Let's talk about adult acne for a minute...

Weird as this post may be, I think that more people have the same problems I do and don't want to talk about it. I know talking about acne is not my favorite thing in the world but I have finally found a system that is working for me after about 7 years of struggling. Thus my journey...the good, the bad and the pimply.

Let's start at the beginning shall we? When I was in High School, I never wore much makeup. Other than the essentials: concealer, blush/bronzer and a little mascara. That's it...never needed more and never wanted more. I was on the dance team and on game nights and at competitions, the coach and captains insisted on making us look like $10 hookers and we were forced to put on 7lbs of make up. Literally. Obnoxious eye shadow, liner, thick foundation, bronzer, blush and sometimes they would draw on our faces. Ick. I am not joking when I say those two girls had the worst taste, like ever when it came to makeup. I always washed my face the minute I got home and never had acne issues.

Fast forward a few years and when I was about 18-19 years old in college and thus my bitter battle with acne began. I think it was 100% related to stress but I began to break out in tiny little zits with nothing in them [trust me, I am a picker and I tried]. I started going to a dermatologist. Actually I tried several. Many suggested getting on Acutane (...um no thanks) and others prescribed antibiotics. [Also, something you should know about me, is that I'm a hippie. Not like a Birkenstock wearing-yoga mat carrying-bicycle riding hippie, but when it comes to medicine, chemicals, cleaning products, the environment and taking care of my body, I am a hippie. When I have a headache, I try exercise or a hot shower before contemplating taking medicine. I will only take medicine when it's the last possible option.] I had a really hard time committing to taking an antibiotic for several reasons, 1. the aforementioned despise of medicines, 2. What happens when I go off the medicine? Is it just a quick fix? 3. It made me very susceptible to UV rays, meaning, anytime my skin was exposed to the sun, I had to be in 50+ sunscreen in order to avoid looking like a tomato. And if it's doing that to my skin, what is it doing to my insides?? Just overall, I went through an inner turmoil every time I took the medicine. Did it help me? Yes, but not 100% and I wasn't willing to put aside my feelings and beliefs for about a 50-60% fix.

So, after I found a doctor who wouldn't push medicines (you'd be sick to learn how many actually treated me like I was an idiot for saying no to medicine), I started trying topical treatments. For the record, there are thousands of topical creams and face washes out there and the only way to try them out, is to literally do that...try them out. The kicker is that topical creams and washes for acne do not fully work to your advantage until about 3 months of use....some take up to 6 months. So for about 7 years, I tried a new cream and wash for 3-6 months at a time in order to find out what would work for me. If you're doing the math that is 14-28 combinations of washes and creams. Also, I was going to the dermatologist every 3 months to talk about my progress. Take into account, the time I spent sitting in doctor's offices, the amount of money spent on co pays and for the medicines...some did not have generic options and would cost $150 a month!

Unfortunately, I got so fed up, I just quit. I was mad and emotional and I quit cold turkey and decided I would take a break from the dermatologist until I figured out a better solution. Before we left for vacation in December, I was going to a spa to get a certain girly wax. When I arrived the receptionist told me my husband had called in, scheduled a facial for me and already paid for it so there was no option of cancelling. He knew I wouldn't want to spend the money and would have tried to cancel it. He also remembered me mentioning about how I didn't want to worry about putting on make up to go to the beach but that it was inevitable. He earned 20 points for that one.  Anyway, I fell madly in love with the esthetician who did my facial, now my esthetician. Really, I own her.  She suggested trying chemical peels and microdermabrasion when I got back from my trip. Now, this is something I had been asking my dermatologists to try and they all said I wasn't a good candidate for them. I'm still not sure why they deterred me away from it but still I'm so lucky to have met Lynette who has introduced me to clear, glowing skin...something I haven't seen in about 7 years! I just had my 4th chemical peel and I can honestly say, all the goop and disgusting-ness from underneath my skin had to creep its way out, but that it was well worth the few weeks of ugly I experienced. I have always normally washed my face 2-3 times a day and wear organic, natural makeup that help improve the look and appearance of my skin...now it only helps make it look so much better.

After meeting with Lynette, I realized I have really odd skin...it's oily and dry at the same time. Basically, my issue is that I have dry skin and the skin flakes get deep into my pores and clog them (ew!). My body, in a reaction to the clogged pores, over produces oil in order to counter the dryness. My pores stretch and are filled with goop and looks awful. The microdermabrasion, exfoliates my skin on a higher level getting rid of all the dead skin that gets trapped in my pores and the chemical peel gets deep into my skin to balance the oil production. The end. Problem solved.

So why did I share this long, boring story? Because I think a lot of people do struggle with bad skin and many girls have left their doctor's offices in tears feeling like the ugliest girl in the world. It's a terrible feeling and I don't wish it upon anyone. I know this is a vain post but I feel so much more confident and beautiful with better skin now than I have in a long time...well about 7 years. I would encourage anyone with skin issues problems to give chemical peels and microdermabrasion a shot. I know they both sound scary and make you fearful of looking like Samantha on Sex in the City when she gets a chem peel:

I assure you, it's not that bad. I usually get them done on a Thursday evening and go right home and wake up looking normal with clear skin. Of course, you're red for a bit...you're essentially burning off the top layer of skin and of course it hurts, but pain is beauty my friends and I promise it is well worth the pain!

Feel free to ask me anything of the treatments I've gone through and the medicines I've tried. I'm really an open book.

Cheers...and happy snow day to my fellow Midwestern residents!

Lynsey