Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Adult acne

I gotta level with you: puberty was fucking rough. I was taller than the boys in my fifth-grade class, my boobs reached double-D status around the same time, and my piss-poor eyesight resulted in Coke-bottle-thick glasses that made my eyes look like tiny green specks somewhere back there.

But the gods showed mercy. I didn’t have to deal with acne. Occasionally I had a zit that I dotted with Clearasil, but for the most part, my skin was my best feature, creamy and smooth like my favorite ice cream.

Then I grew up and the universe decided to royally fuck me over. I take care of my skin better than ever. I pamper it, I eat well, I stay out of the sun. Washing my face is my favorite part of the day, sad as that sounds.

But regardless of my tender loving care, zits seem to pop up all over my face like a hormonal round of Whac-a-Mole. As soon as I hit one, another crops up on the other side of my nose, giving new meaning to “turn the other cheek.”

I’d lay waste to my epidermis with a Silkwood-grade spray of benzoyl peroxide but I’m pretty sure it would exacerbate the problem. So I’ll keep spackling away and trying not to look at the Fresnel lens on my forehead. Thankfully, my eyesight is holding steady at –11.5.

(And by the way, Proactiv is really, really bad for your skin.)

(photo: acneknower.com)

9 comments:

Beth said...

Story of my life! Were we separated at birth? I was a tall and gawky teenager, wore thick glasses (prescription 650:20) and wanted Charlie's Angels hair (fail) but I had the most creamy, peachy silky skin. A guy in college who didn't even like me, told me so. That all changed in my mid-twenties when I got pregnant. Cystic acne from the moment of conception. Dermatologists were second only to obstetricians. It's been 23 years since my daughter was born, and many years of stealing her clearisil...when will this madness end?!!! There must be some law of nature that doesn't allow for wrinkles and zits to coexist on a 48 year old woman's face!

Ashlie Hawkins said...

I hear ya - no problems with my skin in high school, then all of a sudden in my 2nd year of university - bam! I've been battling it ever since. Now I'm pregnant and it actually seems to have helped even out my skin, but who knows what it will be like in the future.

Zazzu said...

I had some acne, not a lot, in high school till I went on The Pill. Not a single skin problem since.

Oh, and no babies either. Another win.

Proactiv is bad for one's skin? I know a bunch of people who just adore the stuff. Are they gonna get cancer or something?

Ginger said...

I agree with you. Reading the book "The Beauty Bible" by Paula Begoun really helped me get my skin in shape.

Jennifer Worick said...

My esthetician told me that it basically spackles over the problem and it takes months to uncover and let your skin breathe.

Anonymous said...

Acne was bad in high school but since sorting out my birth control,it's evened out. Sure, I still get pimples, but it's usually one a month compared to one a day way back when.

And yes, I'm now in my 30s, but it was pretty bad through my 20s too.

Charlynn said...

Crap. I use Proactiv because it's one of the few things that seems to work. What else works that is better for your skin?

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about your tough experience with acne. Did you ever find anything that really worked?

lw said...

I had adult acne; here's what worked. Retin A, every night before bedtime. Washing my face with phisohex, which I got from my dermatologist(and not with deodorant soap, which is what I had been using.)

The retin A also takes care of a lot of the fine wrinkles I should have but don't.