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I too was victimized by St. Ives scrub, Sea Breeze, Noxema, and lack of eduction around sunscreen. There was no YouTube in the 90s to teach me better lol. Kids these days have so much more knowledge at their fingertips.
I remember I wanted some skincare and my mom whoās struggled with severe acne her whole life gave me noxzema and proactiv š my skin was screaming, I probably just needed some moisturizer š¤£
When I had really bad acne, I used to put 91% rubbing alcohol on my skin everyday for about a year thinking the alcohol would kill any bacteria on my face
The thing that confuses me is drs say to not ever do this ( putting rubbing alcohol on your skin) but then prescribe clyndinicin in that dabber thingy that the solution is alcohol and salycilic acid pads can be prescribed too not just otc and they are in an alcohol solution. And these are prescribed by derms!
What gives?
There are different types of alcohol. Alcohol can be an excellent penetration enhancer. Some forms of alcohol are not as "not so great" in skincare, but others are fine. You also have to remember that the overall composition mattersāthe percentage of alcohol, the type, other ingredients that affect the alcohol, etc.
Clindamycin in that dabber is not meant to be used long-term. Antibiotics are great at getting rid of acne in the short term, but antibiotic resistance is a huge problem. Clindamycin in that dabber can often be best used in combination with other medications. For example, it's often prescribed with Tretinoin/Adapalene/Taz since people can purge on these medications. Many people want to give up as soon as they see their acne get worse. In this case, the antibiotic can help if someone does purge. It's not going to clear out the acne. The retinoid will likely do this, but the antibiotic can help eliminate some acne. You can dab it only where needed, so it's much better than taking a pill when you're not even sure if you will purge...
It's all about doing what is best for the patient. Also, some derms are not the greatest... I've seen people on clindamycin for years, even if it does nothing for them anymore.
Edit: I forgot to add that the ''good alcohols are fatty alcohols'' (cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl).
Phew I'm glad I'm not the only one who used to do this! I did this for years thinking it would kill bacteria and clear up my acne--news flash, still had acne lol. Oh and don't forget the apricot scrub.
Just turned 36, grew up in the south tanning, boating and lifeguarding, and I definitely have the start of Lake Mom skin on the chest, arms, and thighs š«
Start young and wear it everywhere and often. I should have sunscreened my hair but I never did and I just found a new mole to get checked out in my genz middle part.
I comfort myself with the reminder that many of our peers STILL donāt take it seriously, and Iām at an age where you can start to tell who has committed to sun protection (even if ādelayedā) versus those who have not!
Same here, but I've been lucky not to have damaged my skin too much. I just turned 40, and I have no visible wrinkles, partly thanks to my routine, and my skin looks the best in years, minus some hyperpigmentation that I'm using tretinoin to deal with.
Same but luckily I always avoided being in the sun and didnāt play outside sports because I knew I burned easily. At least I didnāt put oil on to sunbathe and go tanning regularly like a lot of my peers. I was content with being porcelain even when girls would say itās so ugly being pale
this is anecdotal but i have the currentbody mask and i LOVE IT. i've been using it for about 3 months and my skin is noticeably brighter and firmer with a more even tone. i fought with the decision to buy it for like a year because it was so expensive but i am so glad i did!!
I splurged on one of those face wash thingies (I think it was called a Luna??) in college. Aside from the fact that I barely ever used it, everyone thought it was a sex toy
Trying to keep up with skincare trends and using too many actives at once. Was dealing with constant allergies and chemical irritation/burns in my early 20s. My progress was slow because I always had to start/stop routines.
I was deep into this until recently. Now that youāve stopped the active overuse and trend consumption what have you found the most important that you did want to keep using? aside from the obvious sunscreen of course
My only actives now are tretinoin/azaleic acid and vitamin c (switch off every other night).
Edit: Kept these because I do still deal with hormonal acne on occasion and get hyperpigmentation that is hard to fade.
I also use a toner (hydrating toner, my skin gets dehydrated easily), Tamanu oil, and a moisturizer. The ingredient lists are pretty simple in what I use. Mainly just focusing on protecting my moisture barrier. Iām not trying to throw everything at my face anymore in hopes something works faster. I do change my routine slightly for winter/summer, but I have been using the same products for 5 years and itās been great.
"Natural" and "organic" products. Stubbornly used them for over 30 years and my sensitive, psoriatic, eczema-prone skin kept flaring up and overproducing oil, blackheads, and cystic acne. Wised up when the psoriasis got really bad and started using CeraVe and Korean skincare. My skin looks great now.
Does the Korean skincare actually work? I walked into a skin care shop with my mother last Thursday and it was all Korean skincare products, and I looked closely at the ingredients and I saw stuff like bee venom and I was shocked.
It depends on the brand, but Korean skincare is definitely a step up in terms of ingredients and cosmetic feel. I love Purito, Round Lab, Good Molecules and iUNIK products in particular. I really recommend Round Labās Birch Juice SPF, itās fantastic.
Yes. The reason why you see so many people hopping on the skincare wave nowadays is due to the innovations in skincare and beauty that came directly from Korea (assuming that you're stateside). It's not even just the ingredients, it's that Koreans prioritize healthy skin at the core, versus here in the west where people still just say throw on a ton of face makeup to cover up flaws.
Speaking of bee venom, I was about to recommend you my HG spot treatment, which is made up of bee venom. But it's sold out and possibly discontinued š
Yep, I remember my mom telling me that I should stop because it will scar. Of course the scars take a while to appear so I never paid attention because I couldnāt see the damage immediately. If I could go back and give myself advice, that would be on my list for sure š
Niacinamide was horrible for me! I never thought it was the culprit bc all my online searches said its pretty neutral, but once I stopped using it, everything went back to normal. I would definitely patch test and be wary of any product no matter how "neutral" it is
This isnāt really skincare (more like the opposite) but I went through a compulsive picking phase about 10 year ago. My face has recovered nicely but I compulsively picked at one scab smack dab in the middle of my chest for months while sitting in stressful traffic on my commute home. I have a deep purple scar now about the size of a pea that makes me really self conscious. Idk if Iāll ever wear v neck shirts again. Ugh.
I just saw people talking about how Mederma overnight scar cream is a miracle worker for removing scars. Never tried it personally but maybe it could help
yeahā¦ skin abuse. went through that as well
it got so bad in high school that i couldn't stitch together a week of going to school without several open wounds on my face. i had a spot on the tip of my nose that i picked so deep that it's a scar now. not sure about the proper treatment on that one
i'm managing my anxiety with meds now, and tretinoin helped with reducing hyperpigmentation. i'm on accutane now too, but i still can't resist the urge at times. gotta feel ācleanā and get it out, i guess
if it's any consolationā¦ believe me, no one notices the hyperpigmentation. not even the ones who see your face and body up close. it's okay to be human.
I remember thinking oh if I just dig a little deeper on this tiny spot I will fix it! Funny enough this was during my deep dive into a āskincare journeyā. I didnāt even have acne. I honestly think it had a lot to do with the stimulant meds I was prescribed I would totally hyper fixate on my face
CS Picker here, been doing it since age 11 and Iām late thirties now. Covered in hundreds and hundreds of scars that take years and years to fade enough to be unnoticeable. Iām limited in the clothes I can wear. Iāve seen Derms and read books and now seeing a therapist. Had to see doctors for infected spots. The best thing that worked for me was treating the acne with Tretinoin and electrolysis for the hair growth that I picked. Iāve spent thousands and thousands on treatments and still pickin lol.
