YouTube Video — Transcript

A creator shares how she cleared adult acne after 9 years by quitting Accutane and tretinoin, focusing on diet, sleep, and stress management. She also discusses side effects and her reasons for stoppi

Key Takeaways

Acne can be significantly improved by addressing internal factors such as diet, sleep, and stress alongside skincare.
Isotretinoin and tretinoin carry side effects that some users may find unacceptable, and stopping can cause acne to rebound.
Consult a dermatologist for severe acne and for managing medication side effects.
Awareness of food choices and their effects on skin and energy is a practical first step.

What the video covers

The creator reports suffering from adult acne for over nine years and comparing her skin one year ago versus today.
She tried Accutane twice, tretinoin, and antibiotics; Accutane cleared her acne but caused dry eyes, chapped lips, hair loss, and mood swings.
She describes dark thoughts while on Accutane and says her dermatologist dismissed the mood concerns, prompting her to quit on her own.
She cites FDA-reported data and a 1998 label warning about possible mental health effects of isotretinoin.
Tretinoin with antibiotics caused a harsh purge, persistent breakouts, dryness, and skin sensitivity, so she stopped it too.
She argues acne must be addressed from the inside by reducing inflammation and hormonal imbalance, using a plant analogy.
Three pillars are highlighted: diet, sleep, and stress management.
Dietary changes include swapping white bread for whole grains, using oat or almond milk without sugar, and cutting processed snacks and greasy fast food.
She drinks powdered green tea daily as a stress-reducing antioxidant ritual.
She explains stress raises androgens that stimulate sebum production and clog pores, linking stress to acne.

Chapters

Why did the creator stop taking Accutane?

She experienced severe side effects including dry eyes, mood swings, and dark thoughts, and felt her dermatologist did not take the mental health concerns seriously. She decided the drug was doing more harm than good.

What three areas does the creator recommend for improving acne from the inside?

She recommends focusing on diet, sleep, and stress management. She argues that internal health must be balanced for skincare efforts to be effective.

Is the creator a medical professional?

No. She explicitly states she is not a licensed dermatologist or doctor and that her advice is based on personal experience, recommending people with severe acne see a professional.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

this is my skin one year ago, and this is my skin today. After suffering from adult acne for over 9 years and being tired of side effects from Accutane and tretinoin, I finally decided to ditch them all and just try these three simple yet fundamentally important things that effectively cleared my skin. Plus, there's one secret weapon that was such a game changer for my skin, so make sure you watch till the end.

Speaker A

just try these three simple yet fundamentally important things that effectively cleared my skin plus there's one secret weapon that was such a game changer for my skin so make sure you watch till the end I wanted to make this

Speaker A

I wanted to make this video because I know how much acne can consume your life, both mentally and financially. When I see other people with severe acne, I never think "ew, that looks gross" and instantly turn on my judgment switch. Instead, I deeply empathize with the pain they might be going through, and I wish they can achieve clear skin soon. So I hope this video can give you useful tips that can help you improve your skin and stay healthy and beautiful.

Speaker A

the pain they might be going through and I wish they can achieve clear skin soon so I hope this video can give you useful tips that can help you improve your skin and stay healthy and beautiful here's a

Speaker A

Here's a disclaimer: I'm not a licensed dermatologist or a doctor, and everything that I'll talk about is based on my own experience, which may or may not work for you. So if you're experiencing severe acne, I suggest seeing a dermatologist or a doctor.

Speaker A

a doctor when my skin was at its worst I tried every medications that are known to cure acne including Accutane tretinoin and antibiotics I was even on Accutane two times both for several months to a year and every time I was on

Speaker A

When my skin was at its worst, I tried every medication that is known to cure acne, including Accutane, tretinoin, and antibiotics. I was even on Accutane two times, both for several months to a year, and every time I was on it, my acne magically cleared away. But I had to deal with pretty severe side effects like dry eyes, chapped lips, hair loss, and mood swings.

