How I Cleared My Skin! - The Sierra Guide

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I am so excited to be sharing my story about healing my skin because I know how awful it feels to have painful acne. I’ve dealt with skin issues since I was 12 years old and covered it up with heavy amounts of makeup for years. It wasn’t until I turned 23 that I said enough was enough. It took 3 months but I finally did it. Here’s my story:

*** Disclaimer: All pictures included in this post have no filter on them and I am wearing no makeup unless a little mascara. I am not in the cover photo.

Background On My Skin

For years, I struggled with my skin. I can remember getting pimples all over my chin at 12 years old and having no idea what to do about them. I began covering them up at 13 with concealer and as I got older I caked on more makeup to cover it up. I would even wear concealer to my soccer games because I didn’t want anyone to see it. All through middle school and high school I would pick at my skin, pop pimples, try to “tan it away”, make homemade face masks I found on Pinterest, tried an EXPENSIVE trial of Proactiv, probably bought every face wash from the drugstore, and still nothing worked. Eventually, scars began to appear from the damage and make the texture of my skin even worse.

How I Cleared My Skin

Finally my senior year of high school, I begged my mom to take me to a Dermatologist so I could fix my skin before I went off to college. We went to a dermatologist in town and at the time I thought I had finally found my answer. At my first and only appointment, he asked me zero questions, didn’t ask me to wash off my makeup to actually examine my skin, and didn’t prep me on any side effects of the medicine. I was prescribed antibiotics and a medicated cream. I’m not a doctor but looking back, being rushed through the appointment should have been a red flag.

After three months of being on the medication, my skin was five times worse and my face was swollen. Not only did it affect my skin but I began to dip into a deep depression from the medication and even gain weight. I called the doctor and told him and he just said “It gets worse before it gets better.” (It’s true that your skin can purge in the beginning but now as an adult I know he should have switched my medications due to the depression.) I tried to keep going but I couldn’t handle the pain so I stopped taking it all. The entire experience scarred me not only physically but emotionally. I’m not saying Dermatologists are bad but make sure you do your research. If you feel like they are rushing through your appointment or not following up when you have concerns, then switch doctors! It’s not worth it, trust me.

Through college my skin issues fluctuated. I went vegan my freshman year and it helped clear up my skin from big pimples but it didn’t clear it all the way. Eventually, I stopped being vegan and more pimples came back. At the time I didn’t make the connection and along with stress, my acne continued. I also went on birth control around this period which didn’t help much.

Finding the Solution

About six months after graduating college, I wanted to treat myself to my first ever facial. My skin was pretty awful at this point but I was over it ever getting healed and figured I would be putting on foundation every morning for the rest of my life, but still I just wanted to experience a facial. I found a salon near me that had estheticians specializing in acne so I jumped for an appointment. The first appointment would be a consultation only to chat about my skin.

In that meeting, my esthetician asked me about my issues with my skin, what I ate, my workout schedule, and my current skin routine. Then she explained their program, what it entailed, the costs, and the strict schedule. Essentially, the program involved coming every two weeks for a facial for 90 days. Along the way, they would give me treatments and adjust my skin regiment as my skin got better. They had products that weren’t required to take but recommended to use throughout the 90 days. At the end of the chat, she tested my skin with different products they would be using during the facials and went over any medications or products I use for other areas of my body that could interfere with the treatments.

At the time, I just wanted a facial and had given up on my skin ever getting better. Now I’m considering committing my time and money to get it fixed in only 90 days?? Of course I was skeptical. I weighed the pros and cons and compared the costs of getting large treatments done at dermatologists and thought about the money I had and would continue to drop on expensive skin care. Starting the treatment made the most sense in all areas and worst case scenario I could stop at any time. I said yes to the program and decided it was time to heal my skin and invest in myself for 90 days.

The 90 Days

The first and hardest thing I had to do was stop wearing makeup. I had a full time job and thought of going to work or anywhere in public without makeup was terrifying. It took some talking from my amazing esthetician Shakira to convince me to slowly remove it from my routine. The next thing I had to do was cut out foods from my diet then slowly bring them back in one at a time to see if they affected my skin.

This included: Canola Oil, Vegetable oil (fried foods), peanut butter, peanuts, citrus fruits such as lemons and limes, iodized salt, dairy, soy, seafood, organ meats, and biotin vitamins.

At the time I was vegetarian and had been vegan previously so I thought this part would be easy. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t! I had to really look at all the ingredients of the food I was consuming. I thought I could slip in a side of ranch or some chocolate at work but nope everytime I did my acne would come back. The biggest thing she taught me was how your skin rebuilds itself every 28 days and because of this what I put into my body today would become my skin later on. If you are considering cutting out foods from your diet for your skin, remember this and be patient with the process.

