acne / skin update

(this is a long post) As some of you may know, I suffer from acne (I really hate that word, but spots seems too forgiving) and in January, after 3 years of my skin being really awful, I finally went to see the Doctor and got prescribed Zineryt. It's been three months now and the changes to my skin have been immense. I thought I'd talk about what products I've used (I've tried so many) that have actually worked for me, and I would recommend to anyone with similar skin problems.

As a teenager I didn't really have bad skin until college, I think this is the 'discover make up' issue. In high school, I didn't wear makeup, know anything about make up or even really think about it and my skin was fine, maybe the odd spot or two now and then. Then I discovered youtube, and blogging, and make up and delved in. I'm not saying that was the only factor, but it was probably a contributing one. When I was in college, my skin started to go a bit mad and my spots were getting more frequent, weren't going away as fast and were leaving behind awful red scars (which is mostly what I suffer from now, the scarring) In the past two years it has been at it's worse and in January my mum persuaded me to go to see the doctor and see if they could prescribe anything. I was prescribed Zineryt:

Zineryt solution contains two active ingredients, erythromycin and zinc acetate.

Erythromycin is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. It works by attacking the bacteria associated with acne, Propionibacterium acnes. This is a common type of bacteria that feeds on sebum produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. It produces waste products and fatty acids that irritate the sebaceous glands, making them inflamed and causing spots.

Erythromycin prevents these bacteria from producing proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, replicate and increase in numbers. Erythromycin doesn't directly kill the bacteria, but leaves them unable to increase in numbers. The remaining bacteria eventually die or are destroyed by the immune system.

By controlling bacterial numbers, erythromycin brings the inflammation of the sebaceous glands under control, and allows the skin to heal.

Zinc preparations have traditionally been used for their skin healing properties. In this preparation, zinc is used in the form of zinc acetate because this combines with the erythromycin to form a chemical complex which is efficiently absorbed into the skin.

It comes in a small bottle, and you apply it to your face morning and night. I am onto my second bottle but after this one I will be returning to the doctor for a check up to see weather I should continue onto a third bottle, or a different treatment. The next step would be a pill version, but since I cannot swallow pills.. that's pretty much out for me which is really annoying. However my skin has changed so much since using the Zineryt, and the products I'm going to mention in a moment that maybe I wont need anything else

I apologise for the image below, I no more want to show you my face in this state then you want to see it, but you can really see such a difference. Now I didn't have a close up of my face now and that second image is a little forgiving but my skin is really pretty clear now and my foundation fully covers the scarring where as before throughout the day the redness would come through. for the past few weeks I have only been wearing the GOSH BB cream, instead of a foundation, which is something I would never of done before because the acne and scarring was so bad.  I know it's easy to want to just cover everything up, but it's important to not wear make up as often, or as much as you do while using acne treatments because the make up may have contibuting factors to your skin, and gonig a little while without make up to mean you dont have to wear make up is worth it to me.

The difference in my skin with no makeup whatsoever from October 2012 - March 2013

My skin is still not perfect, and I still have days where I think 'wow, my skin is disgusting' but more often now I think 'that's okay, it looks pretty normal' I still have a little way to go before I'm happy to bare my face around town but I'm well on my way. (I will try to take a better picture of my 'now' skin for a final skin update post later in the year) So now, onto the products that I reccomend.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and Mat. If you read the description of the Zineryt then you will see that it mentions that my type of acne starts in the sebum glands, and the Effaclar products are designed to reduce the production of sebum. I can honestly say this is the best skin product I have ever been able to buy from a highstreet store. I will be repurchasing this over and over.

Claudalie Day Perfecting Fluid SPF15*  I have been using this for quite a long time now, at first I used it every day, now I use it aout twice a week, for no other reason then I'm running out now. It is a skin coloured moisturiser feeling procuct that blends into the skin transparent, It works for dark spots and acne scarring and is 62x more effective then vitamin C, so it's perfect for your skin! It's worked wonders on my acne scarring, but it's not a miracle worker, it's a slow process.

Hydraluron,* I have only had this product for one week, but I am so impressed I am mentioning it now.

• Reinforces skin’s natural moisturization
• Plumps skin tissue to restore elasticity and firmness.
• Increases cell turnover resulting in visibly radiant and youthful skin.
• Reduces skin roughness giving a smooth and silky texture to the skin.
• Boosts the action of other skin care treatments by stimulating cell turnover to provide optimal penetration of actives.

It feels like a hand sanitizer, that wet, gel like consistancy. really nice cooling effect on the skin, I apply this to my face before I start using anything (after my zineryt though) Then after I've let it sink in I apply my moisturiser and i've noticed - especially when I use it before bed - that my skin just feels so much more healthy, it's hard to describe but you may of seen me mention on twitter a while ago that my face feels dry within hours of applying a moisturiser? Well not any more, it really does do what it says it does. My moisturiser seems to reach further under my skin and my face feels plumper (in a good way) and alot less dry. I'm so impressed.

Nspa Melting Gel Cleanser, this is my facewash love. It's a gorgeous smelling, pink gel that you smooth over your make up, and then use water to turn it into a milky consistancy. It melts off your makeup leaving your skin smooth, clean and amazing. Also from what I've read about the Clarins Melting Gel, they're practicaly the same (though this smells way better) and for £6 it's a steal, I'm on my third bottle now.

Nspa Nigt Repair Cream, I really do love this brand, this night cream I have repurchsed twice and I have talked about it countless times, the smell, texture and effect it has on my skin, I can't fault it. I apply this before I go to sleep (hence night cream) and just wake up to the best skin. Please go and buy this, you will love it!

This post wouldn't be complete if I didnt mention the No7 Cleansing Brush* I use this 6 times a week and it has made washing my face and getting the dirt out of my pores so much easier and quicker. I'm awful at exfoliating and this does it for me with the touch of a button. It really is a skin saviour and you can see my review on it if you click here.

These are my top favourite products that have helped my skin clear up but mostly if you are getting to the end of your teather, I would fully reccomend going to see a doctor about it! If you have any questions or skin reccomendations, please do comment below!

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