Growing up with a clear skin, I've never thought I'd have them when I reach my twenties. I thought when you didn't have them in your teenage years, you're safe lol. I didn't even have any skincare before, not even moisturizers, just because I didn't have any problem. I would get one pimple every now and then of course, but they would just disappear on their own and would appear again maybe after a few months.
When I was 18 or something, I did get pimples quite a few times. But maybe maximum 2 or 3 at the same time yet still, didn't cause me any problems.
I remember when I was maybe 22 when I started really getting worried about it. I would get random zits and pimples on my face til they become a lot. When I was 25, I started learning skin care (quite late I know LOL) cos it was really getting bad. Until months ago, it became the worse ever in my life that I went to a dermatologist for a consultation.
In that post, I talked about avoiding getting scammed by a beauty clinic and went to a doctor that focuses on medicine and shit and not cosmetics and stuff. He prescribed me isotretinoin which is an anti-acne drug that controls the amount of oil your skin produces to stop and prevent acne.
If you didn't know, acne is caused by the bacteria that lives on your face that feeds on oil. So the oilier your face is, the more the bacteria are happy and the result is your pores being irritated and stuff, causing acne. This isn't about hygiene because no matter how much you wash your face, the bacteria is still there. We all have bacteria and some other microscopic shit that lives on our faces and if your face is oily, they thrive on it.
When I started my skincare, I focused on exfoliating the skin of my face which is very useless because I didn't have bacteria-killing ingredient such as benzoyl peroxide or a retinoid.
I used to have normal to dry skin that's why I didn't have any acne and I don't know what changed in my hormones that triggered my skin to be very oily. Maybe stress hormones or something but in short it can apparently appear at any age lol.
Since I had an upcoming trip to Thailand at that time, I only used the topical gels first since the oral medicine (isotretinoin) has side effects and I didn't know how my body would react to it. The pills make the skin very dry, very sensitive to the sun, blurry vision, just among the few side effects and even though I'm only gonna take a little dose I didn't want to gamble which ones I'm gonna experience lol so I just postponed the pills.
Honestly that was really a good decision as I also learned that I can't drink alcohol with it (bruh Thailand is a party place no way I'm not gonna take alcohol xD) because there is a big risk of damaging my liver VERY bad since those substances interact. This pill is a very strong one and most doctors even have to perform a blood test before prescribing this.
This was me before the doctor's appointment. With eyelash extensions, lipstick, and eyebrow liner but no foundation.
This is 4 days after I started the Acne Gel (benzoyl peroxide) and Epiduo Forte (adapalene and benzoyl peroxide) that the dermatologist prescribed me. My skin felt a bit dry because of these and I had to skip some few days just cos my skin was still adjusting to the new product on my face. There was a time (on the 7th day) that my skin was red and it hurt a lot that I had to skip maybe 2 days but after that I was able to use them everyday with no problems at all.
My dermatologist put me on the mild acne category.
I felt a bit insecure about it but oh well there's nothing much I can do so I focused my energy on my new hobby - makeup hahah. I enjoyed putting makeup on anyway. :D
A month after the face gels and my skin became better although there were some random pimples but a lot better than before. My skin also felt softer and smoother since it was exfoliating all the time as well. It was still very oily though as you can see on the pictures.
Ignore the lashes cos I was stupid enough to tell the lady I wanted full glam lashes. I looked like my eyes were about to take off hahaha.
After I got back home from Thailand, I took the pills as prescribed. I had to take 2 pills per day (total of 20 mg). Based on my research, 20mg is a low dosage. Others take 40mg and even 120mg for the more severe ones.
The first week didn't feel anything. My skin including my lips became very dry the second week. A lot of the skin on my face were peeling off and it was a free exfoliation lol. I still continued the topical gels together with the pills.
My lips were also very dry and since I have weak self control I just peeled the skin off my lips and oftentimes it would bleed. I can't help myself and they're annoying af. I also used a lot of lotion and lip balms.
These photos are from 2nd week of taking them and as you can see they also became visibly BETTER.
This was 2 weeks after the previous photos and a lot of dark spots already faded. It made my skin glow as well. :D
My lips in those photos were not because of duck face LOL but they were swollen cos I peeled the skin off. XD
This was also the time that I noticed back pains more often. I oftentimes blamed it on my lack of exercise but then I realized this was because of the pills and apparently this side effect is very common among those who take isotretinoin. I would wake up a lot of times with joint and muscle pains as if I just worked out the previous day.
There were quite a few times that my lower back pains really hurt that everything I do hurts. If I sit up, if I lay down, if I stand... it hurts a fucking lot. It would feel like it could break any moment. There was also a time that I woke up with severe pains on the sides of my back that I got worried it might be my kidneys or something. I had a gynecology appointment at that time so I was able to ask her to check it at the same time and thankfully it was just the muscles. Kidney diseases are scary af.
I had an appointment with my dermatologist a week after this and he was very surprised of the results. I had to explain to him why I didn't come back a month after the consultation just so he wouldn't think I took the pills months ago. He was really really happy with the results since most of the ones who take this pill will usually have purging (or intense breakouts) a month after but I didn't have any. I think because I had those topical gels and the purging happened during those times.
My treatment doesn't stop there so he prescribed me another 2 months of the pills I guess to make the effect permanent.
Funny story: There were also hospital ladies in the elevator who asked me what I was doing on the 8th floor (since that floor almost never had any clinics open) and I told them I'm in for dermatology. And they were like "aahh yeah I heard that doctor is really gooood". They then asked me "Why are you there? To be even prettier?" (I know it was none of their business but I didn't mind telling them :D) so I told them "I had a lot of pimples before I went here"... and they were like "OOMGGGG WHAAAAATTT THEE EEFFF??? REALLYY?? Your skin looks so amazing now I'm so happy for you!!!". :P
This is how my skin looks like with 2 months of taking isotretinoin. I have makeup on without foundation or powder but you can see how clear and glowy my skin is. Of course with a visible shitty lips as well lol but overall doing really great.
Another recent side effect that I noticed though is blurry vision. It only happened one time a week ago and I thought I was only "spacing out" that's why I can't read what's on my monitor but then I realized my eyes were having a hard time focusing. I had to put my face really close to the screen so I could read. It was my first time experiencing that since I have 20-20 vision that's why I was confused of what's happening. It lasted a few hours.
These side effects will be gone once I stop taking the pills though. But the good effects of isotretinoin will be permanent. There were a few cases of acne coming back but most of them go away permanently.
I'm so happy this worked on me so well. Looking at the photos side by side, I can't believe this only happened in a few months... with the pill giving the most dramatic result in just a month.
It finally answered my questions and solved the problems I was having for the past year and thankfully I found a doctor that focuses on treating the root cause rather than other clinics who would tell you to enroll in their expensive beauty treatments. :P
I am still currently taking the pills and will stop a month from now and we'll see what the doctor will say.
I hope you enjoyed reading and seeing the progress.
