Up until my senior year of college, I had pretty well behaved skin. On the oily side, sure, but only the occasional pimple or two around my period, or a little bit of texture. Then, almost out of nowhere, I started getting hit with adult hormonal acne. My oil levels stayed about the same, but they started to exacerbate the difficulties I was already having with my skin.

The acne I was getting wasn’t your typical blackheads or whiteheads, either. It was deep, cystic stuff, that even when a breakout seemed like it was on it’s way out, I knew I would get another in the exact same spot within a matter of weeks because the root of the problem, underneath my skin, just wouldn’t go away.

While I was working as a sales associate for The Body Shop, I slowly found a routine that worked for me, with products from the store and other brands, that minimized the breakouts I was having, as well as the redness and minor scarring they would leave behind. For a while, it worked pretty well for me - the discoloration never went away completely, but I was maintaining my skin the best way I knew how.

Then a few months ago, I went back on the pill.

Uh-oh, right? I had tried one that didn’t work for my actual period, and my gyno prescribed me a new one that she thought might work better. And it did, for my period. But after a couple of weeks, I noticed that my acne wasn’t exactly going away the way I was used to it dissipating. After another couple weeks, I realized I was developing even more cystic spots. It took me a little too long to figure out that it was probably the birth control messing with my skin, but as soon as I did, I went off it, to see if it helped at all. What do you - I stopped seeing new cysts develop. But I needed a way to get rid of what had already occurred, without clogging my pores even more.

I slightly altered my skin care routine, eliminating my favorite, thicker textured moisturizer in favor of an oil, and found a dermatologist to prescribe me a topical cream. After some research, I also decided that a chemical exfoliating toner might help aid in my cell turnover, to help with the cysts. I’ve been on this new regimen for about three weeks now, and my skin is already looking better than it has in the last year.

I’ll get the boring one out the way first - this is the prescription topical cream I have. I briefly made the mistake of using it every night for a week (this shit is STRONG) and had to do some damage control, but once that was dealt with I began the every other night application I’ve been doing, and it seems to be working well so far. It’s keeping my pores clear and the cysts from getting any bigger, so I count it as a win.

This Pixi Glow Tonic may be favorite part of my new routine. I use this on the nights I don’t use the prescription stuff, just so I don’t overload my skin with too many chemicals, but using this I’ve found my skin feels much smoother and less texturized. I’m also convinced it’s helped my cystic acne get smaller and draw closer to the surface. It definitely feels like it’s helping at least, though that may not be based in any kind of skin science. To use it, I put some on a cotton round and slowly massage it into my skin, focusing more on spots that have breakouts.

This rosehip oil from Acure is my new moisturizer, and I could not be more pleased with how this is working. The moisturizer I was using before was the Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, and as much as I loved what it did for my redness, I was concerned about the texture defeating the purpose of using heavy duty products like the two listed above. I did a lot of research on oils suitable for oily, acne-prone skin, and rosehip was one of the first ones to come up. It makes sense - rosehip oil is known for it’s anti-redness and anti-aging properties, both of which are helpful for people who have acne and are using intense products like the other ones I do. The texture of the oil is also ideal - it’s a fairly dry oil, which means it absorbs quickly, and doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy before I go to sleep. The redness of my acne and scarring was the first thing I noticed starting to dissipate when I started this routine, and it’s only kept progressing. I also feel like I’m finally giving my skin the moisture it actually needs with this, because I’ve actually been finding my skin isn’t as oily at the end of the day anymore.

This moisturizer/mask is a lifesaver and I use it every night as a mask. When I use the prescription stuff, I put this wherever I haven’t put the tougher stuff, and on the nights I use the Glow Tonic, I put it all over my face and relish it. It’s a very gel-like texture, with a ton of aloe vera and some salicylic acid in addition to the tea tree oil, so it deals clogged pores and acne while also soothing and moisturizing. I love this stuff (myskin really loves tea tree oil and responds well to it) and it’s one of the products from The Body Shop that I still use.

Obviously skincare is a really personal thing, and everyone’s skin reacts differently to products like the ones I use. If your skin is oily or acne-prone like mine, I hope this helped you some, or at least gave you some direction if you’re looking to change up your routine.

I also just want to say that even you are acne-prone or have acne scarring, please don’t feel obligated to try intense treatments to help fix them, or to go to extremes to cover it. I do it because I’m an actor and don’t want to cause more problems with my skin because of the makeup I have to wear fairly frequently. But acne and the scars that can come from it are nothing to be ashamed of; so many people have acne, including the celebrities you love that look like they have perfect skin. Going to drastic measures to change your skin honestly isn’t always worth the time, energy, or even the money; you only get one skin - it may be hard sometimes, but it’s far more worth that time and energy to spend it loving the skin you have.