Hi everyone!

Like many of you, I suffer from hormonal acne. At first, I thought that my situation or case was extremely rare since I had believed the myth that acne is a teenage issue, and I was 20, so I consider(ed) myself an adult. I had perfect skin until I was 19 years old when I started to have some troubled skin, and back then, I didn't realize that it was because of my birth control implant Nexplanon/implanon, which had caused hormonal imbalances in my body.

I got the implant in June 2011 and took it out after one year right before moving to the US just to replace it with a new one that would last me for the full 4 years I would stay here to study, but in general, I have been on Nexplanon/Implanon since 2011. Anyway, in 2013 and 2014, my skin changed dramatically, and I started getting more and more irregular periods. I didn't do anything about it because I feared something else was wrong with me (I have a silly phobia for diseases) or just assumed that it was my body adjusting to a new environment or phase in life, and it wasn't until January 5 this year that I finally took it out. In August last year, I started getting cystic acne for the first time. Before that, I had only had random pimples, usually in the same places. Sometimes, there were some big inflamed ones, but they usually disappeared after a while. They bothered me, of course, but I didn't take my acne seriously. In fact, I didn't even consider it acne for some reason. All of a sudden, I broke out like crazy on my jawlines and both cheeks. It was a traumatic experience to me because I had never seen my face in such a condition, and it reduced my self esteem a lot the following months, which is something I still work on, now in January. I am quite light in my skin tone, so I looked and still look very red, and the acne is very noticeable.

The next step was to make an appointment at a skin clinic to see a dermatologist, and the one I have been going to almost only uses natural and organic products. The only strong product I have purchased from there is Benzoyl Peroxide. However, the products and treatments did not seem to calm my skin down, but it was not because of the clinic, it was because I was still on Nexplanon/Implanon. The staff there is amazing and the products as well; they have worked wonders for many people in San Diego and other people in the US who purchase products from their company website. So... this brought me to what I am currently doing to treat my acne. Like I said, I go to a dermatologist, but I almost only use natural and organic treatments. In addition, I am daily using Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid), B-50 Complex, L-Cysteine, Zinc, Omega-3 and Turmeric, but I am only approaching week 3. This is what I am doing:

6 g of Vitamin B5 (4 x 500 mg, thrice a day)
3 g L-Cysteine (6 capsules/tablets per day, two at a time spread out throughout the day, 500 mg each)
1 B-Complex capsule a day
2 Fish Oil capsules a day
3 Turmeric capsules a day
1 Zinc
+ A lot of water, Dandelion and green teas, healthy diet.

Skin products: Organic foaming cleanser, Benzo, organic and gentle supermoist moisturizer. I go to the clinic 2 times a month for various treatments such as blue light.

Also, starting this week, week 3, I try to steam my face once a week (at home).

Results?
So the Vitamin B5 treatment requires time and patience. I am only on my third week. I experienced the initial breakout last week and it might last a while, but this is part of the healing. The first couple of days, however, my left cheek almost completely cleared up. I was shocked, but it didn't take long until I got more breakouts. And - I got my period too, so it all happened at the same time. Now, I am obviously still in the initial phase, but I can see that my cysts are getting smaller and drying out more. Today, when I woke up, I didn't have any active cysts along the jawline, which is great, but I am giving this time (and positive energy) because this is probably my last option before Accutane, which is not something I am willing to put myself through right now.

In three weeks, and in my next log, I will update week 4,5,6.