I exercise 5-6 days a week, and my skin looks similar to high school. Alot of black heads. I exfoliate, and wash with water after i exercise, i dont wear makeup, i dont use alot of products, and i generally only moisturize after showers.

What do you do to keep your skin looking good? (preferably that doesn't involve make up, for me, to me thats just not an option, i dont go out and no matter what i do or try, it flakes (i have tried other brands and types)

For my face I use the Mary Kay Basic Cleansing System.

For my body, I just use regular body wash and I am fine. I vary between body washes because I coupon, so I get what's on sale and stock up. My favorites are Dove and Neutrogena. I've never had problems with acne, pimples or blackheads on my body, so I guess I am lucky.

However, I have had trouble w/ acne, etc. on my face. I use the Mary Kay system combined w/ their acne spot cream and it works beautifully for me! I have been using the acne cream since 2003 and the whole system since 2008, no complaints!

I found the secret for clear skin, in my case, is using absolutely nothing on my face. If I use any kind of soap or cleanser I will break out. If I wear face make-up, I will break out. I only wear eye make-up, and at the end of the day I rinse with water. When I was breaking out a lot a few years ago, I used to do the oil-cleansing method. The theory behind that is- soap strips oil, so face goes into over-production to replenish it, and it's a neverending battle with plugged oil ducts... ie. zits. Oil cleansing method is using an oil, or combination of oils (mixed into an empty bottle) that I would massage into the skin, after a few minutes use a paper towel to wipe the excess off, then use a wet, hot washcloth to steam (until the cloth is cool) and wipe whatever is leftover off. If your face still seems coated, do another washcloth steam until it's gone. My skin LOVED me when I was doing it. If I remember correctly, I liked equal parts castor oil (the main ingredient in the mix) and jojoba oil, with a bit of vitamin E mixed together best, but it's really personal preference on which your skin responds to. You could add a drop of tea tree oil for antibacterial purposes, and some people add extra virgin olive oil as a carrier oil, but I never did, the jojoba was thin enough. People think adding oil to your face would just clog pores, but it really doesn't- tho I will admit my face would let me know right away if it didn't like a certain type of oil- I think grapeseed oil was one of them. Make sure to use cold-pressed oils where possible, no/less toxins that way. Nowadays I'll sometimes massage coconut oil onto my face for moisturizing purposes, but I find I don't need to do it to keep my face clean.. the water is plenty.

My ex had a problem with acne and constant breakouts and then he started using Proactiv and can't say enough about it.

We've never had a problem with acne, but my sister and I always use Olay products and get complimented on our skin all the time. I've also used Proactiv before just because I wanted to try it out and I remember it making my skin 'glow', so they're pretty good. I've also experimented with Aveeno and St. Ives scrubs. If you haven't tried these I'd recommend them as they've done a pretty good job keeping me free of breakouts. I'm sure they'd be good at helping to clear acne too.

My SIL swears by Proactiv, too.. she says the drugstore knock-offs are not the same (FWIW).

lol my problem arent like the acne on the proactiv ads though - does that matter? And its usually only linked to working out. If i dont work out for a week, then i dont get them as severly/as much. And its just black heads.
Unfortunately i dont have the money for proactiv, even if its a miracle. And i've tried other products, like the st ives apricot scrub. It got ALOT worse then. Im like <b>girlsenberry</b> in regard to not being able to use anything - at least that ive found. I've even tried clearasil.
And it is just on my face

i think i might just do a trick i used to do in highschool. Which was a bowl of boiling water, and put my face over it (with a towel draped over the back of my head). Like a steam room for my face. And as i sweat, wipe the dirt away with tissue. Might help with my severe hayfever today too

I met someone who swore by Proactiv, so I tried it, desperate for anything that would work, and it made my skin worse than ever. It gave me severe cystic acne, which I had NEVER had EVER. Finally I did Accutane and that cleared me up beautifully. My face is just as clear as it was on Accutane, but my back has the occasional annoying pimple. I'd be tempted to do another round before my wedding if it weren't for all the side effects.

That said, I have an awful problem with blackheads too. My derm basically told me that she wasn't going to lie to me and that I'd probably just have to live with them and "manage" them. She started me on Purpose face wash, then had me moisturize at night with Cetaphil lotion (I know...I was like, WTF?! Moisturizing for blackheads?!) and then apply acne medication. (I used to have a scrip for Tazorac, but now I'm just using Stridex Ultra sensitive. Although it doesn't wipe them out completely, it does keep them under control.)

Also...I know you don't like the make-up thing, but Bare Minerals powder mineral make-up has been a lifesaver for me!

I use ANEW CLINICAL Advanced Dermabrasion Systemonce a week. It works wonders!!! I too am someone whos face brakesout from washing it and using any cleansers etc. This is great for blackheads and smoothing out your complextion. It gives you a very nice healthy clean glow. Once a week I use it all the other nights I just wash my face with water!!

tried that too

Bear with me on this one...
I NEVER had acne issues in high school. The rare pimple, and that was it. I was really healthy back then. My mom cooked good, well rounded meals, and I worked out at school and did activities.

Once I got into college, I started getting acne like no one's business. I tried SO many things to get rid of it. Steam, more exercise, cleansers, different washes, different scrubs, home made scrubs (like almonds and honey...). Nothing worked.

All of a sudden, my acne is going away, and I think I figured out why. My diet has changed. I'm eating healthy again. Not only that, but I'm getting a lot more vitamin E in my system so my skin is clearing up and my hair is getting shiny again. I told my room mate, who has acne issues, and she started eating the same things I was. Adding wheat germ to shakes, apricots, mangoes... etc. Her acne started clearing up as well!

I know there are cleansers that work, but I do know your diet can affect it as well. Get all your nutrients, stay hydrated, and make sure you wash your face with non scented soaps at night. (Green tea seems to help me as well).

My skin is definitely better since I've started eating better BUT if I don't shower off right after a work out I break out. :-/ For my face the best stuff I've found is dermilogica ... its expensive but it also lasts a long time. My back and shoulders will break out too and lately I've been using the Neutrogena acne body scrub (grapefruit) and it has almost entirely cleared up. Which is odd because the face version does nothing for me. I still have an issue with visible pores but the blackheads and breakouts are minimal.

eta - I've also gone on birth control in the last 5 months or so, but my skin was clearing up with the dermilogica before that.

I used Philosophy products. I like the Purity cleanser as well as the MicroDelivery scrub and Hope In A Jar moisturizer. You can get them at Sephora or on Amazon. It's really mild.

I have recently started using all the Olay Regenerist products (cleanser, cream, serum and eye cream) because I figure it wouldn't hurt to start doing some preventative damage control for anti-aging.

I like both product lines. I don't really get blackheads though. If I get anything its gonna be a mountainous pimple. Usually right around TOM. As if I wasn't in a bad enough mood that week! Haha.

Good luck, Jinx!