How I Cleared Up My Skin

When I say my skin was bad, I mean it was bad. It was like someone had published a book in braille on my face. It got significantly worse my freshman year of college, and eventually I got fed up with having to cake on ten pounds of concealer everyday just so I felt okay enough to go out in public. I sent my mom this picture and said “I need to go to a dermatologist.”

Now, keep in mind that I had been to a dermatologist before. He prescribed me an antibiotic pill called doxycycline, along with benzoyl peroxide and adapalene ointments that I was to switch off using every other night. I washed my face every morning and every with PanOxyl, a face wash that has benzoyl peroxide in it, and used an unscented moisturizer. I felt like I was doing everything right.

So you can imagine my frustration when nothing changed - well, aside from the dryness of my skin. I normally have pretty oily skin, but the combination of the ointments and medicated face wash caused my face to peel like crazy. My skin is also incredibly sensitive, so I felt like I had windburn pretty much 24/7.

My mom took pity on me, and agreed to send me to a dermatologist in the town I was living in for college. I was excited to see someone new, considering nothing that I had been told to do by my previous derm was working.

I kid you not, this woman walked into the room, took one look at my face, and said “oh honey, that’s not acne.”

Excuse me?

“Those are flat warts.”

EXCUSE ME?

I was disgusted to say the least. Warts? On my face? Absolutely not. No. Ew ew ew, no!

She explained to me that this is actually a pretty common thing, which made me feel a little better. No wonder none of the other treatments were working!

I was told to discontinue taking the antibiotic and to stop using the benzoyl peroxide, adapalene, and PanOxyl. She prescribed me tretinoin, which she explained to me is something that’s used in anti-aging products because it enhances cell turnover. Basically, it was going to start at the bottom layer of my skin and work its way up to the top, cleaning my pores along the way.

She also told me that, because of how sensitive my skin is, I needed to use a gentle cleanser. She told me to use CeraVe foaming facial cleanser, and to follow it up with CeraVe AM/PM moisturizer.

Y’all…my skin was clear in a month.

A month!

I hadn’t had clear skin since puberty, so I was pretty ecstatic…and if I’m being honest, I still am! I know the whole “you don’t need to wear makeup to be beautiful blah blah blah,” but it really is so nice (and relieving) to not have to be self-conscious about my skin when I go out.

This is me now, only wearing mascara. Something that I felt insecure doing 3 years ago!

Now I understand that the dermatologist is not an option for everyone. However, if I could recommend one thing, it would be to invest in a gentle, unscented cleanser (like CeraVe, which is linked here), and to pair it with a gentle, unscented moisturizer. I personally like using the AM/PM moisturizers, since the AM has sunscreen in it and the PM is a bit thicker so it stays on overnight (the two I use are linked here and here). I also advise you to stay away from face masks with fragrance - if you want to do a mask, use something unscented and with a clay base. The less ingredients, the better!

Let that be the common theme for your skin care routine - the less stuff, the better. Don’t fall for the hype with things like essential oils, spot treatments, or sheet masks. While these things aren’t inherently bad, they don’t necessarily do much for the betterment of your skin - and if you have ultra-sensitive skin like me, then they’re more likely to lead to a breakout.

Find something simple, wash your face day and night, and stick with the same routine for at least six months. This gives your skin enough time to turn over new cells and adjust to your new routine. Nothing wrong with treating yourself to a fun face mask or oil treatment every once and awhile, but I’ve found that keeping it simple is a safe bet for clear skin.

Oh, and drink some water, will you?

I hope this helps, and share your skin care tips in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you guys!