My Acne Journey, NO Spironolactone or Accutane
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/fWAVSLUshdI
Hello lovelies and welcome back to another episode of The Lovely Digest. In today’s episode we dive into my acne journey and how I was able to clear my skin without any crazy hacks or medications. The fix was so simple and easy I still cannot believe my acne hasn’t come back. It’s been four months now so I feel confident sharing the results with you so if you’re struggling you can feel empowered to take steps to clearing your own skin in the way that feels best for you. I hadn’t heard of anyone taking the route I did so hopefully this sheds light on a different avenue to take when it comes to acne healing. I hope you enjoy this episode and without further ado let’s dive right in.
So the simple answer of how I cleared my skin is going to facials. Which, I discovered, is not as luxurious as it sounds. If you’re like me, maybe dealing with a lil low self worth, I immediately thought there’s no way I can do facials that’s not in the budget and that’s too “boujie.” But I was literally willing to go pay $150 to just talk, seriously a five minute conversation was $150, about laser for my scarring… when I hadn’t even cleared the acne yet. I was willing to pay $800, my actual rent, three times, to clear my skin. That’s how desperate I was.
And I felt that desperation in my gut and realized that laser didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel confident I could keep my skin clear and I had a feeling that I was about to sink $2500+ into the drain. So I remembered the facials idea and went back to that. I listened to 15 million podcasts with Clearstem Skincare. Clearstem is a super cool brand with founders trying to change the skincare game. No this isn’t sponsored, yes I would love it to be. However, their skincare is a tad expensive. NOT as expensive as laser though so I took their hormonal acne supplement because I was dead convinced I had hormonal acne. It flared up during ovulation and my period, was deep, painful cysts, and mostly around my jaw, cheeks and chin. I’m literally cringing just remembering it holy cow.
So I started taking this supplement and sure enough my gut started feeling off (no it didn’t upset my digestive system I just mean my instincts). And it was not helping. I took it for almost two months, and then started getting hives and I realized, my hormonal cycle is actually really good. I realized I separately, but related, had been assuming my hormones must be bad because everyone’s seems to be, but yet I feel really good, I’m regular, I have minor ovulation and period symptoms. I’m good. So I took a deeper look and realized what I had known all along: if I had just sought a consultation with an acne specialist in the first place, I probably would have saved so much time and energy. Basically, I needed to stop researching and stressing and just let an expert do their job. I needed to invest in myself.
So since I had listened to those 15 million podcast episodes with Clearstem, I knew I wanted to consult them to find my acne specialist. While their supplement hadn’t worked for me, it was more my stubbornness to seek help and needing to feel like I was spending less money DIY-ing my skincare and hormones than the product.
What I had learned from Clearstem is that the two founders used Face Reality products, and still do, to supplement their own skincare line. It’s what they used to clear their own skin and what they use at the acne clinic where Clearstem started. They’re in California, so I couldn’t go to their clinic unfortunately, so when they hosted a live call, I asked them how to find someone I could trust near me. Amazingly, they answered, and told me to go to the Face Reality website to find an esthetician in my area. Face Reality has a search feature that helps you find clinics nearby that do facials with Face Reality products. And get this, totally “kismetly,” one of the clinics that popped up nearby was a place I had researched a few years ago. I had dipped my toe into the idea of going for facials, but quickly dismissed the idea feeling like it was too boujie.
Little had I known then, that facials can be nice and relaxing, but they can also help keep acne prone skin clear. And these are not relaxing, I will say.
But I made an appointment and was matched to my esthetician, Sami, and I LOVE her. She’s so sweet and kind and has completely transformed my skin. If you’re on Youtube, I’ll show you the images, but my skin went from so inflamed and upset, to completely clear within weeks. I’m talking YEARS of painful cysts, GONE. And are still gone. Mind you, these appointments aren’t cheap, but I have such a minimal skincare routine now and my skin is clear, which is so worth it to me. Again, not sponsored, but I know how much acne can lower self worth and confidence. I would wake up every morning and touch my skin to see if the cysts were still there. It was even painful to smile. So the $150 every 6-8 weeks these last few months has been so worth it to make it happen in my budget.
The kicker to all of this is that I didn’t have hormonal acne. Sami explained I had a type of bacteria that was just taking over my skin and I also was having an inflammatory response. This makes sense because, as you probably know if you listen here often or follow on instagram, I have Crohn’s and am on an infusion therapy drug. So the fact that my skin is very sensitive and flares up to “protect” the pimple made total sense to me.
Now, I’m not going to share my skincare routine, because that differs from person to person, but what I will say is that if you have very inflamed skin, icing my skin literally changed my life. It single handedly calmed my skin down so much. I have an ice roller now, but I started out just using an ice cube and rubbing it all over my face until it melted. I did this twice a day and wow, it felt so stupid to see that much improvement when I first started!
Assignment
So, to wrap up, wherever you are with your skin, just know, you don’t need to go on harmful medication if you don’t want to. You don’t have to learn to be happy with your acne. You just need to learn to love yourself at any stage and have compassion for what your body is going through. I hope this episode helped shed some light on new things you can do to help your acne. I’m sending so much love to you all and hope to see you back here soon. Bye!
Show Notes
- Get a special offer at the acne clinic I go to
- Stupid simple trick to reducing inflammation: an ice cube.
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