Speaker A

my mood swings and dry eyes man it was such a rough time for me because my skin was slowly improving with less acne over the course of a few months however my mood swings were affecting my day-to-day and my dry eyes were really bad to the

Speaker A

The second time I was on it, I consulted with my dermatologist about all these side effects, especially about my mood swings and dry eyes. Man, it was such a rough time for me, because my skin was slowly improving with less acne over the course of a few months. However, my mood swings were affecting my day-to-day, and my dry eyes were really bad, to the point that I occasionally got blurred vision when I had to stay up late at night for my work. At that point, I was also undergoing eye treatments for dryness and vision problems, and every day I was having dark thoughts about my life, to the point I wanted to just give up on everything.

Speaker A

life to the point I wanted to just give up on everything so when I consulted with my dermatologist she was concerned about dry eyes but regarding my mood swings she lowkey insisted on continuing taking it saying there's no scientific

Speaker A

So when I consulted with my dermatologist, she was concerned about dry eyes, but regarding my mood swings, she lowkey insisted on continuing. She said there's no scientific correlation between Accutane and mood swings or depression. I did my research about it, and I found out that the FDA, from 1982 to mid-2000, recorded 37 reports of suicide, 110 hospitalizations for depression or suicidal behavior, and 284 cases of depression among people taking Accutane. Additionally, in 1998, drug maker Roche added a warning to the Accutane label stating that isotretinoin could potentially cause mental health disorders.

Speaker A

taking acutane additionally in 1998 drug maker Roos added a warning to Accutane label stating that isot troid could potentially cause mental health disorders I mean if you just logically think about it acutane is known to have a potential risk of causing birth

Speaker A

I mean, if you just logically think about it, Accutane is known to have a potential risk of causing birth defects during pregnancy, and it's a highly controlled drug. You need to take a pregnancy test and blood tests every month in order to be prescribed Accutane. I don't think there's any way it would have zero effect on mental health. So regardless of what she said, I decided for myself that this drug was potentially doing more harm to my body than good, even though it could clear my acne. Since I quit, my dry eyes and mood swings instantly started to improve. However, once I stopped taking it, my acne rebounded more aggressively.

Speaker A

regardless of what she said I decided for myself that this drug is potentially doing more harm to my body while it can clear my acne and since I quit my dry eyes and mood swings instantly started to improve however once I stopped taking

Speaker A

I also tried prescription tretinoin with antibiotics, which is notorious for its initial "purge" period, and it was quite bad for me. My skin was ridiculously dry and also covered with active breakouts. When I even tried to conceal them with makeup, it never set well on my skin, and you could tell I had terrible skin underneath. Even after the purge was over, I continuously caught a few big pimples, and my skin got extremely sensitive over time, so I decided to stop.

Speaker A

with makeup it never set well on my skin and you could tell I had terrible skin underneath and even after The Purge was over I continuously caught a few big pimples and my skin got extremely sensitive over time so I decided to stop

Speaker A

So what could I do when I didn't want to go back to Accutane or stick with tretinoin and antibiotics that made my skin so irritated? The first thing I looked into was improving my internal health. If you're thinking, "Oh, this is so obvious," just bear with me for a second. Tackling acne from its root means you have to minimize inflammation and hormonal imbalance. Since it's common knowledge that acne stems from hair follicles trapping oil and dead skin cells, we instantly think about changing skin products and skincare routines, or exfoliating more frequently to remove dead skin cells. While skincare is definitely important, if your internal health is suboptimal, then no matter how expensive products you use and how diligent you are with exfoliating and washing your face, you'll keep getting acne.

Speaker A

obvious just bear with me for a second tackling acne from its root means you have to minimize inflammation and hormonal imbalance since it's a common knowledge that acne stems from hair follicles trapping oil and dead skin cells we instantly think about changing

Speaker A

As a simple analogy, let's think about a plant. If the soil is spoiled without any nutrition, or has poor drainage, and doesn't get enough sunlight, no matter how well you water it, it will start to wilt. So there are three main things I'd like to highlight for improving internal health. If you can stick to these three things, you pretty much have your base covered. So here we go: diet, sleep, and stress.

Speaker A

washing your face you'll keep getting acne as a simple analogy let's think about a plant if the soil is spoiled without any nutritions or has poor drainage and doesn't get enough sunlight no matter how well you water it it will

Speaker A

When you're constantly getting acne, you want to first assess your diet, because what you eat is pretty much who you are. Diet also has an interesting correlation to your sleep and stress, in terms of how they can all cause a vicious cycle of you making bad choices for each of them. During my severe acne period, I was consuming so much fast food, sweets, instant noodles, and all the junk that my body would immediately react to in the next day or two by pushing out more acne.

