My Skin Journey : Doxycycline

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[By Small C]

Since my September 2018 post on innisfree My Foundation review, I struggled through the rest of 2018 and the whole of 2019 trying to get my skin right. I experienced breakouts through almost the whole of 2019. (Remarks: My skin breakouts are not caused by the foundation.)

Due to all the breakouts and blemishes, I had no motivation to blog or do any reviews as I weren’t sure which products are good or bad for my skin given the constant breakouts. Hence, a stop in my blogging.

I understand a lot of you out there might be facing the same issue as me, I decided to document and blog about my skin journey, on what type of treatment I took up for the past 1 year. Hope it helps anyone that is facing the same struggle as me.

WARNING: The following post contains images that may be disturbing to some readers.

Seeking help..

Over the years, my skin keep breakouts almost every month through the year. I always rely on facial and supplements to help with my skin condition. However, as things didn’t show any improvement and went downhill, I decided to seek for help. I went for skin consultation.

In October 2018, I started Doxycycline (100mg), a tetracycline antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body and is used treat many different bacterial infections, such as acne, urinary tract infections and others (From https://www.drugs.com/doxycycline.html).

wa-lah! , in 2 weeks into taking the pills, my breakouts reduced but blemishes and redness still visible. I continued with my regular skincare (which I will share about it in another post) and managed to maintain my skin for some times.

I have read that many who took Doxycycline pills to treat their acne, once they stopped the pills, they experienced very bad breakouts, worse than before. So, I was prepared and anticipated for similar effect to happen. But for my case, I stopped the pills in mid-November 2018 and my skin did experienced breakouts but not as bad as before.

The Bad Breakouts..

After anticipating for months, the breakouts happened after I returned from my Seoul trip in February 2019. I guess the weather changed and harsh weather contributed to the breakouts. I was on Doxycycline pills in March 2019 for 2 months.

As I was due to fly to Taipei with Big C and my niece Big E for a week holiday, I went back to IDS Clinic for skin consultation and I was on Doxycycline for the next 1 month. I started taking my medication on 11th March 2019 and within 12days of medication, my breakouts reduced. I went back for a skin review and gotten another 1 month Doxycycline and by 1st May 2019, I finally completed Doxycycline. And yes, breakouts well maintained.

However, good things don’t last long. After maintaining good skin for just one and a half month, breakouts returned. And I went for another skin consultation and again Doxycycline for another 1 month. And of course, once again Doxycycline worked again. I managed to attend my brother’s wedding in almost perfect skin with just some make-up on. (Most of the time, when my skin breakouts, I can hardly cover them up to perfect skin. )

Around mid-July 2019, I completed my 1 month Doxycycline pills, I decided to find ways to manage and maintain my skin better so that I can stop relying on Doxycycline pills (I will share the method in another post).

End of Doxycycline…

In August 2019, I experienced one of the worst breakouts after stopping Doxycycline pills. I tried to manage the condition by doing less make-up and by using light-weight skincare products. I also try to change a little bit of my diet and change some of my supplements, hoping to help. During this time, I used a high volume of pimple patches of different brands (will be shared in another blog post). And I managed to maintain my skin through without relying on Doxycycline till October 2019, as the breakouts still continue, I decided to take 1 month of Doxycycline while I try to find other ways to improve my skin.

In conclusion, Doxycycline does help to heal infected acne skin, but the result doesn’t last. Like many, I also experienced breakouts every time I stopped Doxycycline. Although, I did feel my skin improved a lot as the breakouts were less clustered, and not as bad as before over the on-off cycle of Doxycycline. As the breakouts really affect my mood, I feel awesome when I was on Doxycycline as I experienced zero breakouts and my skin was almost perfect for no make-up. But when I am off Doxycycline, my mood just went downhill, everyday is a bad-face day. So, I decided to turn away from Doxycycline as I do not want to keep relying on it to achieve that some say “PERFECT SKIN” when I know it’s not.

If you are experiencing bad breakouts or acne, please hang on and seek for help, of course, understanding your skin is also important.

Disclaimer: I am not a dermatologist. I just sharing my experience on what type of products and treatments work / not work for my skin. Please do seek for medical help if your skin require one.

Stay tuned for more of my skin journey series..

Feel free to email me at thechuasisters@gmail.com if you have any questions or feedback.

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