u/TimBje

Okay, I've been taking care of my skin for a while now. Ive always had a problem with sebaceous filaments, and I've been using L300 (contains salicylic acid) and adapalene.

My routine:

-Cleanser: Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil

-Moisturizer: Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream

-Serum: Vitamin C serum

-Sunscreen: La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 Oil Control Fluid SPF 50+

I've been taking isotretinoin (Accutane) for a little over 5 weeks now. Because of the dryness, Ive had to cut back on the Anua cleansing oil and stop using my Vitamin C serum for now. Instead, I use CereVe Hydrating Cleanser most of the time (though I still use a small amount of the Anua oil on my nose because it helps), and during the day I apply Propylenglykol Evolan as an extra moisturizer since isotretinoin has made my skin very dry.

It's honestly a bit frustrating because my skincare routine was finally starting to make progress, and then I had to simplify everything because of isotretinoin. I'm hoping it's just temporary while the medication does its job.

My question is: What can I do about the large black spots on my nose? I know they aren't regular blackheads because when Ive removed the top before, it's just red underneath. It's almost like they have a thin brown "lid" on top. What are they, and what should I do to reduce or remove them?

(I have been doing this rutien for around 3 months+) but i have done other skincare for around 6 months

(min skin is naturly oily)

I started training on July 18, 2023. At first, I worked out at home using videos I found online and trained based on what I was able to do. Later, in September, I started going to the gym twice a week. During the first week, I just trained based on what I felt like doing. After that, I started following a push, pull, and legs routine. On training days, I chose exercises based on what I felt like doing and what equipment was available. There was nothing particularly special about it.

I ate whatever my parents made, and often late at night, around 11 p.m. or 1 a.m., I would make another full meal for myself, such as pasta, noodles, eggs, or anything else I could find.

During the past year, I started taking my diet more seriously. I began taking creatine, learned more about training, and increased my training frequency to five times a week. I trained shoulders, chest, back, arms, and legs on separate days. I also trained my forearms using hand grippers.

My weight eventually increased to almost 75 kg. Then I stopped eating junk food and candy. I was getting enough protein, but my overall diet was very unhealthy because I ate whatever I wanted. For example, I could buy a whole bucket of candy and eat it. I never became fat, but I knew it was still unhealthy.

Now, I avoid candy and sweets completely, except on special occasions, such as my birthday, or when I am at a friend’s house and they offer me something. Even then, I only take a little to be polite. At the same time, I started eating less in general, and my weight dropped back down to 68 kg. I was confused because it still looked like I had not lost any muscle, only fat. After that, I started eating properly again while continuing to avoid sweets, and now I am where I am today.

The pictures were taken in the bathroom. The first one was taken at home, and the other one was taken at the gym after I had worked out.

Hi, I need help with my curls.

I have been trying for around 5 months to get curls that I actually like, but I still feel like I only get a good result randomly. Sometimes my hair looks good, but even when I do the same steps again, the result is different.

My hair is fine and mostly curly, but the sides are often more wavy and weaker than the front. The front curls much more strongly, while the sides and back are harder to style. My main goal is soft, separated curls that still look natural, but I often end up with curls that are either too clumped together, too frizzy, too defined, or just inconsistent.

My current wash routine is

-Shampoo: Curlsmith Fragrance-Free Shampoo, around 2–3 times per wee

-Conditioner: SheaMoisture Men Coconut Oil & Maca Root Lightweight Conditioner

I my hair is high porosity,(if that is imporant)

I have tried a lot of different styling routines, including curl cream, leave-in conditioner, mousse, different amounts of product, and different diffusing methods.

The products I have tried include:

-Leave-in conditioner: Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream

-Curl cream: Nõberu Curl Cream No. 109 Orange Cedar

-Mousse: Cantu Shea Butter Wave Whip Curling Mousse

My usual styling method has been:

After showering, while my hair is still damp/wet, I apply leave-in conditioner and work it through my hair. Then I apply a fingertip amount of curl cream and work that through as well. After that, I apply mousse, scrunch my hair, and then scrunch again with a towel.

Then I diffuse on the lowest heat setting for around 8 minutes around my head. After that, I bring the diffuser closer to certain sections for about 20 seconds at a time, and sometimes I pixie diffuse some sections to try to get more curl.

