My Acne Story Part 1 (and some skincare routine tips)
I, Wilda, have been struggling with acne for more than 6 years. Yes. This is real life. Pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, big pores, oily skin, you name it. They are not new issues for me. It started when I was in the last year of elementary school. My skin was getting so oily back then. Then, you can guess the rest of the story. The combination of the teen hormones, bad diet, stress, and lack of skincare knowledge made everything worse. Pimples and whiteheads were starting to flare up. I already tried everything, such as seeing a dermatologist or using any over-the-counter skincare labeled with “acne-fighting”. But, none of those ways tended to give me a significant result. That is why, I have to admit, junior and senior high school were not the best time of my life, especially senior high school (thanks to math, chemistry, and physics). I tried to get through all of those hard times as best as I could.
Finally, when I was starting college, my skin began to clear up. Maybe, it's because I'm doing what I love right now. It means less stress! (But of course my life is not completely stress-free, study at UI is another challenging thing for sure). Besides that, I am really into the skincare world at the moment. I'm sure it also gives a big impact on my skin. I try to discover how to get rid of my skin issues with skincare. It is obviously not easy the first time. I have been passing trial and error countless times. But, lately, I finally find what is best for my skin. By the time this post is written, I am in 3rd year of college and I am so happy that I can finally say, I love how my skin looks right now! Obviously, my skin is not perfect yet, but it is a lot better than it used to be.
I don't have any awful severe cystic acne anymore. But, I do still have skin problems. My main skin problem right now is whitehead or textured skin. You know, that type of acne that is small, spread on certain parts of your face (for me it is all over my face), colorless, not painful, and not really obvious but you know it's there when you rub your face. At first, I have no idea what it is, what caused it, and how to remove it. I thought it is just regular acne that can be healed with over the counter acne spot treatment. But, I was wrong. It is not how to deal with whiteheads. In some cases, the whitehead will disappear by itself. But, for me, the more I ignore it, the more it gets worse. Whenever I see dermatologists, they always tell me to do facial or comedone extraction. But, it is definitely not my favorite way to remove whitehead. It is so painful and the worst part is, the new pimple will pop out at every spot which has squeezed!
I don't have any awful severe cystic acne anymore. But, I do still have skin problems. My main skin problem right now is whitehead or textured skin. You know, that type of acne that is small, spread on certain parts of your face (for me it is all over my face), colorless, not painful, and not really obvious but you know it's there when you rub your face. At first, I have no idea what it is, what caused it, and how to remove it. I thought it is just regular acne that can be healed with over the counter acne spot treatment. But, I was wrong. It is not how to deal with whiteheads. In some cases, the whitehead will disappear by itself. But, for me, the more I ignore it, the more it gets worse. Whenever I see dermatologists, they always tell me to do facial or comedone extraction. But, it is definitely not my favorite way to remove whitehead. It is so painful and the worst part is, the new pimple will pop out at every spot which has squeezed!
So, thank google, I spend my time to discover what the hell I have to do with this super annoying thing. Then, I learned that whitehead is basically oil in pores that is trapped by dead skin cells. Yup, it is oil. Not fat or any kind of strange stuff. When oil trapped underneath the skin, it will become a whitehead. But, once it is oxidized and becomes black, it is usually called blackheads. It is what you mostly find on your nose.
Now, the biggest question is, how to get rid of it. I found that facial or comedone extraction is not the best way to treat whiteheads. It will make your pores get bigger and just make everything worse, just like I said before. I am honestly so confused how can every dermatologist I see always tell me to do it.
However, let's see how a whitehead is built. It is caused by oil and dead skin cells. In my case, I can really do nothing with my oily skin because I was born genetically with it. It means I have to pay attention to the second problem, dead skin cells.
This is what I get from skincare.com
Skin cells—also called keratinocytes—are composed of a protein called keratin and are formed in the epidermis. During its life cycle, a skin cell travels up through the epidermis to the dermis until it reaches the skin’s outermost layer (called the stratum corneum) where the skin cell dies and is eventually shed through a process called desquamation. Every hour nearly 40,000 skin cells are shed and it takes one skin cell just about a month to complete the entire process of desquamation. As these older, dead skin cells are shed each day they reveal newer, more radiant-looking skin underneath. However, there are a few factors that can cause those dead skin cells to build up on the skin’s surface instead of being shed away.
In short, dead skin cells are supposed to shed away by themself, but there are several factors that make them build up on the skin's surface. Once it happens, it will cause any kind of skin problems such as breakout and dull complexion. That is why removing dead skin cells is so important if you want to have good looking skin.
So, I have found the best answer for the question of how to get rid of whiteheads. It is by exfoliating regularly. There are two types of exfoliators. Physical and chemical exfoliator. The physical exfoliator is what you usually call a scrub and peeling gel.
For chemical exfoliators, there are two types of them as well: BHA and AHA. They are acid liquids that can help to remove dead skin cells.
This is what I get from dermstore.com
Hydroxy acids fit into two categories: alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA). Both groups of acids are naturally derived from various foods (e.g., sour milk, sugarcane) and plant-based sources (e.g., willow bark). They also work similarly, but each one produces slightly varied results. The main difference? AHAs are water-soluble (dissolves in water) and BHA is lipid or oil-soluble, which makes BHA more effective on oily skin.
For me, I use both of the exfoliators: physical and chemical. I also use both BHA and AHA. They are all great to remove dead skin cells. For my final suggestion, if your skin does not have a lot of problems, you can go with a physical exfoliator or scrub. If you have sensitive skin, choose the chemical one. If you have dry skin and are looking for a certain skin goal such as brighten up your dull skin, go with AHA. But, if you are like me who has oily skin and want to get rid of whiteheads or any kind of acne, BHA is your best friend.
That is all for my acne story for this post. I have tried so many products and I will share with you my thought on them, especially those which become my life-changing products. But, I think I will also share with you my other tips to get rid of acne besides skincare. I can’t wait to let you know. So, stay tuned to my next posts!
- Wilda
Here are some memes about acne, just to cheer you up a little bit if you have the same problem as mine. Enjoy!
0 comments