Skin
month 4 of accutane — this is what no one told me
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month 4 of accutane — this is what no one told me
i'm on a low dose (20mg eod) for what my derm calls 'maintenance'. things nobody warned me about: - my eyes feel like sand all day. artificial tears every 2 hrs. - sunburn at level ~15 minutes now. spf 50 religion. - my lips have ascended. they just always need aquaphor. - BUT my skin. clear. for the first time since 14. i'm 19. worth it 10x. just plan for the side effects so you're not blindsided.
my final minimalist rosacea routine (after years of tinkering)
ok final form: gentle gel cleanser AM only (water rinse PM), azelaic acid 10%, ceramide moisturizer, mineral SPF 30+. that's it. that is the whole thing. dropped: vitamin C (too irritating), niacinamide (fine but unnecessary for me), retinol (not worth the trigger). skin is the calmest it's been in a decade. sometimes the answer is fewer products.
your 12-step routine is making your skin worse, probably
im going to say it. if you have irritated, red, peeling skin and your routine has 9 products including 3 acids and a retinol every night, it is not your gut, it is not stress, it is the routine. strip it down for 2 weeks. cleanser, moisturizer, spf. add things back ONE at a time. you're welcome.
month 2 tretinoin purge check-in - anyone else?
title says it. started tret 0.025 in feb. month 1 was fine, smug about it. month 2 my face decided to break out in places i've NEVER broken out. forehead, jawline, literally new spots. derm says normal, purge usually 6-10 wks, push through. anyone else in the trenches right now? this is grim.
my 4 product routine that finally calmed everything
after years of overthinking: 1. gentle non-foaming cleanser (AM + PM) 2. low strength tret (PM, 2-3x/wk ramping) 3. fragrance free moisturizer (AM + PM) 4. zinc spf 40 (AM) that's it. that's the post. stopped chasing every new ingredient. skin reliably calm for the first time in 10 yrs.
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tret week 6 update: the purge is REAL
yall the derm said 'you might break out a little' and proceeded to NOT prepare me for the hellscape of weeks 3-5. i was crying. new cysts on cysts. told myself if i made it to week 8 i'd reassess. here at week 6 and i can already see the other side. texture smoother, pores smaller, breakouts slowing. hang in there if you're mid-purge. do your moisturizer. do your spf. don't add anything new.
azelaic acid changed my rosacea, that is it, that is the post
15% azelaic acid once a day. boring routine otherwise (gentle cleanser + ceramide moisturizer + spf). redness down like 70% over 10 weeks. i wasted years on 5 different fancy products. this one drugstore-tier active did it. wild.
a review of the viral $80 serum from a skeptic
bought it. used it. threw it out after 3 weeks. no visible anything. my skin was neither mad nor thrilled. the ingredient deck is mostly stuff in cheaper products. i'm annoyed on principle. giving it 2/10 just because the packaging was heavy and the glass felt nice. that's what i paid for.
ingredient deep dive: why "natural" fragrance is still fragrance
reading labels again. a product marketed as 'fragrance free' had 'parfum (natural)' on the back. that is still fragrance, chemically. natural != non-irritating. lavender oil is one of the more common contact allergens. i'm not anti essential oils, i am anti marketing that exploits people's confusion. end rant.
tracked every product switch for 1 year - here is what moved the needle
kept a log of every skincare change + a weekly skin score. net findings: - spf consistency: +big - tretinoin 0.025: +big (after purge) - 2.5% BHA 2x/wk: +small - vitamin C serum: nothing measurable - 10-step korean routine: negative (irritation) that's it. $$ on retinoid + spf, pass on the rest for me. ymmv obviously.
