Plagued by acne problems since sec school, here’s how this S’porean overcame struggles & regained confidence

As someone who has battled acne in my teenage years, the impact the condition had on my self esteem and outlook on life was undeniable.

From hating my own complexion to getting unsolicited looks and remarks about my skin from others, nobody will truly understand the pain and trauma inflicted by acne unless they have been through it themselves.

Plagued with acne problems since secondary school years

Just ask 35-year-old Sherlene Lian, who has been plagued with acne problems since her secondary school years.

“You know the first thing people look at and talk about is your face. I realised that my acne has always been a conversation starter for friends, colleagues, and even acquaintances.”

Some of these kaypoh but predictable conversation starters Lian has heard over the years include:

“Eh Sherlene ah, are you sick? Why suddenly your face liddat ah?”

“What happened to you Sherlene? You used to have pretty good skin. Have you been under too much stress or ate too much unhealthy food?”

“Eeyer, your face looks so red and dirty. It's one of the worst I've seen. Please go see a doctor.”

“It's your makeup. Don't wear any and your acne will be better.”

Due to Lian’s severe acne, she felt like she was constantly being judged as a person from the inside out, even in her adult years.

“It got to a point where I stopped going out. I felt really gross and disgusted whenever I look at myself in the mirror. I couldn't go out to a personal care store without the store assistants handing me samples and asking questions about my acne.”

This was exacerbated by the fact that many people didn’t understand Lian’s struggles due to her acne.

“People doubted me when I told them I was suffering from low self-esteem, people assumed I was antisocial when I told them that there are days when I just want to stay at home and not hang out with them because of the disease on my face.”

As a result, Lian’s self-esteem and self-worth took a deep hit, which led to her both avoiding eye contact with others as well as looking at her reflection in the mirror.

“Above these physical scars, I suppose you could say it affected my mental health a great deal as well.”

Spent S$20,000 to S$30,000 on treatments to no avail

According to Lian, her skin has always leaned towards the oilier, sensitive and dryer side, and was “almost impossible to deal with.”

Even after Lian left teenhood and became an adult, she still had occasional acne outbreaks.

“I experimented with countless products that promised me clear, blemish-free and healthy-looking skin. From dabbing my outbreaks with tea tree oil, Oxy-10 and Neutrogena gel to concorting my own blend of homemade masks (egg white, egg yolk, oatmeal with honey, yoghurt, etc), nothing seemed to solve my acne problems.”

However, the worst was yet to come as Lian’s trauma only truly began in November 2014 after she began her TCM journey to resume her internal harmony (yin vs yang).

“Bumps started appearing day after day and what first appeared to be a couple of zits rapidly manifested into a full face of cystic and uncontrollable acne that persisted for months.”

Lian’s acne problems became so bad that she was prepared to spend her life savings and delay her plans for marriage just to get a clear complexion.

She began doing intensive research on adult acne, reading blogs and watching videos on how people battled their acne.

Lian even visited several dermatologists in Singapore throughout the years, all of whom prescribed her similar treatment solutions - either oral antibiotics, topical applications or Roaccutane (the mother of all acne medication) to suppress the acne.

However, the effects were only temporary.

Lian’s skin would clear up after a while, yet acne would recur at the same spots on her face after she stopped these treatments.

This made it hard for old acne scars to fade before new ones emerged again.

Lian was so desperate to cure her acne that she estimates having spent around S$20,000 to S$30,000 on dermatologists, treatments, home remedies and skincare, etc.

Seeking help at Clifford Aesthetics

Thankfully, Lian managed to find a permanent solution to her acne woes in 2015 when she came across Clifford Aesthetics through a Facebook advertisement.

Her first consultation with them took over half an hour, with the team patiently asking questions about her acne history and the medication that she had been consuming since her struggles began.

The team at Clifford Aesthetics pointed out that Lian had been battling cystic acne largely due to hormonal imbalance.

They recommended a holistic acne treatment plan for Lian’s acne, and the team shared that there would be a low acne recurrence rate.

Lian was also advised to undergo a series of laser treatments, which included the AGNES Acne Treatment, P Laser Treatment and LED Light Therapies.

According to the medical spa, these treatments would help to:

• Reduce the inflammation on her skin
• Stop acne breakouts and prevent them from recurring at the same old spot
• Remove the scars left by her brutal acne

These treatments were performed over a two-day period, with the team sharing with Lian that her  severe acne condition would require two to three AGNES treatments. 

As someone with quite a high tolerance for pain, Lian rates the AGNES acne treatment’s level of pain a five out of 10.

“AGNES acne treatment felt like tiny zaps of electricity even with the numbing cream. Perhaps a person with a lower pain threshold would rate the pain level a seven or eight.”

Altogether, Lian estimates having spent approximately S$10,000 to S$15,000 on Clifford Aesthetics’ signature AGNES Acne and P Laser treatments.

After her skin condition stabilised, she then added the HydraFacial into the mix for monthly maintenance.

Services from Clifford Aesthetics

A proud overcomer of acne, Lian is grateful to have found Clifford Aesthetics as her resident skincare place for the past eight years.

“Clifford Aesthetics’ team of professional and skilled medical staff are down-to-earth and patient.

They really take time to understand your skin concerns, analyse the underlying skin issues before recommending a tailored treatment plan.

There is also zero hard-selling part on their end.”

She recommends Clifford Aesthetics’ treatments to everyone and anyone, whether they’re seeking help for their immediate skin concerns, maintaining their skin health or even to improve and enhance their skin condition.

"Acne is not a curse. I hope that with my sharing, more people who have been suffering from acne will be able to experience the same healing and recovery as I did.”

This is a sponsored article by Clifford Aesthetics.

Top images via Sherlene Lian