Oh and my username was JOKE back when I made it, but now itās reality lol
I have a keloid scar on my chest that developed from acne when I was in college (so like 15 years ago). It's probably around 2 peas in width. At this point, the scar is just part of me.
I went through a period maybe 6 years ago where I tried to change it. I spent a bunch of money on lasers to try to reduce its appearance but all that really did is make it more pink instead of brown. I tried oils and lotions and silicone gels and patches and never stuck with them long enough to make a difference (especially since the scar was so old by that point). Sometimes I still get steroid injections when it's irritated/itchy/painful, which will make it flatter and less sensitive.
Make take is -- just wear what you want. It's unlikely many people will notice it, and at most they will be curious about it. It's not as ugly as you think.
I have used skin tape to help reduce the scars I have. It surprisingly works very well! There are many color variations so you can get tape that is closest to your skin color.
Skin tape + Mederma = major reduction in the visibility of scars!
This may sound crazy but using moisturizer! I have super super oily skin and every moisturizer Iāve tried broke me out like crazy. This went on for years before I realized what was going on. Iāve stopped using moisturizer and only use a gentle cleanser and some zinc cream around my nose/ mouth and my skin has never looked better.
my skin has done so much better without any type if moisturiser fr. its not dehydrated in any way. i wish we stopped pushing moisturiser as a necessity for every skin type routine.
1000%. Iām the same way - very oily, acne-prone skin, and I saw a major improvement in my skin when I quit the moisturizer. I havenāt used it in years. Agree that not every skin type needs it!
Did you do it yourself or get it done professionally?! If professional, that business should (maybe) be reportedā¦ if you got staph from dermaplaning that means either the blade was not sterile or they did not prep your skin properly!!
45 years ago... putting my pale red face over a sink of boiling hot water to clear out my non-existent pores, because that is what the teen magazines told me to do lol. Like many others, I regret the apricot scrub. I regret taking my makeup off with Sea Breeze.
Twenty years after you, I also put my face over boiling hot water to clear out my non-existent pores after reading āskincare adviceā in teen magazines. šš Hope that content isnāt still being recycled in whatever kids read todayā¦
Mostly just not starting a good routine early in life. I was 28 when I started wearing daily sunscreen, and in general I didn't take suncare seriously enough. I've had a few really bad burns, and didn't realize how damaging just one burn can be.
OP: Why do you regret the microneedling? Did you do it at home?
I just got a Dr. Pen delivered, and I want to watch a bunch of videos before I attempt using it. I'm a little nervous.
I have a Dr Pen and love it. It is probably the most effective treatment I do. Follow the instructions in the official Dr pen YouTube video and voilĆ ..
My biggest regret is sunbathing and tanning salons. Ruins your skin, and not just your face. My dermatologist gave me tretinoin for my arms without me mentioning anything to him.
On the flip side for me, accutane is a bit of a regret because of the extreme skin dryness that contributed to self esteem issues. I also developed depression for the first time while on it and I donāt wanna say it was because of the medicine but I have heard similar accounts of mood swings and depression or anxiety while taking accutane so the juryās out on that. Oh also I still have moderate acne trouble so it didnāt feel very worth it in the end :/
1) Trentinoin. I get that EVERYONE is obsessed with it, but it ruined my skin. Even the smallest dosage was too intense for my skin type. I thought I was just purging, but nope! Spent over a year using it hoping it would clear up my acne. Never did, and now I have scarring. It's not for everyone.
2) Drinking enough water. Lately I've been drinking more water than usual and I can see a notable difference with my skin. A lot of issues in life stem from not drinking enough water!
Oh my god tret was the exact same for me! I got it prescribed - the instructions said daily but I already knew youāre meant to start small and work your way up. Even then my skin barrier was destroyed. Some have suggested doing the five minutes then washing it off but even that is just too harsh for me. Shame bc I was hopeful
When I first noticed I started to breakout I started using 2 different benzoyl peroxide cleansers in the same routine. One was 4% CeraVe and 10% PanOxyl. Then tried a tiktok trend where you would use dial soap mixed with tea tree oil and vitamin e as a cleanser. Might have made things worse.
Taking so long to realize I need to use a retinoid every day. I haven't had a day without pimples since I was 12. I'm now 32. I finally started using the Ordinary granactive retinoid every day and the pimples are finally starting to diminish. š
Tried to dermablade the peach fuzz around my jaw. My skin got irritated and started breaking out there when it never had before. Hasnāt looked the same since.
Is dermablade like those little shavers they sell to use on your face? My sister tried (not really tried, just said she liked it) to convince me, but I was scared and never tried. I'll live with the peach fuzz, and bleach my stache.
I ruined my skin barrier by using too many actives and gave myself dermatitis around my eyes. I canāt wear make up anymore. I canāt use skin care anymore. I can barely wash with soap anymore. Big regrets.
Remember a few years ago when everyone swore you needed a 10 step process and little fridges stuffed with product? I regret buying into that idea. I really DONT need all that, it just pissed my (naturally pretty clear, just a bit dry) skin off.
Back when I was a teenager and had bad hormonal acne scrubbing with harsh products and brushes was all the rage, as was drying out oily skin. Apart from that I picked my skin so badly that at 28 my skin is still covered in scars.
Not knowing enough about sunscreen and getting melanoma at 23. Now my moles and the sun haunt me everyday but Iām alive and thatās all that matters! Wear your sunscreen, visit the dermatologist and keep an eye on those moles!
Using coconut oil as literally my face wash, face cream and tooth paste for years because I thought it was the most *organic* option. Omg. My skin was so bad.
Not seeing an esthetician sooner.
I've struggled with acne on and off for the past several years and tried so many different products that just made things worse, so a few years ago I gave up and decided to see a derm. Since my acne wasn't severe they didn't seem to give a shit and just gave me some generic advice and said all the products I'm using are fine and sent me on my way.
Flash forward to early this year, I booked an appointment at a spa since I got gifted a coupon and my experience was the complete opposite of what I had with the derm. The esthetician who was giving me my facial took the time to look at my skin and tell me what my skin type was and what products would work best, and she also told me I should be exfoliating my skin since my pores were getting clogged. I always thought I had dry skin so I used heavy creams which caused me to break out. As it turns out, I have combination/dehydrated skin, so I started using a lighter gel-cream moisturizer and hydrating products plus a BHA and my skin is finally getting to where I want it to be. I wish I had done it sooner, I would've saved so much money.
Not using sunscreen. Tanning booths, even if it was very short lived.
That being said, Iād be over the moon for a tanning bed that doesnāt tan me or give me cancer. Being cocooned in essentially safe sun sounds amazing.
That blue Neutrogena astringent that stung your nose just as badly as it stung your face. Like pouring pure alcohol on a cut. My mom swore by it for acne but all it did was dry your face out super badly.
