I'm only 15, I never got any pimples before at least 13, and I couldn't care less about them till this year. I used to use Benzoyl Peroxide every once a while but it just wasn't bad enough to worry about, I was one of those kids that never really cared much about how they looked and didn't bother to style my hair or anything like that. Early this year, I started to kinda worry about it and I started to take more care of my appearance and since it was becoming enough of a problem to actually bother me, I seriously took up treating it. What about everyone else? Did it annoy you right from the beginning or was there a trigger factor that made you want to take action?
I'm only 15, I never got any pimples before at least 13, and I couldn't care less about them till this year. I used to use Benzoyl Peroxide every once a while but it just wasn't bad enough to worry about, I was one of those kids that never really cared much about how they looked and didn't bother to style my hair or anything like that. Early this year, I started to kinda worry about it and I started to take more care of my appearance and since it was becoming enough of a problem to actually bother me, I seriously took up treating it. What about everyone else? Did it annoy you right from the beginning or was there a trigger factor that made you want to take action?
Well i was never a dandy until my sixteenth year.Yes that year i metamorphosed into a metro-sexual boy.Also ,that was the year that wrecked havoc with my skin.My zits grew in size,my confidence diminished in size.I lost focus in academics (I was usually the best student of my class),i lost focus in chess (i have represented my state in National chess Championships).I was obsessed with my acne.And i still am unfortunately.
It's inevitable.Nobody wants to look bad .It's human nature to strive for perfectionism in every sphere.And when it's your own body ,the quest for perfect aesthetics is very conspicuous.You look at the mirror ten times a day,you take care of your skin,your body etc.
Did acne annoy me right from the beginning? Well,No.It got the better of me when i got in a co-educational school and there were girls.I was sixteen years old.I was morbidly diffident because of my acne.It was pathetic then.To make matters worse there was a big paradigm shift.I was more into chess that year.Played various tournaments around my country .My academics lagged behind. I was tagged as the (pimply faced idiot who rarely came to school). But these inanities never affected me.Although i'm still diffident and overtly self-conscious. And it's been 5 years.
I first started getting zits in the beginning of 10th grade. I remember thinking it was just a part of growing up. I asked my mom to send me some acne cream and she sent me Neutrogena On the Spot or something. Later that year it got a little worse, so I went to a derm and started Retin-A Micro.
I had acne throughout the rest of high school, but honestly, it never bothered me much. Even my junior year, when I had bigger and more painful zits, I just accepted it as a part of life and tried my best to get rid of it. I tried other treatments like ProActiv, Epiduo, Ziana, etc. So yes, it did bother me, mostly annoy me, but I never lost much sleep over it.
Not until my freshman year of college did I become obsessed with my skin. I had one of the worst breakouts of my life, partially due to my BC I think, and I just became obsessed. I was so depressed. Thankfully my skin cleared up but I'm determined to never get to that point again because it was just so mentally exhausting. I'm still pretty obsessed with my skin now...and I really wish I could go back to when I wasn't. I don't know why I was so much more lax about it in high school.
I guess it became a problem ever since I started getting acne during my teenage years, but in varying degrees. I guess the psychological effects got more serious since last year. I guess the trigger factor was that I thought it would go away once I hit my twenties, but it didn't , and I felt so helpless and stuck.
I guess it became a problem ever since I started getting acne during my teenage years, but in varying degrees. I guess the psychological effects got more serious since last year. I guess the trigger factor was that I thought it would go away once I hit my twenties, but it didn't , and I felt so helpless and stuck.
Bingo Stella! When i was 16 ,my dad told me acne would go away the moment i touch 20s or even earlier (depending on when my puberty ends).But this is so frustrating now.I turned 21 four days ago and acne still prevails. 
I never had a problem with acne until I turned 29. Worst year of my life. Got my first cyst and it scarred but it was super tiny (like a pinprick) and it bothered the hell out of me. Fastforward to today (a few years later), and I am still getting cysts (small ones but they scar) and I am always having to deal with scars now. Wish I only had that damn pinprick of a scar instead of the ones I have now. Most have healed (thankfully) but there's a couple that are driving me nuts. Adult acne sucks. 
