I suffered for the majority of my life with acne. Blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, oiliness, cysts...you name it I have had them all. I started seeing a dermatologist at 12 followed by dozens more...with the same routine...buff puffs, retin a, harsh scrubs, and a round of tetracycline.
I started frying myself in the sun and tanning bed around age 14 thinking it would help my skin clear. Which it didn't and I was left with worse acne...which was now super red, peeling, dry, and scars from all of the tanning plus harsh meds I was on PLUS hyper pigmentation from the old heeling acne that was now burned and tan and now more acne...
It was a vicious cycle.
Tan, burn, peel, acne, red, dry, more acne, more peeling....
Not to mention the havoc I was wrecking on myself from picking....poking...digging..squeezing...
My skin looked like raw meat for so many years.
You can read Here about my past tanning habit.
And Here how I now safely self tan instead.
After I finally stopped tanning I still had acne.
Cystic acne came in college for me...oh the joy! Plus all the rest of still stayed with me....
At this point I had been to countless dermatologists, tried every product, every makeup, and nothing seemed to work.
I then heard about the very serious drug Accutane. It was 1996. I discussed it with my then Derm and I went on a 4 month round of Accutane. It was Sooo amazing!, My skin had never been clearer! It was the miracle I had been looking for! Within just a few short weeks my oiliness had completely gone, all my zits were gone, blackheads gone, cysts gone....everything gone! I loved it! I was finally able to not think about my skin!
Yes I had a bloody nose daily from Accutane. Yes, my lips were so dry if I went without Chapstick for 30 minutes it was a catastrophe. Yes, I had to drive 2 hours every other week to have blood drawn to make sure my lipids were ok and that my cholesterol had not raised (it was elevated one time...)
BUT I HAD CLEAR SKIN!
Which lasted about 2 years post Accutane...and then it came back.
So I started having Glycolic acid peels at my Derm office (this was back when insurance paid for them)....they would keep me clear for a couple of weeks and then I would break out again. I did this routine for a couple of years.
But my skin was still very oily, many blackheads, not as many cysts, but still a ton of just gross zits all over. Makeup was out of the question...everything broke me out! Everything! I tried powders, minerals, liquids, expensive, cheap...I read articles, books, magazines...anything I could to help me but nothing helped!
So in 1999 I went to Paramedical Aesthetics (medical skin care) School. I wanted to learn as much as I could about acne. I wanted to solve and fix my own skin as well as help others.
I loved Aesthetics School. It was so wonderful! I learned so much about the health and integrity of skin. I learned how to wax eye brows...I met dear friends...
I finished school and went to work that very same day at a spa.
Since then I have had the pleasure to work in different realms in the skin world..... I was the head of aesthetics for the Vanderbilt Cosmetic Surgery Center, I worked for Élan Skin and Laser Center, I have worked with dermatologists, plastic surgeons, fantastic innovative aestheticians...I worked for Wax Nashville...I have been a licensed Aesthetician for over 15 years.
And Here how I now safely self tan instead.
After I finally stopped tanning I still had acne.
Cystic acne came in college for me...oh the joy! Plus all the rest of still stayed with me....
At this point I had been to countless dermatologists, tried every product, every makeup, and nothing seemed to work.
I then heard about the very serious drug Accutane. It was 1996. I discussed it with my then Derm and I went on a 4 month round of Accutane. It was Sooo amazing!, My skin had never been clearer! It was the miracle I had been looking for! Within just a few short weeks my oiliness had completely gone, all my zits were gone, blackheads gone, cysts gone....everything gone! I loved it! I was finally able to not think about my skin!
Yes I had a bloody nose daily from Accutane. Yes, my lips were so dry if I went without Chapstick for 30 minutes it was a catastrophe. Yes, I had to drive 2 hours every other week to have blood drawn to make sure my lipids were ok and that my cholesterol had not raised (it was elevated one time...)
BUT I HAD CLEAR SKIN!
Which lasted about 2 years post Accutane...and then it came back.
So I started having Glycolic acid peels at my Derm office (this was back when insurance paid for them)....they would keep me clear for a couple of weeks and then I would break out again. I did this routine for a couple of years.
But my skin was still very oily, many blackheads, not as many cysts, but still a ton of just gross zits all over. Makeup was out of the question...everything broke me out! Everything! I tried powders, minerals, liquids, expensive, cheap...I read articles, books, magazines...anything I could to help me but nothing helped!
So in 1999 I went to Paramedical Aesthetics (medical skin care) School. I wanted to learn as much as I could about acne. I wanted to solve and fix my own skin as well as help others.
I loved Aesthetics School. It was so wonderful! I learned so much about the health and integrity of skin. I learned how to wax eye brows...I met dear friends...
I finished school and went to work that very same day at a spa.
Since then I have had the pleasure to work in different realms in the skin world..... I was the head of aesthetics for the Vanderbilt Cosmetic Surgery Center, I worked for Élan Skin and Laser Center, I have worked with dermatologists, plastic surgeons, fantastic innovative aestheticians...I worked for Wax Nashville...I have been a licensed Aesthetician for over 15 years.
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