Taking before-and-after photos doesn’t just tell you if your skincare routine is working, it also lets you have a clear reference of your skin struggles and a better tracking of your progress (and gives you a nice boost of confidence when the fruits of your labour are finally visible). And when it comes to documenting skin progress, nothing beats the Reddit community and their inspiring skin transformation posts. From severe
acne to red angry patches, there’s nothing that the r/SkincareAddiction, a Reddit sub, has not seen. For the uninitiated, r/SkincareAddiction labels itself as a positive newbie-friendly community for anything and everything related to skincare, where you can post about your favourite products, ask for advice about your routine, discuss the various things that affect your skincare. With time
frame varying from three days to 12 months, Redditors share photos of their skin before and after taking prescribed medication or switching up their skincare routine, with daily regimens detailed alongside. The aim is to potentially help others who may have similar skin concerns while bouncing off product or usage tips. Ahead, we let you in on 20 of the most incredible before-and-after photos of Redditors and their skincare routines that they said helped with the transformation. These
could hopefully potentially help you with your skin troubles. We also share four key takeaways about skin and skincare that we picked up after browsing through hundreds of before-and-after posts on Reddit. The issue: Redditor u/LordessFarquhar faced acne flare-ups in her T-zone and cheeks, and had earlier incorporated retinol as an anti-ageing solution. Her skin purged shortly after
she started using retinol, but she pressed on and her skin took a turn for the better just three days later. She later looked up on retinol and retinol purge, and discovered that anti-ageing ingredient comes with some serious acne-clearing benefits. Her tip: remember to keep your skin sufficiently moisturised when you’re using retinol. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS The issue: Redditor u/ruinatedtubers never bothered washing her face and thought she was one of those who “just had bad skin.” After following a consistent skin care routine for three weeks, she noticed that her overall skin texture, radiance as well as undereye area visibly improved and realised that her bad skin was a
result of not following a routine. The routine: NIGHT The issue: Redditor u/NubiHime had tiny red bumps on the left side of her face, which she managed to almost get rid of completely within a span of 1.5
months. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS On day when she feels that her skin needs some exfoliant, she reaches out for The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, S$12.50 from Hush.sg (currently out of stock at the time of writing), lets it sit on her skin for seven to eight minutes, then finishes
with the CeraVe moisturiser. The issue: Redditor u/Almondicedlatte wasn’t 100% sure what was happening with her thighs and she’s never had the red spots before, but suspected that they could be bad razor bumps and ingrowns that “never resolved on their own.” She used a combination of two skincare products nightly and managed to turn things around within seven days. The routine: The issue: Redditor u/Ameliad98 had noticeable acne and acne scars on her left and right cheeks as well as near the jawline. After four
months of using a skin care routine and making certain changes to her lifestyle habits, she started seeing progress. The routine: EXTRAS 6. Seeing a dermatologist helps clear cystic acne she has been suffering from for five monthsThe issue: Back in May, Redditor u/Muted-Aioli shared that she’s managed to clear the cystic acne that she had been suffering from for five months. The condition predominantly plagued her forehead, the right side of her face, her chin and a small area on the left side near her jawline. At the time of writing, she’s still trying to put together her day and night routine as she hasn’t been able to try anything long enough to see if they work, but revealed that the Differin Gel prescribed by her dermatologist had only worked for her after she stopped applying moisturiser over the acne-clearing gel. “Right in the beginning, I’d put it on every single night, but it did nothing. It wasn’t before a few months I actually stopped putting moisturiser on top of it and then after a week, my acne was pretty much gone! I was also prescribed 300g of Lymecyclin capsules (a tetracycline-type antibiotic that is most often prescribed to treat acne), which I also have been taking the whole time, but I honestly don’t think it has done anything for me.” The routine: 7. Overhauling her skincare routine and taking medication cleared her acneThe issue: Redditor u/MazzyEm had cystic acne on the lower right side of her face that trickled down to her neck and at her five-month mark, she shared her progress after taking birth control pills – she pointed out that her androstendione (male) hormone was too high – and overhauling her entire skin care routine. