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The Times June 03, 2006
Body&Soul
Inside story: adult acne: spots of bother
Acne made Lottie Moggach’s life a misery as an adult. Then she discovered her wrinkles
"There have been countless moments of misery in my 15-year relationship with acne, but some stick in the mind. There was the time, at 16, when my boyfriend first dumped me and then handed back the tube of Clearasil that had fallen out of my school bag in his bedroom. A few years later, while walking through Camden Lock, a man peered at my face and said: “Urrgh!� But one of the worst occurred recently. After my customary half-hour examination of my spots in a magnifying mirror, I noticed, for the first time, lines on my forehead. A terrible truth dawned: that acne and ageing were going to overlap. At 28, I am never again going to have clear, youthful skin.
I should make clear what kind of acne I’m talking about. Every day there will be at least three red lumps on my chin and cheeks, nestled in the pitted scars of their ancestors. Biologically speaking, adult acne is exactly the same as the acne you get as an adolescent. It is an inflamatory skin disorder that affects hair follicle and sebaceous glands in the skin, which secrete an oily substance called sebum. The spots are caused when sebum, dead skin and dirt blocks the glands or follicles. Acne affects about 20 per cent of adults in the UK, according to the Acne Support Group (www.m2w3.com/acne/) but knowing I’m not alone doesn’t help.
On good days, if I don’t look in a mirror, I can sometimes forget about them for hours. On bad ones, I am riven with despair and self-pity. I beg off evenings out and spend the time gazing with horrified fascination at my pustules, speechless at the unfairness of it. I have slept on the sofa, feeling so disgusting that I can’t bear to lie beside my boyfriend in bed. I have even, once, typed “suicidal feelings� into the internet.
There’s confusion as to whether acne is related to diet or enviroment or caused by genetic factors and overactive sebaceous glands. But stress exacerbates the condition and, for women, outbreaks can be affected by hormonal changes during the mensrual cycle — taking high-oestrogen contraceptive pills is said by some to help. Not me.
Over the years I have tried everything from Chinese herbs to hormone tests to complicated regimens from skincare “gurus� to two courses of Roaccutane, the “chemotherapy for acne�. Roaccutane, a drug derived from vitamin A, works by shrinking the sebaceous glands. It worked for me for about a year both times I tried it but then the spots came creeping back.
I’m considering another stab at Roaccutane but the possible side-effects of the drug are quite severe. It can induce depression ; it makes your skin flaky and hair dry (on it, I looked like a cross between the Singing Detective and a scarecrow) and it can put a strain on the liver, so you’re not supposed to combine it with alcohol (a glass of wine does help to ease the burden of selfconsciousness at parties). So, in the meantime, I am treading water with Retin-A, a topical vitamin A cream.
Having spots is to be in an obsessive, onesided relationship in which they have all the power. Starting from the moment you wake up, when your hand flies to your face to feel what horrors have been bestowed upon you during the night, you spend most of your day thinking about them, studying them, trying to second-guess them and discover what makes them tick. Meanwhile, they just go about their mysterious agenda, flaring up — or not — as they see fit, blithely unconcerned that your sense of self-worth depends on their whims.
The strange thing about all this is that I know, really, that my agony over my skin is wildly disproportionate to its actual impact on my life. I have had my fair share of boyfriends, none of whom, since that dark time at 16, have dumped me because of my acne.
I understand that people’s perceptions of their skin are subjective, and friends complain to me about their own tiny, temporary blemishes in a way they would not do if they thought mine were obviously much worse. But, in the same way that one’s spots seem resistant to treatment, so the feelings of inferiority produced by having them are equally resistant to rationality. The mental scars of having acne — particularly as a teenager, when your selfimage is formed — are as indelible as those on one’s face.
And now there are those bloody wrinkles to worry about, too."
0
Is there a Lottie Moggach here???
Started by
Guest_chipmunk_spunk_*
, Jun 03 2006 11:00 AM
18 replies to this topic
#3
Dami4n
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Posted 11 June 2006 - 04:42 AM
me neither 
jus kidding
jus kidding
#5 Guest_chipmunk_spunk_*
Posted 13 June 2006 - 10:38 AM
Of course, if this was in the emo forum people would take it deadly serious.
They might even put in some consolatory advice should Lottie Moggach ever read the thread.
Therefore it was a wise choice to pin it here Lionqueen
They might even put in some consolatory advice should Lottie Moggach ever read the thread.
Therefore it was a wise choice to pin it here Lionqueen
#6
LionQueen
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Posted 13 June 2006 - 11:24 AM
Also, Lottie didn't exactly strike me as the emo type.
#7
hippylovechild
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Posted 14 June 2006 - 04:44 AM
i hear ya babe. i didn't start really breaking out til 25 when i thought i had gotten away with clear skin!!! HA! i wish! loved your post
#8
Roxy@22
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Posted 23 June 2006 - 11:18 AM
Great post!
#9
ness25
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Posted 02 July 2006 - 04:05 AM
a worthwhile chuckle
#10
JBHK
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Posted 05 July 2006 - 10:23 PM
Oh dear - I actually found it pretty depressing ...
#11
Phoebe_kate
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 04:09 AM
Next Thursday I'm booked in for my acne acupuncture treatment and my botox.......serious!
#13
someoneintheuk
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Posted 25 September 2006 - 03:33 PM
that was a really well written piece. Does anyone know if there has been a film made about someone suffering from acne. I was thinking of doing a short documentary on it.
#14
woman+scientist
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Posted 29 October 2006 - 07:19 AM
Ha Ha ha...!!!!! Nice! I keep trying to reason with my skin "Pimples or wrinkles....pick one and stick with it. But both is just pantently unfair!"
#15
lostinmyface
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searching for the old me
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Posted 04 December 2006 - 09:30 AM
Absolutely fabulous story ~ I'm sure A LOT of people can relate.... I know I can...
Extremely well written!
Extremely well written!
#16
Tarn
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Posted 11 December 2006 - 01:20 AM
I am 28, and have started noticing the ol signs of ageing too. I do my DKR twice a day and then add my eye wrinkle cream. I guess I still live in hope.
Thanks for putting this all into words!
Thanks for putting this all into words!
#17
MA_CHICK
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Posted 28 January 2007 - 11:34 AM
I'm almost 26 and i've had acne since I was about 9. So far the bp gel has worked the best. But still, especially around my time of the month, I still get breakouts. And it's not helping that my bp gel hasn't gotten here by mail yet. It never takes this long. So for the last 3 days I haven't used it on my face because it's taking so long to get here. So now I have new breakouts. I feel like this is gonna be a life-long struggle. And it doesn't help that I'm the only one in my family who has acne.
#18
Rainbows
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Posted 04 February 2007 - 12:12 PM
You put into words everything that i feel on a daily basis! I used accutane 2 times with combined gave me 6 years of clear skin but now just after my 26th bday I am back into those teenage years or horrible skin.
#19
amaterasu
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Posted 05 February 2007 - 10:44 AM
I'm 31 ,32 this month
and this post hithome, I loved it !
and this post hithome, I loved it !
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