How to keep a clear complexion?

NOTE…I HAVE WRITTEN THIS LONG ANSWER TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS RELATING TO BECAUSE THEY COME UP SO OFTEN:

OILY SKIN

ACNE

FACIAL LIGHTENING

DEALING WITH ACNE SCARRING

DEALING WITH STRETCH MARKS

IMPROVING SKIN TONE

PIMPLES

BLACKHEADS

EMERGENCY SPOT TREATMENT

INGROWING HAIRS

BODY ACNE

…THE INFO’S BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE. I’M 36 NOW SO I’VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES FOR QUITE A WHILE AND THOUGH MUCH OF THIS ANSWER MAY BE IRRELEVANT, I HOPE THERE'LL BE SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP YOU!

GOOD LUCK!!!

RECOMMENDED SKIN CARE…I use clean and clear cream wash (good for sensitive skin or those that dry to easy) or Neutrogena clear skin make up remover wash. Both contain salicylic acid which prevents breakouts and gradually evens the skin tone out too. This is the most important thing you can do. I’ve tried various ‘oil free’/’salicylic acid’ moisturisers but the best I’ve found is the clean and clear on…I found the Neutrogena one actually seemed to aggravate my skin.

EMERGENCY SPOT TREATMENT!...The toothpaste things works! Put on a blob at night and put a bit of tissue over it so it doesn't make a mess. It cools the area down and reduces the inflammation. I also recommend the clean and clear advantage spot treatment gel.

HORMONAL SPOTS…Any female with spots I'd recommend trying dianette or yasmine contraceptive pills because if it's hormonal that can sort everything out within weeks…though it can take a couple of months to get used to the pill.

FACIAL ACNE: AVOID…Don't use harsh scrubs and peroxide products daily like some people do; that can dry your skin and make produce MORE oil...just exacerbating the problem. Many face packs I’ve tried and those blackhead removal strips too seem to have caused problems.

I’ve also had problems with those ‘facial wipes’ made by clean and clear and Neutrogena because they’re too drying and when the top layer’s too dry, the oil gets stuck underneath and causes more problems!

Some say chocolate doesn’t affect it…it does for me and I don’t know how or why that should be but certain foods do seem to affect break out. Coffee is one of those things that seems to aggravate my skin too. So look out for anything you eat that might be making it worse.

HAIR PRODUCTS…Be careful what products you use in your hair if it's long - certain conditioners have causes me to break out at times. Also be careful of hair gels, hair sprays and serums.

INGROWING HAIRS…For men or women…if you have oily skin, these are more likely. For men…use a facial scrub and avoid moisturisers that don’t have salicylic acid in them if you use a moisturiser. Some hair conditioners are much better lubricants than shaving cream too – so you might want to try that, and then was afterwards with a clean and clear was etc. Also I recommend the microdermabrasion kit mentioned later.

For women…waxing seems to cause the main problem – we pay most attention to our faces. Waxing seems to be the main culprit as opposed to shaving or hair removal creams…to avoid in-growing hairs, make sure to exfoliate. I recommend using those exfoliating gloves – that way, you can use any kind of shower gel.

NUTRITION…I recommend taking a 100% multi vitamin/mineral complex – those little spots you get around your mouth can be due to a vitamin b deficiency for example. Also I recommend Omega 369 oils every day because they improve blood flow.

OLD WIVES TALE??...It's an 'old wives tale' type remedy - but a spoonful of cider vinegar and honey in hot water 3 times a day is meant to help EVERYTHING. It tastes nice too...kinda like honey and lemon X

HYDRATION….Keep your hydration right by drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine and alcohol and too much salt!

DEALING WITH SCARRING…there’s an excellent micro-dermabrasion scrub called ‘re-finish’ by L'oreal. You only use it a couple of times a week (and use at night because it makes your face red!). It really works not just with the colouring but also the texture - smoothes it back out. It comes with it's own moisturiser which I don't use but I use the scrub at night a couple of times a week and put bio oil on which it supposed to help clear scarring and even skin tone.

If you get your skin relatively under control, try using '21 days Fade Cream' (which I get from eBay) because it quickly clears up any scarring. It’s a skin lightening cream and is very effective as long as your skin type agrees with it. Bio oil is a good alternative!

Also, to detract from the colour variations in your skin tone, I recommend using Benefit’s Posie Tint or Benetint lipstain – this can be put on your cheeks and lips (which also makes your teeth look whiter as an added bonus). Lipstain is better than lipstick because it doesn’t smudge and it stays on; you can put lip balm or lip gloss on over it. Also, if you use it (SPARINGLY) on your cheeks, it is just like putting water on there; it doesn’t aggravate the skin or cause breakouts.

LI

I had this problem too. But i use Clean&Clear and it went away pretty quickly i use the Deep Action Cream Cleanser at night before i go to sleep and the Morning Burst Facial Cleanser in the morning. It's really important to get all of that cover-up off before you go to sleep because it clogs your pores and just makes the bumps more noticable.

Another great solution is the neutrogena wave, it works wonderfully i used it day and night for a few weeks and noticed my skin was getting way softer.

Use a scrub and a cleanser and that should help. Make sure you drink a lot of water.

well do you remove your make-up at night before showering cause i had the same problem to and all i did was remove my make-up before showering. then,used soap and water when i got done rinsing i pat my pace dry and put some lotion to keep from getting dry skin...**** luck!! [[:.