let's talk about acne, friends.

I'm eighteen years old, with raging hormones and an affinity for ice cream and chocolate; so I'm bound to break out. I'm OK with this, I'm not looking to have radiantly flawless skin, where's the fun in that? But I have devised a little method of dealing with those angry red buggers we are all so fond of. And that is simplicity.
   My acne used to really get to me, it seemed as though all of my friends had beautiful skin while I was suffering away, killing my actually not so bad face with salic acid, benzoyl peroxide and a whole smattering of other terrible chemicals. And after spending loads of money at the drug store on products that promised to give me relief from my pimples, I ended up with skin more dry and irritated than I started with, and out of frustration, I would load up on concealer and foundations before leaving the house which only exacerbated the problem.
  So I in my mid teens I asked my mom what I should do, she was so wonderfully sympathetic and helpful because she had the same problem when she was my age. After assuring me my skin was not unusual, or even all that bad, she gave me the best advice I have gotten regarding my skin. And that is the gentler and more natural the product, the less likely it was to irritate her skin, and that the same is probably true for me. So after experimenting with all kinds of facial washes and moisturizers for sensitive skin I found the two that work best for me. They are the Neutrogena all natural facial cleansing bar, and the Neutrogena oil free facial moisturizer.

  These are nice and gentle, and don't irritate my skin at all. I'm one of those lucky gals who gets to deal with combination skin, where patches are absurdly oily, and others are horribly dry so it's really hard to find a moisturizer that can help out my dry patches, but not make my oily skin go crazy.
This one seems to do the trick nicely though.

  While I have gotten my skin under control, I still have break outs. Hormones are hormones and no matter how great your skin care routine is, so if your prone to getting pimples, they will come no matter how expensive your moisturizer is. But when I wake up with a particularly vengeful patch of skin I have a few methods of handling it.
  Today, as I am approaching my beloved lady time, I woke up with a horribly irritated patch of skin, as insanely hard as it is for me to not pick at it and squeeze until the day is done, I tried to resist while I stirred up this concoction.
  I use this puppy when my skin is dry and irritated, it is so soothing and cooling, and my skin really appreciates the pampering.  I start with plain organic yogurt, it's loaded with zinc which unhappy skin craves, you only need about a tablespoon. Then I grab some carrot juice, but make sure the only ingredient on the list is carrots, it will give your skin antioxidants as well as vitamin A and C. I just pour in a little splash until I like the consistency, but I'd say it's about a half of a tablespoon.

  And the final ingredient is honey. About another half tablespoon, honey is decadently moisturizing and feels so soothing on your skin. So just stir up the honey, yogurt and carrot juice until it's not too runny and using a cotton ball, smooth it over your skin patting a little extra onto particularly dry or irritated spots. Then I just leave it on about as long as it takes me to leisurely flip through a magazine or cook book, then rinse it off, pat your skin dry, and moisturize as usual. This does wonders for my skin, so I couldn't keep it to myself!
  If you're suffering from less than perfect skin, try out a more gentle and natural battle plan, it certainly did incredible things for me. It's tough having acne, but it's perfectly normal. Drink lots of water, wear a sunscreen every time you're outside, and relax. Stressing out about it will only make it worse, I promise you that the people worth having around are not bothered by how your skin looks. And as tough as it is to keep in mind, just remember that this too, shall pass.
  All the love in the world,
  Paige.