my journey with acne

This long and hard journey began for me in my teenage years, between the ages of 13 to 14. At this age, I barely wore makeup and my acne was concentrated mostly on my forehead. It began as comedogenic acne with blackheads and whiteheads.

Here’s what comedogenic acne can look like:

It was tempting to burst these pimple as it seemed like a quick fix but honestly, it did no good. It left scars and took longer for the pimple to heal. I tried everything from salicylic acid face washes to an extensive skin care routine. Nothing seemed to help. I wasn’t too affected by my acne at this point so a few years went by. Gradually my acne evolved and began turning into pustules and papules.

Here’s what pustular and papular acne can look like:

At this point, I was about 17 and I still persisted with various traditional methods of controlling acne, i.e. using turmeric face masks or chickpea flour masks etc. I used to wash my face twice a day with a salicylic acid face wash, used an acne controlling toner, followed by an oil-free moisturiser and then spot treatments. This did help to an extent but did not result in resolution.

When I reached the age of 21, I decided to see a doctor and was prescribed Duac Gel. Duac Gel is a topical gel which consists of an antibiotic called clindamycin and a peeling agent called benzoyl peroxide. With the regular use of once at night, things appeared to settle and my acne eventually got much better. I even used to have weeks with clear skin; this was a huge change! I still did get the occasional spot but I was also much better at covering them with makeup by this point!

As I got better at makeup, I started wearing heavier makeup daily, that’s when I noticed my acne progressively worsening. Initially it still appeared as pustules and papules but by the age of 23, this started developing into cystic acne. (On hindsight, I wish I had done more research and spent more money to buy good quality oil-free makeup that was more suited to my skin type and acne!)

Here’s what cystic or nodular acne looks like:

It was now on my cheeks, jaw and forehead. It was painful, inflamed and took far longer to heal. I noticed it also varied with my hormonal and menstrual cycle. It was really unsightly and affected my self-esteem rather badly. I was now desperate for a solution and resolution. I went to see my general practitioner who immediately put me on oral antibiotics. I took Oral Lymecycline once a day for 3 months and it made very little difference. I concurrently used Duac with it, but it made little to no improvement. I even tried the COCP (combined oral contraceptive pill) for a short period and due to various side effects, I stopped taking it.

I was desperate at this point. I am sure my GP empathized because he agreed to refer me to a dermatologist. The wait on the NHS (National Health Service UK) to see a dermatologist was 3 months! Personally, I could not wait that long. I decided to see a private dermatologist and despite all the cost, it was the best decision I ever made!

See this post on my journey with a private dermatologist and roaccutane.