Hi guys, I posted a couple of years ago about playing PSX games on the DS by running the Linux port on the DSTWO card and using the PSX4All emulator from there. Well, I’ve taken it a step further and adapted a different emulator.... PCSX4all that had never been ported to the DSTWO. This version has sound, and I’m continuing to optimise it to get the best possible performance before releasing it. What do you think? :)
I need some help. These photos are all from 2022–2026, and I still haven't found the perfect hairstyle for my face. I'm not sure which photo I look best in.
I'd love to hear which photo and hairstyle you think suit me best, and which one suits me the least. Please feel free to be honest and explain why. Thank you so much for the help!
| Image | Length & Colour | Style Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short, black hair | Wavy forward fringe |
| 2 | Short, warm brown hair | Styled upwards and back into a quiff |
| 3 | Short, black hair | Styled flat with a swept side fringe |
| 4 | Short, dirty blonde hair | Short fringe |
| 5 | Short, medium brown hair | Slightly textured fringe |
| 6 | Short-to-medium, light brown hair | Parted softly and swept to the right side |
| 7 | Very short, light brown hair | Buzz cut |
| 8 | Medium-length, light brown hair | Heavily textured and curly |
| 9 | Short, light blonde hair | Straight, slightly choppy forward fringe |
| 10 | Medium-length, brown hair | Classic middle-parted curtain fringe |
| 11 | Medium-length, dark blonde hair | Wavy, parted loosely down the middle |
| 12 | Medium-length, brown hair | Straight, styled with a center part and face-framing layers |
First picture: age 18/19. My skincare routine at the time was literally just washing my face with water, often called the “caveman routine”, because I found it was the only thing that helped my acne. It wasn't great then, but wow it is bad now.
When I turned 20, my acne turned cystic and the caveman routine no longer helped. I also wanted to protect my collagen, so I started using daily SPF and some form of retinoid. Since then, I have dealt with so much cystic acne.
The picture on the right is me now, at almost 28, and I honestly feel like I have lost any looks I potentially could have had. Redness, cystic acne, scarring and texture have taken such a toll on me.
I will list everything I have done below, along with my current routine. In all honesty, my skin is doing much better than it has over the past few years, so I do want to acknowledge that. Please scroll to see the second image, which shows my skin at its worst from 2013 to 2025 at various points.
Below is the routine I am doing now, which has helped with some of the inflammation, but I honestly feel like I need some sort of miracle right now. Please help.
Current Active Protocol: What I Am Doing Now
Winlevi, 2x daily: Topical androgen blocker. This works about 50% for my oil control.
Tazarotene, 3 to 4 times per week: High-potency retinoid. I switched to this after 5 years on tretinoin.
Azelaic acid: Used when needed for antibacterial support and pigmentation control.
Ketoconazole shampoo: Used as a face wash at night for oil and fungal management.
Microneedling, 1mm to 2.5mm: At-home sessions for acne scars every 3 months.
Plant-based exosomes: Used after microneedling. I use plant-based exosomes to avoid potential prion concerns.
KPV, 0.33mg daily: Systemic anti-inflammatory peptide injection.
GHK-Cu, 2mg daily: Copper peptide injection for acne scar remodelling.
Micro-Botox: Intradermal and intramuscular treatment for direct oil and sebum control.
Polynucleotides: 4x salmon sperm DNA treatments for cellular regeneration.
Red light therapy: Regular sessions.
Filler and subcision: Done once, around 2 weeks ago.
Vbeam laser for redness: I had my first session 1 week ago and have 3 more sessions planned.
I have IBS, so this is partly focused on gut support.
Larazotide, 500mg: Tight junction regulation.
Pentadecapeptide / BPC-157, 1000mg: Gastric mucosal and systemic repair.
KPV MSH 11-13 Fragment, 500mg: Intestinal anti-inflammatory support.
Tributyrin, 400mg: Bioavailable butyrate.
Zinc L-Carnosine, 150mg: Gastric lining structural support.
Lactoferrin, 250mg: Iron-sequestering antimicrobial.
Probiotic S. boulardii: Pathogen-fighting yeast.
Sodium bicarbonate, 166mg: Acid buffer for oral peptide stability.
Vitamin B5, 2g to 9g since June 2025: High-dose support for lipid metabolism and oil control.