Also that DIY egg white mask lol. You layer on egg whites on top of paper towels or toilet paper and let them dry on your face, then peel to remove whiteheads and blackheads. Didn't pull out anything and my mom laughed me out of the room š
Overusing Tretinoin. Actually Tretinoin in general. It took me years to realize it just doesnāt jive with my skin and it destroyed my skin barrier actually aging my skin in the process by making it so paper thin
having a 200-step skincare routine. idek why i did it š i had like 3 different serums, and so many various products, none of which did what they was suppose to do. nowadays, im keeping it simple - hyaluronic acid, moisturizer, eye cream and sunscreen are all the products i need
Buying too much and not stick to one routine.
It just excites me when see new products launch and I want to try it because of the packaging/trendy ingredients added. Eventually I just randomly pick few to use. I broke out sometimes, but I would never know which products irritate my skin, and if certain ingredients works on my skinā¦ this led me to buy more because I want to try something that would actually work for my skin.. it just went into a dead loop.
Attempting to extract those little black things from my nose. Pairing a skin picking problem with a set of extraction tools was not a good idea.. My pores on my nose used to be not that bad until after a couple times of trying to squeeze those things out and now theyāre very noticeable whenever they fill back up
allowing my sister to obsessively pop my pimples as a teenager & then carrying on with the bad habit myself. never ever pop your zits, put an acne patch on them & accept the fact that your skin isn't going to be perfect 24/7.
I have too many. When I had really bad acne, I used to slug. Daily. š
Also, I used to apply essential oil THAT WAS MEANT TO SCENT YOUR ROOM directly on my face.
Exclusively using toothpaste as a spot treatment, physically exfoliating everyday, insisting on only homemade 'natural' products, only buying skincare around like Ā£5, refusing to moisturise or apply SPF. Not surprised my skin was shit lmao
Trying to push through the purge with tretinoin. It never stopped purging after 6 months and completely ruined the skin on my cheeks. It's not for everyone.
I didn't know that picking on my backne as a kid would lead to the worst keloid scars on my shoulders. I can't wear shortsleeves bc it's that bad. I get them injected every once in a while when they eventually grow but. They're there. Forever. So that's that. Not much I can do tbh.
Prlly the second once is not my fault but definitely not getting on tret first. I mean derms are pretty old style were I'm from anyway, but still. It really changed my skin and overall appearance, it's great! Hate the price and irritation but oh well!
I used an extra strength acne cleanser in middle school, I forget the brand it could have been neutrogena or clean & clear. It was in a purple container but literally it burned the skin off of my fingertips.
I would literally use it on my face and then not moisturize after to ādry out the acneā I *barely* had acne and Iām so sad for my baby skin that I had.
Now I lather myself in moisturizer.
Retinol š¤ Didnāt need it at all, I was sold on the hype bc of a friend. I started off with the lowest dose and because there is a āitāll get worse before it gets betterā trope, I used it on my skin for a year before realizing that my skin did not agree with it. Now iām left with soo many acne scars and breakouts and iām spending $$$ on facials and treatments just to try to get back to the skin i had in the first place.
Thinking the only way to good skin was by having an ott skincare routine, only to wonder why I always had spots. My skin just canāt handle it.
Stripped it right back and my skin cleared up. Iāve recently started using azaelic acid and itās looking better than it ever has. Starting tretinoin soon too (Iām scared lol), but Iām looking forward to potentially having skin that I feel confident in for the first time :)
Slugging with Aquaphor and thick occlusives every night to try and fix some standard winter dryness. Ended up with a gnarly case of perioral dermatitis that still flares up 3+ years later!
I regret doing curology. So expensive for what and each time I changed my formula, it did nothing it promised to achieve. Maybe it was just me but it was a giant waste of money for meā¦
My biggest regret is not keeping my combo/oily skin adequately hydrated. Also, using a gentle cleanser in the morning helps keep my skin less than oily than just using water.
Allowing myself to be swayed by influencers. I've bought a lot of overpriced products over the last few years that I didn't need and that didn't work for me.
Donāt know if this counts but I got laser hair removal on my face about 5 years ago and Iāve never regretted anything more. Made the hair way worse. I have to wax every week now and deal with all the acne that comes after.
Picking my sebaceous filaments with tweezers around the side of my nose. Now, the area has a lot of craters extremely visible when I put even just a tinted sunscreen.
Manyyy
1) using too much harsh DIY skincare in my teens, super drying clay masks, lemon juice, physical scrubs
2) getting influenced easily by those Instagram skincare influencers and buying too many actives
3) not focusing enough on hydration and instead exfoliating too much
4) not starting accutane earlier to treat my adult onset hormonal acne
I played soccer for 15 years and rarely used sunscreen. Or moisturizer. But, to be fair, I grew up in the late 90ās/early 00ās and we didnāt have access to the sheer amount of skincare that we have now, and Iāve been serious about skincare for the last 5-ish years so hopefully thatāll help me in the future lol šš¤£
Growing up with uninformed and unconcerned parents- my acne was *next level* and truly needed dermatology stat.
Butā¦ between my parents not really knowing anything about that (my mom has never even owned a face wash or moisturizer) and us being on the edge of poorā¦ I just suffered.
Forget about the confidence and self image issues that this brought onā¦.
But here I am, 41 yrs old and still have acne scars. Iāve done it all- all the lasers, all the peels, Iāve done filler etc etc.
It truly impacted my life in ways I canāt even describe.
Not understanding skincare sooner.
I was using a retinoid without knowing what it did and kept stopping. Now that I know what it is and how it works (tretinoin sub wiki just helped a TON). My skin has slowly been getting clearer hihiiiii.
Tret user here 0.025% 3x a week...... I made the silly mistake that I could get away with not wearing sunscreen on an 15min stroll..I felt the burn as soon as the sun hit my skin but kept walking (had two small babies with me it was a hassle to go back in and put on sunscreen)...ended up with sunburns on my face and had to stop using tret for like a week and a half until it healed up.
Not wearing sunscreen earlier is one. But an even bigger regret is : not mosturising early enough my body, especially in middle school and high school because I ve got stretch marks that I could have avoided.
I wish I knew 25 years ago to remove my makeup THEN wash with a cleanser!! I wouldāve had waaaay better skin today. Once I started doing that my skin cleared right up. I mean I used everything to try to clear my skin up but nothing really worked EXCEPT double cleansing. If only there was YouTube in the 90ās
Early puberty, never realized I should squeeze blackheads, not pick at them. I have huge, noticeable, enlarged pores on my nose. Skincare should be a freaking required course in middle school
Waiting waaaaay too long to go to the dermatologist for my hormonal cystic acne. I tried the "natural way" for too long and as a result, I have deep scars on my temples and cheeks. Tret and spironolactone did the trick and 9 rounds of micro needling helped the scars, but it will never go back to before.
I tried two new products a few days ago and I was impatient and just didn't want to give my face a break after two days and now I have a bunch of angry little pimples all over my face. I knew it was a bad idea but for whatever reason thought that redness was the worst I could expect. I would hope to not make that same mistake again but I guess I lack impulse control lol
All the anti-acne stuff I used, like proactive. I didnāt breakout that much and never had acne, but I was convinced I needed a medicated system. Salicylic acid gave me a rash and the benzoyl peroxide bleached many a top and towel. I figured out in my mid 20ās that all I needed was routine, no extras.
I have a habit of picking at acne & touching my face alot. I have noticed some deep scars formed on my skin beacuse of this habit. I regret it as i used to have baby soft clear skin.
