FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ACCUTANE:
Have you taken Accutane to help with your acne?
No. Unfortunately, my brother had adverse side effects including long term damage to his liver, muscle joints and hair loss. He went through depression and developed suicidal thoughts - a side effect from Accutane...and it was a very difficult time for himself and for all of us who had to witness his suffering. It was truly heartbreaking.. He regrets it to this day and became the reason why I believe there are safer methods to healing acne.
I also have a very big extended family and when my brother shared his experiences with our cousins they thought he was exaggerating so they took Accutane themselves. For some of them, it worked amazingly and that’s great and for others they stopped after experiencing erratic mood swings, pain in their bones etc I believe Accutane should only be the last resort. Personally, I don’t feel right adding more health risks on top of my already struggling body to have clear skin. Despite the state I was in, I managed to push through with safer methods such as taking herbal tablets from @zilchacne and ensuring that I continued to learn more about my body through understanding my lifestyle/stress levels/ acne food triggers etc I count my blessings everyday that I didn’t have to go through what my brother and cousins went through.
While I don’t and will never take Accutane myself, I WILL NOT judge another person for their decision to go on Accutane. I do not feel superior to those who take accutane, it is simply my personal preference. I also know that not everyone will go through those severe side effects. this isn’t a scare tactic, it’s just my way of sharing my thoughts. I just truly hope that those who do take Accutane know all the possible side effects thoroughly and are prepared for whatever comes with #Accutane. Everyone is different... each to their own and I will respect that.
WHY I STOPPED THE PILL
Being on hormonal birth control pills often masks health issues or hormonal imbalances, which in turn makes it harder for yourself and your practitioner to figure out what’s really going on. I was on it for 6 years + and it caused a number of health issues, including: poor gut health, depleted vitamins, headaches, more acne, weight gain, mood swings, UTI’s, yeast infections you name it…
Try to look more into Fertility Awareness Methods, get a FAM teacher to guide you (I had two online educators and they taught me so much. I’m currently a proper year off the pill 2022)
After a lot of practice tracking information about cycles with detail you’ll get the hang of it!!! Your health matters, so putting in the time and effort to learn more about your body is crucial and will be worth it!!!🥰 Click here for a more in depth video of the side effects and my journey post pill.
SKIN POSITIVITY QUESTIONS
How do you deal with hurtful comments or people staring at your skin?
I take deep breaths and take a step back, remind myself of my worth and that my beauty is not measured by other people’s opinions. I think about all the other things I can offer and by the end of it, I remember my value as a person.
How do you respond to people giving you unsolicited skincare advice?
I used to be so offended by unsolicited advice because as an acne sufferer I have done and continue to do over a thousand things for my acne and obviously don’t need another person telling me what to do BUT what’s the point of getting upset with people giving you advice when we have acne itself to worry about already? hahaha. People especially my Asian relatives (aunties namely) would tell me to put tomatoes on my face, drink more water, sleep earlier, use this cream, drink this etc I just nod and smile. Then I move on and the day feel just as great. It feels really liberating to not let people affect you. This is me most of the time, but if someone catches me on a BAD day, I would probably cry AHHAAH but then later try to educate them about acne and if they continue to be ignorant, I move on.
What did acne teach you?
I wrote a letter to acne once:
☁️Dear pimples,
I hated you. I hated you with all my guts because you made me feel so ugly. You made me cry alone on nights that I would never forget😥. You caused me to go through many heartbreaks. The look of disgust from the boys I liked, as they stared at my skin, broke me. They no longer found me attractive or beautiful because of you😔. You not only placed scars across my cheeks but also on my soul. You made me bitter, isolated and removed from the world. I had blamed you for a lot of years, but it was only recently that I realised you aren’t the one to blame. But rather the one to thank.
Thank you for teaching me that anyone who rejects me based on my appearance will never be worth my time. Thank you for teaching me how to be strong as I navigate through school and the world 🌎 around me. Thank you for pushing me to realise my talents and other splendid characteristics. Thank you for making me humble and less arrogant. Thank you for allowing me to understand more about my mind, health and body. Finally, thank you for teaching me how to truly love myself because with this love, I will never be alone. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Liz ❤️
How to feel comfortable in your skin showing acne with no makeup?
