My Skin Log 1

Song Hyekyo from her Laneige campaign

Hi everyone! I will try to make a new skin log every week or so to let you guys know how I'm doing. :)


So I recently visited the dermatologist to get my skin checked. I've had moderate facial acne problems since I was 11 (I'm 18 now!) but I thought I had finally outgrown them when they (mostly) disappeared a few months ago. Unfortunately, they came back! :(


The funny thing is is that I've had oily skin since forever. But around May of my junior year (16), my skin became really dry and flaky. It was terrible, I still have that problem even now. :( Senior year, my skin went through some crazy changes. I would have red splotches that sometimes itched like crazy, gross flaky skin which led to skin discoloration, cystic acne (okay, I'll admit it, I ditched school once because of this), etc. It definitely wasn't all at the same time, but I don't recall my skin ever being completely smooth.


It's really embarrassing for me to write all of this out, but I want to keep a log of my new routine (prescribed by dermatologist) in case it works (/fingers crossed!). My skin problems were never that discouraging, but I have shed quite a few tears over it. I remember visiting a friend's house once and clipping back my bangs, showing my forehead. My acne was actually "under control" at the time(I thought so, anyway) but she suggested that she'd look in a magazine for tips to help my skin. A nice gesture, but I went home and cried about it afterwards. At least no one's ever made fun of me for it in front of my face?


Type of acne/skin problems:
I get acne on my forehead and temples (little bumps and whiteheads), sometimes a whitehead or cyst on my nose, and sometimes a few small bumps above/below my mouth. I never/hardly get pimples on my cheeks or chin. The majority of it happens on my forehead and temple. Lots and lots and lots of dryness and flaking. Sometimes my skin gets ridiculously red, especially under my eyes/cheeks. My skin is super sensitive to the sun, too.


Bad skin-causing habits that I'm going to change:
- my BANGS (side bangs that sweep to the left, where there are more pimples than the right)
- TOUCHING MY FACE (I can't help it! This is so bad!)
- Staying up late and not getting enough sleep (I'm an early riser but my high school habits prevents me from sleeping earlier than 11PM)
- Not drinking enough water
- Eating spicy, salty, sweet foods. I have a love-hate relationship with junk food.
- Forgetting to apply sunscreen (I try not to!)
- Using dirty makeup brushes (My daily makeup look doesn't require brushes, but I definitely don't wash them often enough!)
- Taking hot, long showers (I've worked on this and my showers aren't as hot/long anymore! Gonna work my way to warm/lukewarm eventually.)
- Not washing my face right after a work out (I work out almost daily so this is really important.)
- Giving up on treatments (I am an impatient person.)

Regimen:
Benzaclin - AM

Atralin - PM
Wash face with water before applying medication. Moisturize with Cetaphil after applying medication all over the face.
I should see good results after 1-2 months (thank god I have summer break until 08/20). Dermatologist warns me that my skin will be extra crappy from purging for a monthish though. Great.

First week (No pictures, sorry! I'm way too embarrassed for that.):
Day 1 (07/28): Saw the dermatologist today so I'll just be applying Atralin at night. Doesn't feel too bad. I just have pimples on my forehead and temples right now.
Day 2 (07/29): I don't see a difference. Applied Benzaclin. It kind of stings the acne, but that's good, right? I'm a firm believer in "No pain, no gain." It's weird, but I accidentally brushed my face and the gel/moisturizer rubbed off on my fingers. Except it's a dirty gray. Ewwwwwww, is this my skin purging? Put on Atralin at night, acne looks... angry.
Day 3 (07/30): My face always looks nicer in the morning. Acne hasn't changed much, maybe it's a bit smaller? I have two pimples below my lip though. Applied the Benzaclin. IT STINGS AND BURNS SO BAD ALL OVER HELP ME. Moisturizer does nothing to soothe it. Looked online, people say you're supposed to use only a TEENYYY bit. Whoops. Also, rubbed off a bit more of it to see if I was right. It's a dirty yellow now! It really must by my skin purging. By the time I put on Atralin at night (which stings a bit less), my face looks/feels like it's been sunburned. And it's swollen. I was really sad about today because I was supposed to go to a SD Berekley party and got invited by a friend to sleepover, but I had to give up both because of my scary looking face.
Day 4 (07/31): Skin stings and feels a bit stiff/swollen, but much better than yesterday. The pimples at my temples are gone! The ones below my mouth are almost gone too. The smaller bumps on my forehead seemed to have disappeared too, but the larger ones are getting larger. I think this is a good thing. :D Used only a teeny, teeny, teeny bit of Benzaclin this time and skipped my cheeks area (hurts sooooo bad there) because I never get acne there anyway. Tried rubbing off some gel, but I can't! Hope this means my skin has gotten rid of all the dirtiest top layer stuff. :) At night, the bumps seem to have been reduced to just one red bump below my mouth, a few tiny ones on my nose, and a small cluster of pimples on my forehead. There's just one big whitehead in the cluster. (lol it grosses me out just to type this; at least it's not pictures!) I also realized that the two dark moles on my forehead have faded to a light brown. Dang, this is potent stuff.
Day 5 (08/01): No more bumps on my nose! I'm experiencing skin discoloration around my mouth, cheeks and forehead, which kind of bothers me. I did the same thing as yesterday and only applied a teeny bit. The sting is much more bearable now (it actually goes away after two hours), but applying moisturizer brings back the pain (ironically). Skin is really flaking around the mouth and eyebrows, but moisturizer keeps it at bay. I actually went to the mall/friend's house for a good 7 hours! :) Experienced a bit of flaking and oily skin, but nothing moisturizer and blotting sheets don't fix. Even the pimples on my forehead aren't too terrible to look at (my bangs cover most of them anyway). I am pleasantly pleased by my skin's progress. There's not too much change by the time I apply Atralin at night.
Day 6 (08/02): I just counted the number of bumps I have left on my forehead! About four very small bumps! They're so small that if there were just one, it wouldn't be noticeable at all. The whitehead from before is completely gone! I am ridiculously pleased because I plan to be holding a closet sale with my friend tomorrow as well as attend a beach party (can't forget the sunscreen!!). I didn't want my skin to prevent me from going to these things. :') I'm so happy! The bump below my mouth is just a red mark now. Stinging was the same as yesterday (I wonder if it's going to sting forever? It's really unpleasant.) By night, there are a total of nine significant bumps/whiteheads. Despite my skin worsening, I feel a lot better about it. Everything's getting purged!
Day 7 (08/03): Applying Benzaclin doesn't hurt my skin anymore. There's around four small bumps left (note, my skin always looks better in the morning). Thank goodness there's nothing too hideous because I'll out a lot today. Even though my skin's supposed to be extra sensitive to the sun, it didn't freak out today thanks to constantly applying sunscreen. :) I have no more pimples on my nose or mouth area! Whoohoo!


I AM SO PLEASED! :) I'll be continuing my skin logs for all of you so that you can "see" the progress I make. Maybe I should take pictures/make a video? Let me know what you think! :) What do you want me to talk about in my next skin log?


xo Lucy