How I Cleared My Skin From The Worst Breakout Ever.

Until you have bad skin yourself you don't realise just how much of a negative impact it can have on your confidence. I would wake up every morning and one of the first things I would do is touch my skin to see if I had another new breakout, it actually makes me so sad when I think about how much of an impact it had!

It was last September that my skin started to take a turn for the worse, I've never been blessed with a naturally glowing, clear complexsion, but nothing like the breakouts I randomly started getting. I'm counting my lucky stars because since the new year (fingers crossed) my skin has been so much better, and I'm pretty sure I can pin point certain changes I've made that have made a huge difference. If you're squeamish when it comes to talking spots/ blackheads then click away now, (although I'm quite squeamish so don't expect too many graphic deets). Anyway, here's how I managed to clear my skin from the most horrendous breakout I've ever had - ever.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES
It's all well and good raving about skincare, but little changes to my diet have actually made quite a big difference. I think the main thing was cutting out diet coke, as soon as I stopped drinking it I noticed my skin slowly clearing of big, inflamed blemishes (you know the under the skin, painful sore spots- niceeeee). I don't know what's in it, but when I think about it my skin started to get bad as soon as I started drinking it on a regular occasion. Another thing I stopped was drinking alcohol (not all together, I definitely a drink too much), less of the odd prosecco in the evenings and my skin is thanking me for it.

Annoyingly, I'm a picker, which made my skin issues 100x worse. I just couldn't help myself and seeing any blemish on my skin with a head was a big no. One day I just told myself I had to stop, not only was I spreading the bacteria to different areas of my skin, the blemishes just weren't clearing because I was constantly making them worse. If you do pick your spots like me I highly recommend the Mario Badescu drying lotion, not only as a way to clear the blemishes but to also stop you from picking them. I still get the odd blemish now but instead of picking it I will apply this which has pretty much solve the habit and need to pick!

A few other things that I try to do is not touch my face, wash my hands regularly, wipe my phone after I use it and change my pillow covers as often as possible. I think all the little things add up!

Onto skincare... Honestly skincare is my new fave, I used to be makeup obsessed - which I definitely still am compared to the average Joe, but skincare is my true love. The Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser has been a little life saver, a gel cleanser is perfect because it's amazing at cleansing the skin without stripping it of any moisture, which is the last thing you need when your skin is misbehaving. I'm about to go onto my 3rd bottle and I'm not looking back. Another product I introduced into my routine is a toner, I was using the Pixi Glow Tonic but I've recently switched to the REN Glow Tonic* and I love it (really not just saying that - it's the real deal and my skin has never looked so glowy... Do still love Pixi version and it is slightly cheaper). I feel like it manages to get every last scrap of makeup off my skin and prepare it for the more intensive skincare products.

I've been loving Nadine Baggot's YouTube videos and recently she posted one with Sam and Nick (Pixiwoos) and she spoke about the important of having hyaluronic acid in your routine, regardless of skin type. I've tried a few from different brands but my favourite that I've continued to use is the La Roche Posay B5 serum*. This is the only serum I've noticed a real difference with. My skin is feeling and looking nourished and hydrated, regardless of the fact it's winter which usually leaves my skin feeling tight and looking a little flat.

I have a love hate relationship with the next product, the Sunday Riley U.F.O oil*. This has made a difference to my complexsion overall in terms of blackheads and smaller blemishes. I hate it because of the price, but, having said that it is an oil so does last much longer than serums and moisturisers, I've been using it every evening for around 3 months now and it looks as though it's barely been used. I think if you do have only skin and you're looking to invest then this would be something good to consider.

Lastly another tip from Nadine that I've taken on board is to avoid using moisturiser in the centre of my face. I cannot believe that this has actually worked. For the past two months I've been only applying moisturiser on my cheeks and forehead and the rest of my skin hasn't missed it at all. I think it's really helped clear the congested skin around my nose and as a result my skin looks clearer. My all time favourite moisturiser is the Kiehl's Ultra Facial cream, however I have been using the Antipodes Vanilla Pod day cream* for the days when I feel like my skin needs a little more hydration and it's definitely a little more rich and perfect for my skin during the colder months. Keeping my skin hydrated has been a massive help when it comes to controlling blemishes and breakouts, I used to use so many drying products and if anything it just made my skin even worse. The only drying product I use now is the drying lotion, and because it's such a direct treatment the rest of my skin that's clear isn't affected!

I hope if like me you get the occasional breakout or are going through a rough patch with your skin this has been helpful!

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