I am not an expert but I just want to share my experience with whoever is facing it right now because it can really be demoralizing and a cause of low self-confidence and not to mention lots of sleepless nights
Just a short history. Throughout my teenage years, I had flawless skin. Then in my early to mid 20s, I had some small bumps here and there. I assumed it was because I rode a bike then. I guess my skin is a little more sensitive than most so the dust, the exhaust fumes etc on the roads clogged up my pores and resulted in pimples. I was a lazy guy who don't bother about my skin so much so it kind of served me right. Still it was manageable and nothing that affected me that much.
It was only in my late 20s that I experience an acne outbreak. It was really that bad that my face was full of big, red and painful pimples. Forget about looking bad, the pain from the breakouts itself can get really unbearable. I cannot forget how often I had to change my pillow covers because I'll wake up most mornings with them blood stained unless I sleep on my back all night. It is also a must to have tissues all the time because the pimples can just pop anytime and blood will ooze out. It was that bad. Did I felt like crap? I sure did.
Not to scare anyone out there but adult acne can happen to anybody for many reasons. So if you have flawless skin, be thankful and take care of it.
So back to me, my face now is way better. I still get approached by those skin care specialists each time I pass by them at the stores. I know it isn't perfect now but they do not know how glad I am that I cleared the worst stage of it. Sometimes when I see those with similar condition as I used to have, I feel like telling them how I managed to clear mine but then, I wouldn't like if a stranger does that to me too.
So let's get into the reason why pimples pop out. To the best of my understanding, this is how it goes.
Our face cannot be too dry. When that happens, our natural body mechanism will react and produce oil (sebum) to moisturise our skin. That is why sometimes your skin is oily. It's normal and it is not because you ate too much of this or that. The oil is produced because it had too. However, some people produce more than others.
Now, the problem occurs when too much of it is produced. The oil itself is not the actual problem. Problem is when there is too much it, the chances of your face trapping dirt is higher. Since you face is sticky with oil, dirt will stay put. If you do not clean your face fast enough, dirt can get trapped in your skin pores. When that happens, the oil produced through the pores will have no where to go and this is the reason why bumps appear. The bumps are actually accumulation of dirt and oil. If not rectified, it can be infected with bacteria and resulting in pimples.
Some think that because their face is oily all the time, washing often is good. It's not. The more often you wash your face, the more it will react. Dry skin, more oil. It does not solve anything. In fact it can get worse, with your face thinking it's too dry most of the time.
Key to maintaining an oil free skin is to prevent the oil from being produced too much and at the same time maintain the level of moisture in your skin. Face not dry, less oil. It is as simple as that.
So the first thing is to get a cleanser that do not dry your skin too much. For this, you have to try out and find the one that works for you. God knows how many I have tried and finally got one that works for me. Then get face moisturizer that will fool your skin and stop it from producing oil. What you get is moisturised skin and less oil. That itself will slowly help in preventing breakouts.
Drinking a lot of water helps too. How to know if you lack of it? See your lips. If they are dry, then chances are your face is dry too. Remember, dry face, more oil. Your face don't feel dry don't mean you are hydrated. It could be that is it covered with oil!
For those with really bad acne eg vulgaris, you will need special medication that will kill the germs residing under your skin, so see a doc. Try not to get them to prescribe you with medication that you need to take orally but rather those that can be applied externally. Oral medication usually have side effects, sometimes long term and irreversible. My doc prescribe me a lotion called Aknemycin which I applied twice a day. It dries up the skin (it had to, to kill of the germs) so you have to avoid the sun because it prevents oil from being produced too. Dry skin out in the sun is bad. If you work out in the sun, then use it only when you go to sleep. After about 4 months of usage, without fail, my big, red, painful acne are gone.
Now I am left with scars which possibly can be repaired with other form of face lotions. So far I have not found any that suit my skin, even after spending a lot.
For my daily face wash, I use T3 Acne Care Cleanser. It don't dry up my face too much. I wash my face twice a day. Once when I wake up and once before I go to bed. For those pimples that come and go, I use T3 Pimple Gel 1st Outbreak. Two days and it's gone. Other pimple gel simply don't work.
Like I said, try everything and stick to the one that works for you. Some get rid of the pimples but leave your face sore. Those are bad. I don't use moisturiser anymore but I do keep a pack of blotting sheets all the time to wipe oil off my face. I try to drink lots of water, especially in the morning. Two big glasses of them.
So if you have a similar problem, there is something you can do about it. You just need to work hard finding the right products for you.
