Do you al-ways come do-wn -with constant acne attacks that never seem to go a-way? Relax and stop blaming yourself or even those facial acne creams and cleansers. Let me relate to you a story, mine.

-when I -was 15, I -was traumatized by my acne. I tried all kinds of acne cleansers, as -well as other topical treatments, and even some internal junk, but nothing seemed to -work. It -was a terrible time in my life. I -was just starting to try to talk to girls, and looking for a girlfriend, but my terrible complexion made me feel afraid to even approach them.

-whether it -was my imagination or not, looking back on it, it seemed that none of them -were really all that interested, and no one -wanted to speak to me. It might have been adolescent insecurity, but all of the acne creams and cleansers that I used seemed useless and ineffective at best, and so my selfesteem continued to go do-wn hill at an accelerating speed.

Finally I came to the realization that acne cleansers -would never solve the problem, and that I -would have to resolve it myself. My father sat me do-wn and told me that, at my age, he had the same problem. There -was the paralyzing insecurity, the acne cleansers, the various concoctions and treatments, the female infatuation and all. He said he finally found something that really -worked. It -wasn't the acne cleansers; no acne cleanser can really do anything to completely halt teenage insecurity. It -was a matter of taking himself in hand, and realizing that he could do anything that he set his mind to, and that he -was good enough just as he -was.

Personally, I thought that this -was a bunch of hokum -when I first heard it, and I decided to keep trying the acne cleansers. Sure enough, eventually I found one that -worked just fine, and did help me out a little, but not enough to really cure all of my acne. Then I realized that, alone acne cleansers -weren't really enough. My dad had been right about that part! I needed something more.

The ans-wer, at the end of the day -was to have a proper diet. It's that simple. once I started to exercise more regularly and eat less greasy food, my acne began to really clear up. I cannot say that it disappeisd completely overnight, cause that -would not be realistic. It did get steadily better over a period of time, until the condition became manageable and more importantly, not as chronic as it -was before.

Having a healthy amount of selfesteem is all great, but a good complexion and a physique to match is even better. I began talking to girls and managed to s-weep one off her feet. Looking at it, I've been grateful to my dad for many things, but his advice about acne cleansers -was never one of those things.