When Old Acne Treatments Stop Working

By: Sylvia Harnarain

I honestly feel like I have tried everything under the sun that has been put out on the market to treat acne. Low end, high end you name it, odds are that I have tried it.

When I was in seventh grade, my dermatologist diagnosed me with severe cystic acne. Shortly after that, he prescribed me with a Clindamycin Phosphate and Benzoyl Peroxide gel to use at night before bed. I followed this routine in conjunction with Cetaphil’s cleanser and moisturizer. I followed this regimen for around a year and saw tremendous results.

My skin was clear enough that I felt confident in my own skin. I did not feel compelled to wear makeup what so ever, and I was happy. I was trying to tone up because we were going on vacation, so during that time I was eating clean and I think that, that really helped do the trick.

My summer went beautifully, I looked good in my bikini, I had clear skin, and I felt like I had hit the jackpot.  There was literally not a breakout to be in sight.

My scars were there but they really did not bother me at all. Once the vacation was over, my skin continued to glow from within and I was convinced that I would never see a pimple again.

Little did I think to remember that I was like 14 and had my whole life ahead of me, with many breakouts to come. Unfortunately, there was a death in the family which contributed to stress, lack of sleep, poor eating etc.

I had hit an all-time low. I was gaining weight and breaking out before my eyes and it got really discouraging. I was just finishing my first semester of grade nine and it was tough because there was nothing I could do to stop this mini acne outbreak.    

Proactiv, Accutane, Retin-A, Minocyclin are only some of the very many topical gels/creams, as well as pills that I have taken over the span of my short sixteen years of life.

I had been from dermatologist to dermatologist and was getting frustrated because I felt like I was stuck. I had once experienced the joy of clear skin, and it had completely back fired on me. Nothing was working, if anything it was probably irritating my skin even more. 

Discouraged is not even the word to describe how I felt at that exact time in my life, and after trying product after product I decided to give it a rest. I am no longer on any medications or using any topical gels. I have resorted to all natural products, and I’m super excited to give Banish Acne Scars a try!