MY ACNE STORY

Hello and welcome to my blog. :)


- - - - -

Acne has always been the bane of my life and a severe knock-down on my confidence. It all started back in secondary school I guess. Most teenagers get the odd cluster of acne on their face, hairline, chest and back and I certainly wasn't able to escape it either.

When I was 14, I had really bad acne - mainly on my forehead (it looked like the surface of the moon... yes that's an insult to the moon), small boils all along my hairline, between my eyebrows and chin area. 

By the time I was 19, ALL and I mean ALL of the acne on my forehead INCLUDING scars / dark shadows disappeared. 

However... just as I thought the nightmare was coming to an end...

When I was 19, out of nowhere, both my cheeks started to break out a few pimples. It spiralled out of control and since then, i've had to deal with very inflamed and broken skin tissue. 

Mind you, as soon as a few old pimples managed to heal, a new cluster broke out and it made me very depressed and I hated going outdoors. 

Before you all start naming products I could have tried or foods I could have eaten, my dear... i've tried EVERYTHING. 

Note: I am not a picky eater and I eat sensibly. I do NOT smoke or do drugs and I very, I mean very rarely drink - I'm talking about once a year, maybe not even that. 

Anyway, you can name ANY creams, gels, facewashes... i've been there, done that, had no success. 

I've spent forever watching youtube videos, trying to filter the best D.I.Y acne remedies - from natural greek yoghurt mask, honey and oatmeal mask, apple cider vinegar and whatnot. NOTHING WORKS.

Those remedies made my acne less painful for about a day before everything reverted back to hell again. 

A month ago, I read an article that zinc could help to decrease the inflammation and help rid acne. I spent hours researching forums and multiple articles to confirm the success of those who had tried it.

At first I laughed and thought it was another bogus advert in attempt to entice acne victims like myself. 

Well you know what? I gave in and bought the zinc capsules... thinking that maybe, just maybe I was deficient in zinc. 

There are several zinc supplements on the market, but I read that zinc picolinate is absorbed faster by the body, so I gave those a try. The brand I bought is called 'Now Foods'.

And NO, i'm not sponsored by whatnot company to advertise zinc.

As I write this, I have taken just over a month's worth of these zinc capsules - 100mg dosage (2 capsules) everyday. One during lunch and one during dinner.

How do I feel?

After the I had an initial breakout of extra acne on top of the old acne. I think I cried on and off for 2 days. The zinc made my entire face felt so tender. It was so inflamed even washing my face made it hurt.

After the first week, the inflammation decreased significantly and for the first time, my cheeks and chin felt a lot less lumpy. 

By the 4th week, it felt like the magic had ran out and although I wasn't back at square one, the acne wasn't making progress. I had come to a halt.

Then a friend of mine (who was also once a very bad acne sufferer) suggested I try Accutane. He mentioned he used to have acne boils the size of a 10 pence coin. His skin right now is flawless. I mean, you can't even tell he had acne in the first place.

So, here is me thinking this accutane treatment may be my one last chance to get rid of this once and for all. 

It's [insert curse word] expensive too!!

- - - - - 

So yes...

Wish me luck.