for washing your face and the simplest of moisurisers and/or sunscreen after. Monitor the changes and try to learn more about you skin whilst doing that. You can then after start introducing add-ons like tissue oils and serums here and there, but try not to bombard your skin with products upon products just because your favorite influencer(who's never suffered from acne/pimples in their lifetime) is endorsing it.

TIPS:

° Wash your face with an aqueous cream or pure soap twice a day (you'll feel what your skin needs between the two)

° Pat dry with a clean towel or paper towel

° Use a moisurising sunscreen or a moisuriser during the day

° You may use a tissue oil or serum at night or just your simple moisturizer

° You may also occasionally use a DIY scrub (now and then)

° PUT YOUR SKIN FIRST AND BE PATIENT !!

That's it, you're done. 

I'm sure not a dermatologist but trust me you don't need to buy every acne product under the sun. 

NB: If you suffer from chronic or sever acne, consider seeing a dermatologist. 

Love:

Author 🌷

Garnier Even And Matte Review

I haven't posted anything in a very long time and I never did finish showing you guys my full trial of the Garnier PureActive Intensive daily gel wash and moisturizer 😩... I know, I know, I suck 😑

Before I get into where I was, let me start by apologizing for my disappearance. At first, it was due to tests and exams but as time went on, a boatload of laziness also mounted on.

A quick update on the products I had been using back then;

                                        

The moisturizer was the first to run out and I did buy another as I had said I would in one of my previous blog posts, however when the face wash ran out, I didn't replace it 🙈 "why?" you may ask... Well, at that point I felt that my pimple scars had lightened up a bit compared to when I started using the products and I decided to switch to much cheaper (Garnier Even and Matte) products.

I thought that I had successfully weakened the scars and it would be easier for an "even skin tone" product to do the job, so I went for the Even and Matte products since they were/are from the same brand and I figured hey they'll just continue where the ProActive left off. They were also and still are, much cheaper 🤫

PRODUCTS PURCHASED

Well, I bought the entire range which consists of;

• Even & Matte Gentle Clarifying Foam
• Even & Matte Instant Radiance Scrub
• Even & Matte Soft Smoothing Toner
• Even & Matte Ideal Complexion Daily Cream

APPEARANCE OF CONTENTS

• Even & Matte Gentle Clarifying Foam

This products' texture is silky smooth and cream in color. If foams up in contact with water, feels good on the face and easy to wash off. 

• Even & Matte Instant Radiance Scrub

The scrub is a transparent yellow color with small orange granules. 

• Even & Matte Soft Smoothing Toner

The milkiest of toners I've ever come across, this product is white in color and has a creamy consistency compared to other toners. It's cold to the touch and requires you to use cotton pads for application, a given. However, you can also use cotton balls or cotton wool, depending on preference. 

• Even & Matte Ideal Complexion Daily Cream

The complexion cream differs depending on whether it's for oily or normal skin. The one for normal skin is lighter and is a pale pinkish color, whereas the cream for oily skin is thicker and appears white in color.

REVIEW:

I won't lie, the products did do their job but, I think it's my skin that's the problem. As much as my marks were clearing up, some remained and I had to stop using the products because the complexion cream felt too bulky on my face and would dry out before I could finish applying it into my skin, leaving me with partly white eyebrows... Let's be honest, that's not everyone's favorite look. Most of us prefer a moisturized and supple look to ashy grey. 

I believed I used the products for a good 3 months... And since the Garnier Pure Active range had done its bit lightening the marks... Using these products helped lighten them more. However, the marks were not completely removed. 

I did experience increased confidence

after the first month of use but the quick drying of the complexion cream was getting to me and application was a hassle. I am almost always in a rush so this was fairly daunting. 

The rest of the products felt good on the skin, I won't lie. The toner did feel a bit weird though and one could never really figure out how much to use because if you are like me, you're used to thin watery toners as opposed to the "I'll sit on your cotton pad" thick milky types... it took some getting used to. But overall, I would use those products again with the exception of the complexion cremes. 

I will most certainly update you guys on the products I've used since then although I am without pictures and the works ... and yes, I'm still battling with acne marks (just an update) but they are much better than those you've seen on my previous blog posts. 

