My Lactic Acid Experience/Thorw Back Post

I wrote this last summer and didn't get round to posting. its been living in my draft folder for 10 months now. I feel I should start by saying my acne had reduced naturally over the years from severe to moderate, but I still had the scars from the severe period which is what I really wanted to shift.  Here is my monthly plan and a couple of pictures and my thoughts on some of the products.

IMPORTANT
The advice here should not substitute the advice from a certified skin care expert of your choosing. I am not a dermatologist  cosmetologist or aesthetician. I ended up with this routine after years of research and trial and error documented in this blog. This is what works for me, I'm not responsible if it doesn't work for you or causes averse reaction. You undertake this routine at your own risk. 

For the record, I am black, african (Nigerian), my skin type is oily, but lacking in moisture, - which means that it looks oily on the surface and it is oily to the touch, however if you take a closer look at the skin it looks dry. Do not mistake moisture for oil they are different things. My skin is acne prone, I have suffered from severe to moderate acne for 10 years, I've shifted to moderate over time due to aging, tablets (on prescription) and just eating better. Right now I don't get as many spots as I used to, and my scarring has reduced a lot. I had a moment of clarity and came up with this routine. In spite of my warning and disclaimer, I hope this routine works for you as well as it had worked for me. I will update with a "how I maintain my skin routine (and clear the last few spots)" in the near future. 

MONTH 1 
Morning Routine 
*Likas Papaya Soap (purchased on ebay) - I think this faded my spots, but I won't say it was remarkable. 
*Proactiv Solution Revitalizing Toner (purchased on ebay).
*Nivea Sun Kids Sun Lotion (boots).

Night Routine
*Remove Make up - I highly recommend - Huggies Pure Baby Wipes as a make up remover. (boots)
*Likas Papaya Soap (see above)
*Proactiv Solution Revitalizing Toner (purchased on ebay)
*10% AHA face cream (purchased on ebay).


MONTH 2 - this is the more intense face peel month. 
Morning routine 
*Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Cleansing Mousse - I really wanted to use something, gentle and non irritating (no BHA/AHA acids, no citric acid, no alcohol), but I couldn't find anything and I was in dire need so I settled for that. It worked fine, my skin didn't feel dry or tight after using it. 
Proactiv Toner 
*Nivea Sun Kids Sun Lotion (boots), i ran out so I switched to Olay Essentials Complete Care Sensitive Day Cream SPF15 (10 months later I still use this, but I am going to try out La Roche Posay's SPF and see how it works with my skin).

Night Routine
*Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Cleansing Mousse
Proactiv Toner 
*10% AHA face cream (purchased on ebay).

WEEKLY/ONCE WEEK TWO WEEKS - 40% lactic acid face peel. At first I did this once every two weeks and to see how my skin will react I noticed small pimples, nothing major and they didn't stay for long and didn't scar. So, I upgraded to one every two weeks. - if you are a first time user I suggest you go lower they do a 20% and maybe do a patch test first. 

When I do this I go easy on my skin afterwards, no toner, no AHA face cream, just a good moisturizer like the olay mentioned in this post or nivea cream. Make sure you don't leave the lactic acid on your face past the time recommended or you will end up with scabs and burns - ew. 

I carried on the "Month 2" routine for another 2 months (3 months in total). After a while I noticed skin was getting sensitive to the face peel, I was getting dark marks around my mouth and burns on my nose so I stopped using them. Luckily, the dark marks vanished very quickly. The routine took me into November which is when I switched to La Roche Posay products. I'll tell you all about my experience with them in the "how I maintain my skin routine (and clear the last few spots)" post coming soon.

SUMMARY
Was all that too confusing? Here's the gist of it.
- Weekly to bi-weekly face peels - 20 - 40%
- 10% AHA face cream every night except on days when I use face peels.
- Sunscreen! 


This is not a miracle cure, this might not work for you. But i believe if you have a variation of this routine down - so AHAs (salicylic acid) and BHAs (lactic acid, glycolic acid) covered while still being gentle to your skin with the the help of non abrasive face-wash and soft face creams, you will see results.

Thanks for still clicking and checking out my blog. If you have any questions leave a comment.