It's been half a year since I last wrote anything on here. I stopped using my Twitter and kind of fell out the blogging band wagon. But as I'm about to start a skin journey I asked people on Twitter if they'd like me to document it and surprising people did!
Let's start with a bit of background. When I was in secondary school I was quite lucky to have pretty good skin. I had the odd spot here and there but generally felt super secure and confident about how my skin looked without makeup.
When I started university, just before my 19th birthday I began noticing how my skin was changing. Not only was I a hell of a lot spottier than previously, I also started getting dry patches and really oily patches across my t-zone.
I started wearing a lot more make up. I know as you get older you can become much more self aware but it really started to get me down. As the year went on I finally went to my GP. It took me a lot to do this. With someone who suffers from panic disorder I was terrified I was being over dramatic as everyone always told me my skin looked fine.
But then things got worse... My GP used the words 'cystic acne' which basically describes exactly what I was going through. Hard, solid, sore lumps under the skin that just would not shift!! Annoying. After going to the GP the doctor prescribed me a strong Benzoyl Peroxide cream. The first few weeks were completely fine but all of a sudden my skin switched. It was the sorest it had ever been, it was super red, dry and flakey and absolutely everything made it burn BAD.
This was one of the lowest points. I cried at the thought of going to work (customer service = serving customers all day) because I was so self conscious and I couldn't put anything on my skin to even attempt covering the huge red spots I had all over my face. I felt like I didn't want to go out because someone might comment on my redness and yes, people did. I was called greasy, spotty and even asked if I'm sun burnt and it hurt me.
To top it all of last year I was told I also had rosacea which totally made sense because all across my cheeks, nose and chin are completely red 24/7 and spider veins began popping up. FAB.
Of course, back to my GP I went. I basically cried and cried until he finally said he'd refer me to a dermatologist. After waiting nearly 7 months and having cancelled appointments I have finally had my first ever proper dermatologist appointment!!!! YAY.
I've been told I'll be put on roaccutane which is something I have done a hell of a lot of research on and I won't lie I'm both terrified but buzzing about the possibility of having nice skin!!! I have had a blood test and will be finding out in the coming week what's going to happen next.
I'm totally up for blogging about my experience on roaccutane and might even do some sit down or vlog style videos about how I'm finding the whole skin journey.
Watch this space!!!
*Disclaimer* Posting about my acne and the struggles I've faced with my mental heath is something that takes a lot to do and I would appreciate it if you could respect that. Please remember that everyone has different ways of going through/dealing with these sorts of things
