All About Acne - Nahlabee's Tried and Tested treatments

It's Friday! So, as it is the end of the week I have finally found some time to sit down and write this blog post about my experience of Acne. It only seemed fair that it deserved a blogpost.

And for anyone who knows me, Acne is something I am really crazily passionate about. I've been through hell and back with my skin, have tried almost everything and want to share what I know works and what doesn't for anyone suffering. I like to think of myself as a, albeit self proclaimed, Acne therapist? Is that a thing? It should be.

Alhamdulillah rabb al alameen, I have finally become what my husband and I have lovingly named "a clearie", someone who enjoys all that life has to offer, with acne free skin.

Warning - this blogpost probably won't be relevant to most of you, but for those who it is relevant too, I hope this helps! Its also going to be a pretty long post. 

Okay, so where to begin?! I have had adult acne on and off since I was about 16. I had the common bout of teenage acne which I battled with a course of whack antibiotics, but the real devilish cystic stuff started in my second year of university. I have only ever suffered with facial acne ( lucky me.)

I had tried everything.

And I mean everything. Some worked, some didn't. Let's do a little break down, shall we?

Nahlabees (long) list of tried and tested Acne treatment 

Doxycycline - I got this from GP first when I was around 14. It didn't do much. Everyone kept telling me to be patient, sabr, sabr my Mum would say. It made me sickly and feeling pretty poo most of the time. It also killed a lot of the good bacteria and I had stomach aches when taking it. So yeh, this didn't work for me and I gave it a good few months! Didn't work for my 18 year old brother either.

Various Stupid Traditional Indian Treatments - Argh you know when your nan tries to tell you you have acne because you eat too much Chicken Cottage? WHY NANI!? Why take away the one true happiness in my life? This is such a myth, diet did not affect my acne (aside from increasing water). I have had long bouts of healthy eating (they have since ended but whatever) where I still had acne. Unless your rubbing the fried chicken on your skin, it isn't going to make a fat load of difference. The only thing I have noticed perhaps helped was cutting dairy out of my diet. My friend, Zeinab, who also suffered from acne is seeing amazing results doing this. Some acne, as opposed to being due to hormones, is to do with the imbalance of probiotics in your gut. For those of you who watch Makeup Geek on YouTube, her acne is primarily caused by this. She cut out sugar and dairy and it helped slightly. Didn't work for me, but it works for some. Try it, see if it helps.

Another was rubbing lemons, turmeric masks, yoghurt, cider vinegar, all that jazz. Aside from wasting precious kitchen stock, the lemons burnt my zits, the yoghurt did zilch and the turmeric stained me Ben Nye Banana Yellow. I thought the pain from the lemons meant it must be working, but obviously not. I don't buy into the herbal remedy market. It may be good for other skin conditions, but for my acne, nada.

The Garnier Pure range - Now this stuff works. I recommend this to all my teenage cousins (and my lazy ass teenage brother) who suffer from pimples. This was a saving grace for me during my nasty, greasy years (say 17 +). The salicylic acid in this stuff was simply ah-maz-ing for drying out my skin and killing the spots. I would use the "Garnier Pure Active 3 in 1" morning and evening religiously, followed by a generous helping of the "Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Active Spot Fighting Moisturiser". They have a great range, the face mask was pretty good too. I didn't like the feel of the astringent, it was super drying but if you're super oily, try it. Other products such as the Charcoal Scrub that I used on occasion, stole my heart. Some of the products were absolute fails for me though, namely the roll ons that come with a skin tint. Way too light for my exotically brown skin. However, like I said, this stuff worked for me for a long time. If you have oily skin, suffering from pimples as opposed to cysts, try this. Leave a comment, and let me know how you got on.

Who doesn't love a 3 in 1?

Mario Badescu Drying Cream - I can't remember why I bought this but I did in the hope it would work miracles. Meh. Didn't do much for me, but others swear by it. I think this was down to the fact I was using it on cystic acne (large, under the skin lumps) as opposed for the odd pimple its actually intended for. This now belongs to my little sister, who says it works for her. The formula tends to separate a bit, but it lasts forever!

Little sisters - the dumping ground of all unloved things

Dianette (form of contraceptive pill) - Things began to get seriously ugly and my self esteem was taking a bit of a downturn. So my mum and my older sister advised I try something drastic. After much deliberation, I decided to start a course of hormone therapy. Dianette is something a lot of my friends where against, and in hindsight I can see why. Whilst after a few months my acne completely, and I mean completely disappeared, I couldn't ignore the other side effects. Though I was enjoying clear skin in what seemed like forever, I had piled on a few stone. You hear horror stories of women who get fat off the pill, and I hadn't realised I had become one of them. From a size 10-12, I had grown to a size 14. I had clear skin, but I had lost self esteem in another department. This wasn't helped by the disgusting mood swings I experienced during my time on Dianette. I was a teary, angry wreck whose only comfort was in the bottom of a Ben and Jerry's tub which didn't help the weight gain. Mixed with the stress of education, changes at home, I quickly became a hot mess. Obsessed as I was with having good skin, it was time to come off. Shout out to my friends for still loving me during this stage!

