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.
