Skin
my 4 product routine that finally calmed everything
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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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?
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.
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.
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.