Since I’m doing reviews on this blog, I think it gives more information to readers if I also posted about my skin, hoping it could help someone struggling with similar issues. Also because it’s being asked several times in the forum. Some girls are just plain confused; one time I’m whining about extreme dryness, the other times I’m looking for an oil controlling powder.
And tons of ladies quote me as “having flawless skin” and such. Wrong. Totally wrong. The right version is: I broke out really badly on my teenage days. And I mean it, badly. To the point my mother dragged me to dermatologist. Cystic acne all over, red/brown/grey acne marks beneath, flakes all over. And I’m very oily. The type of girl who needs 2 blotting sheets every 2 stinking hours.
Dermatologist wasn’t able to fix the problem. The medication she gave me cleared my acne a little bit, but new cystic acne keep reappeared. She exfoliated my skin to the point of stinging (so the marks lighten up a little), but the problem is still there.
I also tried mass market products, like Clean&Clear, L’Oreal Pure Zone….and others. Nothing worked. Until Clinique had a roadshow at my high school. They gave me a goodie bag containing their 3-steps product: Facial Soap Mild, Clarifying Lotion, and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I tried them, but they’re not life altering. The real savior is the booklet they tucked in the goodie bag.
I read throgh them, understanding Clinique’s philosophy. They sounded a lot like my dermatologist, with all their emphasis on exfoliating. Out of desperation, I remember my mom had a sample jar of Clinique Total Turnaround Visible Skin Renewer.
Clinique Total Turnaround Visible Skin Renewer
I slapped it on my face that night, and the morning after, I have a very good feeling. Because my face looked brighter, and less oily. I finish the sample jar, and then went on to bought the full size jar.
To cut the story short, my skin headed to the better direction after I foundie Clinique TTA. It’s officially my first HG product! Only later I’ve found out that Clinique TTA is an Beta Hydroxy Acid exfoliator, and BHA should help with blackheads and blemishes since it’s oil soluble, so it’s able to seeps into pores and get it cleaned.
How do I know if a BHA product worked on me?
First of all, I can’t guarantee that BHA will worked for you like it did for me. From my experience, I think my skin is very responsive to BHA. I started seeing improvement right on the first day. And with continous usage, it managed my acne very well.
I said managed, not get rid of, because I still get a bit of breakouts on that time of the month. But since it cleared up my cystic acne, improvement is very visible.
What about the acne marks?
Clinique TTA also helped to clear out the post-acne marks.
Until now, I think I still have red acne marks all over, since I still get breakout, they’re just not as vicious as before. But the marks are manageable. You can’t see the old ones under my makeup.
Clinique Total Turnaround is the only item needed to manage your breakout?
Nope. My parents’ friend introduced me to Eryderm, Nasty, yet effective stuff. It contains 2% Erythromycin antibiotics. Erythromycin is an antibiotics meant for acne treatment. In Eryderm, it’s suspended in alcohol and other (supposedly irritating) stuffs, but it worked! I used Clinique TTA all over, and Eryderm just on the breakouts.
After my skin is much tamer, I switched to 5% Benzoyl Peroxide products. I currently use one from Paula’s Choice.
Paula's Choice Extra Strength Blemish Fighting Solution
It doesn’t do a lot, but it’s much milder compared to Eryderm. If you’re breaking out badly, I may recommend you Eryderm instead of BP.
Switching products?
Yes, until now, I gauge my skin carefully, and adjust my regimen as necessary. For example, on the beginning I was using TTA twice a day. Then I have to reduce it to once a day, and later to once every two days. I’ll explain it more if I do an exfoliator post.
How long was it until you see noticeable result?
A year, and after that no one except my family knew that I have very acne prone skin. When I was 19, people started commenting on how good my skin looks….until now.
Some complications reappear, and currently I’m breaking out often. Le sigh. I’m currently still experimenting to see what works for me now.
Next up: my skin type(s).
