6 Potenza sessions, over 6 million yen spent to fix acne that wouldn't heal for 20 years. The story of how I solved my 20-year struggle with V-Beam [Rosacea] treatment after nothing else worked
For 20 years, there hasn't been a single day where my skin concerns disappeared.
I cook all three meals myself, don't drink alcohol, and don't smoke.
Acne that lasted 20 years
and wouldn't heal even after spending 6 million yen.
The truth is, it wasn't acne.
When I was in my second year of junior high, at 14 years old,
my entire face was suddenly covered in acne.
From then until now in my 30s,
my life has been dominated for over 20 years by the complex of having 'acne-prone skin'.
At first, it was just typical adolescent acne.
Even after going to a dermatologist, it wouldn't heal no matter how old I got.
My parents and my younger sister all have very clear skin. 'Why only me?'
Even when I was prescribed medication by a dermatologist, I felt no effect.
Every morning, whenever I looked in the mirror, I felt depressed, thinking, 'It's increased again...'
Even with makeup, I don't look beautiful
I don't want to be in photos.
It's painful to look in the mirror at the hair salon or have someone shampoo my hair.
I'm afraid to talk to people at close range.
I can't take off my mask
Living with a mask meant I could hide it, but the friction and humidity bothered me and caused breakouts.
When I had to take it off to eat, I would rush to the restroom
and couldn't take off my mask until I had fixed my makeup.
I hated talking to colleagues at close range in the office elevator,
so I used the emergency stairs.
In various scenes of daily life like that, my heart was just wearing down.
I felt like people thought I was 'unhygienic.' A series of failures after spending 6 million yen.
'It won't heal because you aren't trying hard enough.' I have been hurt many times by words overflowing on social media like 'inner care is important' and 'fix your lifestyle habits.'
'Am I unhygienic?' 'Am I sloppy?'
I had exhausted almost everything I could do myself.
[Thorough Diet and Lifestyle Habits]
Cooking all three meals myself: I carefully selected beet sugar or oligosaccharides for sugar, and rice oil or MCT oil for cooking oil.
Thorough self-discipline: For 10 years, I could count the number of times I ate fast food on my fingers. I don't buy convenience store meals either.
Routine: 1.5 to 2 liters of water, hot water in the morning. Changing my pillowcase every day. Tens of thousands of yen a month on herbal medicine and herbal tea
[History of Aesthetic Medicine and Skincare]
The amount I invested, believing that "it would heal someday," easily exceeded 6 million yen. Below is the record of the treatments I have dedicated my skin to so far.
*I have not tried isotretinoin.
Potenza (McCoom): 6 sessions
Chemical peeling: 8+ sessions
Photo facial: 6 sessions
Hydrafacial: 5 sessions
Laser toning: 8 sessions
Injections: Juvelook, skin booster injections, skin Botox
Skincare: Doctor's cosmetics (ZO Skin Health, Environ, etc.)
Others: Allergy tests, cosmetic acupuncture, acne-specialized esthetics, bedrock baths, yoga... and so on
Even after repeating all these latest and expensive treatments, the result was always the same.
Even if it got better temporarily, new acne would form again.
"What else am I supposed to do?" At the bottom of despair,
I spent every day clutching my smartphone and searching.
I was losing not only money but also a vast amount of time.
Turning point: The real culprit was not "acne"
Thanks to a certain treatment,
I have had "zero acne" for about 3 weeks for the first time in 20 years.
For someone like me who never went 3 days without acne,
this is like a miracle.
What saved me was
"V-Beam laser",
and
a correct diagnosis of "rosacea".
It started with a comment at a clinic I visited to treat the redness on my nose.
"This might not be acne, but 'rosacea'."
This was the first time I was told it was rosacea.
I felt the effects of the prescribed ivermectin.
My impression of rosacea from social media was "people with bright red faces,"
so I was convinced that I was different since I had many white bumps.
From then on, I started choosing skincare products with
ingredients effective for sebum control.
I started using azelaic acid and retinol,
and the white bumps that looked like acne,
as well as the inflamed acne-like spots with cores, decreased significantly.
The answer after 20 years: The salvation of V-Beam
After that, I met a doctor I could trust and had V-Beam treatments 3 times at 2-week intervals.
Honestly, it was agonizingly painful.
I also experienced "intense swelling" where my face looked twice its size during the downtime.
However, the results were dramatic.
The redness disappeared, and the acne that kept recurring stopped forming.
My skin, which didn't budge even after repeated 50,000 to 60,000 yen Potenza sessions,
finally felt like it had reached the "correct answer."
Conclusion: To you who are in despair over skin that won't heal
Improving skin quality is truly difficult.
Of course, it is better to have high quality, but
no matter how hard you work on your diet, sleep, exercise, and skincare,
there are certainly things that cannot be cured by those alone.
Realizing this was, in a sense, the greatest lesson from my 20 years of struggling to improve my skin.
"Lack of self-care," "unhygienic," "genetic lottery," "everything shows on your skin"
My heart was worn down by so many different words.
If there is anyone out there having a similar experience to mine, you have already tried hard enough.
Hoping that my 6 million yen detour
will become the "shortest path" for someone, somewhere,
I intend to share more detailed progress and skincare information from here on out.