Well. This post is something I never thought I’d be making since I first conquered “teenage acne” in my teens. But here we are. In January of this year (2020) I started breaking out. I thought it was a temporary post-wedding breakout but it only got worse and inflammed as the months went on. I’ve walked you guys through this journey with me as what I thought was a small breakout turned to now 10 months of cystic adult acne I’ve been fighting.
My Acne Backstory:
I feel like it’s crucial to give a back story as I’ve always had acne-prone skin. My mom said when I was an infant I had “infant acne” so I guess this started from the moment I was born. I had pretty clear skin when I entered my teenage / puberty years but then around 17 years old I started getting awful cystic breakouts. I fought teenage acne hard and my mom had me in the dermatologist monthly trying to figure it out. It went on for years even when I went off to college.
The summer after my freshman year I was extremely insecure about it that I was beyond ready to do the accutane route. I did all of the education / pre-accutane tests and almost went on it when my mom found this cheap retinol on amazon and for SOME odd reason that cured everything on my face within a month no joke. So I backed out of accutane and lived the next 4.5 years with CLEAR skin. Seriously I wore no makeup to classes, had regained my self confidence, and never got a pimple unless I was stressed or hadn’t been drinking enough water. It was the best and I didn’t think I’d ever deal with cystic acne again.
Then I went off of birth control in November of 2019 and in January of 2020 my skin did a whole 360. It went to shit is what I like to say. I really wanted to try to fix my skin “naturally” as I went through so many different medications for acne in high school. So…. what I’ve been doing:
How I’ve been dealing with adult acne:
- Dairy free, egg free, chicken free
- New skincare: The ordinary, Tula, Cerave, First aid beauty, Revision skincare, and more I can’t think of.
- Supplements: Balance, DiM, Probiotic
- Exercise
- TONS of water
- Silk pillowcase
- Anti bacterial towels
- Sulfate free hair care
- Wiping phone down from bacteria
- Visiting esthetician and dermatologist
- High frequency wand
- Niacinamide
- Nizoral for fungal acne
Are you overwhelmed!? SAME sister haha. Try having a public IG and sharing your acne journey….. I get hundreds of DM’s every time on 10000 more things I should be doing. It’s exhausting honestly. I’ve felt defeated especially in the last couple of months. It’s like everytime I thought something was working, a few weeks later my skin freaked right back out. And every time I shared how I was adding this and this to my skincare journey, someone would tell me I’m doing to much and to give it time or someone would tell me I need to do this and this ON TOP of everything.
It’s been a mind game honestly. But the above is what I’ve CHOSEN to do for myself based on my lifestyle. I don’t have any food intolerances but wanted to see if dairy free, and chicken product-free would make a difference. I think it helped a bit, but it didn’t make it all go away. Same with the whole list. Every single thing has helped but it didn’t “fix” it all. As you can see from pictures, everything I’ve done has made the acne get better over time but now I realize I need that extra help through medicine.
Fixing Adult Acne Next Plan:
While I gave the natural route a go… I visited my dermatologist end of September and we both discussed it was time to let medication do it’s spin because my body needs help on the inside. I’m now taking spironolactone and ampicillin. We’re hoping this works to kill whatever bacteria is left / hormone issues I’ve got going on. I go see her again in December to analyze everything so will keep you posted.
My Skincare right now:
- Curology for daily topical treatment
- I use this acne face wash and really like it
- SPF and Vitamin C serum in the morning
- AHA / BHA toner and this peel for skin texture
- This toner for dark spots
And I’m still taking all of the supplements and same diet as well since it’s all just become apart of my daily lifestyle. It’s been an exhausting ride and it’s played with my mind and heart. But I always look for the positives in everything and can’t help but feel like maybe I’m going through this to share my experience and help others feel better about their own skin issues.
If you’re dealing with adult acne, or any acne, you’re not alone! I’m right there with ya girl. Thanks for reading!
Love that you were so open to share! I shared my own before and afters and it’s hard. Jordan Harper on IG has tons of tips too. A vitamin c and retinol does wonders! Getting rid of dairy is great too.