New Skin Care Routine

If there was one thing I could change about my appearance, it would definitely be my skin. It seems like I've been struggling with acne for as long as I can remember. Or more realistically, since I was about 11. It was around that time that most of my peers were discovering how much appearance mattered, especially for girls. I watched many of my friends struggle with their body shape but my insecurities revolved around the pimples that popped up in the most obvious places, an affliction I alone seemed to have. At least at that age.

After a few years of battling my skin with over-the-counter products, my mom took me to the dermatologist. Since then, I've been devotedly following a regimen that slightly adjusted and updated every few years when new pills, creams, and topical gels arrive on the market. I am now 26, and nothing has really given me the results I've been hoping for.

Most recently, I've been using a combination of a benzoyl peroxide cream during the day, a tretinoin gel at night, and a birth control pill that is supposed to decrease acne. I use Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser to wash my face twice a day. I also wear minimal makeup and have tried numerous moisturizers or no moisturizer at all (the moisturizer doesn't make much difference).

Within the past week, I've started taking a skin, hair, and nails multivitamin, a probiotic, and omega-3. I've also started using  sunflower seed oil after I wash my face in the morning, an idea I got from an article about the Oil Cleansing Method on Crunchy Betty.

Today I was looking at some honey in my kitchen and thought I remembered something about honey face masks being good for acne so I went on the internet and found this lovely piece from Laurel of Leaves. I suddenly felt all motivated and optimistic about the possibility of maybe, once in my adult life, having good skin.

I decided to start out as simply as possible and create a two-product routine. I'm cutting out all the products I've been using - even my regular cleanser. Instead I'll be applying honey to my face half an hour before I shower in the morning. When I rinse it off in the shower, I'll consider my face to be ready for the day and won't use any other washes, creams, or moisturizers. In the evening, I'll use the sunflower seed oil to wash off whatever make-up I've had on. That's it.

After two weeks, I'll assess how my skin is doing. Different products have, in the past, either made my skin very oily, or very dry. I'm going to resist using a moisturizer for the first two weeks to see if my skin can finally balance itself.

Today is my first day of this experiment. I have done the honey mask so far and nothing else. After my shower, my skin felt smooth, but after an hour or so, it had gotten a little dry.

Here's how my skin looked today after the honey:

Note the giant, boil-like zit on my neck.

So, does my new skin care routine seem like a good idea? Does anyone have experience using honey or the oil cleansing method?

I'll keep you updated on my progress.