23 Comments
cerita lo mirip bgt ma gue. kulit gue jg dulu oily parah, skrg malah kering abis. penyebabnya sama jg, gara2 pengobatan buat jerawat. oh! and i was on eryderm too for a couple of months. bikin muka kering gila2an ampe ngelupas2. thank god it’s all over now.
my face has cleared up and i even get many compliments from other people on how good my skin looks..when, in fact, i still have post-acne marks all over my face (tho some of them are much less pronounced now) hahaha.
kulit gue edan kali ye? pake eryderm awal nya emang nusuk banget, tapi setelah bbrp lama, adem2 aje di kulit.
jadi BHA+eryderm ga bikin gue ngelupas sama skali, on the contrary malah. pokoke kulit mulus n jerawat terkontrol aja hahaha.
tapi tetep ada sih adverse effect nya. nanti gue ceritain di chapter tentang sensitivity
enak bgt pake eryderm + bha malah bikin kulit mulus. kalo gue dulu malah jd ngelupas2, mana kalo dipegang kasar bgt kulitnya (gue dulu jg pake bha2an gt tp dr dokter). elo dulu make eryderm+bhanya tipis2 ato sesukanya aja (kadang tebel kadang tipis)? gue dulu suka make segabruk soalnya. mungkin gara2 itu kulit gue jd ngelupas parah kali yah? hahaha
BCP’s = Birth Control Pills
gue sampe skrg masih pake ini dan ga pernah jerawatan lg. paling bruntusan aja kadang2 tp ga diapa2in jg ilang sendiri
BCP? gue denger katanya emang bisa mulusin kulit, tapi bingung jg.
kalo gue yang single ini minum BCP, bisa2 emak gue histeris mwahahahaha!
emang bagus kok.
kalo dibilang mulusin kulit sih mungkin engga jg yah, tp dia emang ngurangin seborrhea (abnormally increased secretion and discharge of sebum) so your skin is less oily, and thus less acne. tp emang ya, kalo belon married kesannya kaya, “WOT?! YOU’RE ON BCP’s??!” gue jg belon married, but fortunately (or unfortunately), due to an abnormality in my blood test results, my ob/gyn prescribed low-dose bcp’s for me, so nyokap gue ga bs ngomong apa2 deh hahahaha
hahaha selama ini gue cuma ngontrol oil production pake BHA doang, tapi jrewi tetep aje nongol, huh!
kali2 gue jg perlu BCP tuh lol!
gue jg dulu pake bha2an gt tp ga ngefek. ttp aja jerawat nongol terus. mungkin emang karena hormon gue jg ngaco sih, makanya gue lebih demen pake BCPs. lebih manjur di gue hehehe
lol, i really should read more about BCP then
forgot to put this…if you’re still breaking out out of nowhere, try BCP’s. they really work.
what’s BCP say?
wortel,
ia nig,muka gw jg dolo minyakan bgt,skrg kering kerontang bgt…
sampe sebel juga sih….
tp yg bnr2 pengen gw tanyain,skincaremu yg buanyakk ituh,makenya ganti2 ato coba ajah, ga co2k lgsg ditinggalin?
hehehe…
dan yg paling ampuh ngaatasin keringnya apa nih?
note:diliat dr fotonya,mukanya flawless gitu koq….^_^
*rolls eyes* now that you say it, me myself is confused…
i always managed to finish almost each of my skincare item ^^;;;
paling yang males gue abisin, drugstore product yang murah banget itu, gue kasi ke orang rumah hahaha.
tapi the others, selalu abis. now that you ask it, i don’t know how lol!
yang gak abis2 itu makeup items ^^;;
tentang dryness, ntar gue ceritain lebih lanjut, udah gue rencanain di chapter berikutnya
foto mah menipu! muka gue jauh dari flawless!
mulai dari cystic acne, bekas jerawat, pori2 gede, ampe dark circles n keriput, ada semua di muka gue -.-;;
makanya, dempulan tiap ari
Eryderm beli di mana say? Trus clinique turn around ini dipakein ke kulit berjerawat gak papa ya? Di indo ada gak?
BHA products dipakein di jerawa gpp kok. liat lanjutan post ini (part 2 nya) untuk info clinique TTA di indo.
eryderm gue beli di mangdu, ada semacem klinik facial gt. kalo di amrik gitu kaenya mesti pake resep?
gue sih beli tanpa resep.
Bisa minta nama dan nomor telpon klinik facial yang di mangdu gag? Aku uda cari Eryderm dimana mana enggak ada yang jual. Uda hopeless nih. Thank’s in advance.
Wortel,, TA C ini digabung sama obat dokter (krim2) gt boleh tak ya??
dunno….soalnya gue ga tau isi krim dokter mu apaan, kalo dipake bersamaan jadi gimana.
