Skincare Journey

Backstory

As a person who has been going to the dermatologist since 3rd grade, you can easily assume I’ve had quite a bit of personal experience with what does (and does not) work with my skincare routine. To clarify, 3rd grade for me was 2001, so the years of Stridex pads, over exfoliating, and witch hazel were in their prime! I’m so privileged to have been able to even go to a derm, so I hope this doesn’t come off as a complaint. I saw a lot of success through the various things I tried over the years, and will list them later on.

It’s crazy how my skin has evolved over the years!! What was once bumpy, dry, yet oily? and covered in acne is now smooth and even. We’ve still got a tinge of redness, but overall, I am shocked with where it’s currently at! Here are the things I’ve tried/used over the years, and how they effected me.

NOTE: Everyone’s skin is different. What works for me may not work for you. That said, I’d describe my skin as dry in my “t-zone,” and oily in all others. I have hormonal acne along my jaw and back (joy) during my period.

Dermatologist Daze

My parents should have purchased stock in CeraVe, Vanicream, and Cetaphil. These are the #1 products recommended by dermatologists, and I used them all the way into my early 20s! I can literally smell them each if I close my eyes, lol. I will never forget the first actual prescription I was on: Clindamycin. It was topical, and burned when I applied it. I thought that meant it was working! You have to understand — that was the goal in the early 00’s; if it burned, it was working. I used this on my face/back for probably 3 years until it no longer was keeping my acne clear. In 6th grade, I switched to Erythromycin. The results for this were just as effective/similar to Clindamycin, but kept my acne under control for about 2 more years. I think after awhile, you just grow a tolerance for the prescriptions you use, and you have to find something new.

My early teen years were a plethora of trial/error medications, topical and oral. My acne hit an all-time high around age 15, and had progressed to my chest and arm areas. My body odor and sweating also got pretty extreme, I was diagnosed with Hyperhidrosis, an excessive sweating disorder. I was so embarrassed, and remember wanting to skip school a few days because it was so bad. I was so frustrated that I had been going to a derm for all these years, and it looked like I hadn’t done anything! My regular doctor was an ancient old man, so I switched to a younger, female provider, and was just positive she would be my saving grace! The first thing she prescribed was Ortho Tri-Cyclen, as I was also having irregular periods. This is an oral contraceptive, and I used it in addition to continuing my Erythromycin topically. I wasn’t sexually active, but my doctor was convinced this would be the answer. Queue my journey through 7 birth controls, each with extreme side effects, and no end in sight to my acne. I tried the patch, Depo-Provera (the shot), Yaz, Yasmin, NuvaRing, and a copper IUD. I would gain 20 pounds in what felt like overnight, my acne would get worse, I would have suicidal thoughts, depressed, remove myself from things I once loved doing; you name it, I had it.

College Skincare

Birth control was clearly not the answer for me. At age 18, I decided to part ways with it, along with my Erythromycin routine. I wanted to see what would happen with just regularly washing my face with Cetaphil cleanser, and not wearing makeup daily. What I learned: removing oral contraceptive from the lineup had no effect on my acne, my acne was still present, and ditching daily makeup was slightly impactive. I returned to a dermatologist at age 20, and was prescribed Spironolactone to help dry things out. It was an oral medication, and was hopefully going to help my sweating as well. What it did was mess up my menstrual cycle even more (I went 8 weeks without a period).

I was so frustrated. 10 years of regularly attempting to keep my acne under control, and literally nothing was working. I was still sweaty, covered in acne, and smelled horrible even immediately after showering. My depression hit a rock bottom during these years, and my suicidal thoughts returned in full force. I turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism, and in hindsight, that wasn’t doing any favors for my inflammation/skin either. I just wanted to have fun and not worry about my looks or what I smelled like.

Adult Skincare & Current Routine

Fast-forward to age 28, I was diagnosed with PCOS. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a condition in which the ovaries produce an abnormal amount of androgens (male sex hormones) that are usually present in women in small amounts. The name “polycystic ovary syndrome” describes the numerous small cysts that form in the ovaries. My symptoms for PCOS have always been acne, oily skin, weight gain, excessive sweating, body odor, and irregular periods. OH, WEIRD 🤣 These are the exact symptoms I’d been trying to manage/cover up for FIFTEEN years!! I