I don’t know if anyone will see this but I’m writing it anyway in the hopes that it’ll help someone or make them feel better at least. I have oily/acne prone skin. I’ve struggled with acne since around 8th grade and i’m about to be a senior this year. From what I can remember in 8th grade it wasn’t too bad I just used face washes from Walmart like clean and clear etc. But then it got pretty bad so my mom bought me proactive and freshman year- the first half of sophomore year my skin was amazing, but because of money issues i couldn't buy it and switched back to cheap face washes thinking it would be no issue. I was so wrong, my entire face broke out terribly February 2014. My forehead had a million small pimples, i had what seemed to be cysts on both sides of my nose and my chin/ under my nose. Stopping proactive fucked up my skin so bad then slowly it started to get better. I think using a system like that could work for some people but stopping it out of nowhere could start a chain reaction from hell. Anyways summer 2014 starts and I’m drinking a lot and being overall unhealthy and stressed out because of bad things going on in my life but my skin wasn’t terrible, just obvious that i had pimples but it wasn't at its worse. Then spring 2015 I decided to detox and get healthy. I don’t know if it was the detox or my hormones or both but my skin was the worst it has been in my entire life. I had small cysts on my forehead, and both sides of my jawline i had nodules, cysts popping up non stop. It started out feeling like an itchy/warm rash then out of nowhere they came to surface. I tried using the off brand version of pro active (acne-free) because I was so desperate, but it didn’t seem to work. Thankfully i was doing virtual school so I got to stay home and not wear makeup most of the time. The beginning of July I finally went to the dermatologist and he prescribed me 150mg of acticlate twice a day for a month, epiduo once at night and aczone twice a day. Along with cerave face wash and moisturizer. It’s August and let me tell you this stuff was a life changer. I only have about two pimples right now and they aren’t even bad. My acne scars are the new problem I need to fix. Just to everyone out there who has skin problems you aren’t alone and it will get better. Also don’t be embarrassed to go to the dermatologist, he/she can help you so much. I know I wish i went sooner. Epiduo didn’t burn my skin like some of the reviews out there say, but everyone is different. My prescription for acticlate came a few weeks before i got the topical prescriptions and I feel like my skin did purge from it but it was worth it. Epiduo and aczone didn’t purge my skin, this might not be the same for everyone, but if you are worried about it’s affect on you I’d still say to give it a shot. If you actually read this far I’m surprised lol but I hope everything works out for you and I wish you the best of luck! (Also on acticlate you are supposed to drink a lot of water with it and keeping hydrated is good for your skin anyways, I didn’t notice any side affects from acticlate except for some headaches but that could of been from something else i’m not sure)
