So a little update about this post. Since I already had an appointment to the clinic, I just decided to go. I was desperate for a professional advice and also a prescription for a topical to clear my acne. There are other topical over the counters that don't need prescriptions but of course I have no knowledge about this so I just went ahead for the appointment.
As mentioned, the clinic is inside the mall and is a beauty clinic that does facials and some other procedures as well. My expectations were you know, to get a professional advice and to get a prescription (specifically tretinoin) but I still have that idea that this is a beauty clinic and they will sell me their products and possibly facial procedures.
I went there on time. They were nice and professional (apart from the time when they had to cancel my appointment an hour before the scheduled one days ago XD). I met with the doctor and told her my problems, the skincare routine I do, and my experience with birth control that affected my skin.
The doctor checked my skin for a minute and explained to me what are the possible causes of acne for me. She looked at my skincare routine and pointed out that I didn't have an acne fighting product which was true as I thought I didn't have acne before (didn't know the exact meaning of acne before hahaha) so I only had exfoliants. Apparently my current skincare just cleans and exfoliates my skin by cleaning the clogged pores but don't kill the acne-causing bacteria.
So she advised me to stop ALL of my skincare routine right now. Even my cleanser, moisturizer, and hydrating acid that won't conflict with any products. In my mind that was already a red flag but I was like "ok I will wait for the prescription to see the ingredients". Another thing she said was I needed to get 4 sessions of facial extractions done every 2 weeks which was another red flag for me since I remember you don't actually need it and you only need it every now and then and the chemical exfoliators will do it for you (the ones I have).
She wrote the prescription in the other room and offered me water haha which I accepted cos I was also thirsty. I like this and I wish all establishments do this for free cos it's an essential thing and the bare minimum you could offer but is appreciated. :P
Another attendant came back to me and explained the products prescribed to me, how to use them, and also the procedures suggested to me. They have an acne basic package that includes all the products for skincare and a total of 10 sessions of different procedures to be done in their clinic.
The products that the doctor said I need to use are:
Glycolic acid soap ($11)
Oil control pads ($90)
Acne astringent ($16)
Acne drying cream ($19)
Dermese tretinoin ($19)
Sunscreen ($54)
All of the products are their own brand except the sunscreen and oil control pads. Bruh. The cost alone is overpriced... but anyway, the rest of the procedures are just facial extractions, LED light to kill the acne-causing bacteria, and a spanish peel. The whole package costs a whooping $580 or 32,000 in Philippine pesos. That is something I didn't expect or want to do. I only wanted an understanding of what's happening to me and a prescription of a topical cream hahaha. 😅
I thought about it going home. I then researched what the ingredients of these products are... and to my shock (or probably not surprised about these clinics anymore), some of the ingredients of these I ALREADY HAVE IN MY SKINCARE ROUTINE... that the doctor told me to stop all of them... -_-
Looking at the costs of the products I needed to buy from them, I say bullshit LOL. There literally was nothing wrong with the products I already have, I just needed to add something. Their oil control pads that costs a whooping 5,000 pesos ($90) for only 60 pads that can be used in just one month contains salicylic acid, mandelic acid, and glycolic acid - all of which I already have in my routine... So it's really pointless to spend THIS much if I already have them lol.
I mean, of course, I should have known this beforehand cos obviously they are a beauty clinic that offers these treatments and products so they will be trying to sell you these things and tell you this is the only thing you need so they could profit of of your insecurity but I don't know why I still went anyway hahaha.
There is nothing wrong if you want these treatments or you are a very busy person that you don't have time to learn or you just want to spend this much on treatments but know that these are just temporary treatments are most likely just a band aid solution as they look like they aren't targeting the root cause of acne. But this isn't something I'd want to do.
Well the first thing I should have done was to go to a doctor at a hospital and not at a clinic. But I didn't do that because I choose the more convenient thing lol.
Upon researching tho, I found a board certified doctor that has so many good reviews and his clinic is right next to a mall. Hahaha I love the convenience of going straight to a mall from a clinic (just a few steps away) so I went ahead for an appointment. :>
My acne is just moderate, so he prescribed me some cream to put on my face and also an isotretinoin which is an oral medicaiton. The doctor was nice and really professional but also straight to the point. He's very focused on healing my acne and making the production of sebum on my face to calm down, unlike other clinics who will tell you you need these facials for x sessions lol.
Before prescribing me isotretinoin, he gave me a choice to be on antibiotics vs this. Isotretinoin can cause dryness since it controls the oil production but he said you shouldn't be pregnant or get pregnant while using it since it can highly affect the baby. Since I wasn't planning it anytime soon, I went with the oral medication and also cos it can permanently make your oil glands normal.
Since I wasn't expecting to be on oral medication, I forgot to ask about me traveling soon. Taking this can be very uncomfortable since your skin will be so dry and sensitive and will cause purging (more acne temporarily). Since I might be going to the beach or party with alcohol soon, I don't want to be restricted and feel uncomfortable especially I don't know how my body will react to this. It's just a low dose but still. I also can't come back to the clinic after a month so it's kinda pointless for me to take this now.
He also prescribed me benzoyl peroxide which kills the acne-causing bacteria on my face and an Epiduo forte which has adapalene (retinoid) and benzoyl peroxide. These are the things I actually need.
He gave me instructions on how I could incorporate these in my current skincare routine. Yeah, he didn't ask me to "stop of ALL of your products" but instead took a time to look at my skincare routine and told me how to do it. :D He told me to temporarily stop some of the acids I use tho since I am apparently using a high % of niacinamide and too much exfoliating so to not complicate things and stop irritation, I have to stop them while I'm on retinoids and benzoyl peroxide.
I think I will be using these now without isotretinoin maybe to calm down my face and kill the bacteria. I will have to ask the doctor via message (if he even does that) and see if I can do this since it complicates my travel activities. :P
The rest I bought from the clinic were moisturizer and a sunscreen. I badly need a new sunscreen since my current one has niacinamide (I didn't know when I bought it) and I think it also irritates my skin. I've heard good reviews about Avène so we will see.
It's such a big relief to actually know the causes and be able to know the solutions for my problems. I was spending a lot of time researching and just guessing when going to a clinic is literally the very straightforward solution. I wish I have did this sooner haha.
Hopefully I don't get a lot of purging in the creams I put on my face right now because I want to wear makeup and shit when I travel. If the purging is bad I will just have to photoshop the acne away hahaha (I don't want it permanently on travel pics).
