There are breakouts, and then there are
breakouts so bad that make me, a grown
woman, literally hide under a blanket. The
latter happened over a month ago and, as
much as I'm here for the growing skin
positivity movement, I have to admit my
confidence hit an all-time low. I cancelled
plans. I stared unhealthily often at a mirror,
examining the damage: a colony of
seemingly multiplying cystic zits invaded
my chin and jawline like never before.
How did I get here?
Actually, the answer to that is easy: work
stress, late nights, junk food, my insatiable
sweet tooth, not drinking enough water —
around the holiday season I really gave no
f*cks. It just all caught up to me. But, I was
determined to do everything I possibly
could to clear it up–fast.
I pulled out all the stops and created a
super-regimen that ended up actually
working for me. While there is no such
thing as a quick fix for acne (it's all about
getting treated by a dermatologist, eating
healthy, and having a lot of patience),
ahead are all the steps I incorporated into
my routine that made the biggest
difference.
Lists

1. I Quit Dairy Ugh , I know . This is the first piece of advice
every dermatologist, esthetician, and
nutritionist has told me time and time
again, yet I've resisted. I'm aware that
dairy is known to cause inflammation and
increased sebum production, but I just love
cheese (and ice cream, and milk chocolate)
so damn much, okay? Because I was at my
most desperate, I decided to swallow my
cravings and go dairy-free for a very doable
three weeks. After just one week into the
experiment, my cystic bumps died down
significantly, and I cursed everyone for
being right.

2. I Started Double Cleansing I wear a full face of full coverage makeup
every weekday for work. To get it all off, I
used to rely on makeup wipes before face
wash. I later realized the wipes, while
convenient for nights you're ready to PTFO
and must, were kind of just sliding product
around my face instead of truly cleaning it.
Thankfully, a facial with celebrity
esthetician Renée Rouleau introduced me to
the idea of double cleansing.
The process involves first removing makeup
with an emollient formula—I use her
Soothing Aloe Cleansing Milk, which looks
and feels like lotion—on dry skin for 30
seconds, then rinsing and follow with
another cleanser. Rouleau's AHA/BHA
Blemish Control Cleanser has been my
lifesaver, it's a blend of salicylic, lactic, and
glycolic acids, plus jojoba beads for physical
exfoliation. It sloughs away residue and oil
and targets pimples, blackheads, and
leftover scarring. I always followed this
with Rouleau's Balancing Skin Tonic before
applying any other layers.

3. I Got Smarter About Putting Oils
on My face Rouleau also enlightened me about another
culprit making my skin care routine less
effective: using oil-based products at the
beginning of my skin care routine. As
Rouleau explained, oils have a large
molecule size and, therefore, should go at
the end of a skin care routine because it
almost acts like a sealant. When you use a
cleansing oil or balm first (as I used to do
along with makeup wipes), you're basically
creating a barrier that makes it more
difficult for other skin care produ cts to
penetrate and do their job.
"Anything applied over an oil may be
offering no benefit to the skin and is
wasting your money," Rouleau also
explained on her blog. Plus, cleansing oils
tend to leave behind coating on the skin
even if you rinse and wipe it off—which
prevents active ingredients from all my
other steps from seeping deep into skin as
they should be.

4. I Used a Lactic Acid Exfoliator Because I'm constantly testing out new
products, I don't often end up with
"empties" (as in, products so good you've
emptied out the bottle). However, I loved
Sunday Riley's Good Genes so much I
literally twisted the pump off and stuck my
finger in it to try and get every last bit. The
magic potion's main ingredient is lactic
acid, which exfoliates away dead skin cells
— key for clearing pores, fading scars, and
revealing fresh skin on the surface.
Like any acid, it stings when applied and
might need some easing into (it can also be
used as a mask worn for just 10 minutes),
but I diligently put it on every single night
before moisturizer and felt it dramatically
retexturized my skin. Red bumps flattened
out almost immediately in just seven days.

5. I Turned to Light Therapy I was first introduced to light therapy for
acne when I tested out (and fell in love)
with Neutrogena's Light Therapy Spot
Treatment, which treats a zit for two
minutes. However, this breakout from hell
was too far gone to be treated one pimple
at a time. That's why I used the full-sized
mask every single night.
A quick primer on light therapy: red light is
known to promote circulation and reduce
inflammation while blue light targets acne-
causing bacteria and makes oil glads
produce less sebum. What this mask helped
me most with was preventing new
breakouts from forming on top of the
cluster already invading my chin. It stopped
what was previously a never-ending cycle
of acne.

6. I Used Pimple Stickers for
Popped Zits What you do when a pimple dies down is
just as important as what you do when it's
just beginning its life. When my zits came
to the surface as whiteheads, I'd carefully,
gently pop them using two clean cotton
swabs (not fingers!) and immediately apply
one of these dots. I know popping is the
number one sin for skin care, but these
dots work best when the zit is punctured
because it's made with hydrocolloid, which
extracts debris out of the pore (so there
needs to be an opening). It also infused
with salicylic acid and vitamin A to treat
and ease down redness. When the stickers
are worn overnight, pimples totally flatten
out by morning.

7. I Used a Prescription Spot
Treatment I couldn't just let the worst breakout ever
live on without a visit to the dermatologist,
so I went to BeautyRx founder Dr. Neal
Schultz. He gave me this incredible "Z
Stick" spot treatment that contains mild
cortisone (the same substance derms use to
inject pimples to make them die down in 24
to 48 hours), and Clindamycin, an
antibiotic. I applied this every morning and
evening to all my spots and it acted like an
extra layer of armor against further
inflammation. Sadly, it's prescription-only
and/or only available through Dr. Schultz's
practice in New York—but he's working on
making one for consumers.

8. I Took A Lot of Unflattering
Selfies People trying to lose weight or build muscle
are often encouraged to take photos along
their journey—there's nothing more
motivating than visible progress. I applied
the same logic to my breakout. I took a
photo of it at its worst to start, then
continued. The second photo you see is one
week after doing all of the above—you
definitely see remnants of the breakout but
they are not as active nor as inflamed
(they're also flat and easy to cover up with
my BFF, concealer). The last photo is four
weeks later after me following these tips
religiously—all clear.