Acne Woes

Hello!
So I recently posted up a review of Proactiv and how disappointing the results were (for me, personally). It's fast approaching my 21st birthday, I'll be going in to my final year of University in September and then I'll be going on to do my teaching degree. My face is something I really don't want to be worrying about but it's all I ever seem to do. The thought of teaching a class of teenagers and having the spottiest face in the room really upsets me so I thought it was time to bite the bullet and get something done about it.

So as we know, I live in the UK where treatment on the NHS is free. I don't think I've made the most of this throughout the years, as I've suffered from mild acne since I was around 12 years old and I was only treated for a couple before throwing down the gauntlet and giving up. However, as I'm older I'm more aware of the fact there are a million billion treatments out there and just because one doesn't agree with you doesn't mean another will, it's all about finding the right one. So anyway! I finally plucked up the courage to go to the Doctors after years of putting it off. I've put it off for so long as the thought of leaving the house bare faced has absolutely terrified me, and rightly so, it was a horrible experience. I felt like everyone was staring at me and I couldn't even begin to imagine what they must have thought. Taking my dad along for moral support he kept reminding me that there are people out there who have it worse than me, and this is true.

When I got in to the Doctors room and she asked me "So what can I do for you today?" I felt like replying "Are you serious, like are you looking at my face right now?!" and I did, but not in those words, I merely muffled "...my face" and she politely replied "What's wrong with your face?" and as soon as I told her I burst in to tears, which surprised myself, I definitely get really down in the dumps about how my face looks but I didn't know I was really that upset about it, as bizarre as that sounds. Cutting a long story short, she was really understanding and offered to put me on a course of antibiotics as I've previously tried antibacterial and benzoyl peroxide creams and they haven't really had much affect. I'll try anything for clear skin so I immediately agreed.

This isn't like "take these pills for a week and everything should be better", this is a 6+ month course of antibiotics, so it's obviously a more serious, committed form of treatment that they can offer you. The pills I've been prescribed are called "Tetralysal". I've read some amazing reviews for these and some not so great ones, again, you have to remember that it's all about finding the right treatment for you. I've been told I won't notice a difference for around three weeks to a month, but I'm feeling really upbeat about this! I think it's maybe because I haven't tried antibiotics before and I was just expecting the doctor to prescribe me with some sort of cream again and lead me on my merry way out the door. So I'm excited!!

I'm only on my 4th day of treatment so I've got a long, long way to go! But I'm going to share my experience with you and hopefully give some of you guys the courage to go to the doctors yourself! I'm going to keep this blog updated with my (hopeful) progress to flawless skin and when I muster up the courage myself I'm going to post pictures of how my skin was before, and whenever I see a noticeable difference as well :-)

Remember! Don't suffer if you don't have to. It's taken me such a long time to get to where I'm at now and I know when I end up with clear skin I'm going to kick myself for not acting sooner!

Proactiv Product Review

Okay, so if you've read my 'About Me' section, you'll be aware that I suffer from mild acne and have done since I was about 13 years old. I have tried every high street product going - toners, creams, scrubs, oils, moisturisers, you name it, I've more than likely owned it at some point. When Proactiv first became available on the UK market, I shrugged it off, nothing had worked for me so far and I couldn't justify spending the money on it to try it. Years later, a few months ago to be exact, it was advertised on the TV as being half price at just £19.99 (plus the £5.95 p&p, which in my opinion is ridiculous). With a few encouraging words from my mum, I decided to take the plunge and order the standard Proactiv solution kit.

So, when it arrived a week later I was dying from anticipation and couldn't wait to get started. After all, when something claims to be 84% affective, it's going to get your hopes up. This is what the standard 3-step solution looks like:

The three step system consists of: Renewing Cleanser - which is an exfoliating scrub, Revitalising Toner,  Repairing Day Lotion and a Repairing Night Lotion. The three steps are pretty basic, you wash your face with the cleanser, apply the toner and then the day/night cream twice a day. Now as you can see, the bottles are pretty small and Proactiv advertise this as a "60 day supply" I really started panicking three weeks in when I noticed how little I had left of the cleanser and the toner, however I'm still using the day and night lotion I received in my first kit.

Overall, I'm not impressed with the product at all. I've been using it for just over two months now and I still have clusters of breakouts that just won't budge! It's pretty harsh on your skin too, so I would definitely recommend using a moisturiser after applying the lotion to make sure you didn't end up with a dry, crusty face like I did! Yuck!

 It's not a product I would recommend to people personally as I don't think it's worth the usual £40 price tag. It doesn't last half as long as what it's advertised, but then again I may just be using too much. At the price you pay for it I would expect it to work wonders, however I'm sure it may be more than affective on some others. Proactiv do offer a 60 day money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied, so if you are curious to try it I would maybe suggest giving it a go. I have friends who it's worked wonders for, but personally, it's not for me as I have used cheaper and slightly more affective brands beforehand.

Hello!

This is my new blog and this is my first text post, hooray! I'm not entirely sure where I should start, maybe I should tell you a little bit about myself?!

I'm Aurora, I'm twenty years old (twenty-one on the 4th of July, eek!) and I live on the South West coast of Scotland! I'm about an hour outside of Glasgow, which is where I seem to spend most of my time. 

I am a serious beauty addict, I will try everything and anything that appeals to me, I don't buy high-end products as I'm a student and only have a part-time job so I can't afford them! So what you can expect from this blog is reviews of the new high street brand products!

I don't think in any way whatsoever that I am a fashionista, much the opposite, I dress in what I like and what I feel comfortable in, which is usually a pair of jeans, a nice top and a blazer! (I am addicted to blazers, they are my downfall!)

I am literally stumped now, I can't think of a thing to type! I hope I can get this blog up and running as soon as possible, I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings with you all!
Much love xox.