Life Fright

If you have ever had acne at any point in your life, you may resonate with me saying that it is one of the most debilitating, soul-crushing, self-esteem and confidence incinerators of all time.

I first got acne right around the start of puberty when I was in middle school. It was a foreign concept to experience changes happening in and to my body seemingly overnight and I didn’t know how to cope. When I first got acne it was a singular, small whitehead on my forehead and I didn’t know how to deal with it. My mom advised me not to touch it with my hands (good tip!) and to use an extractor tool (bad tip! see why) to press out all the gunk inside. The very next day it seemed like my entire forehead was littered with small whiteheads. And it only got worse from there.

I also have the very unfortunate genetics for hyperpigmentation. So as old acne goes away, dark pigmented spots are left in their stead. And of course, the next round of acne ready to repeat the cruel cycle.

If you are at this stage right now, drugstore products may help you out, provided that you don’t go overboard and become obsessive. At this point, it would be good to straighten up different aspects of your life like diet, sleep, hygiene, exercise, mental health, and gut health. Some winning combination of these factors along with topical skincare products could be the key to clearing up and maintaining a practically acne-free state.

Now if you are like me dealing with years of acne issues, then it is time to get serious with real talk. Don’t be like me spending who-knows-how-much money on skincare products that have people claiming it is their holy grail, clearing up their acne forever. Dealing with acne will pretty much be a lifelong issue and there are so many variables that contribute to acne.

Enter dermatologists. These people have dedicated their lives to studying and learning all about skin. They are equipped with the knowledge to help their patients treat acne and they have seen countless cases with a whole range of different causes and treatments.

Take the easy way out and get professional medical treatment! Don’t spend all that money over the course of years trying to handle the problem yourself. The stress, grief, and anguish are simply not worth it. I know during those dark times I was absolutely miserable and depressed. With my acne migrating all over my face and just not stopping its taunting onslaught, I reached a point where I could not look anyone in the eyes. I became very withdrawn and very insecure.

Dermatologists have the ability to prescribe potent prescriptions of ingredients that could help give your skin a clean slate to work with. Depending on the severity, all it might take is course of topical antibiotics and your acne can dwindle down to a spot here and there. It is worth spending the high price tag upfront to see a dermatologist instead of suffering alone and for so much longer. I wish I had seen one at the start of when I had acne. It would have changed my life immeasurably.

Acne should not be dealt with alone and for so long. It cast a dark shadow over my teenage years and my early twenties and I am thankfully on the other side of it. I do wish I had sought out medical help earlier and saved myself from so much emotional and physical trauma. But now I get to look back on it and tell others about my experience in the hopes that I can help inform others of more effective options and to steer clear of the mistakes I have made.