Problem Skin?

For those of you uninterested in ramblings about the woes of modern day skin care, this post is not for you. :)

Ok, so I have had "problem" skin since I was about 12 years old. I used to think I would "grow out of" my acne and oily skin, but that has not happened yet and I am going on 26 so I think it would be a safe bet that I never will. I have tried many many products, mostly over the counter stuff although I did see a dermatologist when I was in high school with unsatisfactory results (liquid nitrogen- ouch!, some kind of cream that made my face look like it was unevenly burned... enough said). So in the past 10 years or so my skin care regimen has been based on products with salicylic acid in them. It doesn't do too bad a job keeping the worst of the acne at bay and sometimes my skin would even look more or less clear, but I have some problems with these products. First of all, it seems like when I use them (especially in winter) I have a strong tendency to get bloody noses. We arent talking a tiny bit of blood on a kleenex here, we are talking 'it looks like someone just punched you in the face' bloody noses. Also they seem to lose their effectiveness over time. So then I would switch to some all natural, organic, nothing in it that I couldn't pronounce, type of product and suffer the oiliness and breakouts again for awhile till I eventually went back to the Neutrogena/Biore/etc. products. Sometimes I would even combine the two, Neutrogena wash, burts bees cream, all natural face wash, Salicylic acid cream, whatever. Did I mention that this type of system is also kind of a pain? It would usually involve a seperate cleanser for day and night and a serperate cream for day and night. Four products in all and extra time to morning and bedtime routines.

Then, a few weeks ago, I got fed up with all the half empty product containers in my bathroom, the bleeding, and the time consuming routine and decided to try something different. Lo and behold it worked! I was down to one, just one, product! No creams, gels, washes, scrubs, anti-acne anything! My skin started to look more even and my breakouts are subdued at least as well as they ever have been if not better. Not that I look like Jessica Simpson on those Proactive commercials or anything but my skin looks good enough that I don't feel too self conscious if I go out to get groceries with no makeup on. What is this miracle product you ask? It is plain old, teenage retro, cooling, soothing Noxzema! I was keeping a jar of it around for soothing sunburns. I have since gone out and bought another jar having used the rest of what I had. The best part is, since I buy the kind with "added moisturizers" I don't even need a cream or lotion. Just wash and I am done. I know this may not sound exciting or interesting to most people but if anyone has battled with their skin for as long as I have (or longer) you will understand the relief in getting rid of all of the junk in your medicne cabinet, cutting about 5 min off your morning and evening routine, and, in my case, no more bloody noses! Alright, that was enough superficial mundane stuff, back to my regularly scheduled (or not so regular) blogging.

Edit: After reading this post I found it sounded like a Noxzema advertisment, which it is not. Well, at least I didn't intend it to be but it sorta turned out that way lol. Too bad they aren't paying me!