Apparently I’m not done with the personal posts yet, so brace yourselves. Next up: acne update, me & my skin without any filters.
I’m a bit scared of publishing this post, because you never know what’s gonna happen next with skin problems such as acne. But I’m feeling pretty confident about this, so I’ll just blurt it out:
My acne is gone. It’s cured. It took 4 months of antibiotics, first two pills per day for three months and then the last month one pill per day. I did also change my diet a bit, I’ve avoided wheat and dairy products and now after taking the last pill, I’ve actually cut down those two completely (before I had some dairy products here or there, but mostly I was dairy free).
These photos show how my skin looks currently. I’m not wearing any makeup on my skin (just some on my brows, eyes and lips). I didn’t edit my skin at all, so you can see how it really looks.
About antibiotics
It’s hard to estimate what will happen to my skin now after the treatment, but I would say the antibiotics did work. I had read a lot about them online and had people saying that they wouldn’t work, they would ruin my intestine and what not. I also had heard about good results, and as I told here, I was quite desperate (and hopeful) about medication. I’m happy I got through the whole 4 months and didn’t give up, say, on the first month, when my skin was looking worse.
The only bad side effect of antibiotics for me were stomach problems. Even though I was taking lactic acid bacteria, they weren’t much of a help. During the first months, I also had some nausea in the mornings, when I didn’t take enough water with the pill. So about the fact, that antibiotics ruin your gut: well, they’re not exactly good for you in that way.
I’m still experiencing stomach problems after quitting the antibiotics, but I’ve changed up my lactic acid pills to probiotics and I’m pretty sure my body just needs time to get balanced again.
Wow, I was pale. But also, wow – such difference in my skin! In the first picture I have active acne with painful bumps. Now? My skin is looking pretty fabulous, if you ask me.
About my skin
As I said, the actual acne is gone. I don’t have those big, painful bumps all over my face, back and decollete anymore. That said – my skin isn’t perfect! I have acne scarring (most of that redness on my chin is scarring), for starters. And I still have impurities and the occasional red pimple, but it’s just regular skin problems. My skin is also a bit uneven and I can feel small texture on it – that I usually get when my skin is dry or unbalanced. So the same thing goes with my skin: it needs time to balance itself.
I’m working on making my skincare routine as gentle as possible, but also effective. I have some new products, that I’m using as well as some old ones.
I’m still using products mentioned on this post, and here and I feel like they make a difference. But I’m working on a new post about moisturizers suitable for oily skin, with a longer list of products.
From February to May..
.. and now.
Close up. I’m tanned, because I’m using Eco By Sonya’s tanners (post!).
About my confidence
It’s been a long road to self-acceptance. Acne has so much to do with your confidence and self-esteem, it’s crazy. It’s no wonder that it’s linked to depression even! I feel like during these months I’ve also worked with curing the way I think about my skin. I want to stay as positive as possible, and I never want my happiness to be dependant on my looks. It’s super hard to learn to know the true beauty that is inside you – and not depend on your appearance. But it’s something, that I’m learning and something, that I feel passionate about. You can’t think your acne away, but I might just lose some excess stress, when I accept myself as I am and don’t complain about my skin.
One of the people, that inspire me is Rachel Crawley , who is so inspirational and beautiful, inside out.
Here is a small text from Rachel’s instagram (@asprinkleofhealthandbeauty) – she really does lift people up:
“I know that acne does effect how we feel towards ourselves. We become our own worst enemy. Our mind brings us down because we feed it thoughts like ‘ I’m ugly’ ‘I look disgusting’ ‘how can I be seen with acne’ ‘how can anyone like looking at my face’. We stress. We hideaway. We try anything to get rid of the acne. Forgetting that the most important thing is how we treat ourself in the mean time. The opinions of others only show who they are as a person. It doesn’t change who you are. You can have acne and still live your life as normal if you tell yourself you can. This goes for anything. Instead of telling yourself you can’t, or it won’t get better or your not beautiful. Start tell yourself you can do anything, it will get better and you are beautiful.”
About my diet
First, I want to say, that I’ve always eaten healthy and I’ve been a vegetarian since I was nine years old. I didn’t have any skin problems with the previous diet – my acne was hormonal.