Slm knl ya..aku jg gmpng jrwitan..sensi abis kulitku..maw nanya itu Eryderm dipake tiap hari?brp lm hslny kliatan?aku slm ini pake Mediklin TR mayan tp yah ga bs srg2 jg coz ngelontok2 kl kebanyakan..Eryderm dipake mlm yah?kl digabung ama Olay Total effect gentle bwt siang kira2 gmn yah?aku moisturizer yg cck cmn Olay neh…yg laen jrwatan…btw,nice blog…nice info..::smile::
gue pake eryderm dlu pagi n malem, kombinasi ama BHA. efeknya sih immediate, langsung keliatan jerawat gue terus2an berkurang, cuma nongol pas mao dapet aja itupun berkurang. yang lama2 jadi kering.
Hi
I just discovered your website and it’s been very helpful. Your skin story sounds very similar to mine and from the photos I see of you, even without makeup, your skin looks very nice and it gives me hope.
My skin is super oily. Im now 18 and Ive been suffering the past 4 years from severe acne, although it’s a little better now. My skin is both very oily and prone to breakouts but some areas are both oily and crusty, flaky. My undereyes too, look very aged for my age. I think I don’t only have lines, but also slight crow’s feet. They look horrible, so I might give Estee Lauder a try since it worked well for you. I’ll share it with my mum who is over 50, so if it doesn’t work, it’s still ok.
Can I just ask what concentration of eryderm you used and how much it cost?
Also, for the clinique product what concentration BHA did you use?
Also, thank you for sharing this information. It’s very kind that you’re helping others from your own experience and I really appreciate that.
thanks for your kind comment! glad if you find this blog helpful. it’s my goal when i started out to help people find reviews when googling for a review before purchasing cosmetic product.
if you have really dry under eyes, skip estee lauder resilience lift eye cream since i have found out an even better alternative: paula’s choice skin recovery hydrating treatment mask. now i use it twice a day! it really helped concealer application, and help the super dry under eyes to be plumped.
eryderm doesn’t have variants of concentration in the place i bought it (jakarta, indonesia). it only came in 1 strength.
clinique total turnaround visible skin renewer didn’t advertise their BHA percentage but according to paula begoun it’s 1% BHA. funny how it worked super well on me (drying, even, after 2 years of consistent application!) despite its 1% strength.
now i’ve switched to paula’s choice 2% BHA liquid. it’s higher concentration means i can use it less often, so it’s less drying compared to clinique TTA.
however, i must use silk naturals 2% BHA on nights when i’m not on PC BHA, to help control the acne.
it’s not perfect, i still got acne but my skin is not as dry as before. sometimes, on my TOTM days, it even became really oily *sigh* but then after the days passed it turned back into normal/combo again.
HTH!
Wah, critanya sama bgt nih ama pengalamanku.
Punya masa remaja yg berat gara” jerawat, even up till now. But I can manage it
Pake 3 step nya clinique emg ngefek cm awal, dpake trusan malah jadinya breakout
(. Stlh browsing”, tnyt menurut sang maha guru (saya) Paula Begoun, tuh produk emg gk bagus karna kandungan alkohol yg overwhelming. Daan akhirnya beralih ke TTA jg (see, I have the exact same story), dan mendapat hasil yg dramatis. Sadly, again, it only lasted for a while. Tuh jrewi pd muncul lg, apalagi wktu mau mens, cystic acne dmana mana. Huhuhuu…
Akhirnya iseng nyoba range AHA nya neostrata. Si detailer (bkn SA krn trmsk prescribed products) nyaranin pk cleanser, toner, sama sunblock nya. Semua produk yg biasa aku pk aku stop semua, cm pake neostrata ajah. N I’m confident to say I’m acne free now. Yeiy!!
Emang hslnya gak dramatis, butuh sebulanan gtu lah. Tp puas bgt krn jrewi” yg suka muncul wktu mau mens gk pernah mampir lg, bhkan bekas” jerawat dr masa lampau yg bahkan microdermabrasi n superpeeling gk mampu ngilangin skrg ilang tak berbekass…
Jd mungkin yah, yg merasa krg beruntung ma BHA, bs nyoba’ AHA
can u please tell me alternate name of eryderm because it is short here…
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