Advice on facial skin care?

Basically, in high school I had some acne but it wasn't too bad and I'm still alive from it. In senior year and my freshman year of college, my skin cleared up and it was great! Now, it has been a year since then and my acne has come back. I wake up in the morning and i have some white heads, red/brown spots (i think they're called acne pigment scars- i've been doing research) on my cheeks and chin.





My regimen goes like: once morning, once at night


-neutrogena oil free acne wash


-olay regenerist micro sculpting cream





every night I have been alternating with Julep mint masque and the proactiv refining mask





Anything I should add or substitute? I just started with the masks and i used to use aveeno something moisturizer for a few months and nothing good really came out of it so i switched.





any good tips would be helpful too!Advice on facial skin care?
-Change your pillowcase often if you sleep with your cheek pressed to the pillow throughout the night: you won't believe how much bacteria and oil can settle on your pillowcase over the course of the week, that just ends up rubbing right back onto your face and creating more acne. It's better to just sleep on your back, though I'll admit I miss sleeping on my side. It's way more comfortable. :(





-Drink a lot of water. I thought it was just another stupid myth when people said that it helped to drink water, but really, it does help. It flushes out a lot of impurities within your body and leaves you feeling fresh. :)





-Hmm, I'm not sure about what medication you should be using since it varies from person to person. What might be good for one person might not be good for another person. I found, for example, that Neutrogena often dries up my face. :( But my skin might just be sensitive.





-Visit a dermatologist and see what they have to say! :) They'll be able to provide you with far more beneficial information than anyone on Yahoo! Answers can!





Good luck!Advice on facial skin care?
i think you're doing a great job seems like you're really caring for your skin. fresh fruit and vegetables and also fish are very good for your skin and improve the quality.


best tip i've heard: moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!
1. You might want to test the products that you been using or added


to your daily routine because maybe one of the products is breaking


your skin out again.





2. Make an appointment with a dermatologist if you keep


having problems.
Minocycline may work. It is a medication that kills acne-causing bacteria. It works from the inside, not the outside like lotions do. You need a prescription from a dermatologist, though. I used to use it for five years. But my acne is very severe, so I had to switch to something stronger.


If your skin is oily (like mine is), you may want to use oil-free wipes every once in a while throughout the day when your skin gets extra oily. That might help decrease the build up of oils on your face so your acne isn't as bad.


Drinking lots and lots of water usually works. One time, I drank water nonstop and my acne was cleared up! Don't drink too much water though; that's not good for you. Just drink a bit more than the recommended eight-8 ounce glasses per day.


I heard that mud masks, like those you get at spas, really help get rid of acne, including acne on your back and neck, too. I'm pretty sure you can buy a tube of the mud mask in stores, just like you can buy mint julep masques.


Putting a little toothpaste (just a little!) on some of your pimples before going to sleep at night will help dry up the pimples, therefore speeding up the healing time. Don't put too much on, though: I did that once and I woke up and my face felt too dry and like it was burning. Just put a little bit on.


Make sure to change your pillowcase every 2, 3, or 4 nights because oil and dry skin get absorbed into it (ewww!!), which can cause acne or worsen existing blemishes. Also, wipe off your cell phone and house phone with some cleaner and a cloth since there's oil build-up on them. Avoid touching your face. Keep your hair out of your face.





Hope this helped!
I personally hated Proactive! I tried it 3 times and it never worked, only made things worse!





I use Cetaphil skin cleanser morning and night (in the morning I use it with a facial loofah for some light exfoliation)





Then I use either green tea (great for irritated skin), or 1 part apple cider vinegar to 8 parts distilled water (good for keeping skin clear), or Alba hibiscus facial toner (very refreshing), depending on what I'm dealing with.





Spot treatments- Dip q-tip into some organic apple cider vinegar and soak pimple overnight....or...


Burt's Bee's herbal blemish stick w/ tea tree oil





Julep mint masque works good too, but if you use it too much you'll irritate your skin too much and the breakouts will be more constant. Give your skin time to heal and rest from all the masques.





Exfoliation-- about once or twice a week use about a teaspoon of sugar mixed with a little bit of warm water in your palm and scrub your face GENTLY until the sugar dissolves.





Moisturizer-- Every so often you can dip a cotton ball into some skim milk and use it as a moisturizing toner.


For everyday moisture however, I recommend Cetaphil lotion (my dermatologist recommended it to me years ago and I'm sticking to it. I love the stuff.)
I've been trying more natural products on my face lately and I've noticed a pretty big improvement in my skin. It's much more consistently clear now that I'm using less chemical filled products, especially watch out for things with sulfates, they are very drying.





I've been using the Burts Bees tomato complexion soap, witch hazel for a toner and to soak up excess oil, and Cetaphil daily lotion with some jojoba oil mixed in.





The witch hazel has been especially effective though at clearing up breakouts but not drying out my combination skin.
You may be doing too much to your skin and causing an irritation type of acne. Some time's a little is better then a lot.





I've only had acne two times in my life. Once when I moved to Colorado and my skin was overly dry. I had to make sure not to ';over mask my face.';





The other time was when I was pregnant and nothing seemed to work. I tried every expensive type of facial skin care regimens you can think of. Out of desperation I went into an Ulta store and talked to a cosmotologist and she said that she had the same problem. Her dermatologist told her to stop everything and just use Oil of Olay gental foaming face wash and the original daily lotion. She said this worked and she has never changed her skin care since. I also tried this and it worked and it's been 4 years and my skin is great. I did however change to the facial cloth because it does exfoliate for you as well so you can do the mask less often.





Maybe trying less chemical on your face will help you too. Good luck