Vitamin A, 10,000 IU: Internal retinoid support.
Vitamin D3, 5,700 IU, plus K2: Immune modulation.
Astaxanthin, 16mg: Antioxidant support.
NAC, standard dose: Liver and detox support.
L-Carnitine.
Magnesium, 100mg: Cortisol support.
Quercetin, 200mg: Mast cell stabiliser.
Green tea extract, 315mg: EGCG for oil suppression.
Herbals: Turmeric, Boswellia, black seed oil, a couple of drops, and cod liver oil.
Bovine collagen, 5g: Structural support.
Health, Diet and Lifestyle Foundation
Sobriety: 17 months sober.
Sleep: 7 to 9 hours per night.
Stress: This is the primary obstacle. I have chronic, high-level stress and general sadness, partly because of my skin. It feels like a cycle.
Diet context: I have done 10 years of intense trial and error, including 100% clean modified AIP, dairy-free for 5 years, sugar-free for 1 year, gluten-free for 1 year, seed oil-free for 2 years, low PUFA, keto, carnivore for 1 month, Ray Peat-style eating for 2 months, and vegan for 6 months. None of them really moved the needle for my skin. I have now transitioned to a balanced diet that does include some junk food.
Sunscreen: SPF 50 daily.
Failed History
Topicals and actives: Benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, tretinoin, which I used for 5 years before switching, adapalene, AHAs, niacinamide, 10% sulphur face wash, topical spironolactone, topical antibiotics, topical steroids, ivermectin, rosehip seed oil, 5β-Scymnol, topical peptides, oral antibiotics and the “caveman” routine. All were used or taken for at least 3 months.
Procedures: AviClear x4 in 2023 and multiple chemical peels in 2024. Both failed.
TL;DR / Conclusion
I’ve done a huge amount of treatments and I am currently running a very expensive, difficult routine to try to manage chronic inflammation. I genuinely feel like this inflammation is driven by a few root causes:
My nervous system: I feel like I am an HSP, a Highly Sensitive Person, and likely neurodivergent. I just feel like a fish out of water in the modern Western world.
Missing my appendix: I feel this may have permanently altered and impacted my gut microbiome.
Genetics.
Despite getting a little bit of a handle on things, I still feel like I am missing something.
And to finish it off, for those who say I should reduce my routine or go back to the caveman routine like I did in 2017, I tried this again in late 2024. I have included an image of me using no products, just water, for 3 months. Please look at my skin in image/slide 3. It was not great.
Image 4 is what I would say was probably my skin peak in 2021, when I was 22/23.
I just feel hopeless now, and every day my collagen feels like it looks worse and worse.
Is there a miracle product or procedure? please.
She’s my favourite character at the moment, despite them making her a little more annoying over the past couple of weeks. Although, to be fair, that goes for all the suspects now they’re turning on each other.
I just think the actress does a great job. Her voice, tone and delivery are really funny, especially the other day when she was eating the sweets/popcorn with George while reading Summer’s journal, and today when she mentioned George having a guilty conscience. They've done a great job turning her character around since she first came into the show and it would be a great shame if she turns out to be the killer and goes to prison (pls just let it be Danielle or one of her kids and be done with it lol).
I quite liked Murder Week. It was intense and interesting for the most part, apart from the Jodie episode for me. But this week has been kind of boring. Considering there was so much going on the previous week, there wasn’t really much focus on the Carl storyline. The Jodie storyline is annoying, and I’m not sure what happened to Megan.
What was the point of Megan recording the conversation with Melanie and Maggie if she wasn’t going to expose Maggie? It seems like Melanie is still holding all that leverage now.
I found this week’s episodes slow and plodding in comparison to last week’s, and I think it would have been better if the murder was going to be found out in late May at the latest rather than early July, so there was more time to focus on the other storylines.
Also, I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t see Mrs Crawshaw in any of the episodes this week, considering she’s been mentioned a lot.
That said, I really am enjoying Christina’s acting. She’s one of my favourites at the moment. I just hope they don’t ruin her character by making her the murderer.
What did everyone else think of this week in general? It felt a bit anti-climactic for me.
There's a new one coming out with Jill Halfpenny and Sally in it coming out soon I can't wait lol.