I managed to mostly get the new acne I get down to a manageable amount. Now I still get acne, but they are not as large and cystic as it used to be.
However, I still have the big problem that my skin looks really bad. Part of this is due to lots of marks which remain from old acne (hyperpigmentation). Still, my skin tone is really poor and not improving - especially around the forehead, nose and upper cheeks, my pores are really large and dark. If I look closely, the darkness in the pores seems to partly be due to facial hair which is growing as dark as beard hair but also maybe blackheads too. This makes me look like I have a dirty face, even though it is clean and doesn't feel too oily or bumpy etc. (See the photo below - I boosted the contrast a bit to show it more clearly)
I'm currently using retin-A on my face and a mandelic acid toner in terms of topicals. (Previously using differin/duac, etc. )When I was on accutane, this type of thing was completely gone, but really, who would want to go back on it
Any good suggestions for things to help with these pores and skin tone?
My first though is balckheads, but as im japanese my skin is very pale and my hair is dark and sometimes I can see hairs by my hairline that curl up in the pore and look dark. I am a girl and its only by my hairline...its weird.
I do have blackheads that are quite dark though too and persistent, every time i get rid of them they come back straight away, i think the pore is scarred so just fills up again.
Maybe try exfoliating with a chemical exfoliant like Glycolic acid. it will help with the hyperpigementation and blackheads, and maybe the sun spots.
