Hey everyone! After two and a half years of trying to solve the problem that is my face, I visited a dermatologist recommended to me by a friend and was told to take doxycycline 100 mg once a day, use a pea sized amount of tretinoin cream .025% every night, and wash my face with a sulfur face wash.

I thought Id create a log to share my ups and downs so maybe someone else could relate and we could all feel less lonely in this journey.

Let me start off with my skin care routine, because it had improved my skin, just not enough to where I felt it would be sufficient in the long run:
*WARNING: THIS PART IS LONG SO JUST SKIP IT IF YOU DONT CARE*
I had stopped washing my face so often to see if thered be a positive change. There was. Whenever I feel crusty, however, I will use Himalayas neem face wash. Its very gentle and I love it. Most of the time, however, I dont wash my face. I have dry skin and this works for me so yeah.
Every night and morning, I first tone with Humphreys lilac witch hazel facial toner. Then I mix a couple drops of Provence Beautys argan and jojoba facial oil with a couple drops of tree tea oil and pat it in all over my face. I know that some say only use tea tree oil on problem areas, but you see I have acne on all parts of my face, so I find this works best. At night only, I would now pat acouple drops of Klairs vitamin c/ascorbic acid serum. This has helped with dark marks that are left on my face. Finally, I moisturize with First Aid Beautys Ultra Repair Cream. Id highly recommend this moisturizer to anyone with dry skin and perhaps anyone doing doxycycline + retinoids, because it is safe for sensitive skin and is made for those with eczema and other conditions.
For face masks, I like to do a honey face mask a couple times a week. Just honey. Its easier to wash off than you think, but do it before you shower in case you get it on your side burns or anything. Also, Ive been using Nizoral, the dandruff shampoo, as a face mask, because I also have those tiny bumps on your forehead that arent exactly pimples but its still annoying texture. It may sound crazy but its worked for many people. Its a dandruff shampoo, so its anti-fungal and used topically normally. It has helped not only those small dots out a little but has also reduced the number of my normal pimples. YouTube it. My texture is still very noticeable in sunlight, however. What is usually just on the forehead is on my whole face. Apparently it will all bubble up to the surface in a couple weeks as pimples, which I am kind of looking forward to but kind of not?
For a couple months I took this Neem herbal supplement for mild acne by Himalaya. It did help a little and has good reviews by others, but again, I wasnt cured.
But obviously even with all that care, coupled with switching to almond milk and other lifestyle changes, I still have skin sucky enough that I was put on this regimen! My dermatologist advised me against doing any face masks for a while, now that my skin will be 10x more sensitive than normal. I still recommend my routine to anyone with minimal to mild acne however.

Unlike this post, my updates will be pretty brief. I took my first doxycycline capsule today and am about to use the tretinoin after I figure out what parts of my skin care routine I need to change up to ensure the tetrinoin is allowed to work its magic. Hopefully this stuff works in 2-3 months like my dermatologist said it would, because I have my senior prom then graduation in a little less than 5.

Thank you!!! Please share yalls journeys if you too are on any of these prescriptions!