But I had heard so much about dairy and wheat causing people acne, that I just had to take that into consideration. So I’ve avoided those two for the past four months and now I’m living completely without them. I also try to keep my sugar-intake in balance (it’s useless to avoid dairy and wheat if I’m still eating tons of candy, duh). I’ve changed up some snacks and desserts to more healthier choices, such as berries and fruits.
I got these new roberts berries drinkable berries from the pr-company, and I’ve liked them as a quick healthy snack. They are milk free, gluten free and made from fresh berries. I love that they don’t contain added sugar and you can keep them in room temperatute (they actually infiltrate better in your body too that way)! If you have any go-to healthy snacks, let me know in the comments.
I’m still a bit unsure about the whole acne and diet thing – at least for me – so I won’t be rambling about that any longer. I may, may do a post about acne and diet, but I need to research more for that.
That’s wraps up this post! Hope this was helpful. For anyone wanting to read more, here are links to almost all my acne-related post:
About birth control pills and quitting them
I am not perfect
Skin update: How do I treat my acne?
Skin update: After Acnatac
When acne just doesn’t leave you
Apocyclin acne update 1
Apocyclin acne update 2
Apocyclin acne update 3
And also.. can you just celebrate this small win from acne with me?! I’m so happy.
2017-07-11
Your skin looks amazing! It sounds like you’ve had to work really hard to beat this, with lots of different aspects to the treatment. Not to mention confidence building! But it sounds and looks as though it has all paid off. I have a friend here who was on the antibiotics and lots of creams but she’s been off the medication side of things for a good six months and it’s not returned. I hope your tummy side effects ease up more and more now you’re off the antibiotics. Congratulations! X
2017-07-11
Thank you!! I’m so happy to hear that, thanks for sharing that! Maybe I’m as lucky as your friend and it will not return. <3
2017-07-11
Wow Charlotta, you look fabulous! I thought you wearing a bb cream or tinted moisturiser and then you said you don’t have anything on your face and I was like wow, great results!! Your skin looks a-m-a-z-i-n-g and you are glowing!! Great results and also, you look great with a tan!! x
Yiota
pinkdaisyloves.blogspot.com
2017-07-11
Thank you <3 ! Yeah, I love being a bit tanned. It's so easy now with great products. x
2017-07-11
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Mulla oli samat lääkkeet käytössä viimevuonna ja enää onkin vaan arvet riesana 😀
2017-07-17
Hei jee! Kiitos!
2017-07-11
You’re beautiful Charlotta, with acne or without, but well done for persevering. You’ve gone a long way :). I now have acne prone skin but went through a hormonal acne phase when I was younger. The doctor put me on the hormonal control pill (which I took for 8 years!) and with some cream it all got fixed and that type of acne never returned. I never let my acne destroy my confidence I recall now. Not sure why, but I never hid it of felt unpretty. I felt is something that my young skin produced and I needed to help it fix. And this happened within 6-7 months of taking the pill and quitting fried food. 🙂
http://www.rougenapples.com
2017-07-11
Thank you <3 I'm happy it didn't affect your confidence. I didn't/don't hide my acne either and I'm often seen without makeup, but it did leave me feeling unpretty at times.
2017-07-11
Näyttää hyvältä, mutta parasta oli lukea näin hyväntuulinen teksti josta oikein huokui miten olet vihdoin sinut ihosi kanssa. <3
2017-07-11
<3
2017-07-11
I’m so happy for your improvements!!! 🙂
Caterina | caterinasosso.com
2017-07-12
Yay! Thank you x
2017-07-11
Hyvä, että sun iho on jo parempi 🙂 Itselläni on vielä muutama liuska puolen vuoden Tetralysal kuurista jäljellä ja mulla on kanssa jo muutaman kuukauden ne isoimmat näppyryppäät pysyneet poissa, vaikka välillä tuleekin muutama näppy ja mustapäitä on edelleen vaikka muille jakaa plus mun ihotyyppi ilmeisesti on muuttunut kuivasta rasvoittuvaksi, koska ilman meikkiäkin parin tunnin päästä kasvopesusta iho kiiltää ja aamuisin voin ihan imeyttää paperiin kivan öljykerroksen ihon pinnalta. Tämä muuttunut ihotyyppi siis vaatii vielä totuttelua ja sopivien tuotteiden etsintää, kun ennen pystyin varsinkin talvisin vetämään yöksi naamaan esim. Apo basen 60% rasvaa ilman mitään epäpuhtauksia tai rasvoittumista, joten jään odottelemaan voide-postausta 🙂
2017-07-12
Jep 🙂 Musta kuulostaa, että sun iho on vaan kuivunut, minkä takia se pukkaa öljyä. Mun iho teki samaa acnatac -geelikuurin aikana (tsekkaa vaikka noi postaukset kuulostaako samalta?). Mun on vaikea uskoa, että ihotyyppi nimittäin lähtis muuttumaan ihan vaan lääkekuurista – hormonaalisista muutoksista, kuten raskaudesta, ehkä.
