Context: 33F, acne prone, sensitive and combination skin. living in a hot and humid country. I workout 3 times a week and go for 10K steps walk everyday outdoors.   
*Scroll to bottom for current routine if you can’t be bothered to read 😅*

Okay….my acne started during CoV!d 2020. I panicked and immediately started throwing skincare at my face because The Ordinary was everywhere and I figured more skincare = better skin.

Yeah… that kinda made it worse 😅

I tried everything, irritated my skin even more and completely lost my confidence. I didn’t even want to turn my camera on for Zoom calls with friends. I didn’t want to leave the house without a thick layer of concealer over my face.

Eventually I decided to see a dermatologist. It was expensive, but it was honestly worth it for me. I was prescribed antibiotics, a dermatologist-directed skincare routine and **Epiduo 🫡** (my HG till this date)

Dermatologists routine: (she really went hard and aggressive not gonna lie 😅)  
AM:  
• micellar water (bioderma)  
• Bha/lactic acid serum (dermatologist’s own brand)  
• mattifying moisturiser (derm’s brand)  
• spf mattifying (derm’s brand)   
PM:  
• micellar water   
• salicylic gel cleanser (derm’s brand)  
• the same Bha/lactic acid serum   
• mattifying moisturiser   
•Epiduo adapalene 0.1% + benzoyl peroxide 0.25%

**My progress: (refer to slides)**  
**Slide 1: 1 month-**Started seeing noticeable progress. Skin was calmer but super dry…..  
**Slide 2: 2 months -**No more active cystic acne. This was HUGE for me. Pore became less congested.  
**Slide 3: 6 months -** My skin had cleared significantly and I was mainly left dealing with the scarring.  
**Slide 4:** 1 year in - this was when I gained my confidence again, my skin cleared up 90% so I decided to stop using the expensive dermatologist skincare routine and started finding more affordable products that worked for me and followed a similar general approach.

There was A LOT of trial and error after that. 😂 I’ve had plenty of breakouts along the way and definitely made mistakes with my routine.

**2026 — where I am now (last slide)**  
I still get breakouts here and there. My skin is sensitive, I live in a hot and humid climate, and I work out regularly, so sometimes my skin gets angry. But I also have plenty of days where my skin is clear and I’m genuinely happy with how it looks. And that’s something I never thought I’d be able to say back in 2020.  
**The biggest thing I’ve learned:** there is no such thing as perfect skin. There will be good days and bad days. Sometimes you’ll try something and it won’t work. Sometimes your skin will randomly decide to be an asshole. 😂  
For me, learning to be patient and pay attention to how my own skin reacts has made a much bigger difference than constantly chasing perfection. Don’t let one bad skin day convince you that you’ve ruined everything. And don’t wait for perfect skin before you allow yourself to feel good about yourself.  
**Six years later, I’m still figuring it out** 

Sorry for the longggggg post but just want to share this experience with everyone.

Heres my current routine incase you are wondering: (if you need the products name message me)

**AM:**  
• micellar water  
• toner  
• azelaic acid serum  
• brightening serum  
• sunscreen  
**PM:**  
• micellar water  
• enzyme cleanser  
• hydrating essence  
• BHA toner (twice a week)  
• hydrating serum  
• Epiduo   
• gel moisturiser 

6 years of trail and error with acne