Acne — Blog — Healy Chen

Acne finally

During my annual checkup last week, I finally asked my doctor to prescribe a remedy for my acne. I am right smack in the middle of my 30s, and I am still breaking out like a pubescent teenager. It’s been this way since I actually was a pubescent teenager. It’s never been serious enough (no pepperoni pizza here, though still quite oily) for me to consider asking for the big guns. It’s just been a steady regiment of salicylic acid-infused face wash and benzoyl peroxide cream, hoping it will all go away as I age.

Obviously that has not happened. Constant mask use during the pandemic exacerbated the problem. The mask material interacted horribly with my oily face. Changing one out every few hours did not do much to stem the tide (my apologies, landfills). Even with the pandemic over, and far less frequent mask use, the acne did not recede at all. Which is why I finally talked with my doctor about an oral medication. Decades of topical remedy has accomplished very little.

I think most people are familiar with Accutane: the hammer against acne. It’s the final boss, for when everything else has failed. My doctor did not think Accutane is necessary. Apparently there’s a similar drug to take before exercising the Accutane trump card. It makes sense, because the side effects of Accutane is kind of notorious: constantly dry skin, and potential depression.

The doctor and I are hoping to avoid that by having me take doxycycline, a twice daily oral tablet for three months. It’ll be some time before I can say for sure whether this medicine is effective or not. What I can say is that it’s certainly working on something. One of the warnings on the bottle is users may become hugely sensitive to sunlight. I can directly confirm that is correct. Good thing I am starting this regiment during the autumn/winter months!

Still getting acne

Is it normal for a 33 year old to still be getting fresh pimples on the regular? Asking for a friend. Is Proactiv still a thing? I subscribed to that acne fighting program back in my college days, and it did nothing for me (obviously) other than wrecking my skin further. The chemicals it uses is far too harsh. My advice to teens looking to get rid of their acne problem: head straight for accutane. Benzoyl peroxide is but a bandaid.

Perhaps I shouldn’t complain about having acne well into the 30s. It’s a sign of youth, is it not? It sure beats the other signs that I’ve been seeing amongst cohorts my age: hair loss. Indeed, some of our hair lines are starting their recession, and bald-spots are showing up at the rear of the head. I can honestly say, hair loss is scary as heck to me. I’m not big on vanity, but not having a full head of hair just looks odd, even though all I do for a haircut is an army-style buzz with the 6mm profile on a hair clipper.

Thankfully, I’m not yet afflicted with a loss of hair. When it does happen, I reckon I’ll be one of those people trying all the over-the-counter and clinical remedies to stem the falling tide. There’s a lesson to take from my acne saga: head straight for the only proven solution, which is hair transplantation. I better start saving up for that, because health insurance doesn’t pay for cosmetic procedures.

Of course, I try not to stress about it, because that would only lead to quicker loss of hair. There’s already enough stress in my life, as evident in the fact I’m still getting acne! Face masks hasn’t helped in that regard. Oils and micro dirt get trapped underneath it for the entire work day. I really need unvaccinated people who are other eligible to go get vaccinated.