Thank you to Banish for sponsoring this post, all opinions are, of course, my own.

So now that we’ve discussed how I cleared up my acne, it’s FINALLY time to talk about one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. You can read part one and part two to hear more about my struggle with acne & see some before photos. Yes, I always say I think dealing with hyperpigmentation and acne scars can be even harder than dealing with the actual acne. It sticks around for a lot longer. SO after 6 years of acne and finally figuring out what has been causing it, I was left with scars and hyperpigmentation. A LOT OF THEM. I had acne over acne so I literally had dents in my face. Fun stuff.

So here’s the thing, these things take time but there are ways to speed up the process. I’m really excited to share something that helped A LOT! Like game changer and it’s affordable! It’s super important for me to share with you guys products that work and at all price points. I totally get it, not everyone can afford laser. And even after any laser, it’s inevitable to get more hyperpigmentation & scarring if you break out from time to time. Which is definitely my case. I still break out here and there and they still leave marks.

Everyone, meet Banish! It’s an amazing company that is known for their acne scarring diminisher. All the products are freshly made daily and are vegan and cruelty-free! I’ve been using Banish since the summer of 2009. I even looked up my first order to confirm because I don’t think there’s a product I’ve ever used longer. Their “Banisher” is seriously heaven-sent. It’s a micro-needling tool, which is a collagen inducing tool. Before I explain the product further, I want to mention the importance of cleaning the tool before & after each use. I soak the tool in rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes before and after. That ensures the tool is clean. Okay, so let’s get into it. My first purchase from Banish was their Banish Starter Kit (use the code ‘arielle’ for a discount)! It includes all of the following:

Banish Oil (vitamin c serum) It is their signature product and made with the most potent form of vitamin c: L-ascorbic acid. It’s proven to improve radiance and texture and reduce the look of acne scars and hyperpigmentation faster compared to other forms of Vitamin C.
Banisher 2.0, the tool that changed it all. Features gold plated titanium bristles which gives an additional collagen boost.
Vitamin C Beauty Elixir is the perfect pick me up when you need a boost of vitamin C and to add moisture back to your skin.
Pumpkin Enzyme Masque is made out of real pumpkin. Packed with AHAs & BHAs which are natural exfoliants. Two of my all-time favorite ingredients. It sloughs off dead skin cells and improves the texture of your skin AKA smooths out those indents in my face from all the acne.
Activated Charcoal Clay Masque is a powerful mask that will absorb all those impurities up to 100 to 200 times its weight. Crazy right?
Vitamin C Creme is a skin repairing creme concentrated with 20% vitamin C. It’s also light enough it doesn’t leave a heavy or greasy feel. Sign me up! I’m obsessed with everything Vitamin C, btw!

I’m obsessed with each item and each item plays a different role in my routine. I look at the Banisher as magic but since most of you are going to want a real answer as what it is and not just magic, here ya go!

As mentioned above the Banisher is a collagen inducing tool and the way it works is the small bristles on the Banisher is creating micro channels and micro trauma to the skin. Before you freak out, this is a good thing! Once this is done the skin is forced to produce more collagen and heal the skin AKA heal your scars and any other imperfections. It improves the appearance of acne scars, hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, gives you a more even skin tone and firmer skin. One of my favorite parts is it actually increases the effectiveness of topical skincare.

So the first step would be to add rubbing alcohol to the cap to cleanse the tool. Very important! You’re going to want to do this on clean, dry skin. I start by pressing the tool onto my face. I like to concentrate on my most troubled areas, my cheeks. Do not use this on any active acne as it will just spread the bacteria, not good! Your face will get red but it will not hurt. Once finished I then apply the Banish Oil which is a vitamin C serum. I LOVE applying a Vitamin C serum after using the Banisher. Vitamin C also helps with scars and hyper-pigmentation so combining the two is a game-changer.

Although I have fixed my consistent adult acne, I do still break out from time to time. That time of the month, stress, eating excessive amounts of sugar, dairy, and gluten. Using the charcoal & pumpkin enzyme mask will help a lot with breakouts!

So with most things, it’s not an overnight fix. It does take some time but it works. It took about 3 months for me to see a big improvement. I still breakout now from time to time and my skin easily scars so I still use this to heal any scarring or hyperpigmentation I have. It’s a game-changer and I’m so excited to get to share it with you!

SHOP MY FAVES

Use the code ‘arielle’ for a discount!

Photos by Diana Rose Sciacca

This is the first part of the My Journey to Clear Skin series. You can view the second part here and the third part here.

This blog post has been a long time coming and is something you all have been requesting for a while. While I was in NY visiting my family for Thanksgiving, I came across a photo I sent to my doctor on July 16th, 2015. It was a photo of my acne at my worst. I dealt with acne for a little while I was in high school. Ya know, the normal time to suffer from acne. But my sophomore year in college, it started flaring up again and didn’t end for 6 years. So we’re talking 2010-2016. 6 years of adult acne.

Before the day that photo was taken, I had acne on my forehead, chin, and cheeks but my right cheek had the most. I would have a straight line across my cheek of breakouts. Once those were very close to healing, it would I would break out again. Acne over acne. You can only imagine the scarring that had caused.

Well on July 16th, 2015, I was traveling for the Summer doing some volunteer work, so I’m sure the traveling took a toll on my skin, but my acne moved from the right side of my face to the left. I knew I was dealing with scarring on the right side, but I always felt better about my left side. It was my “good side”. I know this is the part where I’m supposed to promote body positivity and say I didn’t care what others thought, but it was my face. The first thing people saw. It was so bad, make-up couldn’t even cover it. I hated my skin. I even remember where I took this photo. I was in the food court in a mall. A place I knew the WiFi was working. I snapped a shot and sent it to my naturopathic/holistic doctor at the time. I was at my lowest and had zero clue how to fix this.

By this time, I tried acne medications, allergy tests, basically every cream known to mankind, several estheticians, vitamins and so much more than others had recommended.

I’m working on the blog post about what cured my acne right now but I did want to get this post out for everyone suffering from acne. Know you’re not alone and there’s a way out with lots of trial and error and time & patience.

The photo below is the photo I sent to my doctor only 3 years ago.