Hey everyone!
So I've been lurking around here for the longest time and finally thought it would be a good idea to start a log and share my personal journey...ahem...fight...(wish it wasn't with acne...)
So a little backstory, had acne for as long as I can remember. In fact, I remember having it in 8th grade. I'm 21 now, going on 22 and I've just about had it. There has to be SOMETHING that works and sticks! Anyhow, thankfully my acne has never been severe. But it's mild, persistent, pesky and just downright annoying. I don't want to look in the mirror and convince my self (ehh, it's not that bad) NO. Why can't it just be GONE? Moving on, I've tried a lot of things, some things worked, some things didn't, some thing refuse to work now: Accutane, Proactiv, Dermadoctor, clinique acne solutions, blah blah blah. Accutane was great but it was not sustainable. I never took it properly to begin with (missed doses, skipped doses etc.) but...even if it did work I'm not willing to put my body through that toll again.
This last October, things got particularly bad and with new insurance and no doctor it was a frustrating time. Finally went to see a derm. She put me on monodox and prescribed me a bunch of topicals (which i'm mehh about) the monodox did help and it took care of the flare up i had. it was new kind of acne i never had before like around my face? jawline, around the mouth, and def by my eyes/ears if that makes any sense...I was doing some research on spiro and figured hey, if i've had acne for THIS long and i'm a girl...it has to be hormonal. Never tried bcp pills. So i asked for spiro.
End of december my derm started me on 25 mg. for the most part i was ok and did not experience weird side effects, although, sorry for the TMI...that time of month just felt funny...just different? not heavier or lighter, just different. maybe it was just in my head though 
I also tossed all my clinique stuff since october(wasn't helping honestly, it did before but now it just does not work) and washed my makeup off with cerave foaming cleanser and got my derm to prescribe me a face wash my friend suggested and has BEAUTIFUL SKIN. I got it under a diff brand and it's called ZENCIA. Basically, sodium sulfacetamide and sulfur. I LOVE THIS WASH. i def think it was helping but now my insurance is acting funny and with the new year my deductible is insanely high and they're asking $70 bucks for a bottle. IT SUCKS! 
i was also applying aczone at night religously and i couldn't really tell if it was helping or not, lol so prob gonna forget that too.
Also, I ran out of spiro for the last ten days and just got my prescription filled. I honestly do think it was helping. my derm was surprised when she saw me a month later and confirmed it was helping. she upped my dose to 50 mg so i'll be taking another 25 mg pill before bed. i got a new face wash called bpo creamy wash (benzoyl peroxide) it's only 4%. i've always been extremely sensitive to benzoyl peroxide and i'm hoping this will be a good alternative to my ZENCIA :'(
so break down:
50 mg spiro (25mgx2)
bpo creamy wash
cerave face wash (to remove make up)
neutrogena combo skin moisturizer (only one i could find that i like and doesn't have pore clogging ingredients!)
sorry for the lengthy post, but feel free to intro yourself and if you have any insight, please share 
i will def keep ya'll posted!
Just used the bpo creamy wash for the first time. I was super paranoid and scared that my skin would start burning/itching/drying as I've tried using bpo products before, mostly creams that you keep on and not wash off and by the next morning/couple hours that's what happened. So I WAS hopeful that a 4% cleanser would be gentle enough and I could handle it. And for now anyway, my face feels perfectly fiiiine! I'm so happy and hope by next morning I don't feel any irritation. I used a veryyy small amount and diluted with water and then moisturized 10 mins later with my neutrogena combo skin moisturizer. Skin looks happy for the most part. Hooray Hope I could use at least a good dollop by next week lol
Hey CapeMomentum!
Honestly, I don't want to jinx it but my SPIRO journey has been smooth sailing since the last time I posted. Thank God I haven't had any new breakouts ever since I started it in December, my old acne is pretty much gone and now my scars are sort of fading. I had a veryyyyy mild breakout during that time of the month but things are definitely looking better. I have changed around some things and definitely feel my diet is better so I'm not sure if that's also playing a positive effect? I don't eat dairy as much. I looooved cheese. I'm a huge italian food fan so you can imagine how much cheese I ate, and pizza! But I cut down and I've been eating home cooked meals and hardly ever have any milk or cheese now. Also, I can't remember the last time I drank a lot of pop. I won't go as far as to say I completely avoid it but I barely ever drink pop/sugary drinks and I used to all the time. However, Spiro has definitely been making me thirsty and my water intake has had a huge boost. That could also be helping. Here's what I do now and what's working for me:
In the morning unless I'm running late somewhere, I warm a glass of water in the microwave 15 seconds, then squeeze half a lemon and add about a tablespoon of honey and drink it. I would say I've been doing this for over 1-2 weeks now and not sure if it's a placebo, the spiro, or what but I definitely think it is helping me detoxify my liver/digestive system. One reason I say this is because, sorry for the TMI, I have to go to the bathroom more often, and not just to pee lol. I'm also thinking to go the health foods store and try liquid chlorophyll, which supposedly also has amazing benefits and can aid in detoxification. I used to break out a lot on the far sides of my face, next to my eyes? I did some research and if you break out in that area it mostly means overworked liver/kidneys.
I still use Cerave foaming facial cleanser to remove make up. No complaints. Does the job, also has moisturizing agents in it so it does not strip my skin or cause me to break out.
Speaking of make up, now that my skin is looking better, I don't feel the need to wear foundation all the time, so I switched to powder only. Right now I'm using Smashbox Halo powder, so far I like it! It's a little heavy on the pocket, but considering I don't spend much money on skincare now, I think it's worth it
For moisturizer, I have been going back on forth between Neutrogena Sensitive Skin and Combo skin. Both seem to work fine and do not clog my pores or cause me to break out, so far anyway lol.
I've also started using an old product I used to use and love but was losing its charm with my crappy skin and making it dry/flaky. Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying lotion. My skin likes it again. I think it's great for daily exfoliation. I also learnt from experience that my skin doesn't like using anything gritty to exfoliate. So for that I am just using the clarifying lotion and a product I used when I used to work at Sephora called REN Glycol lactic radiance renewal mask. I bought it but I don't want to intro my skin to so many new things at once again so I will wait a week or two before I slap it on.
How are things going for you?