In these pictures, I only used curl cream and diffused. I have also tried mousse only, mousse + curl cream, leave-in + curl cream, different amounts of product, and other combinations.

Sometimes it works, like in my better pictures, but it feels very random. Most of the time I cannot recreate the same result, and I do not know what I am doing wrong.

Does anyone have advice for getting softer, more separated curls, especially on the sides and back? Could this be a product issue, a technique issue, or maybe a haircut/layering issue?(2 last immages are the best i have done)

To start with, my hair is a bit shorter than normal right now, so I understand that it might be harder to get the exact curls I want. But I had this same problem even when my hair was longer: my curls always end up looking very “wet,” stringy, or overly defined, but never soft and natural.

I want my curls to look softer and more natural, while still holding their shape. One problem is that some parts, especially the back, just fall down or look uneven instead of forming nice soft curls.

I’ve tried a lot of different things. I’ve tried different mousses, both strong hold and lighter hold. I’ve tried different leave-in conditioners. I’ve tried styling without curl cream, without leave-in conditioner, without mousse, and I’ve also tried using all of them together. I’ve tried diffusing in different ways and also air drying, but I always end up with some version of the same result: the curls look too wet, too separated, or too defined.

My hair is curly, but the sides are a bit more wavy(still curly but weaker). My hair is also very fine, so I’m wondering if that makes it harder to get soft-looking curls.

The routine I used this time was:

Leave-in conditioner: Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream
Mousse: Cantu Shea Butter Wave Whip Curling Mousse
Curl cream: Nõberu Curl Cream No. 109 Orange Cedar

Then I diffused for about 8 minutes, dried the roots for about 2 minutes, and pixie diffused for around 6 minutes.

Is there a way for me to get softer, more natural-looking curls instead of this wet/stringy defined look?

I have pretty long wavy/curly hair, and I've always struggled to figure out what to do with it.

I've always liked having a lot of hair on the sides of my face because it feels like it frames my face and "covers it up" a bit(I have a square forehead,). However, some of my friends think I would look better if I removed a lot of the bulk on the sides and got some kind of soft curly fringe instead.

One friend specifically suggested keeping the curls more defined at the front while taking a lot of weight off the sides. The problem is that I'm still really unsure about it, so I wanted to get some outside opinions.

I can test things, Its summerBreak so I can try a pit more with a Haircut and see where it leads me.

Another issue is that my hair can look pretty good right after I style it, but it gets messed up very easily when I go outside. The wind lifts up the front, and the whole style falls apart. If I don't actively make the front curl and stay in place, my hair can end up looking like it does in the last three pictures.(all the others are right after stylling)

So what do you guys think? Should I keep the fuller sides, or would a softer curly fringe with less bulk on the sides suit me better? I'm mainly looking for a hairstyle that looks good but also holds its shape throughout the day.

First two pictures are good pictures of my hair, and pictures three and four are bad ones.

I need help with my hair because I honestly do not really know what to do with it. My hair often feels too frizzy(at the front), and it does not become as wavy as I want it to. I also have very fine hair, so it can easily look flat or thin instead of full and intentional. Sometime it looks like a net of small strings forming a surfes(is hard to see in the pictures)

Right now I usually put in mousse and then blow dry it. I also have a diffuser, but to get enough volume I feel like I need to blow dry while rubbing and lifting my hair at the roots with my fingers in circular motions. That gives me more volume, but it also makes me unsure if I am causing more frizz.

What I want is for my hair to have more impact. I want it to look fuller, more "wavy", and almost like my hair is a bit thicker than it actually is. I do not want it to look flat, but I also do not want it to look messy, frizzy, or separated into lots of small strands.

Does anyone have advice for products, styling tricks, blow drying techniques, or maybe even a completely different hairstyle direction that could work better for fine wavy hair?

First 2 pictures are good pictures of my new hairstyle, then 2 bad ones.
Then 2 good pictures of my curly hair, then 3 bad ones.

I’m doing this because usually when I take pictures, I take a lot and only show the best ones. But that doesn’t truly show how my hair looks day to day, and it doesn’t prove that a hairstyle always looks good, only that it looked good that one time.

I’m trying to decide what direction to take my hair. I have naturally wavy/curly hair, and I’ve been doing a defined curly routine for a while. The problem is that it is very inconsistent.

