Location: Philippines
Age: 20
STORY:
Not sure about these but here's my take on my skin condition:
Skin condition: Dehydrated, sensitive, dry (before it was oily, but when I abused the use of actives--I destroyed my moisture barrier, so it's not oily unless I use moisturizers)
This condition of mine got worse the summer before college (I'm a freshman). I was desperate of curing my acne and thought sulfur and anti-dandruff shampoos (like nizoral or nelson blue) would help my closed comedones. They DESTROYED MY FACE alongside sunflower oil and castor oil. Castor oil is one of the main culprits of my closed comedones since the start of high school. I used them for my hair and thought it didn't have anything to do with my acne.
In high school, I used kojic soap a lot to get whiter. My skin got oilier and things my skin just got dehydrated more.
It has been a year now since experimenting with Korean products. At present, I'm using Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel, Purito Cenetella Green Level Buffet Serum, iUnik Beta-Glucan Serum, Cerave Moisturizing Cream in a tub, and Vaseline as my occlusive at night. They're helping somewhat.
My skin gets dry and red easily now because of all the horrendous things I did in the past. If I don't moisturize, my skin gets red and dehydrated like hell.
MY QUESTION: I'm having a hard time finding the right treatment for my scars because I don't know what type of scars I have. Are they mostly icepick or boxcar scars? And what treatments would you suggest? My acne is the cause of my very low self-esteem. I'm a guy and I wear makeup just to be confident throughout the day. I don't have a good social life and romantic relationship because of this. Any pieces of advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
@holahawaiiiiiI don't really see scars on you, perhaps some icepicks, and tiny surface box cars, but very very mild. Your biggest issue seems to be inflammatory melasma which goes hand in hand with hyperpigmetnation.
Perhaps your sensitive or perhaps the products you used made your prone to sensitivity and pigment issues.
That being said you need to see a dermatologist about this. They have creams for melasma. I don't want to offer anything else as you have experimented quite a bit and become sensitive, it's best if your under the treatment of a Dr. You also have sensitivity issues, I would discontinue any allergen or irritating topicals or treatments.
Regarding discoloration that can be taken care of with pulse dye laser and or picosure / picoway.
For your icepicks and tiny box cars I would do many sessions of TCA Cross.
Sounds like you have a lot of internal scars. Checkout talkspace.com it's a app with unlimited therapy. This is the hardest thing to take care of the internal scars we have. It's not normal to feel alone and stuck, there is hope.
Your 20, I see so many people who have pores, or tiny icepicks etc walking around. Enjoy life, it's so short. I would see a dermatologist to get you some help, look for someone who does tca cross and aestheticprocedures.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. This has been the best answer I've got compared to my former dermatologist whose advice was limited (no offense, she helped to an extent). I guess the best decision right now is going to another trusted dermatologist near my area once again. I'll be following your advice for sure!
Last Question:
I have one last question. What do I do with my skin that easily gets red throughout the day because of the dryness/dehydration (or however you may call it)? It seems that moisturizers aren't enough for it, but my skin did improve a little bit compared to last year. I also notice that when I wash my face, my skin looks bright; throughout the day, it looks darker with or without moisturizer.
Your Welcome! Redness - flushing. Do you have Rosacea. If so consult with your derm there are several topicals, also pulse dye laser. The redness or flushing is related to Melasma as well.
Avoid spicy foods, and allergens, overheating, etc... use a moisturizer or products for those with rosacea. Wearing makeup as you said you do already can help. Pulse dye laser would be helpful again.
Melasma is complicated, ... look it up on Youtube 😉 Must be treated with a topical and or vascular lasers.
At home try a sulfur or zinc soap and see if that helps, Niacinamide is great for redness as well, The ordinary makes one.
