Hi everyone! I'm a 18 year old female. I am about to start my second year of university and boy, where do I even begin with my acne journey lol. From what I could remember, I started getting acne at around sophomore year in high school. I do have to say it wasn't anything severe per se, just some pimples here & there. I call this "acne" because it became so traumatic for me that I couldn't stand looking at myself in the mirror. In fact, I completely avoided the mirrors in the bathroom in high school. That's how bad acne took over my life. I then discovered makeup and yes, foundation covered up the redness so it didn't look like I had acne, but deep down I knew that I didn't like my skin. Now, I do say that I'm a huge believer in skin-care. I never EVER slept with makeup on, so I know that it wasn't the makeup making my skin worse, but now that I think about it, maybe it was or I didn't clean my skin perfectly.

I went to see my dermatologist and I was prescribed doxycycline (oral) and Epiduo (topical). From what I remember, I think my skin cleared up pretty well at that point so I stopped using both. I would occasionally use the topical here and there, but honestly, my skin was slowly becoming not my number one priority (yay!) because I was drained in AP work and stressed from school. But, once I stopped the oral medication, my acne came back. It, again, took a big toll on my self confidence. Even now, my skin is nowhere perfect (but SO much better than before), but I still am insecure about my skin. My mom told me not to go to the dermatologist again, so I basically was using just the Epiduo. My skin became relatively clear, but I was just left with a bit of hyper pigmentation here and there.

Towards the end of my senior year, my mom went to a skincare clinic so I could do laser treatment for the dark spots but this is the BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. I believe I booked 10 sessions and it was different kinds of lasers. The first couple of treatments went fine, but I think towards the middle, my skin broke out like CRAZY. My skin is STILL recovering from it. I was left with scars and pimples EVERYWHERE. Like I said before, I've never had anything severe, so you could believe how devastated I was. To this day, I have no idea if it was a bad allergic reaction or anything, but my skin HATED whatever was happening. I came into the skin clinic so I could get rid of the pigmentation before I started college, but instead I was left with, I would honestly say, 80% more than what I had. I went to the head lady and told her, "Look, this isn't supposed to happen at all." And she eventually gave me more sessions but I honestly regret even those...

Where do I start with my first year of college. I was embarrassed, I was confused, and I was angry. Why was this happening to me? The pigmentation was SO bad that I felt uncomfortable even going to the communal girls bathroom with no makeup on. Everyday, I went to class with makeup. On some days that I felt TERRIBLE about my skin, I just didn't go. That's how much acne had impacted my life. I called my Dad from school, and I told him that I NEEDED to go see my dermatologist again, because I could not live my life like this any longer.

On March 29, 2017 I went back home to go see my dermatologist (I didn't like the ones at my school). I was put on spironolactone (50 mg) and tretinoin cream (started out at a low dosage, I think 0.25%). I kept a log of how my skin progressed from then until now. I am now on 100 mg of spironolactone and 1% of tretinoin cream. It would be easy for me to say, the journey was easy. It definitely wasn't lol. But right now, I would say that my skin is about 70% clear. I stay 70% because I have a bit of inflamed skin (and that's really bugging me lol) and hyperpigmentation. For breakouts, I haven't had one in a while (a first in a really long time!) I'm proud of where my skin is at, but of course, I'm wanting my skin to be perfect haha.

I have attached a log of my skin journey up until a recent date. If you have any questions, please let me know! I could tell you my current skin care regimen too if you are interested. I'm definitely still working on the redness and hyperpigmentation (my biggest issue!) but I'm proud of how far I have come  I'm still insecure about my skin so please be nice lol.

The first two pictures are from Nov. 11, 2016 and the most recent two pictures are from Aug. 11, 2017.

*I have also added Rosehip Seed Oil & Gyloclic Acid into my skin care regimen and those have both helped tremendously*