Acne is something that I feel like I should talk about a bit more on my blog.  I have had to deal with pimples since I was twelve, they weren't really that bad, I had the occasional painful pimple in high school, thinking it was ruining my life at the time. Since my first year at university, I started noticing that something changed in my skin. While having the occasional painful, bumpy pimple at high school, I noticed that when I went to university, those painful pimples somehow showed up on my face every (other) day leaving lots of scars behind as well. In this post I will share a few of my favourite skincare items that help calm down my skin whenever I am breaking out.


Since my acne really started to bother me when I went to university, I got more and more into skincare. I did my research and read lots of blogs about people dealing with the same acne problems as I did, telling me what products not to use. To say that I got obsessed with skincare is a bit of an understatement. I was really unhappy with my skin and felt like I had to change something. So I started trying lots of different things, but in the end I noticed that my pimples only got worse and worse when I tried lots of different things.

During the summer I decided to completely redo my skincare routine and tried going to see an esthetician and started this thing called LED therapy. This was the first step to make my skin calm down quite a bit, at one period in time I actually didn't have any bumpy acne on my face at all, just scars that needed to heal. This treatment is definitely something that I would recommend if you're suffering from acne, I feel like this treatment really helped me clear my skin.

About a month ago I had a bit of a mental breakdown about how badly my skin was again. I was stressed due to exams, I felt awful and my face felt painful from all the cystic bumps that I had on my face. I didn't really know what to do anymore. I booked another appointment at my esthetician for this LED therapy treatment and decided that from that moment on, I would only use the minimal amount of products on my skin.

So from that moment up until now I have only used a few items religiously to help me clear up my acne. The first one being a cleanser. Cleansers are really important, but what's key to buying a cleanser is that it should never leave your skin feeling tight after you've washed your face. Up until a few months ago, I used to have those cleansers. So I switched it up to the Kiehl's Centella Skin Calming cleanser, which is such a lovely, product that is perfect for sensitive combination skin. This cleanser never, ever leaves my skin feeling tight after I have washed my face and it doesn't break me out. Which to me is such an important deal breaker for when I try a new cleanser.

The next item I have been using this religiously since I have been fifteen. It is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +. I feel kind of lame talking about this product as it is such a beauty bloggers/vloggers cult product. However, it has earned great respect from a lot of beauty bloggers and vloggers for good reasons. This stuff actually helps clear up skin so much. I absolutely notice a difference whenever I haven't used this product because I ran out.

This item is something that is fairly new and I have only started using after I had my mental breakdown a month ago. It's the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra Fluid. This is a moisturizer that I bought after I had read this post from blogger Tijan Serena. I did some research and found lots of positive reviews on this product, so I am so happy to now have this product in my life. I use it mornings and evenings on cleansed skin after the Effaclar Duo +. It's such a light and comfortable cream to put onto your face after you've cleansed.

Via another website called Skinacea I stumbled upon this 'How do I get rid of a cyst' post. I found this website in general very useful to read whenever I had certain problems with my skin. So whenever I feel a cystic pimple coming up nowadays, I put a cotton pad in some warm water and apply it to the cyst until the pad loses its heat. I repeat this for about 10 times and really notice a difference in size when I wake up the next morning.

Obviously acne isn't something that is fixed overnight, which is something I am really aware of, however I feel like using these few products and methods really did help me clear up my skin, so it felt only right to share these tips with you, as it might help you clear up your (cystic) acne too!