Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hi, I'm a 21 year old asian male, and right now, I honestly feel like I am at my wit's end.For easier formatting, I'll basically give you guys a timeline of my skincare up until now.2011: When I was 15 and previously lived as a happy little kid with no skincare products whatsoever. This is the year where I saw a couple of pimples pop up my forehead and the creases on the side of my noses. My skin was still matte and normal.2012: at this point, my pimples have gotten numerous to the extent where I decide doing my own 'research', which is just me going to get a TON of korean skincare products, starting from a cleanser that made my skin squeaky, followed up with a toner, emulsion, moisturizer, cream AND nightcream. (I have no idea why I went so all-out, probably because I was really scared I'd be a pizza face.) I was under the impression that the squeakier my skin was, the cleaner it was. Of course, it only made things worse.late-2012: My pimples did not get any better (probably also because it was hormonal, and much more stubborn?) and my skin type slowly started to change, as I felt my skin feel REALLY tight after cleansing. Even with all the moisturizing and creams, my pimples got more and more numerous, and my T-zone started becoming really oilly. I tried (stupidly) SO many home remedies, including baking soda (cringe), steaming (cringe) and even rubbing lemon on my face (even more cringe). I was incredibly misinformed, and that year, my skin went through a LOT of torture from myself. By the end of this year, my skin was tight and oily on the T zone, and flakey on the other regions. Couple of pimples on the T zone area, nothing anywhere else.2013: At this point, my T zone was definitely looking like an oil slick. I had to buy blotting paper and go to the toilet every period at school to blot it. I realized that nothing I did was making anything better. My self confidence dropped, productivity dropped (it's really hard to study or do ANYTHING when your face feels slimy and itchy from all the dust and small things that get caught on your sticky skin), but I was still determined to find a solution.Late-2013: I finally found out that squeaky was making my skin even oilier, and decided to switch to a much gentler cleanser (Cetaphil gentle cleanser), cut out all the shit that I was putting on (toner, emulsion, moisturizer, cream) and go simple with my routine. I was still using moisturizers designed for oily skin though: they were all designed to strip oils off my skin, because I was still under the impression that my skin was just oily. From Nivea, Cetaphil, Dove, QV, Dermaveen, Neutrogena, Aveeno and home made moisturizers my mum's friends gave us, I've tried a LOT of moisturizers that really didn't do much for me at that time. Switching to a gentler cleanser still left me feeling tight after cleansing, possibly because my skin was still damaged(?) from the previous year's torture. At one point of the year, I got so desperate that I tried the caveman method, which basically is when you try to only wash your face with water and not put any moisturizer on, to 'restore' the skin's original self-sustaining function. Of course, it did not work out for me. By the end of this year my T zone was EXTREMELY tight and oily, while my other regions of the face was normal. I was still getting a few pimples on my t-zone, and just itchy bumps on my non-T zone areasEarly 2014: I finally went to the General Practitioner (family doctor) to talk to about my skin concerns. Being a guy, living in a world where my peers would ridicule me for going to see a doctor for skin stuff made me really secretive and reluctant to find necessary help, but I finally went. My GP just prescribed me with antibiotics, and recommended me the cetaphil oily skin moisturizer (which in hindsight, was probably just a go-to procedure every time a pimply teen comes through the doors). Firstly, the cetaphil moisturizer was HORRIBLE; upon application, it felt and looked like a thin sheet of oil on my skin, and still made my skin feel tight and even MORE oily. Secondly, the antibiotic didn't do anything. So after 2-3 months, I went back, and he referred me to a dermatologist.Late 2014: The dermatologist prescribed me with Differin. He told me to apply it every other day, thin film, and said I could continue to use my Cetaphil gentle cleanser and a Dermaveen moisturizer. The Differin made my skin EXTREMELY dry and painful to put anything on it, but I persevered for a month. Only thing that happened after a month, was that my non-t zones, which were previously normal, had begun to become slightly oily as well. I went back to my derm, and he said I could try tretinoin, as it was very similar to Accutane, except topical. I didn't know what Accutane was but I just said why not, and tried tretinoin for 3 months. Results? exactly the same thing with Differin. After these 3 months, my skin was in a shit state; although I had only 6-7 pimples active at a time, I still had itchy bumps on my cheeks, and even worse, now my ENTIRE face felt tight and oily. No matter how many layers of the same moisturizer I tried to put on, it wouldn't get any better.2015: I finally discovered SCA on reddit. I read about dehydrated skin. I ditched my cleanser, and just decided to go with lukewarm water. The post-cleanse tightness slightly improved, so I've stuck with the water only washing. I purchased a Dermaveen moisturising lotion, which is the only moisturizer so far that a) doesn't make me feel as tight as all other moisturizers I've tried while at the same time b) feeling the least 'filmy' or 'greasy'. