As someone who had a TERRIBLE experience with acne growing up, there's no surprise I want to be a dermatologist. I tried a million different things from drugstore products, prescriptions, you name it. When I think about the amount of chemicals I have exposed my skin to I cringe and can only imagine the damage they've done, but as a teenager I didn't care as long as my skin was clear.
A lot of people can be very dramatic when it comes to having bad skin, they think having one massive pimple between their eyebrows is the end of the world, but when you have oily skin and severe cystic acne covering your whole face, it really does start to feel that way. When I was 11 or 12 I started getting zits and at first I thought it was something that would be temporary because everyone deals with acne at some point in their life. But after two years had gone by I was starting to worry that I would never have clear skin and it reached a point where it was becoming detrimental to my self esteem. My mom noticed how much it effected me and so she took me to the doctors to see if they could do anything about it.
I would tell you all the things I have been prescribed for my skin but I really don't remember the names as they were all long and complicated, however, the one I do remember is the one that cleared my skin for good. Accutane. It wasn't until my doctor referred me to a dermatologist that I was finally given what I consider to be my holy grail. It was a 6-month treatment that came with many side effects (sensitivity to the sun, extremely dry skin) but I just wanted to start ASAP. My treatment began in August of 2012, and at the time I was someone who was obsessed with tanning (something I completely regret now) and so I didn't exactly where a lot of sunscreen and that resulted in very very bad sun burns, and I'm not someone who burns easily, but on this medication I was. The only side effect I really suffered from was super dry skin, and I promise you I'm not exaggerating, my face was constantly red and flaking to the point where in the middle of winter people would ask if I had a sun burn. My lips were always chapped no matter how much vaseline I used, it was not fun. But the acne was subsiding so I was willing to suck it up.
By about the fourth month of being on accutane people began to compliment me on how fantastic my skin looked, something I had never been told before, and by the end of the treatment my skin was 100 percent clear, I couldn't believe it. The side effects lasted for about 8 months after the treatment had ended, but eventually I stopped getting sun burnt so easily, the redness went away, and my skin was no longer dry. I had such a good experience with Accutane and I would recommend it to anyone in heartbeat, I just wish my doctor had suggested it sooner so I could have avoided the acne scars that now cover my face. I still breakout every now and then but it's nowhere near as bad as when i was 12-16. If you have severe cystic acne I highly recommend talking your doctor about Accutane or at least visiting a dermatologist to discuss other treatment options. However, DO NOT just take it because you get bad breakouts, it is very strong drug and is not something you want be taking if you don't need to, I only chose to proceed with the treatment as a last resort. I now stick to mostly natural face products to try and minimize the damage that chemicals will do to my skin in the future. If you have an questions about Accutane don't hesitate to ask. I will be making a post about my skin care routine soon so check back often!
♡Emma
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