I've had acne since I was 16. I'm 24 now. I've tried prescriptions, lasers, peels, changing my pillowcase every single night. 13 step routines, 3 step routines, all of it. Thousands of dollars.
What finally made a difference? Losing my cosmetics bag in a hotel in Europe.
Let me back up.
For years I had an entire bathroom drawer that was just products. I watched skincare content every day, the endless "do this, stop doing that, this serum changed my life" garbage on tiktok. Buy the thing, try the thing, it doesn't work, buy the next thing. Add a step. Remove a step. Repeat forever.
Looking back it was basically an obsession. I know some of you know exactly what I mean.
Meanwhile my brother has perfect skin. Ask him his routine and he'll say "I guess shampoo hits my face in the shower?" That's it. He's also a wildland firefighter. He is covered in dirt and smoke for a living. This has bothered me my entire life lol.
This summer, right before my Europe trip, I had one of the worst breakouts I'd had in years. Then I lost the bag. My 3 step morning routine and 6 step night routine, gone. I had a full identity crisis. It's embarrassing but I actually thought about flying home.
Instead I had a big girl moment and decided to go completely bare-faced for the trip. Three and a half weeks of literally nothing on my face. First time in 5+ years.
My skin got better. Not a little better. Almost perfect.
I was confused. Then I was kind of mad.
Why does my brother, with zero routine and a job that covers him in ash, have better skin than me with a drawer full of products? Somewhere along the way I'd stopped asking basic questions and just kept buying.
When I got home I started paying attention to my lifestyle instead of my products. I kept a note on my phone tracking my skin day to day, and noticed a few things in my everyday habits that seemed to line up with my breakouts. That's a whole other post.
It's been a few months of keeping it really simple now. My skin is the best it's been since I was a kid.
But honestly that's not the part that changed my life.
I don't think about my face anymore. The skin on my face feels no different to me now than the skin on my arm. I never stressed about my arm, so why was I spending hours a week stressing about my face? My face is just my face. And that's okay. That one thought broke the loop.
I threw out almost everything in that drawer. Hundreds of dollars into the trash. It hurt, and it was the best thing I've done for myself in years.
I'm not a doctor and I'm not telling anyone to quit their meds or ditch their derm. Everyone's skin is different and this might do nothing for you. But if you saw yourself in this, the drawer, the scrolling, the routine that changes every month, maybe try stepping back for a bit and see what happens. Worst case you save a lot of money.
Your grandparents didn't have a 10 step routine and they were fine. Sometimes the answer isn't another product.
Happy to answer questions.