Thursday, August 21, 2003
Took pics today. I look almost exactly the same as week 11 and 12. I am once again depressed. Not that I was ever jumping for joy, but seriously, I think I shouldn't take any more pics of myself until I *know* that there's been major improvements, so I don't have to face reality and get upset.
sad, sad, sad...=(
yesterday, I looked in a mirror and my skin was sooo dry and flaky and red. I have one word for it: RAW!! And as I was washing my face yesterday, I can see the dead skin and tried to rub it off my face with my hands. I didn't do a very gentle job and ended up popping a few pimples. Well, not that it will stay put and not pop if I'm gentle; seriously, my pimples will pop no matter what. So, I bled and scabbed; at least I don't have as much scabs as the last time I mentioned them (week 12). I was tempted to put on Cetaphil moisturizer yesterday, because my skin felt so raw, but I didn't, because I was afraid that I'd break out more.
Also, I broke out on the forehead; I wrote about that on the last entry. Well, I think it *might* be because I didn't wash my face for like 2 days...to avoid scabbing myself, remember? Well, I don't think I'll skip washing my face anymore since I think it doesn't make sense to leave dirt and dead skin on my face; must wash it off with Cetaphil, because just rubbing it with my hands won't do a thing, right? If I could, I guess I'd try using a washcloth, but I can't imagine scrubbing my face like that. It's sensitive enough; no need to aggravate it.
In the last entry, I wrote about breaking out around the chin. Well, I think the next day, I broke out like 6 zits on my neck!! Then, that same night, I got my period. So, does that mean I got hormonal acne? Is my period the cause of all those new zits on my chin, neck, and forehead?
Well, it's been about 4 to 5 days since the breakouts on the chin and neck, and so far, I *think* that it's healing a bit. I still got big ones on my neck from that breakout, but the ones on the chin is *sort of* flattening out. Let's hope it goes away for good in at most a few days.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Mom was looking at my skin last night at the dinner table and I asked her whether I look better; she said that "there's less." yippee!! =)
It's always a good sign when other people are telling you that you look better. My older bro also said that "the zits are flattening out" and that I'm "looking better" yesterday afternoon.
These are good signs. Trying to think positive here, because I'm usually so gloomy and depressed.
Also, I posted on the healthboard that I'm not using any moisturizer on my face and within a few hours, I got 3 people telling me to put moisturizer on my face, because:
"It could be the irritation from the dryness is making you breakout more, or making the acne you do have, seem worse."
"Moisturizing is *EXTREMELY* important! If you aren't moisturizing, all you're doing is making your complexion worse! Get yourself some oil-free moisturizer with an SPF 15 or higher. That's what all dermotologists recommend. It is *CRUCIAL* for having healthy skin that you do this. Letting it dry up only irritates it and makes you more prone to breakouts and gross looking skin. MOISTURIZE!"
"don't put B.P. or anything harsh on your skin. Instead, if your skin is very dry (which should be), try using a good moisturizer free of irritant."
Here's the link:
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/018294.html
Anyways, as soon as I read those replies, I put on a bit of Cetaphil moisturizer on my face. It does make my face feel better; let's hope it will make it look better, too. =) ***fingers crossed***
Trying to be positive here. =)
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Week 14:
Nothing much happened since the last time I wrote.
I started to put Cetaphil moisturizer at night and Aloe Vera Gel in the morning. I bought the AV Gel from GNC and it's 99% AV. Hopefully, the Aloe can decrease some of the redness. My complexion would look sooo much better without the redness.
My skin feels less irritated after I started putting the lotion on. I think I will continue to do this as needed. I don't think I will put it on every night since I don't want to over-moisturize. I am so wary of putting lotion on my face. This is so new to me.
As for acne, I still have a lot, but not as much as, say, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I guess. But they're still there and I hate them. Some of them stay here forever. That HUGE zit I wrote about back at week 10 is still here. It's been 4 weeks and it's still here!! It's smaller, but it's still here!! I also got a couple on my cheeks and forehead that have been here since the last time I was at the derma. I really hope that I will look better by the next derm visit.
As for doing things (changing pillowcases, drinking lots of water, etc.) to help clear up my acne, I'm happy to report that I am doing most of them very diligently. =) I wasn't very diligent about tracking the progress of the Aloe Gel on my bro's back, though. =/
I hope everything will just get better from now on. Trying to be positive and optimistic here. ***fingers crossed***
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