How To Reduce and Prevent Acne

Dear all,

Hope everyone is doing great! Happy Ramadan to all of you. I just woke up from my beauty sleep ;) I know it's a Friday but the place I am working at declared yesterday and today a public holiday so yaay for me :D I have so many topics running in my mind to write on my blog today but this one seems the most urgent to share because I have good news that happened this week.

Disclaimer: I do not have very bad acne problems so I am not confident that my tips will help serious acne like cyst acne. Mine are minor ones BUT my problem was that it appeared last December out of the blue and consistently at the side of my face and some on my cheeks. This may sound normal to many people but not normal for me. The last time I had lots of acne was when I was 18 or so. Since then, I would only have acne during my menstruation time or when I get exam stress. Apart from that, my face is thankfully clear, something I am humbly thankful for.

The issue started end of last year, December 2017. I really really am not sure the cause of it but pimples, acne started appearing on the side of my face even near my jawline. I was shocked. My family kept asking what happened. I had no idea. I wanted to give it a month and see. No results, still the same. I stopped using some essential oils that I was using and researched online. My research is what led me to these few tips I will be sharing with you. Not long after that around end of Feb or early March, I realised some acne reduction but still they did not go away completely. I would look at my photos pre-December 2017 without makeup and realise how clear my skin was. I was strong-willed to do something about it. It was not too late and there must be something that was triggering these pimples. I was careful about my diet, hygiene, about anything that touched my face, my products that I used on my face and every tiny thing even my pillow. I was paranoid that one of these might have triggered the acne. The thing is that I heard about pills, injections and medical treatment that can help with acne reduction. However, I was adamant that at this early stage, I did not want any of that. Only if I had no choice then I would. So on top of the tips I will be sharing below, I went to see a dermatologist, a skin specialist. I went there 1 time and left with 2 gels and a facial cleanser. They suggested medication that I needed to take for 6 months but I declined the offer. I wanted to try the gels and cleanser first. The doctor said that progress may be slow if I did not take the pills but I was fine with that. Also, she mentioned that my acne condition was not very serious so the injection was not an option for me. I happily left with my 2 tubes of gel, night and day and the cleanser. I carried it around with me everywhere I went. I travel a lot so they were all safe and sound with me. I used it for a total of 2 months and 2 weeks and applied all the tips below until this week, a miracle happened. My acne significantly disappeared! I am so so thankful and happy. I used to go for facial every now and then but for the past 3 months or so, I did not go for any facial session at all. It takes a lot of effort and commitment when you are dealing with any condition, major or minor. I had to remember to apply the gel and all the tips I learned below. I had to stop touching my face and looking in the mirror every now and then. It is true when they say 'a butterfly lands when you are least expecting'. I stopped dwelling on my acne and started living. It can affect your confidence and make you feel like you need makeup for every time you go out. The acne combined with the fact that I started working in the corporate world pushed me into trying out makeup and applying it consistently or when needed. It has a positive impact on my confidence and my self-esteem. I started thinking less of my non-significant acne. When I watch videos on youtube on acne, I realise that other people are suffering more serious conditions. Whatever your situation is, bear in mind that some people have it even worse so remember to be thankful. Also, I am a pretty positive person :) so when this happened, I asked myself, what good do I get out of it? Well, before this, I would not put much effort into makeup. Looking presentable is essential when you start working so this situation pushed me to explore more makeup and art on my face. I normally just like to apply makeup on my cheeks and lips but when my cheeks were affected, I focused more on eye makeup, something I never was really interested before. This made me realise how much I enjoy applying makeup on my eyes, it enhances my features and I totally love it. I like painting to begin with so being able to paint on my face (well, I am still learning) is amazing. In the morning before I go to work, I spend a solid few minutes just beautifying myself and it is my favourite part of the morning. I get so excited to choose what to wear to work and then decide which makeup to wear.

So, here are some tips on how to reduce and prevent acne:

• Clean your face regularly. Many of us love wearing makeup but remember that it comes with a responsibility to clean your face at night thoroughly before you sleep. If you do not have much time, use facial wipes. If your makeup is hard to remove, use the oil-based makeup remover. I use this for mascara or eyeliner. Those are hardest to remove. I clean it at night and sometimes in the morning. The reason why I do not clean it every time in the morning is that I like the natural oil that my face produces when I am asleep. So, when I wake up, sometimes if it is not too oily, I find it sufficient to just wash it with water. The cleanser will make my face too dry.