I learned that dairy was the biggest issue for my skin. I have now completely cut it out of my diet. Dairy is a very well known food that affects skin and if you are struggling with acne, I would consider cutting it out for 2-3 months to see what happens.

Next, I had to start a strict morning and night routine for my skincare. No more going to bed by just splashing my face with some water. My homecare included a cleanser, toner, serum, hydrating gel, moisturizer, SPF moisturizer, and an “acne med” which was a very strong benzoyl peroxide cream. I began to use these products in small amounts at certain times. In the beginning I only put on the acne med at night for a couple of hours then would wash it off like a mask. This was awesome because it slowly introduced my skin to these new products. My skin purged for the exact time she said it would, which was about 3 weeks and it was very manageable. I wasn’t allowed to pick or pop any pimples and still to this day I do not do that nor would recommend. If you have to at least put some toilet paper on the tips of your fingers. I also had to ice my face every morning and night. I would do it after I cleansed my face and it was vital for my healing because it would depuff my skin and soothe any pimples I was having. I still do this all the time, my skin loves it.

Additionally, I began talking to my gynecologist about the best birth control I was on and what could be a better option. I highly recommend talking to your lady doctor about your acne and how your hormones could be affecting your skin (especially if you get acne on your cheeks).

Once my skin stopped purging and I had no new breakouts, my bi-weekly facials turned into chemical peels. I pictured the videos on YouTube of girls with their faces peeling outrageously but it was nothing like that because once again, they slowly introduced my skin to the product and would do a higher dose each time. The chemical peels completely transformed the texture of my skin, something I never thought would change. At the very end of my 90 days I got their most intense Chemical Peel. It was awesome and at that point I was so used to a couple days of a little redness in my skin that I scheduled these appointments on a Friday and would lay low for the weekend. Something I’ll always look for in future doctors/estheticians is that they slowly introduce new products or doses for me. Nothing I had done was ever painful in my 90 days but it was made clear to me to always stop and call my esthetician if it became uncomfortable.

After the 90 Days

At the 90 day point my skin was clear of acne. I had a couple of areas of really bad scarring that was still left that I personally wanted to continue to try and get rid of. With that being said, my esthetician recommended a couple of treatments that targeted my request and we decided on doing a Microneedling session. It was by far the most intense treatment I had. It’s not tingling like the chemical peels, it’s quite an uncomfortable but a quick treatment. The plan was to possibly come back for another round of microneedling a month later to see even better results but COVID-19 happened. It took a long time to see results for the microneedling but eventually as time passed I saw a huge difference in my skin texture.

My 90 days ended roughly at the end of February and I began doing the microneedling right at the beginning of March, it’s now July as I’m writing this post. I’ve never felt more confident in my skin and proud of myself for sticking to my goals and completing the 90 day acne program. I still use most of the products they gave me and get refills for them, especially the SPF and Acne Med cream. I don’t always ice my face as consistently but at least a couple times a week. I additionally began using Maria Badescu’s Rose Hip Oil on my face a couple times a week after doing microneedling because I had heard it was great for post care of microneedling. It’s really helped.

I still don’t eat dairy and avoid overconsuming peanut butter and fried foods made with vegetable or canola oil. Another thing I made a non-negotiable in my routine was ALWAYS washing my face and applying a toner right after I workout. I tend to get zits on my forehead and sides of my eyes from working out and this has really helped that. Especially when I was going to hot yoga, I wouldn’t leave the studio without cleansing my face quickly. Additionally, SPF every day is a must. I can’t believe I ever stepped foot in a tanning bed thinking it would get rid of my acne. It creates acne scars so if you’re doing that, STOP. In terms of makeup, I don’t really wear it at all anymore. Especially with COVID-19 happening there’s legit no reason to because no one see’s me. I do still like to put it on for a fun night out or special events. When I do it’s a MUCH LIGHTER application than what I was doing before. I no longer cake it on. Especially now that I have clear skin, I’d rather focus on my eye makeup and let my skin shine as it is.

Moving forward, I will continue to get chemical peels every couple months, especially at the end of the summer after being in the sun for 4 months straight. I think I’ll also do another round of microneedling eventually. I love the products I currently use and they last me a long time which has been nice in saving money on other skin products I would have been buying. I also haven’t bought new makeup in forever which has saved me money.

I couldn’t be happier now with my skin and can’t believe my acne was so bad when I look at the before and after photos. If you are struggling with acne like I did, I recommend finding a salon with estheticians specializing in acne and/or certified or finding a great dermatologist that has more solutions than just pills. If you have any questions about my skin journey, please comment below, message me on Instagram, or feel free to email me at thesierraguide@gmail.com. Last but not least, a huge thank you to the salon that changed my skin, Skinphorea! If you live in the Metro Detroit Area, check them out 🙂

Thank you for visiting The Sierra Guide, the guide to feeding your body and soul.

Best,

Summer Sierra