Adult Acne?! What the....

Growing up, I really lucked out in the acne department. I never went through the "puberty acne" stage like my brothers both did. Maybe it was genetics, maybe it was because I was really good about washing my face every day and moisturizing on the reg, but I was always very fortunate to not have to deal with that. Sure, the occasional zit popped up now and then, but that's it.

But NOW?!

I've been getting more pimples than I have ever had in my entire life. Just within the last 6 months or so. I keep waiting for it to clear up, but then another one pops up!

But the interesting part is that they are only located on my LEFT CHEEK area. Always.

It used to be just around the time of my period, but now they've been sprouting up more frequently. Again, only on my left cheek!

See below (excuse my just-woke-up-rat's-nest-hair):

Okay, so it's kind of hard to tell in these photos, but main point is: I've NEVER had a cluster of zits in one spot before, so clearly something is up and I needed to figure it out.

So I did the only thing I know how to get accurate FACTS: I summoned the Google gods.

And guess what? There's a whole plethora of information out there on what your zits can tell you!

You want to know what the LEFT CHEEK ACNE is DIRECTLY correlated to?

THE LIVER!!!!

Do you want to know what organ I damage the most when drinking liters upon liters of that red wine I love oh so much?

MY LIVER!!!!

Immediately following my excitement for finding an answer to my new face friends, I then got really bummed out. Because, well, for obvious reasons:

1) I drink too much wine
2) I need to cut back on wine
3) I already knew this
4) But now I really need to if I want my face to be rejuvenated and youthful again

As I opened a bottle of wine and took a sip or two (true story), I did a little more zit fact checking because I wasn't quite ready to accept my new state of sobriety.

I answered a series of questions online, like:

Do you sleep on your left side? YES!
Do you have your hair parted to your left side? YES!
Do you change your pillowcases at least once a week? Er...uh... No. :(
Do you floss regularly? Is twice a week regular? No? Oh, okay... then, uh.....no. :(
(Apparently oral hygiene can also be linked to cheek acne! Who knew?! Probably everyone but me.)

Last night, I tried my best to stay on my right side. But guess what? I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself on my back, head to the left, with my HAND laying UNDERNEATH my CHEEK!
Here is a visual that yes, I took JUST for this post. You're welcome:

But anyway, come to think of it, I think I've been sleeping pretty regularly like that. (<-- Remember that post?) This CLEARLY explains the left cheek acne!

Which MEANS....it can't POSSIBLY be the wine drinking. Because if you think about it, I've been drinking pretty consistently since, uh... 21? And this newfound acne has only been around for the last 6 months or so.

So, it's settled then!

I need to:
A) Sleep like a normal person
B) Wash my hands before bed
C) Change my pillow case at least 1x/week
D) Floss, floss, floss!
E) Contemplate cutting back on the alcohol
F) Find some kick ass zit zapper cream that will banish them for all eternity. Any recommendations?



xoxo