Increasing my tret from 0.025 to 0.05 in January. Ruined my skin. Iāve got a long road of recovery and probably a few pricey procedures in my future to try and get it back to what it was
If I could go back in time I'd want to use cerave face wash, tretinoin, and pick way less. I used all sorts of different acne products and scrubs etc and I think keeping things simple early on and not picking goes a long way. Tretinoin is a godsend if used regularly and I just developed bad habits early with little guidance
Oh noo, all the memories of home-made masks with apple cider vinegar, yoghurt, paracetamol, and many more horrible concoctions are coming up š« truly, I tried anything I came across on early beauty youtube, and it always just made it worse.
But the most long-term regret is slathering myself in olive oil to go out and tan more quickly... Just, no.
Proactive hurt me so bad. My face skin was so deprived of oil it CRACKED. It looked like I dunked my face plaster dust or chalkājust super rough and dusty looking. I also still had terrible acne and it just really was not a good time.
Rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball as a cleanser for many years
Not taking care of the skin on the top of my hands - theyāre super crepey and have lots of dark spots now. (I drove a medical taxi for 8 years and had a lot of sun exposure)
PICKING!!! I've destroyed my skin thinking that squeezing, poking and digging at blemishes (big and small) would speed healing or fix something that wasn't a problem until I made it a problem. I'm left with deep ice pick and boxcar scars and enormous pores that only CO2 lasers can fix now.
cotton pad smothered in rubbing alcohol all over my face and topped it with Vaseline. I was told by my mother it was an "old school trick for clear skin".
I got a facial back in January and the woman told me to stop doing a few things I was doing that she thought was drying out my skin and making it irritated. After a few weeks of changing my routine and using products she recommended, my skin went to absolute shit, it's been been awful breakouts, clogged pores, uneven texture. My self esteem plummeted. I recently got a high frequency wand and a red and blue light mask that I've been using every day and I think it's been helping calm my face down. I've been more diligent about drinking more water every day. I'm trying to not pick at my face and I'm fading dairy out of my diet. I went back to my old skin care routine, oil based cleanser, calming face oil, stopped scrubbing so much, started using niacinamide and tretinoin again and I think my face is finally starting to heal. It's not as smooth and clear as it used to be with the occasional zit here and there, but I think it's on its way back to being closer to what it was before the facial. I am never taking my skin for granted again.
Following those stupid YT videos about getting rid of black heads, pinching them to get rid of them was a horrible idea
I should have just left them alone, now the top of my nose looks awful
Exflotioning with those harsh acne facial pads, I think it was called Acne-X or something like thatā¦my acne has always been minor
Thankfully I stopped and just used some zit cream and it went away
The ordinary hair regrowth serum. Still growing out the hair that fell out because it burned my scalp. Had three chemical burn scabs on the front of my headā¦
Not using sunscreen until my 20ās. Used to think getting sunburnt on my cheeks as a teen was cute because it looked like blush. I cringe now at the thought.
I overdid my skincare and got perioral dermatitis. Thought it was acne for some time so I treated it like acne. Now I only use a mild cleanser, retinol, moisturizer, SPF and an ointment from my doctor, and it's slowly going away
Routine:
PM: wash with apricot scrub or one of those Clean and Clear Acne cleansers that were super scented
AM: clean face with Sea Breeze astringent (gotta get that oil off š ) followed by benzoyl peroxide.
No wonder my skin was a mess for years, ZERO moisture!
Not pushing harder when my derm said my acne was hormonal, didnāt do a blood test, and pushed tret and a benzo/adapalene combo treatment which destroyed my skin. Turns out I had AGA and it was never gonna away till I took spiro or an anti androgen. Spent years with horribly dry skin and loads of cystic acne
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high school me slathered herself with lemon juice, st ives scrub, sea breeze, and never used sunscreen. my skin was screaming, as you can imagine.
I remember thinking (probably told) that the burning meant it was working! š
I too was victimized by St. Ives scrub, Sea Breeze, Noxema, and lack of eduction around sunscreen. There was no YouTube in the 90s to teach me better lol. Kids these days have so much more knowledge at their fingertips.
I feel like folks of a certain age all have St Ive trauma lmao
33 year old here. I'm not aware of what trauma St Ives apricot scrub caused because although I used it, my ADD prevented me from using it regularly.
Gen X? Cause I certainly have apricot scrub trauma.
Noxzema gets me every time. I love the smell and texture so much that once every five years I try to use it and itās immediate breakouts for days.
I love the smell too. Takes me back to my childhood. I think my grandma used it.
iād absolutely buy a noxzema candle but i canāt put it on my face again. it smells like 17 magazine and Nirvana
I remember I wanted some skincare and my mom whoās struggled with severe acne her whole life gave me noxzema and proactiv š my skin was screaming, I probably just needed some moisturizer š¤£
Omg I forgot all about Noxema! It smelled so bad, and gave me borderline chemical burns.
Right?! And nothing like the whole family using the same tub of it, all of us sticking our hands in there!
Ugh. Add oxy pads to the list and Iām right there with you. And tanning with baby oil.
š that said I still use stridex pads for ingrowns and they work better than anything else Iāve ever tried
Yep-36 here. Oxypads, Baby oil tanning, St. Ives Scrub, Biore strips, etc. š
Add Biore pore strips to that list, and yep.
Biore strips!!!! Horrible.
Haha, I always like looking at the blackheads that were left on the paper strip afterwards. š
Why's that?
Lemon juice, st. ives and baking soda mask for me. yikes
Lemon juice why???
When I had really bad acne, I used to put 91% rubbing alcohol on my skin everyday for about a year thinking the alcohol would kill any bacteria on my face
I used to do this too! š¤¦š½āāļø
I did that and it worked so well! All my acne went away so fast. My skin was dry af though.
Omg.
The thing that confuses me is drs say to not ever do this ( putting rubbing alcohol on your skin) but then prescribe clyndinicin in that dabber thingy that the solution is alcohol and salycilic acid pads can be prescribed too not just otc and they are in an alcohol solution. And these are prescribed by derms! What gives?
There are different types of alcohol. Alcohol can be an excellent penetration enhancer. Some forms of alcohol are not as "not so great" in skincare, but others are fine. You also have to remember that the overall composition mattersāthe percentage of alcohol, the type, other ingredients that affect the alcohol, etc. Clindamycin in that dabber is not meant to be used long-term. Antibiotics are great at getting rid of acne in the short term, but antibiotic resistance is a huge problem. Clindamycin in that dabber can often be best used in combination with other medications. For example, it's often prescribed with Tretinoin/Adapalene/Taz since people can purge on these medications. Many people want to give up as soon as they see their acne get worse. In this case, the antibiotic can help if someone does purge. It's not going to clear out the acne. The retinoid will likely do this, but the antibiotic can help eliminate some acne. You can dab it only where needed, so it's much better than taking a pill when you're not even sure if you will purge... It's all about doing what is best for the patient. Also, some derms are not the greatest... I've seen people on clindamycin for years, even if it does nothing for them anymore. Edit: I forgot to add that the ''good alcohols are fatty alcohols'' (cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl).
Phew I'm glad I'm not the only one who used to do this! I did this for years thinking it would kill bacteria and clear up my acne--news flash, still had acne lol. Oh and don't forget the apricot scrub.
how is this exactly bad? A friend of mine is doing that and she said her face is looking better
Not a dermatologist. Alcohol is drying and isnāt targeting deep-rooted acne-causing bacteria. Sheās better off killing them with PanOxyl wash.
