I've had mild to moderate acne since I was a teenager. I'm almost 30 years old. I have been using salicylic acid (BHA) and benzoyl peroxide (BP) a few times a week for a long time with no success in clearing my face completely. I also tried Differin, a retinoid meant for acne, for 3-4 weeks and it made my face explode with acne, not only because it made my skin purge, but because I had to stop using BHA. It turned out BHA wasn't getting me clear, but it was helping me cut down on the AMOUNT of breakouts I got. So when I stopped it, I broke out A LOT. I wasn't happy about that, so tried alternating nights with Differin and BHA unsuccessfully. Then I tried everything together: Differin at night with BP to spot treat, and BHA in the morning. My skin freaked out and became hard as a rock with a texture like sandpaper. I had to stop everything for two weeks for it to calm down.
This time I'm going to try a treatment of BHA and BP again, but I will be more consistent with it. I will use 2%BHA nightly, leave it on for 20 minutes, rinse it off, moisturize and then spot treat with BP. In the morning ill just wash my face with an acne cleanser or regular cleanser only if feel I need to, otherwise ill just splash with water. Then its moisturizer, sunscreen and makeup.
Makeup wise, I stopped using The Balm Bahama Mama, because no matter how much I love it, it was defenetively breaking me out in painful bumps and whiteheads. I've switched to The Balm Tony Bronzer and LA Girl Concealer in Toast for the time being, and if that causes me problems ill have to switch it up again. I would probably try next the Maybelline Better Skin Powder in a dark color, because I use that as powder foundation withouth problems, or a concealer in a dark color, maybe the Maybelline Better Skin kind, or the Loreal True Match.
