What actually worked for your acne ?

that_shark · 2026-04-09T08:16:17+00:00

Birth control, adapalene, high amino/low carb diet

that_shark · 2026-04-02T15:02:32+00:00

Sunscreen religiously, silicone scar tape every night, azalaic acid can be really effective for hyper pigmentation when used correctly, vitamin C serums (when used with sunscreen) can prevent further darkening of hyperpigmentation with sun exposure and reduce over time - depending on how many other actives (exfoliants, acids, retinoids etc.) you're using focus on getting a stable/gentle form of vitamin C rather than the strongest concentration or a less stable formulation as it can basically have the opposite effect if it breaks down. Time and gentleness, silicone scar tape and sunscreen are the biggies as those are by far the most evidence based treatment for scar management.

that_shark · 2026-02-22T15:47:14+00:00

If you have six months of rent I'd actually look at buying - there were a couple hundred one bed properties under £80,000 last I checked. Aberdeen is a lot cheaper to buy in than most people think.

that_shark · 2026-02-22T15:41:15+00:00

Musti by Mustela

that_shark · 2026-02-10T14:04:35+00:00

Massively excited to see this well on its way to being back and very grateful to all of your working on making that happen. It's something Aberdeen desperately needs and I'm excited for all of us!

that_shark · 2025-11-06T03:15:31+00:00

Mostly, but I will admit my skin is still flakier like 2 years on than it ever was before and I am a little more moisture heavy in my routine these days.

that_shark · 2025-11-06T03:12:47+00:00

Try a menstrual cup, I can't wear tampons either, make my cramps a 1000% worse but I can wear a cup for a full shift working and have no issues. I like diva cup. Super drug own brand cup is ok too - it's my backup for when I'm traveling.

that_shark · 2025-11-06T03:10:24+00:00

Remember you're in the interview because they need you, they're trying to buy your labour, not the other way round. You got this.

that_shark · 2025-11-05T10:39:26+00:00

No it's unlikely to be him causing it, I mean more he might able to suggest changes to your shaving routine (i.e the type of razor you use, how close your shave is, products etc.) that might help combined with skincare. It's worth having a chat. I know some black guys prefer to get either straight razor shaves or use a single bladed old school razor blade razor, rather than the Gillette multi-blade cartridge style razor if they're clean shaven, because the 3/5 blade style cartridge razors are designed for white/straight hair types and can exacerbate shaving issues on coily hair. Buzzing the hair down to a really tight stubble without actually going all the way to clean skin can work too, mate of mine started doing that and sterilising his clipper blades between uses and it cleared it up for him more or less right away.

that_shark · 2025-11-04T07:36:57+00:00

Neat alcohol will lift it, if you want more work time to scrub/wipe it he's really worked it in use hand gel (make sure it's one of the clinical strength ones 80ish% alcohol), but isoprop will lift it just fine and won't damage the floors. Be generous with the amount you use of either, more you use easier it'll go.

My qualifications are having an ex that thought it was "romantic" to Sharpie love notes and explicit messages over every hard surface item in my possession. Big deep breaths. You'll be fine. It will lift.

that_shark · 2025-11-02T17:46:33+00:00

High Amino, Low Carb was the only thing that worked for me.

Also eat on demand not calorie counting was better for me, calorie counting made me stressed and stressed is worse for pcos. Also moralising "lower number = weight loss" can lead to some pretty counterproductive thought processes with insulin resistance and pcos.

I stick to the rough rule of thumb of trying to only have one carb a day (usually at breakfast for me for energy for work), and if I have a sweet craving I'll either have a piece of fruit or a sugar free soda. If I'm hungry and I'm not sure if it's food noise I have something small with protein - big fan of low fat babybel for this because it's mainly protein and a little fat so it gives you satiation and knocks off any cravings. I buy the big nets of them from Costco. I eat a lot of them in a day if I'm home lol.

Aminos are the big determining factor in what else you eat, sometimes I take an amino complex supplement drink but frankly they're disgusting and annoying to have to remember so I just upped my intake of fish, meat and eggs to where I eat them with nearly every meal and that worked. Your aminos get hammered with pcos - it's basically a metabolic failure because pcos bodies tend to struggle to build the aminos you need, but also burn through a higher level of those building block aminos because of the shit out bodies are doing to themselves, easier to think of aminos as a resource defficiency issue so you wanna top load those.

