Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hello all!I think everyone says this when they make a B&A, but truly. I never thought I would be at this point where I could say I'm completely clear of acne! And what got me here was my own perseverance.STORY TIME AHEAD!Backstory So I had baaaaaaaaaaaad acne as a teen. Really bad. I don't have any photos of me at all from that time other than those that I heavily edited or ones that were taken far away enough that you couldn't see my skin. Long story short: I got rid of it through prescription BP. My face was happy!5 years later, for whatever reason, it came back. Around July/August last year, my skin started changing. It didn't like the creams I was using anymore; it was flaky and uncooperative. I started breaking out with acne on my forehead, cheeks, and chin. I went to the doctor and got BP, as I figured it'd helped me in my teen years so it'd help again.Meanwhile, I sought advice from all you lovely people here at /r/skincareaddiction and /r/skincareaddictionUK to assess my routine, as my skin was just a nightmare. Overall I got some good recommendations, especially about improving my cleansing routine and layering moisturisers, but nothing made much of a difference on my acne. My forehead cleared up though. So for a while that was pretty much the only part of my face that was clear.A number of months go by without any real progress; depression set in. So by this point I was trying tons of different products. Cetaphil, Eucerin, Nivia, konjac sponges, DermaE.....I can't even list everything. So many stuff went in the bin after either breaking me out or turning my face into a tomato. (Konjac sponge broke me out BAAAD).Eventually, I sought serious help from my GP. I was at a point where my depression had led me to dark thoughts. So I knew I needed help. I had a consultation with my GP about my mental state and she identified that I was dealing with depression as a result of my struggles. She put me on a waiting list for therapy, and prescribed me dianette. Meanwhile, I had no other leads on what to do with my skincare routine, so I pressed on with what I was doing.At this point I was using a routine not unlike my current one. Eucerin 5% Urea, Cetaphil moisturising cream, argan oil, bareminerals cleanser, Avene cleansing lotion, and a prescription BP on ANYTHING that dared raise itself on my face. I was gentle, diligent and obsessive.But things just wouldn't change. My acne was focused around my mouth and chin, and up my cheeks. Forehead was clear. I was so confused.Months passed, no progress, no therapy. It was a tremendous struggle. Most days were spent working away quietly at work without talking to many people, and getting home clearing off my face of makeup and watching TV for the rest of the evening until I could go to sleep. Rinse, repeat.Suddenly, for whatever reason, I decided to drop BP. I had changed numerous products and was sure I had a good routine. I was so confused. But I happened to come across a thread elsewhere on reddit and got into a discussion with someone about BP. Basically, it boiled down to BP actually sometimes being more harmful for acne, especially in people who have sensitive skin. This had never occurred to me, as it had cleared my acne as a teen. I threw it in the bin that evening.Three weeks later, my acne was gone. This was about 4-5 months into dianette, so I have no idea if it could be attributed to that. But it seemed more likely to me that BP was actually the cause of my acne: I only got breakouts around the regions that I was routinely using it, i.e. around my mouth and cheeks. Never on my forehead or anywhere else that it wouldn't touch. I figured that I was spreading the BP around since I was using my Cetaphil moisturiser on top of it.All along, the thing that was supposed to cure my breakouts was actually causing it. I was dumbfounded. I had tried dozens upon dozens of products, spent hundreds of pounds, and all along it was that.Three months and going strong without any acne breakouts! So yup, since then, I have had no breakouts of acne whatsoever. I have had a load of other gripes, however, with eczema and dry skin, which have turned out to be issues with swapping my oil cleanser (bareminerals got discontinued D:) and overmoisturising during what was a very humid summer, but they are NOTHING in comparison to the nightmare that was acne. A lot of the scars have already faded quite a bit but many are still taking their time.I've also been on therapy since mid June, which is helping tremendously. She's helping me refocus my thoughts and get on with life regardless of what's going on with my face.And so, here I am! I'm finally confident in my bare skin. Well...not quite enough to go out bare-faced, but enough to not feel ashamed of looking my boyfriend in the eyes without it and having lights on around me without makeup. It's truly a surreal feeling that I hope everyone can eventually feel at the end of their skincare journey.I also saw a dermatologist for the first time today! I was on the waiting list for so long that I only just got to see a dermatologist today; I was originally supposed to see them about my acne. But I still went anyway as I want to become better at looking after my skin. And I'm so glad I did. He was a really understanding, lovely person to speak to. I could tell he knew exactly what he was talking about and was not judging me at all. In brief: I got lots of advice on what I should/shouldn't do (mostly shoulds - to keep going with what I've found that works :D) and resolved some of my general queries about acne/eczema-prone skin. I have another appointment in December to follow up. All in all, it was such a good experience and I'm glad they were so responsive and understanding.I never, ever, EVER thought I'd have a success story. Seriously. And it makes me realise that anyone could be literally just one step away from solving their acne issues. And that's why you have to keep trying. Because you never know which change is going to be the big break.I wish I had more photos to share, but I deleted a lot of them - probably for the best. I hope they are still motivating for anyone who is still trying to cut through the brambles that are blocking them from progressing on their skincare journey. I don't think the journey ever ends, honestly, as our skin is everchanging, but the path does become clearer and easier as you learn more about your skin and the tools you have at your disposal to help you keep moving forward.Thanks for reading all this if you did! I am not the type of person to talk about this stuff with my friends and family, so I felt compelled to share it with all you, who truly understand. :-)B&A pics: http://imgur.com/a/3nCO0 Apologies for the random black boxes. I'm trying to keep myself anonymous if that's okay. I also used to have photos of when it was even worse, but I must have deleted them. I lost track of the dates too, sorry! But these are all pics without any makeup whatsoever. The most recent ones (at the end of the album) are literally from about a week ago.TL;DR: Had acne as a teen. Cleared up with BP, was fine for 5 years. Resurfaced last year. Tried BP again. Struggled for almost a year with it. Spent hundreds of pounds trying to find something that worked. Depression hit me. Eventually, ditched BP and acne cleared up in 3 weeks. Am undergoing therapy, and saw a dermatologist for the first time today. 3 months free of acne! Currently tackling some dryness issues but nothing major, and am happy. :)
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by LizBur
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