My Acne Journey

I wanted to start off my blog by showing and telling you all about my acne journey. Its something that I have struggled with in my life and the main reason I became an esthetician is because I wanted to learn how to get rid of my acne! Then I began to realize that I really enjoyed learning about the skin and I could use the things I learned to help others overcome their acne struggles. That's the reason this website is here, and I hope that my tips and my advice helps you!

So to start off my story, basically in my early teens I never had bad acne.. I never wore makeup, and the idea of a skin care routine was completely foreign to me. I would use a cleanser and a moisturizer but that's all. Half the time I wouldn't even remember to wash my face! It wasn't until I was around 15 that my acne started to appear.

It started off as a pimple here and there, and it honestly never bothered me. I kept doing what I was doing, and I didn't think much about it.

Then my acne became worse and worse, to the point I never went without makeup. I hated how sore and terrible my skin looked and I needed to find something to get rid of my acne.

The first thing I did was oil cleansing... I used jojoba oil as a cleanser and used essential oils. I was in a "clear skin course" that I paid for that supposedly taught you how to naturally overcome acne. Oil cleansing was awful. It made my skin even more inflamed. But the teacher of my course reassured me it would improve and my skin would go through a "purge" before it got better. LIES! I continued doing this for about a month not knowing what else to do. Until my skin looked like this:

Once I got to this point I completely stopped oil cleansing. I knew there was no way this would work for me. Don't get me wrong, using oils to remove makeup is fine, but using an oil as a face wash was KILLING my skin.

I started doing research. I learned the science behind cleansers, toners, serums, etc.

I decided that I would learn everything I could and find a routine that actually helped me on my own.

I started using a cleanser with benzoyl peroxide, and I bought and tried soooo many different things to help with my scarring, redness, blackheads, everything.

My skin started looking better! It was finally showing some signs of improvement.

Over time and experimenting with different products, I finally found a routine that works for me.

The ingredients in your skincare are SO important! It can be hard to know what to use in this day and time because there are so many options. That confused me for a while. But now its gotten to the point where I can know whether something will break me out just by looking at the ingredients.

So here's my final top tips that helped me in my journey that can help you in yours!

1. Examine your skin care product ingredients. Google each ingredient if you have to! Ingredients are key to how your skin reacts.

2. Never go days without washing your face with a good cleanser. That's very important!

3. Hormones. A hormone imbalance can seriously mess up your skin. I use something called Progessence Plus by Young Living. Find something to help you if you think your acne is hormone related.

4. Stick to a routine! Once you find what works, stick to it! Changing things around too often can lead to breakouts.

5. Don't give up! It may seem like you will have acne forever, but trust me you won't. If you find what works for your skin it can heal. I will be making lots of videos and scheduling skin appointments in the future as well. If you need help finding a routine, I will be here for you! :)

If you have any questions please email me: katelynnerebekah@gmail.com