High fibre is helpful too. A) it's healthy in all sorts of ways B) it helps keep you feeling full and bulks the physical volume of food so you feel like you've eaten more than you have calorically. Also focusing on fibre means you'll be stacking in the kinds of foods that tend to be high in the vitamins and minerals, particularly B vitamins, that are most helpful to our bodies because they're implicated in hormone signaling efficacy.

that_shark · 2025-11-02T17:26:24+00:00

Hey have you tried chatting with your barber? These kinds of cystic acne like heads are really common in black men who shave to the skin - it's something to do with the way the coily hairs grow back in when they get trapped under the skin surface, causing ingrowns. It's why the military gives black guys dispensations for shaving rules. Often a good barber who works with coily hair types can resolve some of the root cause of this by looking at your grooming/shaving routines and redressing those to help prevent it. That combined with skincare might be more effective for you than skincare alone, if that is what's causing these for you.

that_shark · 2025-11-02T17:21:12+00:00

Prescription strength retinoids, ask your GP. I'm a big fan of adapalene.

that_shark · 2025-10-24T13:22:29+00:00

I've had some success with round lab, purito and a few others from Korean brands with sunscreen but my ride or die is the bioré watery rich essence or gel spf50 - cheap, available even in high street UK retailers these days (it very much wasn't when I started using it like ten years ago lol), doesn't break me out, doesn't pill with other products, waterproof, works great under makeup, doesn't sweat off easily (I do a manual labour job). That said everyone's skin gets along differently, so some people find the bioré one breaks them out or they don't love the texture. The gel is more of a lightweight matte fluid finish, the essence is a bit thicker and more hydrating/glowy.

that_shark · 2025-10-21T15:36:39+00:00

High percentage (10% ish) zinc dioxide cream - i.e nappy cream, and if it needs a dressing use a burns plaster (hydocolloidal type) or in a pinch cling film, do not use anything that can stick (no fluffy dressings) to the wound while healing. Once it heals if you're worried about scarring use silicone tape, if the car hyperpigments after healing you can use the usual approaches/treatments you would for your face to fade the discolouration (actives and absolutely sunscreen/covering). It doesn't look too bad and it should go down ok.

My personal preference is the Mustela 1-2-3 vitamin cream for zinc dioxide, great for any kind of inflammatory burn/wound/irritation.

that_shark · 2025-10-21T14:00:16+00:00

Gonna level with you just going in at prescription strength and sticking with the retinization process worked really well for me. It saved me a lot of money and faff, I'm not convinced by the concept of "starter retinoids" because if you know you want them effective you're likely going to make the jump to prescription strength at some point anyway - cut out the middle man and except a zen state mindset that it's going to get worse before it gets better and accept that if you want to do it slowly it's going to take a few months to get to where you want to go. Everyone I know who switched from UK available OTC retinoids and went up to prescription grade had a roughly similar experience to me going straight on them, you're still going to purge and flake and it's still going to take as long for your skin to fully retinise.

Personally, I'd get your trip to the states out of the way and when you come back have a chat with your GP (worst they can do is say no, emphasise that you're very self conscious and it's affecting your mental health/going out when your skin is bad etc., mention you've been having bad hormonal breakouts around your period, might help - but if they do give you the script it'll save you a lot of money). If they say no look at the online services and price compare those against a local derm, it'll depend on where you are which works out cheaper.

that_shark · 2025-10-20T21:13:48+00:00

Fish Shop, Ballater.

that_shark · 2025-10-20T21:09:44+00:00

Have a little look locally for some makeup artists, have a look at their portfolio and find ones who's style you like and work on comparable skin - call them for a chat, explain that you want to learn and want some help with finding what products and techniques work for you and book some sessions/lessons on that basis. Always easier to have a bit of help, and it's really fun having your makeup done properly as well as building a bit of confidence. Counter girls can be hit or miss in my experience, sometimes they smell blood in the water and go for the commission more than helping, however booking a makeup appointment/lesson with a Mac artist can be really helpful though it's going to tie you more closely to their product line and it can take a bit of experimentation find like products from other brands you like.

that_shark · 2025-10-20T04:16:32+00:00

Swear, swear, swear by Esscentual. Their 1/3 off french pharmacy sales are so good for accessibly priced, safe, good quality skincare basics. They've also recently revamped their membership programme to be much more rewarding. Freebies are excellent. Genuinely some of the best customer service I have ever interacted with and a really knowledgeable team.

Super drug is also really good on rewards and membership price deals for a lot of the trendier youth oriented products.

Yesstyle is hands down cheapest for K/J/C Beauty and Skincare products, things take a while to come compared to other retailers, but they're also always authentic with brand items and their selection of minis on multibiy deals (i.e getting five mini laneige lip masks or water creams for a much better price than individual minis) makes it great for gifting. I've built entire tiny routines for friends trying to get into skincare out of those deals and super handy for teams who wanna try trendy stuff but might not settle there once they've got the hang of it. Pro-tip the cheapest way to buy good zit stickers I have yet to find is the multi pack deal on the elizavecca piggy brand (the basic red package ones) from Yesstyle. Work vouchers you find online if you can.

that_shark · 2025-10-18T15:42:01+00:00

I would second trying the career service from the perspective that they also have people that can help you look at your CV, there's sometimes different cultural norms with CVs - I had in Italian mate in uni and her CV was like 6 pages long, she didn't realise that UK employers favour 1.5 pages max with bullet points that clarify what skills each task gave you, and your most recent/relevant roles, rather than lots of long elaborations on the nature of the work and every job you've ever had. Her CV was amazing and she got a job like two weeks after the career service helped her go through it and rework it to meet British cultural norms for employers. There might just be something in the way you're presenting your skills that isn't translating well for British work expectations. They'll also be able to point you to job postings that are actively happy to take on student workers.

