Weddingbee Blog

I shared with you my adventures in the world of Not Biting One’s Nails…

Next up, let’s talk about acne.

It started when I was about 12. Everyone said, “Ooo, you’re becoming a woman! Don’t worry, it’ll pass.” So we bought the Oxy, the Stridex, the Clearasil, the Clean ’n’ Clear, the Proactiv… you get the picture. I tried toothpaste. Baking soda. Salt… basically any acne “miracle cure” touted by the latest issue of Seventeen. (I must say: A paste of Baking Soda and water on your blackheads does work, by the way. Do it for a week and you’ll see!) To top it off, I was a swimmer from 5th until 12th grade, so I even had chlorine supposedly working in my favor. Still, the zits persevered.

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For years, people were telling me “Don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it.”

By the time I was 16, my mom had me in to the dermatologist. That visit was the start of a decade of doctors, creams, ointments, pills, salves, astringents and suspensions. My face can withstand more powerful drying chemicals than any human skin should be able to tolerate. Hormonal birth control worked best to quell the outbreaks (it didn’t go away, but it got a little better), but it also gave me crippling migraines. By the time I was 23, people stopped assuring me that the pimples would go away, or that it was just a teenage hormone thing. Last year, I was getting so desperate that I was considering going on Accutane, a very powerful treatment that gives excellent results, but also carries serious warnings. I went to the dermatologist in December intending to ask about it.

She took one look at me and my annotated list of failed treatments past, and said she didn’t know what these previous docs had been thinking. THIS treatment wasn’t supposed to work with THAT one, and she had no idea why they’d put me on this OTHER one for the type of acne I had. She told me to wash my face with Cetaphil (not oil-free acne soap, not prescription 15% Benzoyl Peroxide rinse, just plain old Cetaphil). She told me to use a lotion with sunscreen in it, NOT oil-free (What? I thought moisture and oil were mortal enemies of those with acne!). She prescribed a twice-daily pill to me, and a couple of mild prescription lotions. And you know what? It worked. 5 months later, I get a pimple or two once in a while, but my face is nearly clear. I’ve gone from being tempted to call in sick due to the embarrassment that was my face, to feeling confident going to work with no concealer, foundation, or powder at all. My daily routine looks like this:

• Morning: Wash face and moisturize (I use the Cetaphil lotion and face wash). Apply “Benzaclin” prescription lotion. Apply oil-free makeup (I use Neutrogena) if needed. Take a pill: Keflex.
• Evening: Wash face. Apply “Differen” prescription lotion. Take another Keflex pill.

I’m not out of the woods yet: I’m supposed to taper off of the medications in about a month, but I have high hopes this time… though I’m a little nervous that the zits will come back just in time for my nuptials.

Has your impending wedding forced you to face any serious body issues?