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Although I've struggled with my weight, this in no way compares to my struggle with my skin. I've had moderately severe acne since I was 13. For the most part, it's been hormonal cystic acne, blackheads, and horribly: backne. Ugh. As anyone who struggles with skin knows, it's no picnic.
My doctors have always just put me on 10% benzoyl peroxide wash. It helped with the whiteheads that would rarely appear, but didn't do much for my cystic acne or blackheads.
I started wearing makeup in high school to cover it up. I didn't really know what I was doing and am pretty sure at least a couple of the foundations were oil-based, which only exacerbated my already oily/combo skin. At the start of college, I realized I had to veer from oil-based and really look and make sure my makeup products are oil-free.
I've tried sooo many over-the-counter medications: Proactive, MaxClarity, Murad, Clean & Clear, Clearasil, Neutrogena, etc. etc. the list goes on. The only thing that I kept going back to is the 10% benzoyl peroxide creams. It does help, but can be fairly drying.
At the end of college (yes, I had "adult" acne), I went to see a dermatologist. She put me on a birth control for the hormones (really, really helped), an antibiotic and a retinoid cream (for night. Drying, but it helps). It severely reduced my breakouts. I would have the occasional breakout, but they were mild and not extreme.
But, the thing that really worked for me? Eating clean. I was eating clean to be healthier and to get down to a healthy weight, and this extended to my skin. I cut out dairy (I noticed a correlation between it and my breakouts... I drank soooo much milk) with the exception of greek yogurt and also cut out refined sugars (I used to have a huge sweet tooth. Also a huge contributor to my breakouts). I used to think coffee was the culprit. I used to buy those Starbucks Frappucinos all the time in college. My friends and I would stock up for midterms/finals and drink them like crazy. I'm pretty sure it was the high sugar count in combination with elevated stress levels for midterms/finals. My skin has been clear for over a year and the hyperpigmentation (what some confuse with "scars," the dark spots left after a blemish that takes forever to fade) was nearly gone and the oil was severely reduced.
Until recently. I messed up the birth control (skipped a few days accidentally) and had some sugar over the holidays and had a huge breakout after Christmas. It's still recuperating, so I've been avoiding makeup for the past month and a half. If I need coverage, I use BB cream (will post about this later). I did, however, have a makeup haul recently that I will post up. Once I start using it and have continued doing so for about a month, I'll post reviews.
Because of this skin fiasco for the past month or so, I have just purchased several new skincare products to try (will add them into the regimen one by one, so I can tell which ones are working) and will do a haul post on that as well. It's finally healing.
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Makeup-wise, I tend to go towards more natural looks. Though, I do love smokey eyes, I usually will do a brown/taupe smokey eye. I almost always wear eyeliner and mascara to try and "widen" my half-asian eyes. I also contour with bronzer and put on some blush and highlighter on my cupid's bow and cheekbones (if I'm not having skin issues). I usually prefer nude/lipsticks/glosses that are similar to lip color, though I have been trying some new colors/products. I do enjoy wearing falsies for photos.
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I know that skin and weight issues can be incredibly trying and stressful. Everyone has different bodies/skin that reacts differently to different approaches. Hopefully, though, something in my posts will help any of you who are going through similar struggles. We're in this together.
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