My Skin Story

A progress blog for severe cystic acne, hyper-pigmentation, scars, and skin care. I share the good days, the bad days, and everything in between. Follow my journey, share yours.

[maicare]

Almost 3 years between these photos! Time, (& a dermatologist + a strict skincare routine) really does heal. If you asked me 3 years ago what I thought my skin would look like today I probably would've cried thinking about it but here I am. Glowin. Growin. Healin. I still get acne all the time and sometimes it's still cystic but it doesn't consume my ENTIRE face anymore and for that I am grateful. If it wasn't for my acne though I would've never found my passion so everything does happen for a reason I suppose ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or maybe I just figured out how to find the positive but tomato tamato

Also shout out to my eyebrows for their serious come back game

Skincare routine- (Daily & nightly)

Face wash: Sebamed PH balanced, soap free, fragance free liquid face wash OR Enlighten soap-free, water free, herbal face wash by Brazen Bee Beauty if I didn't wear makeup that day or need to exfoliate.

Moisturizer: Cetaphil fragance free lightweight lotion PLUS Easy A moisturizer OR Enlighten oil by Brazen Bee. Or all 3 depending on the day and my needs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ SPF (non optional if attempting to heal scars and hyper pigmentation): Bare minerals tinted gel moisturizer + a light dusting of bare minerals powder foundation OR Brazen Bee Sunlicker powder.

Exfoliation (once a week max): Brazen Bee enlighten soap free wash mixed into a paste with warm water. OR I skip doing that weekly and instead opt for Juice Beauty green apple peel (sensitive) once every 2 weeks.

Prescription: 150mg spironolactone daily. Lutera birth control.

Vitamins: 50mg zinc

[maicare]

No makeup no filty just my skin. If you've followed me for the last 2 years you know how MAJOR this glow up is 😍 this took so much time and commitment (& always will) but healing my acne (and consequently, myself) has been so worth it

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2 years ago VS now

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The reality of life after acne. Even once it's gone, it's never really gone. In the age of filters, perfect skin, and seemingly high expectations for everyone to look a certain way/ it's important to remember that at the bottom of it all we're all still just human

[maicare]

stg

[maicare]

I'm so emotionally scarred from 10+ years of acne that now, even just one cyst is enough to make me over think my appearance and makes me want to stay inside.

I never felt this way about myself when my acne was at it's worst, but now I'm just always scared that it will return

honestly, idk which one is worse.

[maicare]

It's been 2 years that I've been actively treating & healing my acne and the other morning I woke up with a glow.

A GLOW.

Never thought I would see the day :,)

[sapphicamydunne]

“Once you become an adult your acne will clear up!”

[maicare]

Can we just talk about the fact that my skin is making the GREATEST COME BACK OF ALL TIME (wearing bare minerals in the first photo but like STILL)

[maicare]

Before treating my acne, I never took photos of my skin in natural lighting, especially not golden hour, but we've come a long long way since those days. First photo I'm wearing bare minerals tinted moisturizer 30spf to even out my complexion a bit and dusted over it with bare minerals original powder foundation as well. Second photo is completely naked unfiltered skin

[maicare]

My acne always comes and goes but I am so happy to see how far my skin has come in the almost 2 years I've spent actively loving and nurturing it. Sprinolactone, tretinoin, and a change in my skincare routines have changed my life.

[maicare]

I feel bad getting upset over my skin now because I remember just how bad it used to be not even a couple years ago and overall I am so grateful to have more control over my skin than I ever had in my life but it does bum me out when I get a new breakout which brings new pigmentation and new scarring to skin I've put so much time and energy into healing and sometimes I just feel like I'll never win because my progress keeps getting erased everytime I get ahead

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Someone reported my acne progress photos as explicit???

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Acne is so stubborn sometimes, isn't it?

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I'm done fighting it, imma just let my skin do what it wants. Me stressing over it just makes it worse. Haven't had a breakout this bad in over a year

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It feels good to have my skin back.

Until next time, acne.

[maicare]

I see you under the acne

Does anyone else get like, way more interested in a person (not romantically just in general) when they see they have acne, too?? Like you wanna bond with them over it but you're not quite sure where they stand on it- so you say nothing.

How can we fix that?? I wanna scream like "Hey! Me too!!" But how. I would never want to call someone out on something that they might be super anxious about or sad about!

To everyone- I see you. When you walk past me & I notice you, it's not your acne I'm looking at, it's you. And when I see the acne, I see it as a part of your story/ not your whole story. Because it's my story. It's a lot of our's story. It can be so hard- even when you're on medication, because you never know when that next giant breakout is going to happen. I feel you. I see you. It sucks; and we don't have to pretend that it doesn't! It's painful both physically and mentally.

But I hope you are able to find a way to inspire others who go through the same thing, to feel confident in their skin. For you to feel comfortable and confident in yours. I hope someday there's a way for us to approach eachother and say "hey! You have acne- so do I!" But if you ever see someone struggling because of it, reach out and let them know they aren't alone. ❤️

Love you and as a reminder we all have so much more to offer than our exteriors