Alternative Methods to Managing Adult Acne

When I was six months old, my parents took me to an audition for Ivory soap. With my Brooke Shields-like looks, they thought I might be able to become the next Ivory Snow. Unfortunately, every time they put me in the bathtub and lathered me up with bubbly Ivory soap, I cried - bawled, really. My parents couldn't understand it. I was normally such a quiet, well-behaved baby. I was known to vomit without warning, but crying was more of a rarity. My parents apologized to the casting directors, bundled me up, and took me home. Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

Only later did my parents figure out that I was frightfully allergic to soap - Ivory soap to be exact. From that point on, Ivory soap and its imitators, however, became the least of my worries. You see, I've always had superbly sensitive skin. It is prone to redness, acne, sunburn, and any number of afflictions. For a good chunk of my existence, I'd found that anything I put on my face seemed to elicit some sort of negative reaction. For most of adolescence, I suffered through just about every variety of acne breakout that exists. I thought it was just a phase-- a normal, even expected annoyance of being a teenager.

To my sheer and utter disappointment, adulthood brought no mercy to my breakouts. Over the years, I'm sure I've purchased the equivalent of my body weight in concealer. I've also gone through nearly ever over-the-counter acne medication on the market. Nothing really worked, not consistently. Noxzema made me break-out, Oxy medicated pads worked for awhile and then made my skin dry and flaky-which is almost worse than having zits. Drugstore variety Nature's Cure seemed to clear my skin at first. After a few days though, Nature's Cure only succeeded in making my acne migrate farther down my face into the safe zone of my neck. If there's anything worse than a face full of pimples, it's a neck full of weird welts and red spots that won't go away. Ick!

I went to a dermatologist who said that my problems were hormonal. He put me on Retin-A, which worked far better than anything else, but lost its effectiveness over time. I went to a skin care specialist and the woman there refused to give me a facial until my skin cleared up. I was devastated and ashamed. Wasn't she supposed to treat my skin, do 'extractions', and otherwise pamper my face into compliance with the clear-skinned faces of the world? Wasn't that the point?

Part of me felt that I was doomed to have bad skin. That's when I decided that I had to take these face matters into my own hands. It was time for me to save face and feel good about myself again. Traditional methods were obviously not working so I had to decide on alternative approaches to the problem.

Project Save Face, my personal crusade to save my skin from itself, has helped me manage my skin care problems and improve my complexion immensely. What's worked for me? Number one: Proactiv. Yes, it's a mail-order/infomercial/online sort of thing, but it's the original and gosh darn it, it works. It really does, but you have to give it time and you have to be consistent.

I've also resorted to the old 'dry-up zit' standby: a dab of toothpaste. Honest to God, it works. Sugar and oatmeal scrubs, when used once or twice weekly have worked well to exfoliate my skin. Honey-the natural bee antibacterial goo-- helps tremendously with inflammation. A tablespoon or two of basil infused with hot water and made into a strongly-brewed tea has consistently improved my skin and limited my breakouts enormously. Blot basil tea on your face with a cotton ball a few times a day and you'll see improvement. It's now part of my daily skin regimen. Aloe gel from the actual aloe vera plant soothes skin, too. Even odd combinations of ground eggshells mixed with lemon juice have shown promise. Yet, I've found that some things aren't necessarily worth the effort. Have you ever tried to grind eggshells to a fine powder?

The bottom line is: Investigate the methods that work for you and your skin. Everyone is different and there is no cure-all. What works wonders for one person's skin may have no effect whatsoever on another person's skin. It's not your fault or your skin's fault. The best thing to do is be consistent and take care of your skin and your body in the best ways possible. Wash your face with a mild cleanser, limit the products you use (and take notes on any negative reactions), exfoliate twice a week, and moisturize-even if you have oily skin. Additionally, if you take good care of yourself by limiting stress in your life, drinking lots of water, eating healthfully (lots of fruits and vegetables), and supplementing your diet with the skin-friendly Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Zinc, your skin will have no choice by to settle down and put your best face forward.

NATURAL / ALTERNATIVE ACNE AND INFLAMMATION CURES:

*Honey

*Sugar and Oatmeal Scrubs

*Basil Tea Infusion (dabbed onto the face with a cotton ball several times a day.)

*Aloe Vera Gel

*Finely ground eggshells mixed with a drop of lemon juice (if you've got the time to pound eggshells!)

*Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Zinc