It may come rather surprising to some, but I do and always have had acne/blemish prone skin. My skin looks clear and pimple-free most of the time because I’ve been visiting dermatologists since my teenage years. So mostly, I’ve got my acne under control. I’ve probably used most or almost all of the reputable acne creams in the market and was even on Roaccutane pills at one point of my life about ten years ago. I’ve always thought this ‘problem’ will go away once I passed puberty – well, that never happened. Then I thought, maybe it’ll go away when I’m in my 30’s. Guess what? I’m in my 30’s and this problem is still persisting and bugging me. Like seriously?!
Anyhow, I managed to control and manage the problem quite well for a couple of years and I was mostly very happily pimple-free with minimal flare ups – until about a year ago. I’m not quite sure what happened, really. It could be stress, the use of unsuitable products on my skin or haywire hormones. Perhaps, it was due to the frequent change in climates from all my traveling. I was breaking out way too often on both sides of my cheeks and forehead and getting increasingly frustrated with having to deal with zits on the face at the age of 30+. Yes, I’ve completely grown into my skin and I’m a confident adult, but my self-esteem can’t help but take a beating on those days or weeks where the flare-ups are more than I can bear.
I decided to seek help once again from a dermatologist. I started doing my research and through friends and online reviews, I found IDS Clinic by Dr SK Tan. I’ve heard of Dr SK Tan quite many times over my many years of seeking help for my skin. For no real reason at all, I’ve just never gone to him for treatment. Through my research this time, I found out that Dr Tan is known for his expertise in the treatment of pigmentary conditions, especially acne. There were also so many good reviews of him helping people with acne conditions. Bingo! I think I found the clinic for me.
I made an appointment with the clinic and was assigned to see Dr Heng. During my appointment, I lamented to him my skin troubles and of course asked him why my acne problem never seemed to go away for good. He told me the cold hard truth that acne never ever really goes away. Some people even have to manage it way into adulthood right until they hit menopause (at this point, I think I was cursing every swear word in my head), and it’s all about managing, controlling the problem and keeping it down to a minimal. Well, I can’t imaging having to deal with pimple issues even when I’m 40 something so all I basically said was ok, so what should I do to control and deal with my constant break outs now? He examined my skin and after discussions together, decided that I should go on a course of Doxycycline – commonly used to treat acne and embark on a range of skincare products by IDS.
The nurse led me to a separate room to go through all the products that I was going to be taking home with me and the product how-tos. She was very thorough and I left the clinic knowing exactly what I had to do.
IDS has a huge range of products for your skin needs.
Check out the number of accolades between two doctors on the wall.
These are the products that I took home with me. From left to right, Refreshing Cleanser, Cleansing Gel (for removing makeup), Toner, Pore (for unclogging pores), C Plus (multi-tasking age fighter), Oil-free Moisturizer, Spot (on-the-spot acne treatment) Sunscreen (for day).
It’s been slightly over 2 weeks since I’ve started using all the products and I’m happy to report that my skin has cleared so much. All the tiny zits on my forehead (I believe they’re called white heads) have all gone and the break-outs on my chin and cheeks are so much more under control. My cheeks are even almost clear now. Yay! Here are before/after pictures to show.
Before (left cheek): My main issue is clogged pores and tiny bumps. You can see a sprinkling of them over my left cheek.
After (left cheek): So much clearer! My skin is a lot less clogged and most of the tiny bumps have all gone away.
Before (right cheek): Spots and bumps all over and on my chin too.
After (right cheek): Woo hoo! Short for a couple of spots and a blemish from an old zit that’s taking awhile to clear, my skin is almost all clear. 🙂
So much happiness for clear skin! I know that different treatments and products work differently on different skin but I’ve always been a firm believer in dermatologists especially for acne/blemish prone skin. Over the counter products – at least for me – just don’t quite work as well in controlling pimple issues. My favourite product amongst all (ok I do love the ones that fight and kill the pimples) is C Plus. This product actually brightens my skin. I noticed my skin looking brighter right after the first night of using it already. It’s like magic!
I’m so glad that I found IDS products. Good riddance to pimples!
xoxojeneen.com 