In the past year my skin has suddenly changed from problem free to cystic acne, oily to dry to combination and has been total hell. The only change I made in my life was stop taking BC pills. I'm 22 now and I had been on them since I was 15 so apparently my hormones had a hard time adjusting after being on medication for so long. (I'm not in anyway advocating staying on BC just for your skin, overall I feel much healthier and less moody!) But, due to my skin freaking out after stopping the medication I had major cystic breakouts on my cheeks. They involved huge under the skin bumps that were red and painful. After dealing with it for a few months I finally went to a dermatologist. My dermatologist prescribed Benzaclin for spot treatment and Retin-A Micro as a nightly treatment. I had pretty good success with these products. My acne is now under control, maybe due to the products and maybe due to my hormones balancing out after a year and a half. I only get the occasional breakout.
Since the acne is cleared up I don't have much to worry about skin wise except for the fact that I have two cheeks full of raised, dark red scars. I find it almost impossible to cover the scars with concealer and foundation because of their dark, almost purple color. They are also still noticeable because of their raised texture. The scars make me feel extremely self conscious and take a toll on my self esteem. I feel embarrassed and am completely fed up. To make matters worse I'm getting married in 7 months. I absolutely refuse to have scars all over my face on my wedding day and in my wedding pictures, they definitely aren't something I want to remember for the rest of my life.
I began researching scars and visiting skincare forums and the wonderful site acne.org. I found out a lot about scars and decided to take action because I realized I didn't have to live with my scars. The first change I decided to make was absolutely wear sunscreen everyday because any hyper pigmentation you have will only darken with sun exposure and will be harder to get rid of in the long run. I also found the absolutely amazing company Makeup Artist's Choice or MUAC. I recently ordered some products from them that should dramatically lighten my scars and possibly get rid of them all together.
I wanted to share my journey of lightening my scars in the hopes of helping someone else get back their confidence and not be ashamed of their skin. These pictures are of the scars I have on both my cheeks and were taken in natural daylight. These pictures were taken before doing any treatment.
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