*Disclaimer: I am no skin guru and it's taken me a long time to get to where I am now with my skin. If you have problem skin, I would recommend you visit your dermatologist and let them guide you accordingly.
I've been dealing with acne since I was about thirteen or fourteen. I was fine, then I got my period (late bloomer) and wam bam out of nowhere comes these horrendous things on my face and neck and chest and it got even worse, it left marks whether I squeezed them or not! I tried everything I could dream of, every time I saw my aunties it was black soap, sulfur soap (ew and VERY drying). I tried proactive, but my skin was so sensitive I had a burn bruise from the astringent. I stopped biting my nails (mainly cause braces), I tried to keep my hands off my face, I moisturized and my skin just DIDN'T care. Puberty hit me like a big truck and my skin did NOT care that I was trying to take care of it, it did what it wanted to.
Fast forward to 2014, nineteen years old, I got my first job in customer service. You know how hard it is to get people to take you serious when your face is acne ridden?? There were always questions or threats about my age and my competency all because I had a spattering of marks across my face. I drank water, infused lemon water tried new things, tried Pinterest tutorials with face masks (don't do this). Everything I could think of.
In 2019 at twenty three, I started birth control as per the recommendation of my doctor to control my hormonal imbalance, nothing strong just a low dosage. Nothing really changed. That summer I flew to the US and went state hopping. As a joke I signed up for this online derm who was available for online calls or walk ins and she was doing limited free consultations over Skype (I do NOT remember her name but she was SO nice). She literally recommended the same birth control I am on and said give it time to work and invest in a simple skin line and suggested Clearasil stubborn acne control line. I bought the exfoliating wash (its gentle), the daily pads and the spot treatment and I use it every day (When I can lol). Another major adjustment I made was my diet. One major diet change was choosing ro stop drinking full cream milk and switching to almond milk, I drink filtered water as opposed to tap water and I try to eat as clean as possible and moderate my junk food.
I started all this in August of 2019 and a year later my skin is relatively clearer and while I am still tackling the spots only face, the combination of balanced hormones, a somewhat regular skincare routine and a change in diet has helped improve the appearance of my face and my skin.
ROUTINE
While I don't really stick to my routine as I should (which is bad, don't be like me), I'm always trying to steam my face and keep it clean as possible. Something I've maintained since I was a teenager that hasn't changed is using Simple's moisturizer with SPF15 on a daily basis. It is light on my skin and because I really don't use too much it lasts me pretty long. Below I've haphazardly combined what my routine can look like on a day to day basis.
On a morning I wash my face with Cerave Hydrating Facial Cleanser (when I shower) then I do my hair, after I do my hair I use a Clearasil Stubborn Acne Control 5n1 Daily Pad on my face to get any hair product off my face (this is just a thing that happens because of how much hair product I might use) then I'd use my Simple Kind to Skin Protecting Light Moisturizer SPF 15 on my face and leave for the day.
When I get home (from work or 'school'), most times around 5pm I use a Clearasil Stubborn Acne Control 5n1 Daily Pad to refresh my face and do some homework or my chores or just begin to prepare for the next day. By the time bedtime rolls around, I take a shower and either I use the Cerave Hydrating Facial Cleanser or Clearasil Stubborn Acne Control 5n1 Exfoliating Wash, usually I alternate it. (Once upon a time I needed to exfoliate everyday twice a day but my skin is behaving now, so we're at once every other day preferably at night) Post shower I use Clearasil Stubborn Acne Control 5n1 Spot Treatment Cream to tackle budding breakouts and spots on my face.
I would like to introduce serums and a proper mud mask to my routing because I have combination skin, but I'm incredibly cautious about what I use on my skin because of how sensitive it can be so research alone takes me months and then I buy, do a spot check and once my skin doesn't react after a week of that spot check, I'll try it on my face. One day, slowly but surely.
*Disclaimer: I am no skin guru and it's taken me a long time to get to where I am now with my skin. If you have problem skin, I would recommend you visit your dermatologist and let them guide you accordingly.