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 8. She un-did a reaction from unfit skincare productsThe issue: Redditor u/JennNJuicee had a mild case of cystic acne on her cheek that had just been there for a really long time. She sought help with a popular acne-treating brand, but it only made her acne worse and she had to stopped using the products by the 10th week as she had developed a rash on her jawline because of the routine. She replaced all her skincare from that particular brand and saw improvement in five months. The routine: 9. Regaining her clear skin after a sudden but persistent breakoutThe issue: On her post dated June 2018, Redditor u/mangowan said that she started breaking out in January 2017 after having clear skin all her life. Thinking it would go away on its own, she continued her routine of washing twice daily with a gentle cleanser and using her regular products for dry skin. Spoiler alert: The acne did not go away, six months later; in fact, it only got worse. Deciding that it was time to take action, she made a dermatologist appointment the day she took the ‘before’ photo. “My dermatologist prescribed me a retinoid called Tretinoin (also known as Retin-A), and told me to start using a benzoyl peroxide face wash. I was getting a little discouraged because my acne had started to clear after a few weeks, and then at about 6 weeks (the ‘during’ photo), my skin purged. I honestly wanted to cry when I looked in the mirror. But I continued to use it and after 10 weeks, my skin was finally clearing up!” She used Tretinoin every other day for three to four months before slowing down to just once a month for a week now (at the same frequency of alternate days). She shared that she still have scarring and experiences the occasional breakout, but it is so much better after one year compared to day one. Her #1 advice? Listen to what your skin tells you. “My skin had changed from dry to combination, very oily in my T-zone and dry everywhere else. Sometimes your skin changes, and I made the mistake of not acknowledging this change and listening to my skin.” Her second advice: Barring exceptions, always give your new regimen at least a month before trying something new – your skin almost always purges before clearing. If you’re using a chemical exfoliant, give it at least two months to see visible results. The routine: EXTRAS 10. Finally found a skincare routine that works after years of trial and errorThe issue: Prior to her post on April 2019, Redditor u/whatdididon0w has had acne for more than six years that was a lot worse than pictured, but shared that she tried out a skincare routine for about eight months and may have finally found one that suits her skin. She wrote, “To start, I have a very red undertone to my skin and it gets irritated very fast. I’m super dry in the winter and very oily in the summer. I used to only get acne in my T-zone, especially my forehead, but it eventually spread to my cheeks. I had a good mix of whiteheads, blackheads, and small red dots. At one point, I was even getting cystic acne before I started my treatments.” The Redditor went on to share that she has tried all types of facial cleansers, including ones with salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide which completely ruined her skin. Finally, she caved and saw a dermatologist who recommended Differin, which helped for a few weeks and then stopped working for her. Now, she follows this routine which she had designed after countless trial and error. The routine: EXTRAS 11. Skin got better after she stopped taking birth control pillsThe issue: Redditor u/RedQueen91 detailed that her skin type is combination-dry, and extra dry during winter. Her concerns included persistent cystic acne, texture, blackheads and large pores, adding that it was the “worst acne of my life.” “Never before had I ever experienced cystic acne and it tanked my self esteem. I felt horrible. It left pitted scarring on my cheek.” She treated it with a combination of Drunk Elephant and Paula’s Choice skincare products and after 18 months, she’s successfully managed to get her skin out of the rut. Her skin type remains the same, but currently she’s dealing with hormonal acne, scarring correction and fine lines. And contrary to most people, birth control pills didn’t help her skin at all. “I was able to stop taking my birth control pills. After I stopped taking the pill, my acne began clearing in a month or two instead of getting worse. The pill was causing the cystic acne. It took a lot of work and tears to get my skin where it is now and I finally have a routine that works for me.” The
