u/XCherryxblossomx0

I really need some advice because I feel completely stuck with my skin at the moment and it’s genuinely starting to affect me mentally. I’m 25 and I feel like I’m constantly worrying about my face and trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

I had acne in secondary school, but it was never like this. I was prescribed Duac back then and my skin went extremely red and felt really hot, so we decided I was probably reacting badly to it. I was then prescribed Zineryt, which worked really well for me. Since then, I’ve generally had a flare-up every couple of years and Zineryt would usually clear it up.

But this time feels completely different.

I was on an A&E placement and after one particularly long 12-hour shift, I noticed that the skin on my middle cheeks had suddenly become really textured. Ever since then, my skin just hasn’t been the same. I’ve been left with marks, I keep getting new pimples, especially on my cheeks and chin, and it just doesn’t seem to be stopping.

The worst part is that I NEVER used to have acne like this. I feel like I’ve gone from having relatively manageable skin to constantly having something new appearing on my face.

I’ve tried Zineryt again because it helped me so much in the past, but I’m now on my second bottle and I honestly don’t feel like it’s working as well. If anything, sometimes I wonder whether it’s irritating my skin or damaging my barrier because my skin feels so sensitive now.

And I’m genuinely scared to try anything anymore because it feels like everything breaks me out or irritates me.

I use CeraVe moisturiser and have done for a long time without any problems. For sunscreen I use Garnier or the Beauty of Joseon blue sunscreen.

I don’t even use a cleanser anymore because I feel like every one I try makes things worse. I specifically tried the CeraVe Foaming Cleanser and I’m convinced it broke me out, so I stopped using it. Now I’m genuinely scared to try another cleanser.

I’ve tried niacinamide — didn’t agree with my skin.
Salicylic acid — didn’t agree with my skin.
I’ve tried other actives and my skin just seems to hate them.
I tried azelaic acid 20% around 3 times a week and my skin became really red.
I even tried the Beauty of Joseon milk toner because I thought it would be gentle, and I feel like that may have broken me out too.

So now I’m at the point where I’m scared to put anything on my face.

I was thinking about trying a barrier-supporting serum, maybe the iUNIK beta-glucan one, but even that makes me nervous because I’m so scared I’ll introduce something new and wake up with even more spots.

I just feel really stuck. I don’t know whether my skin barrier is actually damaged, whether I’m making my acne worse by trying different products, whether the Zineryt is still appropriate, or whether there’s something else going on entirely.

I’m honestly exhausted from thinking about my skin all the time. I don’t want to wear makeup, I just want to feel comfortable going out with a bare face without worrying about people looking at my skin. At the moment I’m getting to the point where I don’t even want to go out because of it, and I hate feeling like this.

I know acne might sound like a small thing to some people, but when it’s your face and you’re dealing with new spots and marks constantly, it really does affect how you feel about yourself.

What would you do if you were in my position? Would you completely strip my routine back and just stick to moisturiser/SPF for now? Should I actually be using a cleanser despite being so scared of them? And has anyone with really sensitive, acne-prone skin found a genuinely gentle barrier product that didn’t cause breakouts?

I’m honestly scared to try anything else at this point.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone has been through something similar because I'm starting to get really frustrated.

I have what looks like strawberry legs. My legs are completely smooth to the touch (no roughness or bumps), but every hair follicle is visible as a tiny dark dot. It isn't painful or itchy—it's purely the appearance that bothers me.

The dots become much more noticeable when I'm hot or after shaving, and they're visible even immediately after shaving.

Over the last couple of months I've tried:

• Daily 10% urea moisturiser (Mixa Urea Cica Repair)
• Glycolic acid
• 1% salicylic acid body wash
• I've recently bought a glycolic acid + salicylic acid body concentrate and a Medicube Kojic Acid Toner, but I haven't started using them consistently yet.
• Gentle shaving with the grain using fresh razors
• Keeping my skin moisturised every day

None of the topical products have made a noticeable difference so far.

I also started using a Philips Lumea IPL 7000. I've been following the recommended treatment schedule (every 2 weeks) and I've now had several sessions.

The good news is that my hair definitely seems to be growing back more slowly, so I think the IPL is working on the hair.

The frustrating part is that the visible follicle dots look almost exactly the same, so cosmetically I don't feel like I've made any progress.

I've seen some people online say they switched from every 2 weeks to once a week during the initial treatment phase.

Has anyone actually had better results doing IPL once a week instead of every 2 weeks, or is it better to stick with the Philips schedule?

Also, if you've had strawberry legs or very visible follicles:

• How many IPL sessions did it take before you noticed a visible improvement in the dots?
• Did the follicle appearance improve after the hair reduction, or did the dots stay visible?
• Has anyone had success with glycolic acid, salicylic acid, kojic acid, or another product for this?

I'm honestly starting to lose hope because I feel like I've tried so many things already, so I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through the same thing or found something that genuinely worked.