A Tale of Two Zits [Plus Many, Many More]

A friend asked the other day, "Raquel, do you mind if I ask what you have been using for your skin? It looks really clear." Wow.... It's still great for someone to notice my clearer skin, even if I do have some acne scarring to heal. In this post, I would like to share a few pictures and comments about my "journey" with acne and what I've done to bring it this far.

Here is a recent picture of my face:

In this photograph, you can see a clear forehead, nose, and left cheek. On the right cheek and chin, you can see some spots and redness. These are acne scars; thankfully, they are no longer active acne zones! At the end of this post, I will share my plans going forward to work with these acne scars.

Disclaimer: Lack of Pictures

I am surprised that I do not have many pictures to show the full extent of my tale with acne. In middle school and high school, I took many photographs, but do not have many of myself. The acne has been camouflaged in many other photographs by the lighting or the angle. Because I have such an inadequate stock of pictures to share my story-- please believe my words.

A Tale of Two Zits

Middle school is when it all started.... My bubble forehead started seeing a pimple pop up here and a zit situate itself there. These pimples were large, painful, and extremely inflamed pores. They were the kind that would throb if accidentally poked or touched.

I could not understand why I had acne. My diet was mostly homemade-mom's-cooking and cafeteria food. I did not drink sodas and drank mostly water. I was active in excerise, running track, jumping hurdles, and lifting weights. I washed my face, maintained good hygiene, and yet nothing seemed to help. I was told my father had terrible acne as a teenager and into his 20's. I resigned myself to the fact that my acne was a result of genetics and that *nothing* could help.

And Nothing Did

My forehead was a mess. I tried almost every over the counter acne medicine in many different forms available at the time. I tried different lotions, bars, spot treatments, morning/daily washes-- even toothpaste. It was a no-go.

I thought perhaps I should see a dermatologist or try prescribed acne medicine. My family nor I could afford the expense, however, so I learned to be content in my skin.

The First Lesson I Learned About Having Acne Really Bad Acne

Resigned that I would have to "wait out" my acne for clearer skin, I choose not to dwell on it. Of course, I still maintained good personal hygiene and skin care. At the same time, often I would not look directly at my acne in the mirror. I did not try to cover it up with powder or make-up, and I did not make apologies for a "gross" face. When little children would ask what all the "bo-bos" on my face were from, I would gently reply that they were part of growing up for some people.

I have always been a rather confident gal, also. With all my confidence, I rarely remembered my acne when I was out and about. I felt confident in myself and in my achievements. I knew that a temporary (or what I hoped would be temporary) skin issue would not affect my ability to do well in school and in life. A smile always made the acne less apparent, in my opinion.

Then I moved....

From Texas to Idaho, my family packed up and moved. My acne cleared up very quickly. This picture is the best I have to show that my face was clear.

Washing my first car! A 1981 Honda Civic hatchback

I thought the change in my skin must have been the cleaner air of Idaho or the water without all the limestone of Austin, Texas or something related to the different location. I was happy with clear skin, finishing my last few months of high school, transcribing radio programs for a little money, and planning for college.

A Little Bit Here and There

Toward the end of my 6 months in Idaho, I started having some acne showing up on my chin. I thought the stress of getting college figured out, packing up to move back to Texas for college, and leaving my family at 18 was causing the breakouts on my chin.

At my going away party June of 2011.

As you can see in the picture above, the acne was gone from my forehead, and a little redness from a few pimples was on my chin. I thought my face was pretty much clear from here on out....

The Return with a Vengeance

Was it the change in climate? Was it the pollution of Houston? Was it the stress? My acne came back with fiery red vengeance-- but not on my forehead. The acne returned on my chin and cheeks, especially my right cheek.

I noticed that my acne was now going in a "V" shape from one cheek to my chin to the other cheek. As I looked this acne up, I realized I was dealing with a different kind of acne from my first bout as a teenager. These acne could become large and painful, but that was rare. They were mostly several small to medium, angry red blemishes that would appear on my face.

