How I got rid of closed comedones in 2 months (DETAILED)
Hi! I asked for help on this subreddit before but nothing worked. So i built my own routine and finally it worked.
Disclaimer: every skin is different so this may not work for you.
*If you want to skip so much of my rambling, just check out part B and C.
MY SKIN TYPE: Oily BACKGROUND: I am currently 26 and I never had any acne issue in my teenage years at all. At the end of August 2024 I noticed small bumps in cluster on my face and they WERE NOT GOING AWAY NO MATTER WHAT. Thats when I started a proper skincare routine. I researched and found out what I had were CCs (closed comedones) and then I decided to tackle it myself without a dermat. So here's how I did it...
A. Eliminate the cause First, I tried to find why it happened. I had started swimming in a lake every morning and I realised it was probably a reaction from the lake water and stopped swimming. It is possible that you may not be able to find a cause in your case, so in such a situation, just skip to part B.
B. Skincare products Now this is probably the main part. 1. HIMALAYA NEEM FACEWASH: I did not use anything fancy. I used this since I was in school and never had any acne so I decided to stick with it. If that doesn't suit you, you can try clean and clear. 2. MINIMALIST 2% SALICYLIC ACID SERUM: This product especially targetted my CCs as the purpose of SA is to clean the pores. I gradually increased the usage from twice a week to every other day. (WARNING: It causes purging but once your past that its magical) 3. PLUM 10% NIACINAMIDE SERUM: I assumed the CCs may be leave spots and marks so I planned ahead to use this. If you're new to this product, may be start at 5%. 4. FOXTALE RETINOL SERUM: I was already using it for about a year and although this didn't have much to do with on CCs, it helped with the scars left behind. 5. Any ALOE VERA GEL: I stopped using moisturizer because my skin was oily in itself. Aloe gel works better for me because it moisturizes but doesnt make my skin greasy. This is a personal preference. 6. MOIZ BARRIER REPAIR CREAM: Now this was a product I only used for a small period of time when I was overusing the strong actives like retinol and SA. My skin was a bit damaged and suddenly dry but this helped within less than a week to bring my usual skin texture back. I did NOT regularly use this. I fixed my skin and then went back to my routine and used less amount of strong products. 7. DOT AND KEY ILLUMINATING GLOW DETAN POLISH: This is a clay mask that helped me in declogging the pores and also getting rid of the tan from swimming. 8. DIY SCRUB: Since I was using SA which is an exfoliant, I avoided using any scrubs but on rare ocassions I used either a pack made of yogurt (dahi) and gramflour (besan) OR boiled green tea leaves to use as scrub.
C. Skincare routine:
Every Morning: 1. Himalaya facewash 2. Niacinamide serum 3. Aloe vera gel 4. Sunscreen (only if I am going out)
Every Night: 1. Himalaya facewash 2. Salicylic Acid Serum/Retinol (each on alternate days) 3. Aloe vera gel/Barrier Repair cream (only for a few days when my skin was damaged)
Once every alternate week I used the clay mask. Once every other alternate week I used the DIY scrub. (I did not use SA the day I used scrub)
I also used Hyaluronic acid sheet masks from Garnier when I wanted to just pamper myself but it can be skipped _^
*D. Results: * The CCs started shrinking slowly and drying up. Some of them went away on their own. Some went away after scrubbing. Some even became pus filled pimples and slowly dried away. Currently in November the CCs are gone. I am slowly weaning off of products and using less and less because I dont want to be too dependent on so many products. In the second picture you can see in the second slide that the CCs left some marks behind but they are slowly going away as I continue the routine.
Anyway, hope this helps someone. All the best 👍