My Breakout Freakout...And How I Dealt With It

While I was in Oregon, I had the worst breakout of my life. I didn't want to mention it in the post about my trip because I did not want to sour a perfectly pleasant recount of a good time. However, it was there, lurking in the back of my mind the whole time, because it was so much worse than anything else I've ever had to deal with (regarding skin care, of course!). It even brought me near tears the first night I noticed that it was really something that I could not control, because I had no idea what was causing it.

I'm gonna describe it, not to gross anyone out, but because I want to convey the severity and the trajectory of this particular breakout. It started as a couple of cystic-type blemishes on my chin- nothing too strange, since that is where I normally breakout. But then two became three, three became four, and so on until I had six painful, red bumps in my chin area. At this point I was worried, but still had myself convinced that it was just my skin (still!) adjusting to the change in my skincare routine. Then, the night that we were driving up to Oregon, in our precious little Dunsmuir Inn & Suites hotel room, I noticed these bumps radiating outward from my chin in all directions- to my cheeks, even to my neck (where I have never in my life had a blemish). So...I got freaked out. I felt myself spiraling out of control because this...this was a situation I had never encountered- and I had no idea how to deal with it.

This unflattering photo was sent to my mother to show her that I was wearing the earrings she got me in Oregon. Though the lighting is terrible, you can see the neck blemish (circled in red) that completely freaked me out.

I stood there, staring despairingly into the mirror at this face I could not believe was mine, and tried to figure out what on earth could have cause such an eruption so quickly. It was literally three days before that my skin had been perfectly normal. Israel suggested that it might be the oatmeal (but I suspected he just wanted me to stop using it because it weirds him out :-P), but I could not understand how something that was supposed to be as soothing as oatmeal could cause something that was...well, the opposite of soothed. But he was close. He was onto something. What I am about to admit is going to make me look very stupid, but I don't want to look at it that way. Instead, I'd like to say that I am stubborn, and continued doing something that I had a feeling was unhealthy because it fit my vision of what I wanted my skincare routine to be.

So, let me take you through my realization process. Oatmeal (once it's wet) is a food, yes? And food, on a surface, when not properly cleaned, grows bacteria, right? And bacteria is the essential cause of acne, no? And what was I doing? Using a surface with food on it that had not been properly cleaned and was growing bacteria to scrub my whole face. And what was that surface, you may ask? Why, the bristles of my Clarisonic brush!

These unsightly fellows probably had something to do with my "unfortunate skin incident."
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2009/05/were_covered_by_trillions_of_b.html

Lord knows what possessed me to use my Clarisonic brush with oatmeal in the first place- I am certain that the two were never made to be used together. Actually, the Lord knows why I used the two together, but I know too: I just couldn't bear the thought of not using my Clarisonic, because it was so expensive and I enjoyed using it so much. The Clarisonic brush is meant to be used with facial cleaners; oatmeal is now my facial cleanser, so I hope you can see my logic...

Anyway, the first thing that should have tipped me off was the smell. The brush did not smell good. It did not smell like something I should have been pressing against my face. The smell made sense given that I used the brush to push actual food around my face, then gave it a quick rinse under lukewarm water and covered it back up with a plastic cover. I think that is what laboratories do when they intentionally want to grow bacteria. Yet, I was blinded to all of this science because I just wanted to use my Clarisonic brush. Please don't me judge me. I know it was a ridiculous choice (at least, I can see that now), but, man, was that brush expensive! And it was the only part of my former, highly effective skin care routine that I could continue using, so I was hesitant to give it up.

Once I realized that the brush was likely the culprit, though, I did stop using it (*sniff*tear*), and, pretty much instantly, it started clearing up. Now, about two weeks later, it is almost completely gone. I think that the oatmeal (the use of which I am much more cautious about now) definitely helped with that. My only problem now is that I have a $200 skincare product just sitting there, collecting dust, until I can figure out a good use for it. Any ideas?

My now headless Clarisonic, sitting idly, waiting to be put to use again :-(

The take home lesson here, and the reason I bothered sharing such a disgusting tale, is that bacteria is the direct cause of acne. Bacteria is usually bred from excess oil that clogs pores, creating the perfect moist, enclosed breeding ground. And, well, oiliness itself can be caused by myriad factors: diet, hormones, the makeup and skincare products we use...it is probably impossible to pinpoint exactly what causes your skin to produce excess oil (if it does).

I got really lucky (yes, lucky) in this situation because my breakout was directly caused by bacteria and, once I was able to figure out the source of the bacteria and cut it out, my skin went back to normal. If you find yourself with a massive breakout on your hands (well, face, really), my suggestion to you is that you consider any possible exposure to bacteria that your skin has had recently. This simple analysis might tell you exactly what the source is (especially if you're as dumb as I am and that source is as glaringly obvious). If nothing stands out to you, and you notice it spreading in an unusual pattern (most of us know our breakout areas and patterns) rather than improving, seeing a dermatologist might be helpful. I'm all about staying natural, but, as I've mentioned in other posts, there is a balance between feeling good about what's on the inside and what's on the outside- so if you have to sacrifice being super nice to your insides for a little bit so that you can bear to look at your outsides (which, in my case, was difficult to do), well, that's ok.

I hope that the lesson that I learned from my pseudo-traumatic experience were somehow helpful to you. Or, if not, that you were amused by the fact that I kept rubbing a stinky brush all over my face because of sheer stubbornness. Thanks for reading :-)

-Melissa

SONG OF THE DAY: Rihanna, "We Found Love (in a Hopeless Place)." As I nearly collapsed from loss of electrolytes during bootcamp at the gym today, I couldn't help but hazily notice that every other song they played was by Ri-Ri. Seriously, does no one else make good dance music anymore? Well, in case they don't, I decided to share the disturbing video for the one Rihanna song I actually enjoy. Time to go do some squats!