When I was labelled as ugly because of a few breakouts. Fast forward, 2 years ago I suffered from cystic acne and now my face is left with deep huge craters that don't respond to any treatment.
So imagine if I were to meet the same old bunch of peep again. I'd be judged till there's no tomorrow.
I'm only 15, I never got any pimples before at least 13, and I couldn't care less about them till this year. I used to use Benzoyl Peroxide every once a while but it just wasn't bad enough to worry about, I was one of those kids that never really cared much about how they looked and didn't bother to style my hair or anything like that. Early this year, I started to kinda worry about it and I started to take more care of my appearance and since it was becoming enough of a problem to actually bother me, I seriously took up treating it. What about everyone else? Did it annoy you right from the beginning or was there a trigger factor that made you want to take action?
There was a trigger. The trigger was: "EEEeeewww, you are so ugly!".
I'm only 15, I never got any pimples before at least 13, and I couldn't care less about them till this year. I used to use Benzoyl Peroxide every once a while but it just wasn't bad enough to worry about, I was one of those kids that never really cared much about how they looked and didn't bother to style my hair or anything like that. Early this year, I started to kinda worry about it and I started to take more care of my appearance and since it was becoming enough of a problem to actually bother me, I seriously took up treating it. What about everyone else? Did it annoy you right from the beginning or was there a trigger factor that made you want to take action?
There was a trigger. The trigger was: "EEEeeewww, you are so ugly!".
I have many similar triggers that just all add up together and form this huge cloud of insecurity over me.
Many people have pointed my acne, "tried to help" by selling products and by making me feel bad (when really they only wanted money)...all that made me feel very insecure and I know I wouldn't care so much about it if I lived in a perfect world where no one would care about other people's appearance, but that will never happen.
It became a problem when i started looking in the mirror every 30 minutes to check my acne and scars,It became a problem when i became paranoid about my diet and stopped living like a carefree teenager.It became a problem for me when i lost my confidence .It became a problem for me when i became so conscious about how i look that i stopped interacting with people my age especially the opposite sex.It became a problem when this anti-social behavior made me develop social anxiety and depression.It became a problem when my own father had to administer me medicines for bi-polar disorder and depression.I still remember how distressed he was.
It became a problem when i started lagging behind in academics and sports because of acne.
...It became a problem when it robbed me of my teenage,of my carefree nature ,of life ...
It engulfed me.The whole of me.
It's always bothered me. I always felt self-conscious and different anyway, so to be the only one in my group of friends to develop acne made me even more self-conscious. When I was little my dad would always tell me how pretty I was, eventually he didn't say it anymore and I wouldn't have believed him anyway. NEVER emphasize your child's looks!! Positive reinforcement should be on what they can do not on how they look. Acne is the reason I started wearing makeup which I still hate to this day, but I conform to society's expectations so I don't scare small children. Acne became more pronounced and more painful in high school. I pretty much dropped out of the social scene. I can remember going to school some days wondering if anyone would notice me or talk to me. More than once I would go home and cry because I had no interaction with anyone that day. No students talked to me, no teachers talked to me, nothing. I was always extremely quiet and shy, so looking back I know that those days were really my own doing. College was horrible, I dropped out. I went back much later so I could hope to find personal fulfillment at some career. Now sometimes people say how young my skin looks. I never trust that it looks good, I just figure that acne is more often found on young people. I just smile because everyone looks better when they smile. I don't want people to say that I have bad skin AND I'm a jerk.
I had flawless skin all throughout middle school and high school. When I turned 18 and set off for my first year of college, that's when the acne began to flare up. College was supposed to be the time of my life. Acne ruined that. I was too shy and embarrassed to even leave my room, hence, I didn't make many friends. Even going to class took a lot of effort.
