Skin Care Saved Me From Years of Cystic Acne

In six months, the worst of my cysts had subsided and I’d familiarized myself with the nightly routine of washing my face to remove my makeup, though I never strayed from Cetaphil for fear of my acne returning; never mind it was knocked out of me by ungodly doses of vitamin A.

In college, my face looked better but not great—I still habitually wore a ton of makeup to cover the indents and scarring my acne had left behind. It was there, though, in the dorm bathroom, that I discovered a gateway rainbow of drugstore face wash, each claiming they did different things; each I’d never tried thanks to an adolescence filled with caution. The gold of Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash, the sky-blue gel of Clean & Clear, the peach of St. Ives Apricot scrub. I’d try whatever my friends had in their shower caddies, while staring into the mirror and talking—mostly about parties and our bitchy RA, but I remember those communal nights and mornings well.

After college—early 2000s—my acne was mostly gone but I was faced with a new affliction—circular dry facial patches that would flare up whenever they felt like it and were resistant to derm-prescribed hydrocortisone, to Vaseline, to straight-up olive oil. Patches that were so flaky, I couldn’t wear foundation without looking like I had a polka-dotted face. It was then I discovered the beauty of a website called MakeupAlley, a first-gen digital community of impassioned beauty fanatics who swapped reviews, tips, and stories. It was on that site, practically still in beta, that I discovered some people swear that two uncoated aspirin melted by lukewarm water with a little honey can help heal dry, inflamed patches—and you know what? That worked for me. It was also around this time I starting gently dipping my makeup sponges into iced coffee before applying foundation, swearing that the caffeine woke up my skin. I believe we now call these hacks.

In the decade-plus I’ve been covering women’s lifestyle, I’ve tried thousands of products and have graduated from hoarding lipsticks and bronzers to hoarding serums, moisturizers, exfoliants, and balms. It’s become a passion because I see results. In this space, I find I’m able to think analytically and critically about what actually works for me, not just what looks good or is flattering. There’s some work involved, and I find that satisfying—especially now that my skin and my hormones have settled into a place that allows me to experiment with different formulas according to problems I'm trying to fix.

There’s also an abundance of science as far as skin care goes—despite Varagur’s opinion that it's "chiefly about buying things, and displaying them for others to see." The trick, of course, is doing your science homework, which I know—based on some conversations I've had with women around the Glamour office—isn't always easy.

"If I'm being honest, I really don't know the science behind half of the products I use and why they're 'good for me,'" our social media director Madeline said, adding that she's often as guilty as the people mentioned in the Outline story who know little about the powerful ingredients they're using but slather them on anyway. Usually because a certain product is permeating their feed. "It’s not clear how those ingredients will interact with each other or how they’ll impact my skin," she said.