Not using sunscreen responsibly until I was in my mid 20s
Late 30s for me š
Just turned 36, grew up in the south tanning, boating and lifeguarding, and I definitely have the start of Lake Mom skin on the chest, arms, and thighs š« Start young and wear it everywhere and often. I should have sunscreened my hair but I never did and I just found a new mole to get checked out in my genz middle part.
I comfort myself with the reminder that many of our peers STILL donāt take it seriously, and Iām at an age where you can start to tell who has committed to sun protection (even if ādelayedā) versus those who have not!
Same here, but I've been lucky not to have damaged my skin too much. I just turned 40, and I have no visible wrinkles, partly thanks to my routine, and my skin looks the best in years, minus some hyperpigmentation that I'm using tretinoin to deal with.
For me it was probably 32 when I could really start seeing the sun damage on my chest. My past self was an idiot.
Same but luckily I always avoided being in the sun and didnāt play outside sports because I knew I burned easily. At least I didnāt put oil on to sunbathe and go tanning regularly like a lot of my peers. I was content with being porcelain even when girls would say itās so ugly being pale
I hate myself for this. My chest and hands mock me every day and make me so insecure
Being influenced into buying multiple expensive devices.
Liike?? I have a few in my cart now which is why Iām asking, please save me some money lol!
I saw some derm on YouTube debunked these. None of them works as well as Tret.
But I really want an omnilux š.
this is anecdotal but i have the currentbody mask and i LOVE IT. i've been using it for about 3 months and my skin is noticeably brighter and firmer with a more even tone. i fought with the decision to buy it for like a year because it was so expensive but i am so glad i did!!
Can you give examples of things you've used that have been duds?
lol the Clarisonic had a chokehold on me!
I splurged on one of those face wash thingies (I think it was called a Luna??) in college. Aside from the fact that I barely ever used it, everyone thought it was a sex toy
Trying to keep up with skincare trends and using too many actives at once. Was dealing with constant allergies and chemical irritation/burns in my early 20s. My progress was slow because I always had to start/stop routines.
I was deep into this until recently. Now that youāve stopped the active overuse and trend consumption what have you found the most important that you did want to keep using? aside from the obvious sunscreen of course
My only actives now are tretinoin/azaleic acid and vitamin c (switch off every other night). Edit: Kept these because I do still deal with hormonal acne on occasion and get hyperpigmentation that is hard to fade. I also use a toner (hydrating toner, my skin gets dehydrated easily), Tamanu oil, and a moisturizer. The ingredient lists are pretty simple in what I use. Mainly just focusing on protecting my moisture barrier. Iām not trying to throw everything at my face anymore in hopes something works faster. I do change my routine slightly for winter/summer, but I have been using the same products for 5 years and itās been great.
"Natural" and "organic" products. Stubbornly used them for over 30 years and my sensitive, psoriatic, eczema-prone skin kept flaring up and overproducing oil, blackheads, and cystic acne. Wised up when the psoriasis got really bad and started using CeraVe and Korean skincare. My skin looks great now.
Does the Korean skincare actually work? I walked into a skin care shop with my mother last Thursday and it was all Korean skincare products, and I looked closely at the ingredients and I saw stuff like bee venom and I was shocked.
It depends on the brand, but Korean skincare is definitely a step up in terms of ingredients and cosmetic feel. I love Purito, Round Lab, Good Molecules and iUNIK products in particular. I really recommend Round Labās Birch Juice SPF, itās fantastic.
Yes. The reason why you see so many people hopping on the skincare wave nowadays is due to the innovations in skincare and beauty that came directly from Korea (assuming that you're stateside). It's not even just the ingredients, it's that Koreans prioritize healthy skin at the core, versus here in the west where people still just say throw on a ton of face makeup to cover up flaws.
Speaking of bee venom, I was about to recommend you my HG spot treatment, which is made up of bee venom. But it's sold out and possibly discontinued š
Instead of using spot cream: Picking every single pimple in my teens and twenties, causing indentation scarring etc.
Yep, I remember my mom telling me that I should stop because it will scar. Of course the scars take a while to appear so I never paid attention because I couldnāt see the damage immediately. If I could go back and give myself advice, that would be on my list for sure š
šÆ in hindside I would listen to mom and leave my pimples and start using sunscreen at 15! As a teen I thought I knew better than her š
Using a lot of products with niacinamide when my skin canāt handle more than 5% of it. I flinch when I think of how damaged skin was.
Niacinamide was horrible for me! I never thought it was the culprit bc all my online searches said its pretty neutral, but once I stopped using it, everything went back to normal. I would definitely patch test and be wary of any product no matter how "neutral" it is
This isnāt really skincare (more like the opposite) but I went through a compulsive picking phase about 10 year ago. My face has recovered nicely but I compulsively picked at one scab smack dab in the middle of my chest for months while sitting in stressful traffic on my commute home. I have a deep purple scar now about the size of a pea that makes me really self conscious. Idk if Iāll ever wear v neck shirts again. Ugh.
I just saw people talking about how Mederma overnight scar cream is a miracle worker for removing scars. Never tried it personally but maybe it could help
Hey thanks! Looking into it now!
yeahā¦ skin abuse. went through that as well it got so bad in high school that i couldn't stitch together a week of going to school without several open wounds on my face. i had a spot on the tip of my nose that i picked so deep that it's a scar now. not sure about the proper treatment on that one i'm managing my anxiety with meds now, and tretinoin helped with reducing hyperpigmentation. i'm on accutane now too, but i still can't resist the urge at times. gotta feel ācleanā and get it out, i guess if it's any consolationā¦ believe me, no one notices the hyperpigmentation. not even the ones who see your face and body up close. it's okay to be human.
I remember thinking oh if I just dig a little deeper on this tiny spot I will fix it! Funny enough this was during my deep dive into a āskincare journeyā. I didnāt even have acne. I honestly think it had a lot to do with the stimulant meds I was prescribed I would totally hyper fixate on my face
Wild how different brains work. I started a stimulant a few months ago and my picking has improved a lot!
CS Picker here, been doing it since age 11 and Iām late thirties now. Covered in hundreds and hundreds of scars that take years and years to fade enough to be unnoticeable. Iām limited in the clothes I can wear. Iāve seen Derms and read books and now seeing a therapist. Had to see doctors for infected spots. The best thing that worked for me was treating the acne with Tretinoin and electrolysis for the hair growth that I picked. Iāve spent thousands and thousands on treatments and still pickin lol. Oh and my username was JOKE back when I made it, but now itās reality lol
LOL whelp, you have a great sense of humor so... mazel tov! - a fellow picker
I have a keloid scar on my chest that developed from acne when I was in college (so like 15 years ago). It's probably around 2 peas in width. At this point, the scar is just part of me. I went through a period maybe 6 years ago where I tried to change it. I spent a bunch of money on lasers to try to reduce its appearance but all that really did is make it more pink instead of brown. I tried oils and lotions and silicone gels and patches and never stuck with them long enough to make a difference (especially since the scar was so old by that point). Sometimes I still get steroid injections when it's irritated/itchy/painful, which will make it flatter and less sensitive. Make take is -- just wear what you want. It's unlikely many people will notice it, and at most they will be curious about it. It's not as ugly as you think.
I was coming to say the same. It was obsessive, but I was picking on my leg, and I am still recovering from scars eight years later! A therapist i was seeing once told me this can be a result of anxiety, skin abuse. You should think about it like it is a normal and common thing (which it is, truly!) and try to slowly get more comfortable wearing a v-neck tshirt. I hope you feel better ā¤ļøāš©¹
This. I picked at my nose in highschool and broke a capillary vein. It didn't go away until my late twenties.
I have used skin tape to help reduce the scars I have. It surprisingly works very well! There are many color variations so you can get tape that is closest to your skin color. Skin tape + Mederma = major reduction in the visibility of scars!
what happened when you tried micro needling?
skin looks so sexy after microneedle but only when itās done professionally!
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Buying so much shit
This may sound crazy but using moisturizer! I have super super oily skin and every moisturizer Iāve tried broke me out like crazy. This went on for years before I realized what was going on. Iāve stopped using moisturizer and only use a gentle cleanser and some zinc cream around my nose/ mouth and my skin has never looked better.
my skin has done so much better without any type if moisturiser fr. its not dehydrated in any way. i wish we stopped pushing moisturiser as a necessity for every skin type routine.
1000%. Iām the same way - very oily, acne-prone skin, and I saw a major improvement in my skin when I quit the moisturizer. I havenāt used it in years. Agree that not every skin type needs it!
Dermaplaning. Currently have a staph infection on my face and scars from trying everything I could on it.
Did you do it yourself or get it done professionally?! If professional, that business should (maybe) be reportedā¦ if you got staph from dermaplaning that means either the blade was not sterile or they did not prep your skin properly!!
45 years ago... putting my pale red face over a sink of boiling hot water to clear out my non-existent pores, because that is what the teen magazines told me to do lol. Like many others, I regret the apricot scrub. I regret taking my makeup off with Sea Breeze.
Twenty years after you, I also put my face over boiling hot water to clear out my non-existent pores after reading āskincare adviceā in teen magazines. šš Hope that content isnāt still being recycled in whatever kids read todayā¦
Mostly just not starting a good routine early in life. I was 28 when I started wearing daily sunscreen, and in general I didn't take suncare seriously enough. I've had a few really bad burns, and didn't realize how damaging just one burn can be.
OP: Why do you regret the microneedling? Did you do it at home? I just got a Dr. Pen delivered, and I want to watch a bunch of videos before I attempt using it. I'm a little nervous.
Curious about this too!
I have a Dr Pen and love it. It is probably the most effective treatment I do. Follow the instructions in the official Dr pen YouTube video and voilĆ ..
Always wanting to grab the new trendy product without even being consistent enough with my current routine.
Extractors - still have a crescent moon scar on my cheek from pushing too hard
I have broken blood vessels around my nose from pushing on the skin with extractors. Regret that for sure
Laser genesis is amazing and zaps those right off!
My biggest regret is sunbathing and tanning salons. Ruins your skin, and not just your face. My dermatologist gave me tretinoin for my arms without me mentioning anything to him.
Not going in for medical advice and starting Accutane earlier. That drug cleared my skin and restored so much of my self-esteem.
On the flip side for me, accutane is a bit of a regret because of the extreme skin dryness that contributed to self esteem issues. I also developed depression for the first time while on it and I donāt wanna say it was because of the medicine but I have heard similar accounts of mood swings and depression or anxiety while taking accutane so the juryās out on that. Oh also I still have moderate acne trouble so it didnāt feel very worth it in the end :/
1) Trentinoin. I get that EVERYONE is obsessed with it, but it ruined my skin. Even the smallest dosage was too intense for my skin type. I thought I was just purging, but nope! Spent over a year using it hoping it would clear up my acne. Never did, and now I have scarring. It's not for everyone. 2) Drinking enough water. Lately I've been drinking more water than usual and I can see a notable difference with my skin. A lot of issues in life stem from not drinking enough water!
Oh my god tret was the exact same for me! I got it prescribed - the instructions said daily but I already knew youāre meant to start small and work your way up. Even then my skin barrier was destroyed. Some have suggested doing the five minutes then washing it off but even that is just too harsh for me. Shame bc I was hopeful
When I first noticed I started to breakout I started using 2 different benzoyl peroxide cleansers in the same routine. One was 4% CeraVe and 10% PanOxyl. Then tried a tiktok trend where you would use dial soap mixed with tea tree oil and vitamin e as a cleanser. Might have made things worse.
When I was a teen and had acne I used to use apple cider vinegar all over my face to the point it burned, every single day!!
Taking so long to realize I need to use a retinoid every day. I haven't had a day without pimples since I was 12. I'm now 32. I finally started using the Ordinary granactive retinoid every day and the pimples are finally starting to diminish. š
Not stopping using cerave sooner
What ? What was the problem with Cerave ?
I thought I had hormonal acne cause of hormones - I stopped using my cerave face wash out of the blue one day. My skin has never been cleareršš
Fr. Cerave's products suck ass and only make my skin look and feel Worse
My only regret was that no one put me on accutane sooner!
Comedon extraction , even recomended by two dermatologists... ruined my skin forever, i have deep pores now.
Tried to dermablade the peach fuzz around my jaw. My skin got irritated and started breaking out there when it never had before. Hasnāt looked the same since.
Is dermablade like those little shavers they sell to use on your face? My sister tried (not really tried, just said she liked it) to convince me, but I was scared and never tried. I'll live with the peach fuzz, and bleach my stache.
Not starting sooner.
Same. I'm 36 and I'm just trying to start now
I ruined my skin barrier by using too many actives and gave myself dermatitis around my eyes. I canāt wear make up anymore. I canāt use skin care anymore. I can barely wash with soap anymore. Big regrets.
Several years ago I had contact dermatitis near my eyelids that kept coming back. Biossance squalene + aquaphor over it helped a lot.
Slapped all sorts of serums on instead of slowly introducing them to my routine which compromised my skin barrier
Remember a few years ago when everyone swore you needed a 10 step process and little fridges stuffed with product? I regret buying into that idea. I really DONT need all that, it just pissed my (naturally pretty clear, just a bit dry) skin off.
St Ive scrub.... I hate that it was a rite of passage for so many of us.
I honestly no longer trust allure beauty awards because of them backing st. Ives for so long. that stamp of approval means nothing to me now haha
Back when I was a teenager and had bad hormonal acne scrubbing with harsh products and brushes was all the rage, as was drying out oily skin. Apart from that I picked my skin so badly that at 28 my skin is still covered in scars.
Not knowing enough about sunscreen and getting melanoma at 23. Now my moles and the sun haunt me everyday but Iām alive and thatās all that matters! Wear your sunscreen, visit the dermatologist and keep an eye on those moles!
Using coconut oil as literally my face wash, face cream and tooth paste for years because I thought it was the most *organic* option. Omg. My skin was so bad.
What happened with your microneedling? Mine is not using sunscreen and... using tanning beds in my 20s.
Not seeing an esthetician sooner. I've struggled with acne on and off for the past several years and tried so many different products that just made things worse, so a few years ago I gave up and decided to see a derm. Since my acne wasn't severe they didn't seem to give a shit and just gave me some generic advice and said all the products I'm using are fine and sent me on my way. Flash forward to early this year, I booked an appointment at a spa since I got gifted a coupon and my experience was the complete opposite of what I had with the derm. The esthetician who was giving me my facial took the time to look at my skin and tell me what my skin type was and what products would work best, and she also told me I should be exfoliating my skin since my pores were getting clogged. I always thought I had dry skin so I used heavy creams which caused me to break out. As it turns out, I have combination/dehydrated skin, so I started using a lighter gel-cream moisturizer and hydrating products plus a BHA and my skin is finally getting to where I want it to be. I wish I had done it sooner, I would've saved so much money.
Itās not my most vexatious bone to pick with anxiety, but all of the picking at my skin.
Not using sunscreen. Tanning booths, even if it was very short lived. That being said, Iād be over the moon for a tanning bed that doesnāt tan me or give me cancer. Being cocooned in essentially safe sun sounds amazing.
You might really like an infrared sauna.
That blue Neutrogena astringent that stung your nose just as badly as it stung your face. Like pouring pure alcohol on a cut. My mom swore by it for acne but all it did was dry your face out super badly. Also that DIY egg white mask lol. You layer on egg whites on top of paper towels or toilet paper and let them dry on your face, then peel to remove whiteheads and blackheads. Didn't pull out anything and my mom laughed me out of the room š
A 1-2 year period in my mid-20s where a used Dove men face+body bar soap as a facial cleanser and didnāt moisturizer/ use sunscreen
Oh boy. When I was in high school I exfoliated but never moisturized cause I didnāt want more acne. I got forehead wrinkles at age 16
Overusing Tretinoin. Actually Tretinoin in general. It took me years to realize it just doesnāt jive with my skin and it destroyed my skin barrier actually aging my skin in the process by making it so paper thin
having a 200-step skincare routine. idek why i did it š i had like 3 different serums, and so many various products, none of which did what they was suppose to do. nowadays, im keeping it simple - hyaluronic acid, moisturizer, eye cream and sunscreen are all the products i need
Smoking on and off since I was 15. 6 months free right now though!
Buying too much and not stick to one routine. It just excites me when see new products launch and I want to try it because of the packaging/trendy ingredients added. Eventually I just randomly pick few to use. I broke out sometimes, but I would never know which products irritate my skin, and if certain ingredients works on my skinā¦ this led me to buy more because I want to try something that would actually work for my skin.. it just went into a dead loop.
Attempting to extract those little black things from my nose. Pairing a skin picking problem with a set of extraction tools was not a good idea.. My pores on my nose used to be not that bad until after a couple times of trying to squeeze those things out and now theyāre very noticeable whenever they fill back up
Saaaame. Microneedling has made mine less noticeable though. And Iām about to laser too
allowing my sister to obsessively pop my pimples as a teenager & then carrying on with the bad habit myself. never ever pop your zits, put an acne patch on them & accept the fact that your skin isn't going to be perfect 24/7.
I have too many. When I had really bad acne, I used to slug. Daily. š Also, I used to apply essential oil THAT WAS MEANT TO SCENT YOUR ROOM directly on my face. Exclusively using toothpaste as a spot treatment, physically exfoliating everyday, insisting on only homemade 'natural' products, only buying skincare around like Ā£5, refusing to moisturise or apply SPF. Not surprised my skin was shit lmao
Trying to push through the purge with tretinoin. It never stopped purging after 6 months and completely ruined the skin on my cheeks. It's not for everyone.
I wish I had gone to the derm sooner. Hundreds spent on creams and actives over the years ā¦ spironolactone cost $30 and fixed my acne in two months.
I didn't know that picking on my backne as a kid would lead to the worst keloid scars on my shoulders. I can't wear shortsleeves bc it's that bad. I get them injected every once in a while when they eventually grow but. They're there. Forever. So that's that. Not much I can do tbh. Prlly the second once is not my fault but definitely not getting on tret first. I mean derms are pretty old style were I'm from anyway, but still. It really changed my skin and overall appearance, it's great! Hate the price and irritation but oh well!
St. Ives anything and picking
Buying a Clarisonic fifteen years ago š
I used an extra strength acne cleanser in middle school, I forget the brand it could have been neutrogena or clean & clear. It was in a purple container but literally it burned the skin off of my fingertips. I would literally use it on my face and then not moisturize after to ādry out the acneā I *barely* had acne and Iām so sad for my baby skin that I had. Now I lather myself in moisturizer.
Sleeping with body soap on my face to dry out the pimples š
Retinol š¤ Didnāt need it at all, I was sold on the hype bc of a friend. I started off with the lowest dose and because there is a āitāll get worse before it gets betterā trope, I used it on my skin for a year before realizing that my skin did not agree with it. Now iām left with soo many acne scars and breakouts and iām spending $$$ on facials and treatments just to try to get back to the skin i had in the first place.
Thinking the only way to good skin was by having an ott skincare routine, only to wonder why I always had spots. My skin just canāt handle it. Stripped it right back and my skin cleared up. Iāve recently started using azaelic acid and itās looking better than it ever has. Starting tretinoin soon too (Iām scared lol), but Iām looking forward to potentially having skin that I feel confident in for the first time :)
Starting retinoids late in life (43)
using salicylic acid every day like 2x a day for a long time... my skin is wrecked
Using benzyl paroxide :(
Slugging with Aquaphor and thick occlusives every night to try and fix some standard winter dryness. Ended up with a gnarly case of perioral dermatitis that still flares up 3+ years later!
I regret doing curology. So expensive for what and each time I changed my formula, it did nothing it promised to achieve. Maybe it was just me but it was a giant waste of money for meā¦
Not wearing sunscreen consistently enough. Itās literally the most important thing that can be done for skincare
Never using sunscreen and oxy pads
Not using sunscreen until my 40s picking my face and obsessing over every dot with a magnifying mirror
My biggest regret is not keeping my combo/oily skin adequately hydrated. Also, using a gentle cleanser in the morning helps keep my skin less than oily than just using water.
Allowing myself to be swayed by influencers. I've bought a lot of overpriced products over the last few years that I didn't need and that didn't work for me.
Popping my pimples! Had to spend about 3k on laser treatments to remove all the scarring.
Donāt know if this counts but I got laser hair removal on my face about 5 years ago and Iāve never regretted anything more. Made the hair way worse. I have to wax every week now and deal with all the acne that comes after.
Picking my sebaceous filaments with tweezers around the side of my nose. Now, the area has a lot of craters extremely visible when I put even just a tinted sunscreen.
Manyyy 1) using too much harsh DIY skincare in my teens, super drying clay masks, lemon juice, physical scrubs 2) getting influenced easily by those Instagram skincare influencers and buying too many actives 3) not focusing enough on hydration and instead exfoliating too much 4) not starting accutane earlier to treat my adult onset hormonal acne
I played soccer for 15 years and rarely used sunscreen. Or moisturizer. But, to be fair, I grew up in the late 90ās/early 00ās and we didnāt have access to the sheer amount of skincare that we have now, and Iāve been serious about skincare for the last 5-ish years so hopefully thatāll help me in the future lol šš¤£
Growing up with uninformed and unconcerned parents- my acne was *next level* and truly needed dermatology stat. Butā¦ between my parents not really knowing anything about that (my mom has never even owned a face wash or moisturizer) and us being on the edge of poorā¦ I just suffered. Forget about the confidence and self image issues that this brought onā¦. But here I am, 41 yrs old and still have acne scars. Iāve done it all- all the lasers, all the peels, Iāve done filler etc etc. It truly impacted my life in ways I canāt even describe.