It became a problem when i started looking in the mirror every 30 minutes to check my acne and scars,It became a problem when i became paranoid about my diet and stopped living like a carefree teenager.It became a problem for me when i lost my confidence .It became a problem for me when i became so conscious about how i look that i stopped interacting with people my age especially the opposite sex.It became a problem when this anti-social behavior made me develop social anxiety and depression.It became a problem when my own father had to administer me medicines for bi-polar disorder and depression.I still remember how distressed he was.
It became a problem when i started lagging behind in academics and sports because of acne.
...It became a problem when it robbed me of my teenage,of my carefree nature ,of life ...
It engulfed me.The whole of me.
God, when I read that, I almost thought I wrote it.
My acne got really bad when I was a junior, I was 15 that time. It killed me inside every time I looked in the mirror and I saw the ugly me. I cried almost every night thinking that if I never had acne, I'd be a totally different person. A much better person. I didn't have a lot of friends back then and preferred staying home. I was never able to look people directly in the eye especially girls since I was so insecure. Damn I wish I could go back. Fortunately for me, my acne's a lot better. Thank god I found my solution.
My acne got really bad when I was a junior, I was 15 that time. It killed me inside every time I looked in the mirror and I saw the ugly me. I cried almost every night thinking that if I never had acne, I'd be a totally different person. A much better person. I didn't have a lot of friends back then and preferred staying home. I was never able to look people directly in the eye especially girls since I was so insecure. Damn I wish I could go back. Fortunately for me, my acne's a lot better. Thank god I found my solution.
I've thought about what I would be like if I had never had acne. I would definitely be different. But I think I would have turned out to be one of those high and mighty know-it-alls who thinks acne can be cured by washing twice a day and using a little topical cream once a week. I don't know that I would appreciate all the little victories in life or have as much compassion for humankind. i don't think that I would understand that what is a big deal to one person is nothing to someone else. Oh, there are good people out there who have never suffered with acne, I'm just talking about me personally.
I had flawless skin all throughout middle school and high school. When I turned 18 and set off for my first year of college, that's when the acne began to flare up. College was supposed to be the time of my life. Acne ruined that. I was too shy and embarrassed to even leave my room, hence, I didn't make many friends. Even going to class took a lot of effort.
same here although a bit later, Nothing until I hit 20-22, I've been battling acne ever since (29 now *sigh*)
i started getting pimples when i was twelve, which was when my wonderful world of puberty began. it started off very mild, and then got progressively worse. i wish i had found this site arnd that time because the regimen worked wonders for me. acne can def make you more self-conscious, and care more about your overall appearance. i was care free, and studious before i started breaking out. i think getting acne when you're a teenager makes it even more perplexing, and traumatizing because of all the changes you are already going through. i also have critical parents with specific ideas about beauty, and how a woman should behave, or appear. i think my acne journey would have been less stressful, and lonely if i didn't feel like i was disappointing them, along with disappointing myself.
anyway, i do feel stronger because of acne, but i say this time and time again...i wish i was stronger because of other situations, or experiences other than struggling for so long with my skin.
My acne got really bad when I was a junior, I was 15 that time. It killed me inside every time I looked in the mirror and I saw the ugly me. I cried almost every night thinking that if I never had acne, I'd be a totally different person. A much better person. I didn't have a lot of friends back then and preferred staying home. I was never able to look people directly in the eye especially girls since I was so insecure. Damn I wish I could go back. Fortunately for me, my acne's a lot better. Thank god I found my solution.
I've thought about what I would be like if I had never had acne. I would definitely be different. But I think I would have turned out to be one of those high and mighty know-it-alls who thinks acne can be cured by washing twice a day and using a little topical cream once a week. I don't know that I would appreciate all the little victories in life or have as much compassion for humankind. i don't think that I would understand that what is a big deal to one person is nothing to someone else. Oh, there are good people out there who have never suffered with acne, I'm just talking about me personally.
It probably wouldn't be the case for me. I care about other people just as much when I didn't have acne. Acne really changed my perspective about myself. One of the good things about going through rough times is learning to appreciate what you have and going through all that actually made me realize quite a few things. But it doesn't change the fact that I felt like shit all those years.