renewal.
i have been troubled by adult acne since my third year in nus. although i never had perfect skin when i was a teen, it never gave me any trouble, and any huge zits that formed would away within 2 weeks. when the zits started getting bigger and more frequent, i assumed it would go away like the ones i had before. however, my skin condition got progressively worse and worse that i could no longer feel like i was a monster if i left the house without makeup. people would commend on how good the skin on my hands look, but all along i felt like the acne on my face was eating me from the inside out.
over the years, helpful friends and relatives have offered me advice and suggestions on what to get and what to do to make the acne go away. i believed some, i brushed away some. i got products off the shelves, off beauty counters, created homemade remedies etc etc. some people believed that diet was a huge part of why the acne manifests, but i can never give up my fried food. at least at that moment in time haha. i went for facials that involved extra painful extractions.
during the holidays last year end, i saw a huge improvement in my skin when i started on skII and origins. but when i started work again, the acne was back with a vengeance.
during may his year, it reached a state where i got so disgusted looking in the mirror, even with makeup on.
that was the last draw. i realised my skin was not going to get any better based on what i have been doing before. i have heard of accutane, but my arsenal of friends and relatives have always recommended against taking meds. and before i knew it, epiphany struck! my friends and relatives have had experiences with TEENAGE acne, which generally goes away with time. adult acne doesn't.
so, i asked for accutane from my general practitioner. he gave me nimegen instead, the singapore version which is cheaper and has similar effects and side effects of accutane.
1 month into the course, i have never felt better about my skin. lesser oil production, lesser zit formation (and less angry), and everything seems to be healing up nicely. the scars are slowly fading because my skin finally could direct some attention to healing those scars instead of the zits. there is some peeling around my nose, and my lips are really really dry, but these are things that i'm willing to live with for the time being.
in short, i've never felt better about my skin in the last 5 years.
and it actually spurred me to do something about my weight. i am considered very obese by bmi standards by end june. my knees were also buckling under the sheer weight of my body (no boob jokes please, thank you). i need to do something about it. a friend once mentioned to me, "you cannot outexercise a bad diet." that was when i decided to consciously limit my food intake. i'm still enjoying my fish and chips and chill crabs, but i no longer need to eat till i felt i was full. enough was the key word. and i'm proud to say.... *drumrolls*
i've lost 4kgs within a month. without much exercise.
my aim was to lose at least 10kg by oct, and i'm already halfway there!
people have been coming up to me and telling me that i look different. it's a great way to start really, to take positive action to change aspects of my life that i've been unhappy with.
oh, and about the "yes yes yes yes yes", i've just started on my first tuition assignment. :)
over the years, helpful friends and relatives have offered me advice and suggestions on what to get and what to do to make the acne go away. i believed some, i brushed away some. i got products off the shelves, off beauty counters, created homemade remedies etc etc. some people believed that diet was a huge part of why the acne manifests, but i can never give up my fried food. at least at that moment in time haha. i went for facials that involved extra painful extractions.
during the holidays last year end, i saw a huge improvement in my skin when i started on skII and origins. but when i started work again, the acne was back with a vengeance.
during may his year, it reached a state where i got so disgusted looking in the mirror, even with makeup on.
that was the last draw. i realised my skin was not going to get any better based on what i have been doing before. i have heard of accutane, but my arsenal of friends and relatives have always recommended against taking meds. and before i knew it, epiphany struck! my friends and relatives have had experiences with TEENAGE acne, which generally goes away with time. adult acne doesn't.
so, i asked for accutane from my general practitioner. he gave me nimegen instead, the singapore version which is cheaper and has similar effects and side effects of accutane.
1 month into the course, i have never felt better about my skin. lesser oil production, lesser zit formation (and less angry), and everything seems to be healing up nicely. the scars are slowly fading because my skin finally could direct some attention to healing those scars instead of the zits. there is some peeling around my nose, and my lips are really really dry, but these are things that i'm willing to live with for the time being.
in short, i've never felt better about my skin in the last 5 years.
and it actually spurred me to do something about my weight. i am considered very obese by bmi standards by end june. my knees were also buckling under the sheer weight of my body (no boob jokes please, thank you). i need to do something about it. a friend once mentioned to me, "you cannot outexercise a bad diet." that was when i decided to consciously limit my food intake. i'm still enjoying my fish and chips and chill crabs, but i no longer need to eat till i felt i was full. enough was the key word. and i'm proud to say.... *drumrolls*
i've lost 4kgs within a month. without much exercise.
my aim was to lose at least 10kg by oct, and i'm already halfway there!
people have been coming up to me and telling me that i look different. it's a great way to start really, to take positive action to change aspects of my life that i've been unhappy with.
oh, and about the "yes yes yes yes yes", i've just started on my first tuition assignment. :)