I enjoyed good skin for a while after Dianette, and though I struggled (and still am!) to lose the pounds, I maintain that it was a good decision for me at the time. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't know. I have super mixed feelings about Dianette because it really did clear my skin up. Dianette is one of the more potent hormone treatments out there. I used Cilest post marriage and didn't suffer any weight gain then. Plus everyone is different.

La Rochey Posay Effaclar Duo - Did Satan himself commission the production of this stuff? IT BROKE ME OUT SO BAD. I read about this on blogs, and thought it was right up my street. Safe to say after one awful break out, I gave it one of my friends. I haven't heard of it working for anyone I know to be honest. Don't agree? Comment and let me know.

Not worth the hype - or the price tag.

Duac -  LOVE. Like seriously if I could cuddle up to Duac every night and my husband wouldn't disown me I probably would. I think I became dependant on this stuff, I would suffer from anxiety if I didn't apply it to my face every night. I remember staying over at a friend's place and almost fainting because I had forgotten it at home. She really thought I had a problem, she looked disgusted that I was so stressed out by a acne treatment. (Monisha if you are reading this, thank you for making me realise I had a problem!). I mean thats how bad my acne phobia was guys, I had a very strict routine and I could not sway from it. Anyway so back to Duac. For anyone familiar with Acne.org's regimen that uses benzoyl peroxide as a topical treatment for acne, Duac is that but better. It has an anti biotic in it that does magic. In the beginning, it did leave my skin a little red and raw, but it was a healing process. I had to avoid the sun, and makeup for a short while. Blackheads and cysts alike began to disappear. I would wash my face with Cetaphil, and apply Duac at night, wait a few moments and apply an oil free moisturiser. It worked. If you are reading this, face suffering from the plague that is acne, call your GP and get this stuff. A few people don't get on with it (Mimi being one of them) but it works for almost everyone else. Follow the steps I stated before and you will see a difference. 

Baby, Mummy and Daddy Duac <3

I developed severe OCD. I would ask my GP for back up upon backup of Duac. I would suggest all my friends to use it. It was great. Life was good. The acne was dying, even the cystic stuff. I was happy, newly engaged and in a good skin place. I had managed to drop down to a size 12 post Dianette, EVERYTHING WAS GREAT. Until one day, the Duac stopped working.  

I became depressed. I didn't understand why Duac, whom I had loved so deeply and dearly was not working anymore. I didn't wear makeup, I ate well. With my wedding approaching, my skin had taken a sharp turn for the worst. Cysts formed on my skin, My forehead, Switzerland for my acne ( I had never gotten forehead acne) became a war zone. When I went for bridal makeup trials, all the MUAs would do was comment on my skin. I remember my friend Dhivya trying to comfort me as I wept, fake eyelash falling off, mid make up trial. My skin had been so good just weeks ago! I covered my mirrors. I couldn't bear to leave the house. My then fiancé, couldn't understand what was wrong with me when I refused to see anyone. He kept telling me my face was fine, but it wasn't. If you're reading this and thinking , omg girl get a life! then you haven't had acne. Only acne sufferers understand how this feels. My husband, amazingly and unreservedly supportive as he is, probably won't ever understand why a few spots can reduce me to tears. May Allah bless him for putting up with my tantrums. And even more so, my friends, Tasneem and Iman who used to send me text messages reminding me I was beautiful just to make sure I felt the beautiful bride. My big sister is great too, she understood and encouraged me to be positive, and take the action I subsequently take Accutane.

I guess my skin just got used to the Duac. I kept on using it simply because I had a mental disorder (loool) where I couldn't stop using it. I had to take the huge step I knew I should've taken years ago, and start taking the wonder drug that is Accutane.

Accutane - And so we come to present day. My accutane story is too detailed to type out here, so I will do a separate one soon. But I promise you, its a good one!

Thanks for reading what was a roller coaster of a blog. May Allah grant us all beautiful outsides, but more importantly, insides. There are much more important things in life that good skin, that we all know. But Acne is a silent self esteem killer that doesn't get addressed nearly as much as it should. To this day, my cousins still tease me about my spots, and it still hurts! If you're reading this post, mirror in hand, analysing your blemishes, no matter how few or many, know it will get better in sha Allah. All treatments take time, and battling acne requires a life style change. Its similar to losing weight, it takes sacrifice, patience and dedication to your skin routine. Simply changes like cutting out oil based makeup, and drinking water can kick start a change in your skin. Research into any of the above treatments and give it a go!

Leave any questions you have about this post below. If you're not sure what treatment would suit you best, leave a comment!

Nahlabee.