The Second Lesson I Learned About Having Acne Really Bad Acne

From eighth grade to senior year of high school, I dealt with one kind of acne. After a six month reprieve of all acne, I dealt with a "V" shaped-- and much angrier, though less painful-- kind of acne. There are different kinds of acne. If you have acne, research how your skin feels, what patterns you see in your acne ("T" shaped, "V" shaped, on sides of face/temples, etc), what the acne looks like, and the like. Having the information about your skin will give you an advantage when determining your course of treatment.

Changes in Views on Skin Care Products-- Third Lesson

After living in self-sufficient Idaho and becoming more and more interested in the natural lifestyle, my views on what products I put on my skin began to change. I no longer wanted to put chemicals on my face that might solve one problem but cause another. I started looking for natural treatments for acne. For many months, I used only soap because I could not find any other "clean" skin care products at an affordable price.

With my then-husband-to-be. You can see the acne on my face.
In a color photograph, you could have seen the glaring red dots all over my face.

Three Natural Treatments that Turned Things 'Round

Sometimes I would actively look for treatments. Many times, I would just wash my face with soap and water. (Remember that confidence lesson I learned?) Some natural treatments I tried included: apple cider vinegar, honey, and egg whites. Though I had a good response from my skin with these treatments, I did not see a significant improvement in my acne.

Diatomaceous Earth

The first natural treatment I tried that actually worked was diatomaceous earth. Food grade diatomaceous earth (D.E.) is rich in silica, which is an important trace element necessary for mineral absorption among other things. You can read more about the health benefits of D.E. at Earth Works Health here and here. I read that D.E. could help clear up acne on the skin, and so I tried it....

In order to treat my face with D.E., I would mix about a tablespoon of D.E. with just a few dribbles of water to make a paste. Having already rinsed my face with water, I smeared the D.E. as a mask over my face (avoiding the eyes, nostrils, and mouth). I let the mask sit for about ten minutes, or until it was dry. I then rinsed my face with warm water, and patted my face dry.

Zac joined me one day, as I finally convinced him it was working with my results!

My skin did begin to clear up, but I continued to have several outbreaks of two or three pimples at a time in a month. My skin was also still very red. I also noticed less white heads and inflamed pimples and more black heads while using the D.E.

Eating Changes

I also started eating differently than I once ate. I did not eat white breads or white flours. Although I love bread in general, I started limiting my indulgence in bread items like biscuits and pancakes. I ate a lot of vegetables and fruit, peanut butter :-), a smaller portion of meat, and limited my processed food intake as much as possible. I rarely ate out, and I rarely bought food items from the aisles in the grocery stores. I know that these eating changes did affect my acne because when I would have to eat fast food or processed foods for lunch every day for a week, for example, my acne would flare up.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Sparingly, I will use hydrogen peroxide with a persistent pimple or with an area that seems to be working on a pimple. This article is not very thorough, but it does contain some information about the advantages and disadvantages of using hydrogen peroxide. This article is a bit more indepth about using hydrogen peroxide to treat acne. My acne definitely began to clear up even more, as I used hydrogen peroxide strategically. Upon application of the hydrogen peroxide with a q-tip, I noticed my skin would be whitened in that area. After a few minutes, the skin tone returned.

On our honeymoon, as you can see, my face was not nearly as red.
I also only had one pimple at the time on my left cheek. The rest of my face was acne scars.

Moving Forward

To further improve my skin from the scarring of the acne and the damage to my skin tone, I plan to use baking soda as an abrasive, honey as a softer, and lemon juice as a toner. I also will continue to use D.E., unless I notice it giving me more black heads. As I see the results in my skin (hopefully progress), I will update the blog.

I hope your tale of two zits is a successful journey to skin healing! If you like, you may share or provide a link to share in the comments below.

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel