What Actually Helped My Mascne
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Never again will I take having a clear face for granted…when I got to college I seriously thought my acne problems would *poof!* disappear because I wasn’t a teenager anymore. Boy did 2020 prove me wrong!
I should start off by saying that I’ve never had terrible skin problems, at least not to the point where I ever considered accutane like some of my friends have done. But my skin was never perfect in high school, and I had no clue how to take care of it (I seriously thought using Korean facemasks would solve all my skin issues) so I’ve tried a lot of treatments before. Proactive. Bioclarity. Curology. You name it, I tried it. Those didn’t really work, so I gave up and eventually decided I’d tough it out with the occasional flare-up until I got to college. When I started college, my skin did get better and by sophomore year I never really worried about it anymore. Then COVID happened because of course, it did!
At the beginning of COVID my family was on strict lockdown mode, so I hardly had to wear a face mask because I was just at home. Then I moved cities, decided I wanted to go back to work and started college again in the Fall. I went from almost never wearing a mask to wearing one a LOTtime. It was awful. I’m not unique to mascne, so I started breaking out like practically every other person which made me want to cry. But I found some things that worked for me and I’m so happy it’s nowhere near as bad as it was mid-pandemic. Here’s what I did that I truly believe made a difference:
- I work at a place that isn’t open to the public, so I don’t have to wear a mask if I don’t want to. This has been a game changer, because while I still wear a mask out and about, I don’t wear it nearly as much as I used to.
- I bought a thousand masks so I NEVER have to repeat wearing the same mask twice between washes. I repeated wearing masks way more than I’m embarrassed to admit because for some reason masks are so good at disappearing? Like it’s the new hairband & sock mystery- where do they run off to?? These are the only ones I wear from The Gap if you’re looking for a new brand. Super cute patterns, fit every face size with adjustable straps, and very comfy!
- I started double cleansing my face with micellar water and liquid cleanser as soon as I got home from wearing a face mask out. Kill the germs ASAP.
- I stopped touching my face. Completely. I mainly stopped doing this, because the CDC said rubbing your eyes or nose can potentially give you COVID, but I think it helped my skin too!
- I also stopped poking at my acne. If I was really annoyed with a pimple I would use a Mighty Patch. But no more poking!
- I stopped wearing foundation and primer for long periods of time. At college, I hardly ever left my dorm without wearing mascara, concealer, and foundation (wow @ the audacity to have so much energy) so it was a hard habit to break when I came home from college because of COVID. For a while, I kept wearing foundation to work but eventually stopped because I got lazy haha. But being lazy pays off here because it’s one less layer that can clog up and lead to breakouts!
- I changed my diet drastically. In Jan. 2021 I began an anti-inflammatory diet that’s had me cut out complex carbs, dairy, processed foods, and most added sugars. I think all of these definitely did help my skin, especially the no-dairy thing. I think I’m going to write a blog post about how the diet’s been going soon!
- Drinking more water because I was the worst at this at college. For some reason, I hated carrying around a water bottle, and half the time I forgot to use it when I had it with me. I also was just super lazy about going down to the water fountain multiple times a day and my second semester I lived in a new dorm that didn’t have the yummiest water so it was even more of an inconvenience because I would go out of my way to get water from another building. Exhausting but def #firstworldproblems
- I went on the birth control pill- I have to be completely honest and credit a lot of why my skin is better with being on the pill. But the pill isn’t a magical thing you pop to get rid of all acne. I’ve been on the pill before and it didn’t cure all my acne. It still doesn’t, as I’m on it now. Having good skin requires putting in the work that’s no fun to give yourself the best chance at not breaking out. The pill can only help you so much.
- Fiding a skincare routine that works for you and FOLLOWING IT. Like, actually putting in the effort day in and day out. Remember it’s not a skincare routine if you don’t follow it routinely! Here are the products that I use below:
● Micellar Water
● Glycolic Acid 7% toning solution from the Ordinary
● Vitamin C from the Ordinary (but I don’t like this so I’m in the market for a new one)
● Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% from the Ordinary
● Hawaiian Tropic Mineral Sunscreen (I tried so many sunscreen brands this summer, and this one I found to be the most gentle + least likely to make me breakout)
And that’s everything! Thanks for reading along as always!
Sincerely,
Solen xxx