Skincare update

I am down to about six remotely angry zits and they're all on my jawline, plus a bunch of scarring and redness on and under the jawline.

Current routine:
A.M.
*Wash face with First Aid Beauty cleanser
*Wipe face with First Aid Beauty exfoliating pads (full of glycolic and lactic acids!)
*Moisturize/boost with Desert Essence Age Defying Pomegranate face serum
*Apply sunblock - right now I'm using up Lavanila The Healthy body sunscreen
Do makeup

P.M.
If face is super gunky feeling, maybe remove makeup with either a self-made oil cleanser, Simple eye makeup remover, or Caudalie cleansing water.
*Wash with CeraVe foaming facial cleanser and a face brush.
Tone if I feel like it - currently using witch hazel beefed up with tea tree oil, but the Thayers cucumber aloe witch hazel I ordered FINALLY came in the mail today. The packaging is still in a heap by my feet, lol.
*Apply Silk Naturals Super Serum (vitamin C, niacinamide).
*Apply Peter Thomas Roth retinol serum.
Moisturize if I feel like I need it with 365 facial moisturizer, Lucy Minerals ambrosia serum, blend of tea tree and lavender oil, or any combination of the above.

* These are things I am doing every day. Nonstarred items I only do if I feel like it.

My skin hasn't gone downhill since running out of the Philosophy Booster C sample, so I'm probably not going to go run out and buy that. I don't personally think that the cleanser is that important. I mean, yeah, you should wash your face, but these specific products aren't Holy Grail items, just things I happen to have - the FAB cleanser came in a set with the pads, and I like to keep my acids for A.M. and my niacinamide for nighttime - both seem to be useful but they don't play well together. When I run out of those, I have roughly 16 oz. left of a fragrance free body wash that also works as a facial cleanser.

The exfoliating pads, Super Serum, and possibly the retinol, have contributed the most to my skin's improvement, I think. The other antioxidant stuff and the sunblock address my other concerns of not wanting to age prematurely and definitely not wanting a repeat of my skin cancer experience.

What has helped you clear up your cystic, hormonal acne? Has anything really helped you with the scarring?

Current Skincare "Routine"

So, I have this thing with acne, and have since I got a huge zit in the middle of my chin right before fifth-grade graduation. When I was a teenager, it was as if the zit monster had attacked the entirety of my face with pretty much every kind of comedone, pustule, nodule, and pimple you can find in a dermatology textbook. I still struggle sometimes with hormonal jawline acne, but the rest of my face (ok, most of my face, the bumps happen right under the jaw usually) is pretty much clear. But finally, I think it's going to get better, and I've seen some major improvement over the past few weeks.

What am I doing?
Morning:
[sometimes I use a mask before this - the AcneFree sulfur one's not bad - and being on summer break isn't either!]
1. Rinse face and apply thin layer of Anthony Logistics for Men Glycolic Cleanser (for various reasons, I opted for the men's b-day gift at Sephora this year). Let cleanser sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off.
2. Either tone (I'm almost done with the Alba Botanica Hawaiian one) or further exfoliate with First Aid Beauty's Facial Radiance Pads
3. Use a light moisturizer - I'm ramping up the power with a sample I got of Philosophy's Booster C powder. I like a non-oily product for this. Right now I'm using up some samples.
4. Apply sunblock. Again, not a consistent product, as I'm using a lot and testing these out lately.

Evening:
[If I used a lot of makeup that day, I'll precleanse with my self-made cleansing oil]
1. Cleanse face with CeraVe foaming cleanser and facial brush (non-fancy manual one)
2. Tone if I feel like it.
3. Use Silk Naturals Super Serum - this has niacinamide and other vitamins that are supposed to be good for skin in it. Don't use this and acids at the same time unless you want a red face.
4. Use Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion - I got a deluxe sample of this free from Sephora - will find out when I run out how crucial this is to the process!
5. Depending on how dry my skin is after all this, either a teensy squirt of 365 facial moisturizer (Whole Foods' knockoff of Cetaphil lotion), a drop of Lucy Minerals Ambrosia Serum, or both mixed together.

Now, I'm not sure which of any of these products is doing the heavy lifting here, but I'm thinking it's probably the exfoliation provided by the AHAs in the morning cleanser or the FAB pads and the Super Serum. I'll have to update every so often

There was some ugly purging, but now I only have a small handful of cysts, and most of the "undergrounders" have surfaced, exploded, and started to heal over. I also have a lot of redness in the affected areas, so the evening rigmarole is intended to help with healing. We'll see.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert! Just a crazy lady with problem skin and an Internet connection.