routine: NIGHT EXTRAS Aside from quitting birth control pills as mentioned earlier, she has also pushed herself to drink at least half a gallon (about two litres) of water a day. She has switched to a silk pillowcase as well – skin creases less with this gentle material and it also helps keep hair healthy. 12. Turning cystic acne around for the better in just one monthThe issue: Redditor u/EclipseOfMoths dealt with cystic acne and documented her ‘before’ skin (left) in mid-October 2019. She shared her skin’s progress one month later together with her routine. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS On nights that she uses the glycolic acid formula, she’d skip anything that contains benzoyl peroxide (that’s the Differin Gel and Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10). She also uses the Origins Out Of Trouble 10 Minute Mask To Rescue Problem Skin, S$39 from sephora.sg, once on a weekly basis. 13. Acids and moisturisers helped clear her skin blemishesThe issue: Redditor u/saltysatans has normal to dry skin, and is prone to hormonal breakouts, small whiteheads and milia – pretty much like most of us. She decided to take care of her blemishes by reinforcing her routine with high-performance acids and moisturisers, and saw results after doing so. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 14. You don’t need a ton of products to turn around your skinThe issue: Redditor u/Princessjennyy has sensitive, dry skin that’s also prone to acne breakouts and her skin flared up so bad for such a long time that she didn’t want any photos of her skin at all. She tried countless products that were designed to treat breakouts but nothing worked, until she tested the following routine and stuck to it for three months. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 15. Picking herself up and sticking to a routine healed her skinThe issue: Redditor u/chuoya has combination skin, which she suspects is probably dehydrated as well. The left side of her cheek was plagued with cystic acne. She managed to tone down the angry breakouts after six months. She shared that it was tough for her to keep to her skincare routine while dealing with depression, and on some days, she’d just use makeup wipes to remove makeup and then go straight to bed. But generally, she tries her best to stick to her actual routine to help her skin heal. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 16. She didn’t give up on her skin despite her chronic skin-picking disorderThe issue: Redditor u/Cookiemonster816 battled with hyperpigmentation and dermatillomania (chronic skin-picking disorder) since she was a teenager, and her acne scars would never leave her skin. For the past 10 years, she’s tried everything you can think of to help her skin but nothing worked. Eventually, she decided to keep her routine extremely simple coupled with some acids and saw positive changes two months after. After seeing her before-and-after photo, a lot of Redditors commented that it would’ve probably taken others one year to achieve the same results – how amazing is that! The Redditor said that while there’s still a lot more on her skin to work on, it’s the first time in a long time that she’s actually felt good enough to show her skin without any makeup. The routine: NIGHT 17. A good skincare routine can help prescribed medication work betterThe issue: Redditor u/majesticshegoat has oily-combination skin with acne on isolated parts of her face. She was prescribed topical Tretinoin cream and antiobiotic Doxycycline to deal with the breakouts, which she credited 60% of her skin’s progress to. To help her skin further, she cut down her sugar intake for three months. Together with a skin care routine which she said “helps keep my skin moisturised and protected enough for the heavy lifters to do their work”, she’s managed to resolve most of her acne concerns in 10.5 months. She particularly mentioned that glycolic acid helped her noticeably improve the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on her skin as well as reduced Tretinoin-induced flakiness. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 18. Her patience paid off and her skin eventually clearedThe issue: Redditor u/coffee_for_president first took a picture of her skin in the worst possible condition back in July 2017. She struggled with moderate hormonal acne around her chin then, but had gone into full panic mode and tried to get rid of acne with shortcuts, including prescription azelaic acid, AHA, BHA, and adapalene, without first laying down the proper hydrating, moisturising and sun-protecting base. “This went on for probably a year when I decided to go cold turkey with all of my actives. I started using Aquaphor [Healing Ointment] religiously, an oil and a good moisturiser,” she shared. While the breakouts have generally subsided, she still has post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on her lower face so she relies on hydration and the restoration of her skin’s moisture barrier. The routine: NIGHT 19. Changing her pillowcase every night helped improve her skinThe issue: Redditor u/MDSG0222 has combination skin but her skin tends to be more oily or dry depending on the weather. She shared that she’s been dealing with hormonal acne since puberty and a skin care routine plus some other lifestyle habits helped her skin be the clearest it’s ever been. Her advice when it comes to skincare products? Introduce one product at a time and use it for an entire week to ensure you don’t have any negative reactions, and also to see if it makes any difference with your skin. “I only started slowly introducing the Ole Henriksen night cream and all The Ordinary products into my routine at the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020. I have sensitive skin so using multiple new products at once isn’t an option for me, and I always recommend doing patch tests!” The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS In January, she also started changing her pillowcase every night to prevent acne flares and noticed a difference. 