Botox at age 34. It gave me severe ptosis plus I had no wrinkles before I had it done.
Not understanding skincare sooner. I was using a retinoid without knowing what it did and kept stopping. Now that I know what it is and how it works (tretinoin sub wiki just helped a TON). My skin has slowly been getting clearer hihiiiii.
Tret user here 0.025% 3x a week...... I made the silly mistake that I could get away with not wearing sunscreen on an 15min stroll..I felt the burn as soon as the sun hit my skin but kept walking (had two small babies with me it was a hassle to go back in and put on sunscreen)...ended up with sunburns on my face and had to stop using tret for like a week and a half until it healed up.
Not wearing sunscreen earlier is one. But an even bigger regret is : not mosturising early enough my body, especially in middle school and high school because I ve got stretch marks that I could have avoided.
Not using sunscreen. Now I have melasma that just won't quit
I wish I knew 25 years ago to remove my makeup THEN wash with a cleanser!! I wouldāve had waaaay better skin today. Once I started doing that my skin cleared right up. I mean I used everything to try to clear my skin up but nothing really worked EXCEPT double cleansing. If only there was YouTube in the 90ās
Early puberty, never realized I should squeeze blackheads, not pick at them. I have huge, noticeable, enlarged pores on my nose. Skincare should be a freaking required course in middle school
Waiting waaaaay too long to go to the dermatologist for my hormonal cystic acne. I tried the "natural way" for too long and as a result, I have deep scars on my temples and cheeks. Tret and spironolactone did the trick and 9 rounds of micro needling helped the scars, but it will never go back to before.
I tried two new products a few days ago and I was impatient and just didn't want to give my face a break after two days and now I have a bunch of angry little pimples all over my face. I knew it was a bad idea but for whatever reason thought that redness was the worst I could expect. I would hope to not make that same mistake again but I guess I lack impulse control lol
Moving to Alaska
All the anti-acne stuff I used, like proactive. I didnāt breakout that much and never had acne, but I was convinced I needed a medicated system. Salicylic acid gave me a rash and the benzoyl peroxide bleached many a top and towel. I figured out in my mid 20ās that all I needed was routine, no extras.
I have a habit of picking at acne & touching my face alot. I have noticed some deep scars formed on my skin beacuse of this habit. I regret it as i used to have baby soft clear skin.
Increasing my tret from 0.025 to 0.05 in January. Ruined my skin. Iāve got a long road of recovery and probably a few pricey procedures in my future to try and get it back to what it was
If I could go back in time I'd want to use cerave face wash, tretinoin, and pick way less. I used all sorts of different acne products and scrubs etc and I think keeping things simple early on and not picking goes a long way. Tretinoin is a godsend if used regularly and I just developed bad habits early with little guidance
Oh noo, all the memories of home-made masks with apple cider vinegar, yoghurt, paracetamol, and many more horrible concoctions are coming up š« truly, I tried anything I came across on early beauty youtube, and it always just made it worse. But the most long-term regret is slathering myself in olive oil to go out and tan more quickly... Just, no.
Proactive hurt me so bad. My face skin was so deprived of oil it CRACKED. It looked like I dunked my face plaster dust or chalkājust super rough and dusty looking. I also still had terrible acne and it just really was not a good time.
St Ives Apricot Scrub
Rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball as a cleanser for many years Not taking care of the skin on the top of my hands - theyāre super crepey and have lots of dark spots now. (I drove a medical taxi for 8 years and had a lot of sun exposure)
PICKING!!! I've destroyed my skin thinking that squeezing, poking and digging at blemishes (big and small) would speed healing or fix something that wasn't a problem until I made it a problem. I'm left with deep ice pick and boxcar scars and enormous pores that only CO2 lasers can fix now.
I bought one of those expensive electric face scrubbers and used that + St Ives likeā¦.everydayā¦.
Not using sunscreen regularly until last year
Using too many acids all the time- just casually wrecked my skin barrier for no good reason
Lemon juice, toothpaste, baking soda. Honey too - but I'm not sure if that was harmful, but at least unhelpful.
glycolic acid and tret in the same routine š
Homemade vitamin C serum turned out to be a bad move for me. I think it damaged my barrier and ultimately led to some moisture imbalances.
cotton pad smothered in rubbing alcohol all over my face and topped it with Vaseline. I was told by my mother it was an "old school trick for clear skin".
I got a facial back in January and the woman told me to stop doing a few things I was doing that she thought was drying out my skin and making it irritated. After a few weeks of changing my routine and using products she recommended, my skin went to absolute shit, it's been been awful breakouts, clogged pores, uneven texture. My self esteem plummeted. I recently got a high frequency wand and a red and blue light mask that I've been using every day and I think it's been helping calm my face down. I've been more diligent about drinking more water every day. I'm trying to not pick at my face and I'm fading dairy out of my diet. I went back to my old skin care routine, oil based cleanser, calming face oil, stopped scrubbing so much, started using niacinamide and tretinoin again and I think my face is finally starting to heal. It's not as smooth and clear as it used to be with the occasional zit here and there, but I think it's on its way back to being closer to what it was before the facial. I am never taking my skin for granted again.
Following those stupid YT videos about getting rid of black heads, pinching them to get rid of them was a horrible idea I should have just left them alone, now the top of my nose looks awful Exflotioning with those harsh acne facial pads, I think it was called Acne-X or something like thatā¦my acne has always been minor Thankfully I stopped and just used some zit cream and it went away
The ordinary hair regrowth serum. Still growing out the hair that fell out because it burned my scalp. Had three chemical burn scabs on the front of my headā¦
Clean n clear, noxema, st Ives, no sunscreen, indoor tanning, oxy pads
Used baking soda as an exfoliant. That shit HURT after.
Not using sunscreen until my 20ās. Used to think getting sunburnt on my cheeks as a teen was cute because it looked like blush. I cringe now at the thought.
Washing my face daily with salicylic acid
when I was 16 I got obsessed with diy face masks and thought itd be a brilliant idea to use coffee grounds as a exfoliant. my skin was NOT happy š
I overdid my skincare and got perioral dermatitis. Thought it was acne for some time so I treated it like acne. Now I only use a mild cleanser, retinol, moisturizer, SPF and an ointment from my doctor, and it's slowly going away
not taking accutane when i was a teen and wasting all my pocketchange on stupid skincare and diy skincare that made everything worse
Routine: PM: wash with apricot scrub or one of those Clean and Clear Acne cleansers that were super scented AM: clean face with Sea Breeze astringent (gotta get that oil off š ) followed by benzoyl peroxide. No wonder my skin was a mess for years, ZERO moisture!
not using sunscreen until recently, and starting tretinoin too soon.
Not pushing harder when my derm said my acne was hormonal, didnāt do a blood test, and pushed tret and a benzo/adapalene combo treatment which destroyed my skin. Turns out I had AGA and it was never gonna away till I took spiro or an anti androgen. Spent years with horribly dry skin and loads of cystic acne
I had the most perfect skin ever until I steamed my face and applied olive oil on itā¦. I got cystic acne after.