Are you someone who struggles with acne?
You are NOT alone! I have been battling acne since I hit puberty. While I was in school, I was able to manage it by seeing a dermatologist. Her solution to the problem was to put me on an oral medication and topical cream. While those did work, insurance didn't always cover the cost and it started to be over $100 for each item for a 1 month supply. CLEARLY, that wasn't cutting it to actually SOLVE the problem! Because of the financial cost of these items, I decided to stop using them and that's when my acne came back with a vengence!
Here was my face while I was trying anything I could find over the counter after stopping the prescriptions.
What is there to do when you cannot afford expensive prescriptions?
After letting my face go for a few years while trying dozens of over the counter options, I still found zero success in fixing my complexion issue. It was evident I needed to try something more as my cheeks starting actually scarring from the acne and causing discoloration. I was so ashamed to have people see my face that I avoided pictures as much as possbile, even though at that time I had our first child. I wanted to take pictures with our son so bad, but I hated anything with my face in it because of how awful it looked.
Myself and our newborn son, now you see why I didn't want pictures taken of me, look at that complexion!
In a last ditch effort to get my face fixed, or as best as I could without medication, I decided to go see an esthetician who specialized in acne. She was extremely affordable and so kind! She gave me SO MANY tips of different foods to avoid, when and how to wash and care for my face properly, and actually took the time to listen to what I had to say! She helped me understand why my face was breaking out so much and what I could do with my every lifestyle to start actually healing my skin!
After a few years of seeing her every 2 weeks, then once a month every month, I had our daughter and didn't have the extra time or money to continue seeing her. I decided to take what I had learned from her and try it again on my own.
My skin without make-up while seeing my esthetician
Going Solo
My esthetician was incredible. The biggest thing I learned from her was that I have very acne prone skin and I needed to avoid certain ingredients that were comedogenic, or things that tend to clog pores which leads to whiteheads, blackheads, and acne. I needed to switch over from regular cows milk to almond milk as much as I could, avoid too much red meat in my diet, and limit my dairy intake. I was shocked to hear that I needed to make those changes as those were foods that were DEFINITELY a big part of my diet! I guess that would be why my face broke out so much!
So on my journey going solo with my complexion, I continued to follow her rules as much as I could and continued to see success with my skin! Then I ran out of the expensive products she had me using and I needed to find an equivilent cleanser, that's where the struggle started back up.
I recalled my former cleanser, from the wonderful esthetician, containing a high amount of benzoyl peroxide in it so I searched for products that had 10%, which is the highest amount you can purchase over the counter without needing a prescription. That's when I found Differin and boy was it a GAME CHANGER!!
During my solo journey before finding Differin
How was Differin different?
As soon as I started using the Differin Acne Face Wash with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide, my acne started drying up! I started noticing less and less breakouts and when I did get one, it went away much faster! However, I needed an additional barrier between my skin and my makeup and that's when I found out that Differin had a cream with even more Benzoyl Peroxide in it. With this stuff a little bit goes a LONG way! I purchased this amazing cream that targets the acne causing source and continued to attack the bacteria in my skin even while I had on concealer. Differin Acne Spot Treatment with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide has been such a game changer!
After several months of using both of these and continuing to see dramatic changes in my complexion, I wanted to start going after the scarring on my cheeks and discoloration that comes with acne and aging. I knew I had been able to trust Differin so I knew that's where I wanted to start looking to see what they had! There it was, the final product that I cannot live without now in my weekly face routine, Differin Face Clay Mask!! At first I didn't know what to expect from it and didn't want to over treat my skin so I was only using it once a week.
Now after using it for a few months, I love the results I see and want to just make them come faster so I may eventually start having perfect skin! I now incorporate the mask 3 days a week like the jar recommends and I'm officially no longer afraid to leave my house without make-up on! I truly never thought this would happen again when I stopped seeing the professional and took over things on my own.
Shortly after finding all 3 Differin products and using them regularly!
How can this pertain to you?
Acne is something that you always think of as annoying when it appears. If you have tried all of the over the counter products, or don't want to waste your time or money trying them all? Then, PLEASE, take the time to try these out, they are truly incredible and may just make you full of all of the self-confidence in your skin!
If you end up trying these, please comment below and tell me how you like them and if you're seeing the same amazing results I have found!
Differin Acne Face Wash with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide - https://amzn.to/4i5z4dm
Differin Acne Spot Treatment with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide - https://amzn.to/3R6kffu
Differin Face Clay Mask - https://amzn.to/3ElBZ3z