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but that's all I had back then. By this time, I was really feeling fed up with the oily skin and acne, so I went to the same derm, who prescribed me accutane. My first course lasted about 8 months, at 70mg per day. During the course, my lips chapped and a couple of nosebleeds, but all my acne went away! however, there was minimal improvement to my oily skin, which quickly reversed to pre-accutane level of oiliness 3-4 months after.2016: Still persisting with the water + Dermaveen combo, my skin was still feeling a bit tight a few hours after moisturization, and also my entire face was now getting oily a few hours after. While the pimples and acne went away, I was still dealing with the embarrassing and shitty situation with an oily face. That year, I did a TON of research on everything about the skin, and why my accutane course did not work. I learned that some people require a second or third course of accutane, and as a side bonus, that my skin was dehydrated. I went back to my derm, and approximately 10 months after my first course, my second course began. The second course was meant to be a small dose, longer term one, as my derm told me that he read a study on how small, longer courses are just as effective.Late 2016: After 1 month on the small dose, long-term course, The oil production was pretty much close to normal! At this point, my skin was BEAUTIFUL. My girlfriend was telling me that she wanted my skin, and everyone was complimenting me on my skin. I felt AMAZING. I met a lot of people, became more outgoing, did well at uni and the quality of my life just generally got a lot better, because for once, I didn't have to focus on my oily face in 5-6 years of battling this problem!However this is where the disaster struck. I began noticing that my hairline was quite rapidly receding, and my overall hair density was rapidly decreasing. This was a shock to me, because most korean teenagers, or perhaps ALL of them, have a full head of hair with NO signs of receding hairline. I began researching and found numerous accounts of hair thinning and hairloss on accutane. I was devastated. This was the only real 'solution' to my skin problems I've encountered so far, and it was creating another big problem. I hated the situation I was in. Almost as if I had to choose between hair or skin. As pathetic as it may sound, I legitimately had no new ideas as to how to tackle my dehydrated skin without accutane. I began to look up my family history, to see if anyone had any histories of any conditions. My mum still has quite an oily skin, as well as a thin density of hair. Looking at that, I really began to lose hope, because a good chance is that I just have chronically high sebum production due to genetics, and probably hairloss too. Upon realizing this, I started hating myself, blaming my parents for giving me shitty genes, becoming less outgoing, spending most of the day home.2017, current: so as of now, that's pretty much the situation I am in. Start of this year, I went to the derm and was prescribed (and have been taking) finasteride + minodoxil pills for 3 months with no real improvements, just to prevent balding IN CASE it wasn't caused by accutane. But since I have high suspicions that my hairloss is caused by accutane, I'm going to stop accutane in a couple of weeks. But I'm really scared. I do not want to go back to an oil slick again. I don't know what I'm doing wrong with my routine (I'm not stripping my skin of ANY oils, just water and moisturizer), and I know that I've pretty much tried everything there is. Last update, my skin is currently dehydrated: a couple of hours after I moisturize, I'll feel my skin become tight when I sort of stretch my face a little bit, and that's when I'll start becoming oily.Interestingly, I have read recently about OCM, and heard that many people saw a reduction in oil production from it. I guess this is the only real thing I've left to try.I know, as much as I've tried to structure and format this post, I've rambled on a bit and my delivery isn't that great, but honestly I just feel like giving up. It would be really nice if I could find someone knowledgeable enough to personally recommend me an affordable moisturizer and basically point out if there's anything I'm missing to tackle my (soon-to-be) shitty skin once I stop accutane.Thanks for reading anyways, I really appreciate reading so far.TL;DR: Please read the dot point yearly summaries, but basically, started off with normal skin, tortured, tried everything (i think) and now skin is dehydrated and oily all over. Accutane worked, but it's causing hairloss so probably quitting, in which case I'm really lost. Would love any help ESP some info on OCM.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by geshion
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