I wish I could view a receipt totaling all I’ve spent on skincare products in futile hopes that every bit of my acne would vanish. That way, I could see not only how much money I’ve wasted but also how much time: so many weeks of waiting for results that never came. I’ve tried everything from exfoliating cleansers that reviewers claimed to give immediate results, face masks that I thought would clear my skin by the time I washed them off, daily vitamins that promised healthier, clearer skin and did not deliver, or face oils that did nothing but make my skin feel… well, oily. It didn’t matter if I bought expensive or inexpensive skincare: nothing changed.
After seeing a lack of differences in my skin, frustrated was an understatement of how I was feeling. As a witness to my stressful journey to get rid of my blemishes, my girlfriend suggested (well, pleaded) that I just leave them alone. At first, I thought this would not be a solution for me. As someone who gets very insecure about even one pimple, I thought I would never be able to do nothing about the problem areas on my face. I couldn’t even leave my apartment to take the trash out without covering up every tiny, red spot on my face with concealer. Because I lacked confidence in my natural skin, I instead relied on purchasing millions of products to help remedy my breakouts. Therefore, leaving my skin alone felt like a foreign concept.
Although I had doubts, I took her advice and didn’t even use my acne cleanser that night; I still washed my face, but just with normal body soap in the shower. My heaping collection of face masks wasn’t touched that night, either; though, I did apply some moisturizer so my skin wouldn’t dry up and crack like a desert. Obviously, I didn’t see any overnight results with this new technique, as you wouldn’t with any skincare product (even when it promises just that). I can say, however, that it felt freeing to just let my skin breathe and not stress about what product to crack open next.
At first, it was hard to adjust to this lifestyle change, transitioning from my daily consumption of cleansers, moisturizers, masks, oils, and more, to… almost nothing. I slipped up here and there, perhaps indulging in an exfoliating face mask, wishing it would scrub away my problems. In fact, I wasn’t able to master this hands-off system until I came down with a cold. While I was sick, worrying about my skin was the last thing on my mind, so none of my “acne-clearing” solutions were even glanced at. This was when I started seeing real results. After a week or so of tossing my cherished skincare routine to the side, doing nothing to my face but washing it once a day and moisturizing, I watched the burning red mountain range on my cheek subside. Of course, I also hadn’t been torturing my skin with even an ounce of makeup while I was sick, so that had definitely contributed to this reward. I couldn’t believe doing absolutely nothing was working.
I noticed how much I’d gotten used to my skin without any touch-ups of concealer covering it; I even went to my night class without any on, which was a big step for me. After all, almost everyone gets acne or has gotten acne, so I finally convinced myself that my world would not implode if someone saw a small pimple on my chin. The more and more I got accustomed to giving my skin some room to breathe – less makeup, less exfoliating, even less moisturizing – the more confident I felt in it. While in the future I know I will not always be able to resist a refreshing peel-off mask or oil that guarantees a radiant, glowing complexion, these past few weeks have taught me that a hands-off system actually does work best for me. (My bank account is happier about it, too.) Maybe it will work for you!