[acne] my skin journey & finance 15%!

First time posting to this group but a long time skincare addict!!

I just had to share my skin journey and recent use of Finacea! I apologize for the scary jump shots but I finally feel comfortable in my own skin to share.

I finally caved and found Finacea 15% gel after really researching the benefits and saw it appear literally everywhere – I got a prescription and have been using it every morning for the past 3 days and when I tell you I have ALREADY noticed a difference.

For background, I’m 30 (F) and have very sensitive skin (heavy on the oily side with dry chin and forehead), and I’ve suffered from horrible acne for the past 6-7 years. I tried everything and anything under the sun and before my 30th birthday I wasn’t consistent in fixing my skin as it was getting worse and it was really affecting my mental health.

I started a course of chemical peels with my Esthetician to control my acne and after about 6 treatments (once a month), most of it really calmed down and I wasn’t breaking out as bad but my texture and pigmentation/breakouts were still very prominent with the occasional breakout just not as bad.

During this time I completely stopped using ALL. I was a victim of trying every product, acid, toner, serum, retinal etc that was viral or highly recommended for acne but nothing really helped so I decided to stop everything and reverse my cleansing and sun cream routine. I also stopped washing my face in the morning, I only showered with water. My face started to calm down little by little.

Then I gradually developed a simpler method and introduced Tazarotene 0.1%. After about 6 months of consistent use, almost all of my whiteheads were gone and my texture was much smoother. I was still getting the odd breakouts and itchy skin, the pigmentation wasn’t moving at all (as expected), and my skin was starting to get really dry from the Tazarotene.

My method became something like this now:

AM

1. Rinse with water

2. Skin 1004 Centella Ampoule serum – I am obsessed with this product and I am on my 3rd bottle!!

3. Moisturiser- either Skin 1004 Centella Soothing Cream (and I love this!), or Regular HA cream if my face is dry.

4. Sunscreen – I’ve tried A LOT and the only one I usually find myself using without a problem is BOJ relief sun aqua-fresh spf 50 (I prefer this one to the original).

PM

1. Remove makeup with Bioderma Sensibio Miceller water – I SWEAR by this. I get some oily micellar waters but this one is perfect, very gentle, and does a great job removing my makeup as a first cleanse.

2. Cleanse with Round Lab Dokdo Cleanser – this is very gentle on my sensitive skin and makes my skin feel really clean and hydrated. People say it leaves a film, but if you clean it well it comes off and your face is left feeling really clean. I’m on my second bottle and loving it!

3. Centella Ampoule Serum too

4. Tazarotene 0.1% for dry skin all over the face

5. I use either moisturizer from my AM regimen (I’m on the hunt for a moisturizing barrier cream to use at night but I’m too scared to try anything new!!)

*sometimes I don’t use the cream at night as I just want the taz to do it’s job and I find it works for me to give my skin a chance to breathe with just the taz (I do this maybe once or twice a week with no problem).

I did this regularly for a few months and my skin improved so much that I felt comfortable trying and adding finacea gel to deal with remaining issues such as redness and breakouts/unsettled texture (especially around my chin and on my cheeks) – as a make-up girl, this was causing me a lot of stress as you can’t hide the texture!

I’ve used it in the morning after the centella serum has dried completely and followed my moisturizer​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and sunscreen and so far it has worked perfectly without interfering with my normal makeup routine (all products are well placed).

I first used the redness and slight itching which didn’t bother me – I felt like it was working! And honestly the next day my skin looked calmer and smoother and the big pimple I had on my chin was gone? 3 days later and maybe it’s just wishful thinking but I honestly feel like it’s looking flattering already and I’m excited to keep using it!

I know it’s only been a few days, but I haven’t felt any dryness or new breakouts (I know it’s still early) – I actually feel like the dryness I’ve been experiencing especially on my chin has calmed down dramatically. Compared to Tazarotene which gave me bad breakouts at first, I have high hopes for moderate irritation with finacea.

I’ve been photographing and cataloging my skin journey for years and recently I’ve been able to see such a noticeable difference that I’ve stopped needing to wear makeup – for the first time in YEARS I don’t need to do a full face every day.

The first photo is from when my skin was at it’s worst in October 2024 and the second is from this weekend before I started my finances.

I will share updates as I go but so far it looks promising!!

Thanks for reading xx