Immediately after hitting SEND, naturally multiple other things came into my head so:
If you primarily get zits around your jawline, like just all along the bottom edge? It could be the result of a bad cleansing habit, as in: you splash. So like you soap up and then splash your face with water to rinse, and (due to gravity) the soapy run-off just hangs there at the bottom of your face and you fail to really rinse it clean. Voilà clogged pores. So either use a washcloth to get it good or splash your chin and neck too.
“Fungal acne” is a thing that suddenly everyone started talking about recently and giving advice on how to treat, as though it’s some skincare secret we all learned instead of a skin condition which is not actually acne (it’s a type of folliculitis, called malassezia.) You probably don’t have it, ignore all that shit. Sure it exists but let a dermatologist diagnose (and treat) you on that one. Lord the amount of bullshit in this skincare world, I swear.
As soon as you figure your skin out, it will change. I constantly hear from people who are in their 40s and amazed that they have zits for the first time in their life, or people who suddenly go from oily skin to dry, or whose trusty holy grail zit cure stops working one day. Whatever et cetera. The thing is, when it comes to skin, it’s all hormonal. Especially the stuff that causes zits. And hormones change constantly throughout life. It’s just something we all have to deal with, forever. Or at least for as long as we have human bodies. Sorry.
I’m doing a skincare thingie at the Chicago Spring Fling conference in a few weeks - which is virtual now, so instead of being a fun first-day socializing-type session it’ll just be me on Zoom, trying to figure out how to use Zoom and talking with whoever shows up about whatever they want to talk about. If you’re coming to the conference, say hi if you gots the time.
I spelled sulphur wrong in the last email. Twice. My keyboard keeps missing the L. And half the letters on the keyboard are worn off. And this laptop is like 8 years and 6+ novels old now. Hoo boy. Gonna make for a fun Zoom.
Okay now click on this button, bye.