I just want to give a shoutout to dnh's tomato/tea-tree oil soap. I've only been using it for a week and I am completely clear. Wonderful stuff.

Some things I've recently learned are that face washes which contain salicylic acid can actually have the opposite effect. It can dry you out so much that your skin produces more oil than it did before. I completely stopped using them and have been much happier. Right now I just use dnh's soap, a gentle Aveeno cleanser, and a St. Ive's apricot scrub.

As for picking - I used to have that problem and have the scars to prove it, but I got this little sucker and it's much better. I just sterilize it before use and it is much less traumatic to the tissue because it has smooth edges and applies even pressure around a black or whitehead. Just swipe and you're done. I dab a bit of astringent after use in order to help further disinfect and close the pore.
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I got mine at Beauty First.