• Less is more. Apply fewer things on your face. I know how it feels to be overly excited about this product and that product. If you ask me, am I a makeup person or a skincare person, I am definitely the latter. Skincare has been my top priority even during high school times. Lotion is my best friend. Makeup is new to me. If you have product A, B, C and D, just apply A and B on one night and C and D on another night. Avoid overuse of products on your face. If your skin cannot breathe, pores will be clogged and pimples will appear. 

• Do you have oily skin? If yes, avoid essential oils. Essential oil is actually suitable for your face when it has minimal pimples or no pimples at all and mostly suitable for people with dry to normal skin only. 

• Check your products. Use plant-based or vegetarian-friendly products if your face is highly sensitive. Mine can tolerate more than this so I explore more other products but I am careful to only use products that are sold at drugstores or certified only. I generally have sensitive skin (not super sensitive) so I need to be careful on the products and makeup I use. To me, it is OK to spend extra money for good quality rather than go for cheaper ones and regret later especially if it is related to health, skincare and what I consume. 

• Wash your pillow cover regularly. When you apply all that night skin care products, some does go on your pillow. What I do to reduce it getting on my pillow and maximise it going on my skin is to apply the creams 30 minutes before bedtime so it has time to absorb into my skin before I put my cheeks on my fluffy pillow.

• If you wear a headscarf or a headband or prayer clothes that are in contact with the skin or face, ensure to wash that regularly too. If you are living in a tropical country like me and sweat a lot, the more you need to wash it.

• Speaking of sweat, the sweat you produce contains toxins so ensure that after any sports or sweating, wash your face with the cleanser. Not immediately but once you cool down.

• If you live in a tropical country, remember to apply sunscreen or BB cream or daydreams or foundations that contain sun protection with the SPF label. This is something I forgot to do when I moved from London to Kuala Lumpur. I was so used to having no sun in London that I forgot that I needed to apply products with sun protection when I moved to KL. High exposure to sun rays can also lead to acne.

• I enjoy swimming but the swim pool water contains chlorine which can aggravate acne. I love swimming anyways so what I do is apply day cream with sun protection before I swim and wash my face after the swim with a good cleanser. My mistake one time was to use sunblock on my sensitive skin. Sunblock can be used for the body, hands, feet, neck but no it did not respond well to my face. I started getting immediate bumps on my face after applying the sunscreen on my face.

• Check the expiry date of your products. Silly me, sometime last year, I did not realise that my day cream was already expired. I applied it like normal and nope, my sensitive skin did not like it.

• We have a tradition here in Malaysia to cheek-kiss. I really do not want to be rude but whenever I could, I'll try to avoid the cheek-kiss especially when my acne was active. Did not want to get my facial oil on anybody else and vice versa. I like the cheek-kiss though, it is very girly and makes you feel an immediate bond with the other person. I shall continue my cheek-kisses.

• Stop any usage of creams at night. When I got the night gel from the dermatologist, I used that at night only. In the day, I would apply the day gel as the base on my face. Then I would apply makeup on top. 

• Stop stressing. You have no idea how much stress can affect you, physically, emotionally and mentally. It is good to just take it easy and lead a stress-free life. You not some stress but not extreme amounts.

• Eat healthily. Fruits, vegetables, water, less oil, juices, less fast food and junk food, more fish, fresh meat and dairy products. I am sure you heard this before many times but start applying it in your daily lives. You do not need a pure vegan or vegetarian diet to stay healthy in my opinion. You do not need to spend lots of money to buy healthy, organic food. Do what you can afford and what works for you.

• If you have access to Zamzam water, it is a good idea to wash your face with this purified water. 

• Focus on other things in life and look less in the mirror. As you apply these tips, your face will naturally repair itself. Youtuber, Cassandra Bankson gives really awesome tips on how to battle acne! I highly recommend you listening to her videos.

After applying these tips myself, this past week has been a miracle. The acne has stopped and reduced significantly. I still have some old acne scars but they have faded a lot. I did not know and expect when my acne would stop. I just gave it time and focused on other things. If I was not comfortable, makeup is my saviour but in the end, my acne was not ultimately serious. It was just more than I was used to. Nevertheless, I was worried that it could get worse if I did not do anything. 

Hope these tips helped and wishing you a lovely weekend :)

I am going to get ready now, we are going for a Ramadan buffet. For those fasting, selamat berbuka.

Lots of love and light from me-en XOXO

PS: If you have a topic you want me to write, please let me know by commenting below or dropping an email :) I always <3 writing what you like to read. Take care everyone.