20. Winning the fight against stress-induced acne after 10 yearsThe issue: Redditor u/scrungy_boi has longed suffered from cystic acne, mainly brought on by stress. Her ‘before’ picture documented her skin in its worst state a decade ago, and on top of the acne, her stress had also manifested into irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic insomnia and extreme hive breakouts which she had to deal with for most of the decade. What helped her skin was a combination of painful weekly extractions for two months and birth control, which she started around the same time as well. While she did use benzoyl peroxide in her night routine, it didn’t work on her skin until all the cysts were extracted. “I would have never thought BP (benzoyl peroxide), almost everyone’s first line of defence for acne next to salicylic acid, would help so much! Turns out, my skin just wasn’t in a condition to use it properly.” Her skin had been given a new lease of life and major breakouts aren’t a problem anymore but her skin was still congested. So, the Redditor slowly worked her way up her Retin-A concentration to 0.05% to help clear the congestion, and now uses the following routine – as well as keeping stress at arm’s length – to help maintain her new skin. The routine: NIGHT EXTRAS 4 key takeaways about skin and skincare that we learned from the Reddit community1. Use a carefully selected skin care routine. For some, a basic skin care routine works perfectly fine but for others, it just won’t be enough to produce the best results. Depending on your skin type, concerns, and preferences, your skin may benefit from a more advanced skin care routine or perhaps, medication prescribed by a doctor or dermatologist. The complex needs of the skin to keep it replenished with essential ingredients, protected from sun damage, enriched with hydration, and nourished with skin-restoring ingredients to remain youthful and healthy require an assortment of appropriate products. Unfortunately, this can only be achieved through trial and error. 2. Be consistent. For best results, you must follow a skincare routine regularly and diligently. Some products will need to be used twice daily (cleanser, toner, serum), others once a day (sunscreen during the day and moisturiser at night and, for some, once-daily exfoliation), and some every other day (1% retinol products or targeted solutions), or once weekly (advanced exfoliants). Also, don’t overlook the important of using products in the right order; your serum isn’t going to have much effect if you apply it on top of your moisturiser because its molecule is much smaller than that of a moisturiser. 3. Don’t skip exfoliation or sunscreen. Chemical exfoliants provide impressive results in the shortest amount of time possible, so we see the appeal in using it regularly to continue seeing the positive difference on our complexion. But it’s also equally as important to use a sunscreen with at least SPF30 daily – it is the only way your skin can stay youthful and protected. 4. Don’t expect instant results. We don’t just suddenly wake up with sun damage and wrinkles, so it’s ridiculous to expect our skincare products to be able to radically diminish them overnight. Sure, there are products that can deliver dramatic overnight results (chemical exfoliants are one such example) but for the most part, you really need to invest time in order for a product to produce visible difference. Like we mentioned in point #2, consistency is key. Does ordinary peeling solution work immediately?The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution Results
The glowing effect was immediate. My skin looked refreshed and brighter when I washed off the mask, and the healthy, lit-up look lasted overnight and into the next few days.
How many times a week should I use the ordinary peeling solution?This product should not be used more than twice per week. We recommend applying it at night. This product should not be used on sensitive, peeling, or compromised skin. Alpha hydroxy acids may increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun.
Does the ordinary peeling solution clear skin?Benefits Of The Ordinary AHA BHA Peeling Solution
It clears congested and clogged pores beneath the skin's surface. It helps fight blemishes visible on the skin. It boosts radiance of the skin. It improves the appearance of skin texture.
How many drops of the ordinary peeling solution should I use?Use three drops for your entire face focusing on your forehead, right and left cheek. Any more than that is too much. Use your fingers for application and avoid over-rubbing. Also, avoid letting the dropper of the bottle touch your face to prevent bacteria from contaminating it.
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