Hi everyone!

Thanks to PaulH85 posts and countless miserable hours in front of the mirror, I have come to the conclusion that I have a bad habit of picking my skin, and I am now starting to realize what huge impact this has on the overall skin apparence. My acne is classified as moderate by a dermatologist, but I think its mainly because of the red marks left behind from skin picking; making it look a lot worse than it really is. I must point out that I'm currently on Accutane and this issue has gone from moderate to severe ever since. Before, my skin was very thick and my skin healed amazingly fast, leaving few red marks behind that would heal fast aswell. However, after being on accutane for the past couple of weeks, my skin has gone from thick to thin, and red marks are worse than ever. Basically, a red mark that would take me 2 days to heal before, now takes weeks to heal, if not months to truely fade away. Even though my skin could handle picking earlier, I am certain that this obsession of mine is one of the core reasons for my acne in general.

Pros of picking

- Somewhat satisfaction

- Leaves no scab

Cons of picking

- It make me feel very miserable and depressed afterwards

- Anxiety. Don't want to leave the house

- Potentially leads to more acne

- Potentially leads to acne scarring

- Leaves a lot of red marks

- Slow healing process

- Requires a lot of time and energy

- Looks disgusting when picking in public

- Pain and blood (a lot of toilet paper!)

Am I missing something here? Anyway needless to say, the pros and cons simply doesnt add up. I'm sick and tired of it and this has to stop, RIGHT NOW. Starting today, I will not pick at all, no matter what. I will continue like this until hopefully my skin is clear. If things get out of control and I feel the abolute urge to pick, I will come here and write instead. Of course I will keep you posted along the way. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I will try to snap some pictures for you guys. I'll have to photoshop them first because I'm not comfortable posting my entire face.