I went from packing loads and loads of makeup to cover my severe acne to not wearing any at all. Did this happen overnight? Absolutely not! It took me years to gain confidence but no matter how long or hard it took me to overcome this insecurity it’s so worth it in the end.
What allowed me to reach this stage is through taking baby steps. Instead of covering every single spot with full coverage concealer and foundation I would leave some pimples out so eventually I would get used to having some red spots on my face. Gradually with this method, I accustomed myself to walking about with red spots on my face. I wore less and less makeup which led to my eventual confidence.
I also find that going makeup free to close by places helps. I remember I refused to walk outside my room to see my family because of my acne, so one of my ‘baby steps’ was facing my parents and taking on any criticism they would throw at me (my parents can be super harsh but that’s the reality and I’ve grown to accept it). I would be really upset at first (even cry at some point) but trust me guys, it’s better to go through it then avoid it. You become stronger out of it. Then eventually I went to the local supermarkets makeup free and challenged myself to go to the city make up free. Set yourself some challenges and try to conquer them week by week- or month by month, whatever works for you. Everyone’s at the their own pace, you don’t need to compete with anyone.
Advice to people who want to start to love the skin they’re in more and join the movement? Where should they start?
The biggest advice to love your skin is to never give up. There will be days where you feel beautiful and other days where you won’t but that’s okay, the next day will be a new day and you can can start all over again, just don’t give up. Self love takes practice and you will get there eventually. Here are three main steps that I do almost every day.
Stop comparing yourself to other people. You are unique and no one does YOU better than you. Know that social media is a place full of photoshop and filters. It’s not real.
Stay away from over analysing your face in the mirror. Keep an arm’s length to avoid self criticism and skin picking.
Say loud affirmations. Treat yourself like you would treat your best friend. Compliment yourself loudly so your body and soul can hear how much you love and appreciate yourself. We never have enough of it.
SKINCARE QUESTIONS
What’s your skin type?
I have combination skin. Combination skin is simply having oily skin in some areas of your face and dry skin in other areas. Typically, there’s a mix of oily and dry areas on different parts of your face, with the t-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) being slightly to very oily.
What’s the best thing you used for your cystic acne?
I cleared my active acne through using 2.5% benzoyl peroxide lotion from acne.org/ the brand ‘Benzac’ from your average chemist drug store, but my skin issues were deeper than that and eventually my acne came back. I realised topical treatments can only do so much. The best thing that helped me was taking 100% natural Chinese Herbal tablets called Zilch Acne along with a healthier diet devoid of excessive sugar and dairy consumption. You can see my progress on @prettyprogress23 in the highlight section. You can purchase Zilch using my discount code of LIZPP for 10% off. This is my commission code so thank you so much if you use and hope it works for you as much as it did for me and many others.
What do you do to heal your hyperpigmentation?
Hyperpigmentation is a common, usually harmless condition in which patches of skin become darker in colour than the normal surrounding skin. This can occur after your active acne heal. My number one tip when it comes to hyperpigmentation is using products of AHA+ Glycolic acid as this chemical exfoliant shed old skin cells and brightens your overall complexion. I recommend the following: Click here
How do you treat your acne scars? (indentations)
Look into microneedling.
Microneedling is a method that helps treat different skin conditions. The technique involves using multiple tiny, sterile needles to puncture the skin and cause physical trauma.This trauma prompts the derma, a deeper layer of skin, to rebuild and to boost collagen.
I only use microneedling tools from Banish Acne Scars. They are absolutely amazing. The next day after my first use, my skin looked super plumped because the micro channels created by the needles allowed my skincare products to penetrate deeper into my skin. I noticed that after 2-3 weeks of microneedling consistently, I saw that my large pores appeared less prominent and for over a year now my indented scars looked less dark and deep. However they are quite severe so I am looking into professional treatment in 2021 when I save enough money!
Update Jan 2022:
See my finally get professional treatment!
I will most likely get Subcision and or TCA cross soon.
Have you ever taken antibiotics?
Yes multiple times and it didn’t work. It did more damage than good. Click here to see full story
What products have you tried and love?
I have organised an online shelf for you to view the products I love. Feel free to dm me if you have any questions. See below: https://shoplist.us/prettyprogress23