Lots of love 

Author 🖤

Review of Garnier PureActive INTENSIVE spots and blackheads triple action (week 3)

This week was coming along just fine until Sunday when my face decided to break out. During the week I felt and saw that my pimple marks were fading and only a few (minimum rather) were dark enough to be seen from a distance, but the pictures I just took for the update prove otherwise, my face is still full of dark pimple marks and I look like a human leopard😓... No one deserves to go through this but hey, here we are...

Throughout the past week I felt and saw some improvement on my skin from using the Garnier PureActive INTENSIVE daily gel wash and triple action care moisturizer. I even had a little more confidence being around people since I don't wear makeup. Things seemed to be going fairly well😊. However, five days ago I noticed I had some sort of build up of dead skin on the creases of my nose which started to hurt the next day, the pain was mild but it raised some concern as I didn't know why that was happening. The dead skin was gone by the third day without me scrapping it off which would have caused more pain. I just applied more moisturizer to the area after having noticed it and it went away, I assume that's why.

Here are the pictures I took today to show what my skin looks like now:

Now, if you look at previous pictures from my other blog posts you may see that the camera I've been using seems to have been softening the appearance of my pimple marks. I also noticed that, so I changed the camera and took the pictures during the day so they can be much clearer.

Links to previous posts:
http://pimplemarksandme.blogspot.co.za/2017/04/review-of-garnier-pureactive-intensive.html
http://pimplemarksandme.blogspot.co.za/2017/04/sooo.html
http://pimplemarksandme.blogspot.co.za/2017/04/pimple-eliminating-mask.html

CONCLUSION;

I'm still going to continue using the products because I strongly feel like we're getting somewhere😊.. I am planning to buy them again when they've run out but..depending on how my skin reacts as I continue using the remaining product, that might change. But for now, no.

Until next week...
Stay beautiful❤😘

Review of Garnier PureActive INTENSIVE spots and blackheads triple action (week 2)

As I had promised to give you guys an update about how the Garnier products are treating me ... this is it. For "approximately" two weeks now I've been using the Garnier PureActive INTENSIVE Daily Gel Wash and the Triple Action care Moisturiser for spots and blackheads. The two products claim to: unclog pores, target spots and blackheads and reduce the appearance of marks which is why I decided to try it out in the first place.




On the back of the gel wash it is stated that if you have oily skin prone to spots and blackheads then pure active daily gel wash is right for you. It further claims are that it helps reduce the appearance of spots and blackheads while mattifying and purifying your skin, and tightening the appearance of pores. Well😏... I don't know, maybe it's still early days for me to be in a position to verify the claims, after all it's hasn't even been a month since I started using the product.

The face wash does mattify I guess, because after washing your face it leaves it squicky clean and dry (which I figure is from the Salicylic Acid) but as soon as you apply the moisturizer the face just gets that moisturized look which is not necessarily if you ask me. I feel like the face wash stripped my face because an hour or less after having applied the moisturizer, some parts of my face become oily and this was not the case when I was using the moisturizer on its own a few days before deciding to buy the face wash too. With pores I haven't really noticed a difference...they are still as visible as I know them to be. I still get blackheads and two to three pimples here and there but it's not drastic and they seem to calm down after a couple of washes and leave less severe marks. Let me remind you again that it's only been two weeks so I have to keep going.

Here are some pictures to see if there's a difference from last week:
Last week's post: http://pimplemarksandme.blogspot.co.za/2017/04/sooo.html



Personally, I feel like the pimple marks have faded quite a bit. Even my roommate said that my skin looks better then when we first met in February, she said that it seems to be getting better. 😂 Not as fast as I want it to though. I honestly do see a little improvement on my the darkness of my marks and the severity of my breakouts has decreased. I'm hoping that as I continue to use these products I'll get more noticeable results with time. I plan to post another update next week as I'll be a week away from reaching the first month target.

