Eulalee Thompson
EVERY MONTH Dr. Anderson will give you, our readers, a progress report, and the participants, Nicole and Sereana, who are both consulting with a dermatologist for the first time, will allow Your Health to publish their diaries as we follow their fight with acne.
When Dr. Anderson met Nicole and Sereana on Monday at his practice in Nuttall Medical Centre, St. Andrew, he told them that there is no cure for acne, but the treatment will bring it under control. It's going to be a long struggle for acne-free skin.
NICOLE I WANT BACK MY CLEAR SKIN
Meet 29-year-old Nicole Samuels, a cashier, who escaped the onset of acne during the teen years and was more than a little surprised when she started to see some tiny bumps on her face as she was nearing her 20th birthday.
"They started to come up on my cheek first, then forehead," she said. "Then I started noticing that they would come on the line of my lip and chin area and by my ear lobe. I felt that I wanted back my clear skin. I felt I had to fight it to get these bumps off."
She used to wash her face three, four, five times a day because she wanted back her clear skin.
"I didn't expect to start having acne at age 20, because I mean when I was 15, 16, 17 years old I had clean skin; then my skin started to change," she said.
As the years went by, Nicole became very conversant with the various over-the-counter acne care products and their active ingredients, as she waged war with acne.
She said for instance the benzoyl peroxide dries out her fact and she tries to stay away from these products; salicylic acid, however, appears to soothe her skin.
"I read the labels and if I am doing something that isn't working, I compare and try something else. I tried a soap, for instance, and it burns my skin. I had to throw it away and it was so expensive," Nicole said.
She has tried other products by chance.
"A stranger told me of Neutragena. Before that I had never thought it was for my skin type. I tried it and it changed my skin. It comforts my skin and it soothes the bump site because acne can irritate," she said.
She said that she would really like to have even three months of freedom from acne.
SEREANA YOU ARE JUDGED BY YOUR APPEARANCE
Since age 12, Sereana Dunkley, a receptionist/ production assistant, has been battling with acne. Now, she is 23 years old and the war has not yet been won.
"I just want to look in the mirror and see clear skin," she said.
She started having acne problems shortly after the start of her menses. It started on her face, then gradually got worse, springing up on her back, arm and chest.
"It affects my confidence because everybody judges you by your appearance," Sereana said.
While she was growing up, her mother tried some home remedies like Aloe vera, but Sereana said that it didn't work or maybe she didn't try it long enough. Several over-the-counter products produced different results.
"Eventually, I went to the doctor and got stuff and it worked for a period and then stopped.
"I find that when I used some things ... they work for a while and then stop working," Sereana said.
Since the start of her acne problems, Sereana can only remember, two separate occasions when she had clear skin. Oh for acne-free skin.
You can send your comments to eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.