2017-07-11
Ja edellisestä kommentistahan unohdin tietysti puolet 😀 Mulla nuo antibiootit ei tosiaan oo aiheuttaneet missään kohtaa minkäänlaisia vatsaongelmia, alkuun söin silti probiootteja, mutta nekin on ihan huomaamatta nyt viime kuukaudet jääneet ottamatta, eikä silti ole tullut mitään sivuoireita. Voihan tosin olla, että tuo mun syömä antibiootti on jotenkin miedompi, mikä sulla oli, kun kuurikin on pidempi ja annostus on koko kuurin ajan yksi kapseli kahdesti päivässä.
Ja ite oon kanssa melkeimpä aina syönyt perusterveellisesti; paljon erilaisia kasviksia, marjoja, hedelmiä, pähkinöitä, hyviä öljyjä ym ja maitotuotteita mulla menee oikeastaan vaan pari siivua juustoa päivässä leivälle, parin desin verran kreikkalaista jogurttia smoothieen aamuisin ja pieni tilkka homogenoimatonta luomumaitoa kahvin/teen sekaan, enkä vehnää käytä muuta kuin leivonnassa. Sokeria sen sijaan menee kyllä herkkujen muodossa tällä hetkellä niin paljon, että hävettää ja sen suhteen pitäisi ihan oikeasti tsempata, yhdessä vaiheessa olinkin oikeastaan kokonaan ilman karkkia/leivonnaisia, mutta nyt on taas lähtenyt ihan käsistä, kun meillä yleensä avomies valitsee “viikonloppu”karkit kaupassa ja se ottaa aina semmoisen läjän nameja, että niitä jää aina ylimääräisenä pyörimään kaappiin ja minä sitten löydän itseni päivittäin sieltä karkkikaapilta ja tykkään myös leipoa eli meillä on usein joka päivä kahvin kanssa jotain herkkua 😀 Paras keino olisi vissiin valita itse kohtuudella ne muutamat karkit niin, ettei niitä jäisi niin paljon, että pystyy pitkin viikkoakin napsimaan ja koittaa leipoa esim. vaan kerran kahdessa viikossa tmv :p
2017-07-12
Hyvä, että sun masu on kestänyt. :> Mullakin on tällä hetkellä vähän huono omatunto sokerista – tuntuu, että siellä täällä tulee syötyä jäätelö ja terdesiiderissäkin on kivasti sokeria. Leipominen itse ois kyllä varmasti parempi, kun yleensä tulee sit vähän laitettua vähemmän sokeria tai rasvaa reseptiin, kun näkee itse ne määrät konkreettisesti. 😀 Harmi, etten oikeen tykkää leipoa tosin.
Yks vähän terveellisempi ‘karkki’ mulle on taatelit, jotka tosin nekin sisältää sokeria. Mutta sentään ihan itsestään. 😀
2017-07-11
Mahtavaa, että sulla on ongelma helpottanut 🙂 Kuvista oikein huokuu se ilo ja “oman ihon kanssa sinut oleminen” 🙂 Olen iloinen sun puolestasi!
2017-07-12
Kiitos ihana!
2017-07-11
I have struggled with hormonal acne for a long time and the thing that helped me a lot was a topical prescription retinol. Acne does affect the way you feel tremendously, and it was why I started doing makeup in the first place. I have come to terms with it in my late 20s, but i am not sorry that is seems to be gone now that I am approaching my 40s.
Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking
2017-07-12
I have heard good things about retinol, happy it worked for you. 🙂 And yeah, I love makeup, because it can boost my confidence and make my skin look more like I feel it should be. <3
2017-07-12
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That is such a massive improvement and congratulations! I hope your acne will never come back and good for you on changing your diet too.
Shireen⎜Reflection of Sanity
2017-07-17
Thank you. 🙂
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