My Acne Story| How I Cleared My Acne and Faded My Hyperpigmentation

Hi guys 👋 how’s everyone doing? Today I’m doing a post on something that is really dear to me, and that is how I cleared my acne. 

For as long as I remembered, I’ve had acne. I’ve been to several dermatologists, done several tests, and nothing really came out of them. The treatment would work for a while but if I stopped, the acne would reoccur. It was a never ending cycle and I was often very down, although I tried not to let it get me down too much. 

This is going to be a pretty long post, and I apologise in advance for that. Aside from my eyebrows, which I filled in (I was taking some photographs for the blog), I am completely barefaced. For the longest time I couldn’t walk out of my house without makeup on but now I am confident enough to go out without a stitch of makeup and I don’t care what anyone thinks. Not that I ever did, but I can walk knowing that nobody will stop me and recommend something to me. It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago my face looked like this. (Ignore the crusty lipstick 😂😂) the difference between the two photos is remarkable isn’t it, and this isn’t even when it was at it’s worst. I do have some hyperpigmentation still, but it’s definitely not as dark as it used to be, and it doesn’t peek through my foundation like it used to. 

If I’d invested the amount I’d spent on dermatologists, I’d be a billionaire by now 😂😂 I’m not bashing dermatologists, far from that, because I’m sure my acne would have been worse if I hadn’t seen one. I had antibiotics, medicated soaps and steroid creams, and every time I went for a review, my prescription would either be changed or maintained depending on the progress. After about 2/3 years I stopped going to the dermatologist, because I wasn’t seeing any permanent progress and I had a horrible flare up. 

A lot of people have recommended different creams and very weird remedies, some of which I tried and of course none of it worked. Then one day I used my roommate’s Chocho cream, which is a cream manufactured locally here, and in three days, results!! All my acne was cleared, so I bought a tube to use on my own, and for some reason it stopped working for me. I was so bummed. I tried a lot of other locally manufactured creams, they would all work for a while, then just stop working. 

One time in the middle of a particularly bad flare up, I walked into a pharmacy and desperately asked the attendant to recommend something for acne and she showed me the display and told me to look through and select one. I didn’t want anything harsh so I pointed to a very inconspicuous – looking tube, telling myself that I would just try it and if it didn’t work, move on to the next. This!!! This right here!!!! This worked wonders for me. And to think it cost me only 3 measly cedis, which is even less than a dollar. It is also locally made, and the main ingredient is aloe vera, which is funny because I used the raw aloe plant and I didn’t do anything for me. It is a clear gel which feels pretty sticky when you apply it. In a little over a week, all my acne was gone. I was very amazed because I didn’t expect anything from it at all. I’m out of my current tube and I need to stock up on it. I make sure I always have a tube of it, because that is how much I love it. To fade my hyperpigmentation, I picked up this fade cream from the brand Ambi. I’ve previously used their moisturizer and it was really good, and also it’s black owned. The cream comes in two formulas, one for normal skin and this one, which I have, for oily skin. It did say that it’ll work more effectively on newer scars and darker scars will take longer to fade, but it did work for me. This is the side of my face that has the worst hyperpigmentation. Before I started using the fade cream, this is how my face looked like. The difference isn’t very great but I’m still pleased nonetheless. I’m tossing the fade cream out though, because it’s started to smell a little funky and I’ve had it for 3 months, which is the duration you’re supposed to discontinue use of a fade cream anyway. Skin lightening is a controversial topic, and it’s worth noting that the active ingredient in the Ambi fade cream is 3% hydroquinone, which is the controversial product which is used in a lot of bleaching agents. However 3% is very safe to use, as long as it is used right. I only used this in the evenings, after going through my skincare routine, and I make sure to use a sunscreen to prevent the area from darkening again. 

My skin is definitely not perfect, but I love how it is now. My progress is remarkable and it fascinates everyone who knew me when I had a very terrible bout of acne. 

My tips for dealing with acne:

* See a dermatologist – the fact that it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean they won’t work for you either. 

* Everyone’s skin type is different so what might work for someone might not work for you. 

* There is no clear cut method for clearing acne. Sometimes you’ll have to experiment with a lot of products before you find one that will work wonders for you 

* Last tip, TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN! Do not sleep with makeup on. It’s very bad For your skin and clogs your pores something awful. When I started taking my skincare seriously, I saw amazing results 

I’ll do a post on my skincare routine next as a part two to this post. If you got to the end of this post, thank you so much for sticking with me to the end. I’m still trying to find something that can permanently fade my hyperpigmentation so if you have any recommendations, please share with me. 

Thanks for reading xx