Some days my curly hair looks really good, but other days it looks dry, dark, stringy, too clumped, flat on top, or just bad. The confusing part is that I have measured and filmed my routine: same amount of product, same steps, same diffusing time, same scrunching, etc. But the result still changes a lot. Often it looks best later in the day when I come home, not when I actually need it to look good.

Because of that, I’ve started thinking that defined curls might not be my best everyday style. I’ve been trying a softer wavy/volume style instead, with mousse and blow-drying/finger-lifting at the roots. Some friends have said the wavy direction might suit me better, and I also think it looks more natural in real life, but I’m still unsure.( It look really good when the barber did it.)

My goal is not flat straight hair. I want something more like a soft wavy/curly "wolf-shag" volume, texture, some hair on the sides/back to frame my face, but less random curls and less frizz. I want the front to sit together more, in larger wavy sections, instead of looking like many small strands/curls clumped together.

If anyone has tips on how to succeed with this kind of look, with more wavy hair, please comment.

Hej!

Thinking about getting a small haircut, but I don’t want to change the style completely.

I have wavy/curly hair and I like the messy curly shape, but I feel like the top can get a bit flat/heavy. The back also sometimes feels too long/downward instead of having nice shape and volume.

I’m unsure about the sides, because I think I need some hair around the sides of my face and the back of my head to keep the shape. I don’t want a hard fade or very short sides. I mostly want the hair to have more balanced volume around my face and the back of my head, instead of the back just hanging down.

For the back, I want it more like picture 1, where the volume is mostly around the upper back of my head. Same thing for the sides of my head. But as you can see in the other pictures, it can fall down a lot on the sides and maybe become too much. At the same time, the upper back of my head in picture 3 looks almost flat, and I think it looks really bad. I want more volume there. Maybe that means I should get it a bit shorter so it’s easier for the curls to form higher up.

At the same time, it can look good from the side in some pictures, so I’m worried that cutting too much could ruin the shape.

My routine right now is curl cream, mousse, and hair oil to break the cast. I also pixie diffuse to get the curls. That is why my curls can look a bit different from day to day, especially in picture 5, where I had trained that day and my curls got a bit weird.

What do you guys think I should ask for? Should I trim/shape the back, take some bulk off the sides, add layers, or mostly keep it as it is?

All the first 4 images are from the same day. The last one is from around 3 months ago.

One of my friends has been telling me to try to fix my skin for a while, so I finally listened to her and started trying to do it. Sadly, it has not been working out. I feel almost no difference, and it almost feels like it has gotten worse. It has gotten worse, but that is probably more because I am 17 and not necessarily because the skincare products are bad.

I have been using these products for a while, but my skin is not really improving:

1 - Anua Heartleaf + BHA Pore Deep Cleansing Foam

2 - CeraVe Blemish Control Cleanser

3 - Etude SoonJung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream

I have also been following a strict diet where I try not to eat sugar or fast food, because I do not want to get acne or those small “holes”/dots on my nose. I do not really know what to call them. But again, it is not working. :(

My routine is:

Morning:
Anua cleanser, rinse, then SoonJung cream.

Before bed:
Anua cleanser, then CeraVe Blemish Control Cleanser on parts of my forehead, then SoonJung cream, but not always over the acne area because the CeraVe is there.

How I apply the products:

First, I wet my face with lukewarm water.

Anua:
When my face is wet, I take about dubbel fingertip amount. I rub it between my hands first, then apply it to my face. I try to do the forehead last so I can focus on that area. I rub it until there is white foam around my face, which takes around 10–20 seconds. Then I rinse it off.

CeraVe:
I only apply this before bed. I take a small amount on my fingers. My friend told me that I should not rub it in, but instead press it in lightly, almost like patting it onto the acne spots. She said there should not be any white foam created.

Etude SoonJung 2x:
I apply it everywhere, except before bed, when I only apply it to the areas where I did not use CeraVe. I take a bit less than a fingertip amount and place it on the sides of my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. Then I rub it in for around 20 seconds.

I really want this to work. I feel like I have failed my friend. I can hear that she is disappointed in me, and she has told me that she has helped me multiple times by checking if I am doing something wrong. She says I probably still am.

I need your help, please. What am I doing wrong?