Until then ...
Kisses😙😚

Potato for Removing Pimple Marks

Sooo... I did it, I rubbed potato on my skin and it worked. Yes, it worked. Although it did not remove all the pimple/acne marks completeley (maybe because I ended up breaking my consistancy). Here's how I did  it, I cut the spud into slices and rubbed each fresh slice onto my face and saw the difference almost in three days. Somedays I washed it off, somedays I didn't.  I don't know if i was doing it correctly😅 but potato results seem to be quicker than those of lemon juice, i think I might just try it out on my strechmarks... 😣yeah those...

SEE IMPROVEMENTS FROM PREVIOUS BLOG POST

http://pimplemarksandme.blogspot.co.za/2017/04/pimple-eliminating-mask.html

 

METHOD

As stated above:
Take a clean potato and cut a thin slice and rub it on your face until the juices seem to dry out . Cut another slice and apply it. Repeat the process until you've  covered the entire face. Leave it on for as long as you like and then rinse your face with warm water. Continue with your regimen as you normaly would afterwards.



TIP

It's best to do this treatment on a clean and dry face.

PROS

Unlike lemon juice potato does not sting, instead it's calming and relaxing to the skin.

WHY I LOST CONSISTENCY

I had planned to do the potato method for a week and then update you guys but, four days in ,,, I bought myself the Garnier PureAvtive intensive facewash and moisturiser at clicks and felt like i shouldn't mix the two together so I be able can see the results properly. Oh and I had to visit bae so I couldn't be chopping up potatos and rubbing them on my face at baes place 😆.

However, I highly recommend trying out the potato for removing pimple marks or dark marks in gerenal on your face because it's a natural and safe alternative to harsh facial creams. At first it feels like it's not working because duh... it's a potato and it doesn't sting like other home remedies and stuff but trust me it does work. I think I'll have to find a way to squeeze it back into my regimen/routine once I'm used to my new Garnier PureActive INTENSIVE face products and how they work.

Still on my Garnier regimen and I promise to update you guys in a week's time.
Much love 💕😙

Pimple Eliminating Mask

Yeap I also had clear skin once, never thought I'd have to deal with such sever pimple marks (hyperpigmentation) ... Well, here I am 20 years old now, still trying to rid my face of pimple scars like Ive been trying for the past 3 years. Here's why, I just can't stop popping 😁 ... Pimple after Pimple_and that is why, it seems as if the marks aren't going away because when they are, I keep creating more scars on top the ones that are fading so my face is always filled with dark spots.

 I've had some clear periods in between :) but they never last long enough ... Why? I don't know. I've tried a number of creams but I haven't found the right one for my pimple marks. I recently tried the Johnson's even tone range, facewash, soap, daycream, nightcream, the works but it made things worse (my skin broke out and I got even more marks), I discontinued using it. Bought the Garnier oil control complete vanishing cream which I had used sometime before and it minimised the breakouts. 

Trying to get rid of the dark marks, I started using lemon juice, it seems to have been working-slowly though. Since I've been getting a few pimples here and there, I decided to try out the cinnamon and egg mask.

                                   

It worked wonders. After having applied it, you instantly feel the blood rushing to your face. The next morning after my first application I saw the difference in my pimples sizes, some were completely gone and others had decreased in size, it was amazing. After washing it off, my skin felt soft and the pores were bearly noticable. Honestly, I think I've found that thing to help give my face that happy and healthy glow look. I figured I should get rid of the pimples first before having another go at trying to remove the marks and since I've found my go to mask for pimples, it's time to tackle those marks. Tomorrow I'm trying the potato method for removing pimple marks... Wish me luck 💚😊.

Here's the recipe for the cinnamon and egg mask:

INGREDIENTS 

1 whole egg

1 tsp of cinnamon powder

METHOD

Crack the egg into a bowl and add the cinnamon, stir/mix until combined and apply to your face for as long as desired.

WARNING!!

This mask BUUURNS so if you cannot take the pain, I suggest you do not use this mask or any other that has cinnamon.

TIPS

Its better when you do not use the mask on a freshly washed face as it tends to burn less.

Store the leftover mask in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 4 days.

It is also safe to leave the musk on overnight.

If you have any home remedies for pimple scars, do share.

Until next time✌❤