Acne Care

Wow, it's been a looong time since I've done a product review.  Either nothing has really caught my attention, or I am just not paying attention.  That said, I knew I had to share with you my newest find.

Bear with me as I give you a little history on my acne problem.  I'm not doing it to be wordy, but I think it makes the point (and love of the product) come across better.  I'll be brief!

high school- I had normal every day teenage acne.  It wasn't bad, and was usually just around "that time of the month".

college- OH MY WORD!  I don't know what happened.  Stress maybe?  I broke out, and I broke out bad.  Nothing would work.  A lot of the scars on my face are from this time.  My mom finally took me to the dermatologist.  I was using special soap, washing my face twice a day, had 3 different topical treatments, and was taking some sort of antibiotic three times a week (at a dollar a pill).  It sort of cleared up, but still wasn't nice and pretty.

after college-I was no longer on my parents insurance.  Luckily my face had cleared up some.  I started using Pro Active.  I think I used it for about a year or so.  I didn't find it all that great.  After that, I just used random over the counter products.  I went through phases of good and bad skin, but it was never where I wanted it.

pre-wedding- Soon after I got engaged with Michael my face broke out again.  BAD!  I did not want to have pimple face on my wedding.  I was pretty sure it was hormonal.  Those breakouts are totally different.  I, once again, went to the dermatologist.  He said he could give me stuff to take or use, but that the best thing I could do was go on birth control.  He said it was definitely hormonal, and the birth control would regulate my hormones.  I was getting ready to go on it anyway, so I killed two birds with one stone.

I have had pretty clear/good skin for the past couple of years because of this.  Then came the time to go off of the birth control... and then I got pregnant and you are limited in what you can use.  You can guess what happened.  The nasty hormonal acne came back.  I asked my doctor what I could use and was using some over the counter proactive type thing.  It wasn't helping. 

Meanwhile, my boss had given me a $50 gift card to Sephora.  I'm sure there is lots of make up or perfume I could have bought, but I just wasn't interested.  I figured I'd just use it on acne treatment.  I asked the salesperson which would be the best and he recommended GO CLEAR hands down.  He said he used it himself and was amazed.  I also had this OK'ed by my doctor, but didn't use it for months because I was finishing up my other stuff.

I have been using it for about a month, maybe a little more, and am in love.  Right now I am just using the cleanser in the morning (when I shower) and the moisturizer.  I am not using the topical treatment because it has salicylic acid.  (Even thought I was given the all clear, and studies have shown the problem with salicylic acid and babies is from the digested version.  Just trying to be safe.)  Even without using the topical treatment, my face has cleared up.  It's super soft and has a nice appearance to it (minus all the scars).  I believe Sephora sells it in two sizes.  I got the smaller version, which was around $40.  The larger version was $75, I believe.  You may be thinking what I was thinking while standing in the store--that's very expensive for face wash.  I would never have bought it had I not had the gift card.  Now, after using it and seeing the results, I'm willing to pay $40 every two months to have a clear face.  So if you have a problem with acne that the over the counter face washes aren't helping with, I encourage you to check out GO CLEAR.  I'm a big fan!