You can start anywhere you want, but I think I’ll start at the beginning, because that’s usually a good place to start, to borrow a sentiment from The Sound of Music.
I was lucky. I didn’t have any skin issues when I was very young, but I did started breaking out when I reached the sixth grade. I’d get these little pimples on my forehead, and I remember my mom taking me to a dermatologist, who gave me something called a PanOxyl Bar, which was a soap that smelled awful and bleached all my t-shirts, and a tube of super strong benzoyl peroxide.
They made my skin feel raw, but they kinda helped. Basically, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t incorporate any moisturizing products. My mom, who has perfect skin, really didn’t know how to help me either.
I pretty much continued to break out through high school, but the breakouts were minor. Just a few small pimples here and there. I used the benzoyl peroxide consistently, and it did help.
But things got more complicated in college. In my second year, I went through some sort of hormonal shift (my acne has always been tied to my hormones), and the few small pimples I’d been dealing with turned into big, painful pimples on my cheeks.
I started taking Accutane, and it was the only thing that really helped. It’s still controversial, and it was even more controversial back then, but it helped me a lot. It cleared up my skin, which remained clear until I hit my mid-30s.
I think that’s when I went through another hormonal shift. I started getting chin acne (but you already know about that).
I’m in my 40s now with drier skin (which used to be super oily) that’s still acne-prone. I still use benzoyl peroxide (Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion), either in the morning or at night.
Now I’m more concerned about evening out my skin tone and dealing with fine lines than I am about preventing and treating breakouts.
I do have some fine lines under my eyes and around my mouth, but I like to attribute them to smiling. 🙂 I guess I smile a lot, because I’ve got the wrinkles to show it, LOL!
I haven’t done anything like Botox or fillers, but I refuse to say that I’d never go there. I don’t have the desire to now, but who knows? Anything can change in the future.
My big worry about things like that is that I wouldn’t look like me anymore, and I can’t imagine looking in the mirror and feeling like something was a little off, you know?
For now, I’m pretty happy with my skin, but I do plan to get more aggressive with my anti-aging regimen. When I got pregnant with Connor, I pretty much only used moisturizer and sunscreen, and I’ve fallen out of the habit of using serums and whatnot.
How about you, my love? What’s your skin story? I’d love to hear about it. You can share as much (or as little) as you’d like.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
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