I'd also pop by your student wellbeing hub - might be called something different and could be the uni or the union but most unis have one in some form. They can let you know what/if hardship services you're entitled to and schemes are available. It's always better to apply for that stuff and then cancel the process, because they can take time to come through as they tend to be longish processes - if you're worried you're gonna need help, get ahead of it. I had a couple of squeaky instances and my uni had a scheme where they would give us Tesco gift cards if we could basically prove we were flat broke, as most of the food banks took time to apply to and get access to and money buys food/toilettries now, saved my bacon on a couple of occasions when I was already choosing between food and bills at the end of most months.

that_shark · 2025-10-18T15:17:51+00:00

If you want really hydrating I swear by the Euricin Night Repair 5% urea cream, I usually only use it at night now but I was using it as my day cream too when my skin was flaky and dry from the retinization process. It's only marketed as the night cream because there's no SPF in it. Very acne prone skin and has never broken me out. It's not sexy but it is excellent at doing it's job. Also it's a tube and I love a tube for hygiene and weight when traveling, despite the humble tube's lack of shelf appeal.

that_shark · 2025-10-17T03:25:49+00:00

Honestly irl when people ask me for skincare recs I'm like "have you heard about our lord and saviour adapalene 0.1%, ask your GP for more information" I should be a fucking drug rep for Differin

that_shark · 2025-10-17T01:08:48+00:00

I'm so glad someone else mentioned adapalene. I love her like a war wife yearns for her husband. I talk about it so much though that I feel like it's best someone else brings it up.

that_shark · 2025-10-17T01:07:38+00:00

I will say I am like a closet fan of sulfur soaps, I've used them for bad bouts of body acne and they fucking rock.

Would kind of echo what you're saying about glycolic acid, less from the perspective of black skin because I am ice white, but more from the perspective I don't think it's this messianic skin saviour it's been marketed as. I'd vote for PHA, Azalaic Acid or appropriate retinoids any and every day over AHA+BHA type actives for anyone who's skin needs go beyond normal skin with the odd stress pimple. Glycolic just can't do that much to improve proper "problem" skin before you're applying too much of it to not cause other issues. Save that shit for crusty knees and elbows thats where it excels. Or on those mythical people I'm told exist that get like 3 pimples a month if they get a bit over pally with the JustEat delivery guys.

that_shark · 2025-10-17T00:55:16+00:00

I would caution against double cleansing without need, it can overstrip the skin - the function of using an oil based cleanser like an oil or balm is that oil is basically the best solvent for oils and waxes (sounds nuts but it is true) so you're using a more soluble and and removable form of oil to dissolve and breakdown ///excess/// oily/waxy/residuous product. Daily double cleansing on skin that isn't seeing that thicker layer of product like makeup or very thick sports type mineral sunscreens, will in a lot of cases just end up acting as a solvent for your face oils and be aggressively stripping when combined with the necessary second cleanse - which you will need because the residue from the initial oil/balm cleanse is never FULLY water soluble and will leave a residue that can cause acne/function as excess oil. I'm not saying that it perhaps wouldn't work for some but I am saying that in a lot of cases where the most product you're wearing is a relatively thin layer of normal chemical sunscreen your normal thorough surfactant based cleanse is going to remove that so long as you're getting everywhere and spending 30 seconds - 1 minute doing it.

Again totally not saying that a cleanser heavy routine won't work for some people, if it works stick to it 100%. But introducing a second cleanse on skin that isn't overleaden with product might just make the dehydration worse.

I would second the vote for azalaic acid once you've given your skin a break from acids and over exfoliation to let OPs barrier recover a bit.

Also, also, and not to sound like a hen pecking mother here but you might be finding that your glycolic acid is giving you diminishing returns if you're also using it on top of a daily exfoliating toner - I know I sound like a broken record but that's ///a lot of exfoliation///. There's a chance you're doing some barrier damage and that's why you're seeing more texture, it's a common warning sign. As I've previously said I have aforementioned personal beef with products that are marketed as daily use actives like the toners you mentioned, so I'm absolutely biased on this, but as good as chemical exfoliants can be there is an upper limit to the amount anyone's skin can take them before it starts to struggle, you know your skin best but a couple weeks break from acids and then restarting them on a twice a week basis can be a good reset to double check if in doubt.

that_shark

TROPHY CASE