While I wish I was one of those girls who have perfectly clear skin all the time, I, unfortunately, am not. I've broken out ever since I could remember.

Usually, I can get away with putting toothpaste or coconut oil on my zits and they'll somewhat calm down, but recently my zits have been multiplying with no end in sight.

I've read everything on how to shrink zits, how to make zits less red, how to make zits disappear overnight, you name it, I've Googled it. So far, nothing has worked for me 100% of the time.

I don't really have a rigid skincare routine like some people I know. I wash my face every morning and every night with the same cleanser I've always used. Sometimes, I do a clay face mask once or twice a week that you can find out of a bottle (my current favorite is Dirty Works Ultimate Detox Mud Mask).

I've recently started putting tea tree oil on my zits and it kind of works. They're less red, but still there. I moisturize my face sometimes in the morning depending on if my skin looks dry. Needless to say, I'm all over the place.

Recently, I was talking to my sister who was telling me how she was trying to go a week without sugar, then had a frap to treat herself on Sundays. This sparked an idea. I read on multiple websites that your diet has a lot to do with how your skin looks. Processed sugar is an inflammatory, meaning it somewhat contributed to the redness of my zits.

I knew what I had to do.

I decided to go a month without any sweets i.e. cookies, muffins, chocolate, basically anything that is sweet and fun to eat, I wasn't going to eat it. I would treat myself to some chocolate on Sundays so I wouldn't go crazy, but that would be it. I laid out three rules for myself that were easy to follow:

1. I will not eat sweets (cookies, candy, muffins, chocolate etc.) for a month.

2. However, I will allow myself to have a handful of chocolate chips every Sunday so I do not go insane.

3. I will continue my normal skin routine to the best of my ability so I can see if there were any significant changes at the end of the month.

With those rules in mind, I began my journey.

Week 1

By the end of week one, I was feeling pretty confident. I diligently washed my face every morning and night, I put my clay mask on twice this week, and I kept applying tea tree oil to the zits. And most importantly, I did not touch any sugar that didn't come from a piece of fruit. The zits were definitely less red.

I also tried to wear less makeup. My foundation is pretty full-coverage so I put on the minimum amount on days where I had to put on a full face. I made the conscious effort to not rest my face on my hand: something, I realized, I do a lot. I also tried to stop picking at the zits and cut my nails more often so I wasn't tempted to.

I still needed some help so I talked to my friend Nick who told me that Witch Hazel toner works extremely well for him when it comes to killing zits. I ordered a bottle of that, put some of it on a cotton ball, and applied it directly to my problem areas.

I did that for two days until I read online how you're supposed to put toner all over your face every day in the morning and at night and let it work its magic. I started to add that to my routine five days in. I could already see the difference.

There was hope.

Week 2

This week, I continued my skin routine and to be quite honest, things were working! I did develop a new zit on the side of my head, but I kept putting Witch Hazel on it and that seemed to do the trick. I did my clay mask twice this week which cooled my skin and gave it a nice clean feeling.

I kept away from sugar all week as well as drank a lot more water and wouldn't you know it, the zits on my chin and around my mouth are slowly fading away.

However, I did start to pick the zits on my face. If you haven't done that before, I wouldn't suggest starting that habit. It's hard to break and makes the zits on your face look irritated, inflamed, and red.

To stop myself from doing that, I sat on my hands. Silly, I know, but it worked. Slowly but surely, my zits were disappearing.

Week 3

So let me start by saying that this week included Halloweekend so yes, I did eat a Reese's or two on a day that wasn't my cheat day. However, as much as I want to think this experiment is working, I don't think it is.

I've been putting the Witch Hazel all over my face, killing zits with the tea tree oil, and did a clay mask once. But I still developed a zit near my eyebrow and God was it a big one.

The no sugar thing feels good for your body in the beginning. Your stomach doesn't feel as weighed down and you don't feel as lethargic. However, I don't think it's doing much for my skin.

I think the stuff I'm doing to my face and the fact I'm not picking at the zits are helping. I mean don't get me wrong, my zits are less red, I just don't think it's because I'm eating less sugar.

Week 4 (and the wrap-up)

It's the last week of this challenge and I couldn't be happier.

I learned a lot, but the best piece of advice I can offer is to find a skin care routine that works. My personal routine going forward is the following:

1. Applying a clay mask once or twice a week depending on the amount of time I have.

2. Washing my face every morning and every night with my Neutrogena cleanser.

3. Applying tea tree oil to a cotton ball and holding it directly on problem zits.

4. Applying the smallest amount of coconut oil to the area around the zit that I tried to kill so as not to damage the surrounding skin.

5. Putting toner on a cotton ball and applying it to my face before bed.

While going 90% sugar-free was great for my body as a whole, I don't think that was the main cause of my zits calming down. I stopped picking at the zits and putting my hand on my face and those little behavioral changes went a long way.

In terms of products, none of the ones I have tried have worked as well as the routine I established for myself over the past month. It takes a long time, but it's worth it when my face doesn't look like a bumpy red mess.

Try the sugar-free life to make your body feel better, but try harder to get a skin care regimen down pat. You'll thank yourself later.

Keep trying to kill those zits and good luck!