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failed experiment: beef tallow on my face (pls do not)
tiktok made me do it. 10 days of beef tallow as moisturizer. my skin threw a full riot by day 4 and i kept going because i am a clown. cystic breakouts that took 3 weeks to calm down. i'm fine now. the lesson is 'a tub of rendered fat is not a tested product.' do not.
perimenopause skin check in - HRT 6 months
47, estradiol patch + progesterone since oct. skin went from paper dry + new acne to...normal? the frames lines are still there obviously. but my skin barrier came back and i can wear makeup again without it flaking off. not a before/after shill, just a data point for peri people who are confused why their 20 year skincare routine stopped working.
ingredient deck breakdown of the 5 'sensitive skin' moisturizers i actually tested
spent too much time reading labels. quick notes (no brand endorsements, just what was IN them): - one had denatured alcohol in the top 10, wild for 'sensitive' - two had fragrance despite the 'fragrance free' claim — read the full list, 'parfum' was buried - the two i liked most were ceramide + glycerin + minimal other actives. nothing sexy. TLDR: boring ingredient lists are usually the good ones. stop buying skincare with 47 active ingredients promising everything.
estrogen crash + skin going feral at 48
my skin at 48 is not the same skin i had at 38. dry patches on cheeks, random breakouts on jaw that i haven't had since college, tone uneven. my derm basically said it's hormones. added a richer moisturizer, a low % retinol 2x/wk, dropped acids entirely. much better in 6 weeks. if you're peri and wondering why nothing works anymore — it might just be that everything worked WITH estrogen and now you need a rebuild.
hot take: most "biohacking" skin devices are placebo + LED
looked at the clinical data on 6 popular at-home devices. LED masks in the right wavelength + dose: real but modest. microcurrent: weak evidence, mostly temporary. 'collagen activating wands': nope. the marketing budgets are larger than the studies. save your money, go get a real in-office treatment every 6 months if you want actual results.
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cycle tracking my skin for 6 months - here is the pattern
logged my skin day by day for 6 months alongside my cycle. consistently: - ovulation week: best skin of the month - luteal week 1: normal - luteal week 2 (PMS): chin breakouts begin - period: oily forehead, dehydrated cheeks i now build my routine around this. salicylic spot treatment pre-period, hydrating mask on period. sounds woo, looks like data.
sensitive skin + spring = pure chaos, anyone else
every spring my skin forgets how to skin. redness, random flakes, chin breakouts, it's like my face doesn't know what season it is. i simplify down to cleanser + moisturizer + spf for 2 weeks every april and it resets. sharing in case u are also falling apart rn.
the SPF math: why PA+++ matters more than you think
quick note for people buying spf. SPF number = UVB. PA rating (or broad spectrum UVA stars) = UVA. UVA is the one doing long term damage and driving pigmentation. a 'spf 50' with no UVA protection is letting the slow damage through. look for PA++++ or boots 5 star.
hormonal chin acne + spearmint tea experiment
2 cups of spearmint tea a day for 90 days. chin cysts dropped noticeably by week 8. anecdotal obviously, n=1. there IS some small clinical data on it for hormonal stuff. cheap, tastes fine. worst case you're hydrated. best case your face calms down.
pre-summer prep: what my derm actually recommended
just had my spring derm visit. recs that are apparently evergreen: taper retinoid slightly if summer sun exposure increases, stock up on spf (reapply every 2 hrs, not once), add iron oxide spf if you have melasma, hat > any serum. nothing sexy. all true.
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my skin improved when i stopped reading skincare subs for a month
genuinely. took a 30 day break from skincare content. used my 4 products. stopped adding new things. stopped stressing about the 7 'must have's of the week. skin got objectively better. attention is an ingredient. less tinkering = more healing. going to read less, use less, and live more.
beginner q: do i need vitamin C if i wear sunscreen
genuine question. i keep seeing 'vit C + SPF is non negotiable' and then other people saying 'vit C is skippable if you're consistent with spf'. which is it. broke college budget. if i had to pick one, it's obviously spf. but is vit C meaningful or is it vibes.
post-accutane: what my routine looks like now
finished accutane in feb. 5 months total. current: cerave cleanser, adapalene 2x/wk, plain moisturizer, spf. skin is stable for the first time in my life. i don't want to jinx it. not going to add anything new for at least 6 months. just letting my skin breathe.
dudes: the routine is cleanser spf done, it doesnt have to be weird
52. never used skincare til my wife forced me 4 yrs ago. gentle cleanser in the shower + spf out the door. that's it. my skin looks objectively younger than most guys my age. you don't need 9 products. you need 2 and consistency.
rosacea trigger i did not expect: my toothpaste
switched to a SLS-free toothpaste on a recommendation and the redness around my mouth is gone in 2 weeks. it was perioral dermatitis masquerading as rosacea all along. weird win. check your toothpaste if you have mystery redness around the mouth.
