Hormonal acne is a pain in the ass. How did I deal with it? Read on.
In 2007, I had a horrible breakout. It was so bad even my mother could not recognized me. I was given a nickname, "Pizza Face" by the ex-boyfriend. My ex-boss asked me if I had measles. My ex-colleagues pitied me. Yes, it was that serious.
My gynecologist told me that my hormones wasn't balanced. He prescribed me Diane 35 and my acne cleared up. I was on it until 2009. As you know, Diane 35 is actually a contraceptive pill. So, I figured I couldn't take the pill for long-term and I wanted to regulate my hormone naturally.
6 months after I stopped the pill, my acne came back but it wasn't as bad as before.
I tried so many products to counter that problem. One day, I just gave up trying. I actually used my body shower for my face. Of course, the body shower that I used is so gentle that I can use it for the face as well. It is called Cetaphil! It is pricey but highly recommended. Come to think of it now, I actually don't have to buy a facial cleanser. So much money saved there!
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
So besides Cetaphil, I used Nizoral Anti-Dandruff shampoo on my face daily. The active ingredient which is Ketacanozole is actually an anti-androgen; and androgen is the culprit that cause these pimples. Well, I was using it for 4 weeks and my face was less oily and my pimples started to clear up and dry up. There weren't many new ones either. I only had to go for facial to extract all the oil seeds.
Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
Ok, so how do you use Nizoral? Initially, just lather on affected area once a day. Leave it on for 5 minutes and then rinse off. When condition gets better, just use it once or twice a week. I'm still using it now for maintenance. It works for body acne as well such as chest and back acne. Oh, please avoid the eye area. It hurts like hell when it gets into the eyes.
So, it's only Cetaphil and Nizoral? No, that's not only it. I also applied fresh aloe vera on my face every night before bed. It's good for inflamed skin and acne scars. So how do you do this? Watch the video below.
I actually store the unused aloe in the refrigerator. That is because I think the weather in Malaysia is so hot and humid and therefore, it is not suitable to store the aloe in room temperature. So, where do you get these fresh aloe? You can get them from any nursery that sells aloe vera plant. I have a plant in my garden now just in case. You'll never know!
Again, that's not all! I also went for acupuncture. I read some success stories from people with the same condition who went for acupuncture. So, I did my research, went to this place in Taman Mayang and told him my problem. He took my pulse and he inserted a few needles here and there and I just laid there for 30 minutes. He also prescribed me some Chinese medicine. I think the acupuncture did help with the acne. It balanced up the
yin and
yang in my body. I went at least twice a week for 2-3 weeks in a row. I also did cupping once and that was it.
As for my diet, I tried to avoid seafood as much as I can. I tried not to eat processed food. Most importantly, I ate a lot of vegetables and fruits. The results were amazing. I was healing so fast.
I went for IPL for the acne scars. My face is clear for a few months now that no one believed that I actually went through such horrible breakout before. Well, I do get blemishes every now and then especially when I'm nearing the time of the month. It sounded like I went through a lot to overcome this but I'm glad it's over. At least I now know how and what to do if I do get such outbreak again. See, now you know my secret but I'm happy to share. :)
I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep.
That's deep enough. What do you want--an adorable pancreas?
- Jean Kerr -