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pls tell me someone else gets the accutane back pain
random lower back ache since month 3. derm says it's a known side effect. i'm 19 shouldn't feel this ancient. stretches help. magnesium before bed helps. is it just me or what
EDS skin is different and no derm ever talks about it
ehlers danlos folks here? my skin is thin, bruises like a peach, scars weird, reacts to everything. derms just say 'use gentle products' which, thanks. would love to hear what other connective tissue folks use / avoid. currently vanicream + mineral spf + nothing spicy.
melasma from pregnancy is NOT going away at 9 mo pp
i thought it would fade postpartum like people said. nope. the mask is still here. using vitamin c every morning + spf religiously + tranexamic acid serum at night. slow progress. open to hearing what actually worked for postpartum melasma — tried any lasers or peels?
food x skin update - what i eat on bad skin weeks
when my skin is acting up i default to: salmon 2-3x, eggs, loads of leafy greens, berries, olive oil, water, less sugar. no magic. just steadying the basics. usually within 10 days my face is less angry. not saying food caused the flare, but food helps me not pour gasoline on it. as the resident non-dietitian foodie of this sub.
i thought it was a cleanser issue. it was my pillow.
breakouts that would not stop. changed cleanser twice. changed moisturizer. turns out i hadn't washed my pillowcase in 3 weeks. wash them weekly people. free fix.
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slugging is overrated unless your skin is actively broken
everyone in my FYP putting vaseline on their face. tried it for 2 wks. gave me bumps. skin wasn't damaged, i just have combo skin and it occluded everything. moral: slugging is for barrier repair, not for 'dewy glow trend'. know your skin.
how often are you ACTUALLY reapplying spf
be honest. i was lying to myself for years. spf in the morning then nothing. started using a powder spf for reapplication at noon and the tone of my skin is visibly better at the 3 month mark. reapplication is the whole ballgame.
postpartum melasma update, month 11
the mustache + forehead patches are maybe 30% faded. tranexamic topical, mineral spf religiously, shade hat, no peels while still nursing. progress is slow and i keep comparing to month 1 photos to not lose my mind. anyone else riding this out?
mineral vs chemical SPF for eczema-prone folks
my eczema hates most chemical sunscreens (avobenzone especially). switched to pure zinc oxide spf 30 two summers ago. no flare ups on my face since. it's a little thick and white-casty but i'd rather look slightly ghostly than itch for a week. if your face gets red after sunscreen, try swapping to pure mineral.
cost per use breakdown of my skincare - changed how i buy
built a spreadsheet of products i own by price / grams / expected daily use / shelf life. most 'luxury' serums are $3-6 per use. most drugstore actives are $0.10-0.30. when i compared result-per-dollar the drugstore stuff won every time except for 1 vit C that was worth it for the stability. not anti-luxury, just pro-math.
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gym face - the sweat x acne x spf problem
lift 5x/wk, sweat a ton. spf melts into my eyes, sweat breaks me out, the 'rinse after' advice isn't practical when i'm back at work. ended up with: sport spf stick (no goop around eyes), quick wipe before leaving, full wash pm only. cystic acne dropped. sharing in case another gym dude is fighting this.
copper peptides vs the world — 6 week log
tried GHK-Cu serum morning and night for 6 weeks. very subtle. my skin tone evened out a tiny bit, no dramatic change. the hype online is bigger than the effect imo. not a waste but not a miracle. would rather spend that money on spf reapplication sticks tbh.