Speaker A

constantly getting acne you want to First assess your diet because what you eat is pretty much who you are Diet also has this interesting correlation to your sleep and stress in terms of how they can all cause a vicious cycle of you

Speaker A

So let's first talk about food that you want to avoid or use less. Watch those carbs. Try to steer clear of high glycemic foods like refined carbs and sugary snacks. They can include things like highly processed cereals, donuts, soda, chips, french fries, and even white rice and noodles. They can spike insulin levels, potentially triggering more acne. Also, cut back on dairy. Dairy products contain hormones that can mess with your hormonal balance, which is a key player in acne.

Speaker A

so let's first talk about food that you want to avoid or use first watch those carbs try to steer clear of high glycemic foods like refined carbs and sugary snacks they can include things like highly processed cereals Donuts

Speaker A

Now, I get it. Saying goodbye to dairy products and sweet treats isn't easy, especially as a fan of Korean meals and all things sweet. Cutting them out completely seems almost impossible. But here's a deal: awareness is a game changer. It's so important that you know what you're eating and how it affects your skin. For instance, what I do now is swap out white bread for whole grains in a sandwich, and trade the milk in my latte for oat or almond milk without adding any sugar or syrups. Also, by simply cutting down on processed snacks and greasy fast food, it already makes a huge difference, not just on my skin but also on how groggy and gassy I feel. These are just some visible signs that your body is not appreciating what you're consuming.

Speaker A

in acne now I get it saying goodbye to R dairy products and sweet treats isn't really easy as a fan of Korean meals and all things sweet cutting them out completely seems almost impossible but here's a deal awareness is a game

Speaker A

Meanwhile, it's a great idea to stay close to these wonderful foods for acne. First, fruits and vegetables. Last year, I decided to swap my regular lunch for salads, and bam, my skin thanked me. Plus, it helped with my bowel movements, because I didn't feel bloated anymore. When I have a sweet tooth, I opt for more natural, unprocessed foods like blueberries and apples instead of sugary snacks. In general, I think anything that's natural and close to its original form is better than processed products.

Speaker A

adding any sugar or syrups also by simply cutting down processed snacks and greasy fast food already makes a huge difference on not just my skin but also how groggy and gassy I feel these are just some visible signs that your body

Speaker A

If you somehow struggle to consume these things because you're lazy, like me, to grab them from the fridge, wash them, and cut them, then here's my suggestion: make them into smoothies. What I've been doing recently is just getting frozen blueberries from Costco, plus bananas, kale, cabbage, and a bunch of veggies. I pre-wash them and put them in separate containers to refrigerate. When I want to make a smoothie, I just dump them all in and blend them with almond milk, beet juice, walnuts, and protein powder. It tastes great, is quite filling, and is super balanced with wonderful nutrients. Also, you don't need to go through the hassle of washing and prepping them individually.

Speaker A

plus it helped with my bowel movement because I didn't feel bloated anymore and when when I have a sweet tooth I opt for more natural unprocessed foods like blueberries and apples instead of sugary snacks in general I think anything

Speaker A

Aside from food, I also like to incorporate healthier choices for beverages, and green tea is my staple for that. I've been drinking powdered green tea for over a y

Speaker A

them into smoothies what I've been doing recently is just getting frozen blueberries from Costco and banana beads Cale cabbage and a bunch of veggies and I pre-wash them put them in separate containers to refrigerate them and when I want to make smoothie I would just

Speaker A

dump them all and blend them with almond milk Beach juice walnuts and protein powder into a smoothie every morning it tastes great quite filling and also super balanced with wonderful nutrients also you don't need to go through the

Speaker A

hassle of having to wash them and prep them individually aside from food I also like to incorporate healthier choices for Beverages and green tea is my staple for that I've been drinking powdered green tea for over a year now and it's

Speaker A

been helping with my skin but also with lowering my stress level green tea is known for its Rich antioxidants it's loaded with polyphenols which act as powerful antioxidants and these antioxidants can promote healthier skin by protecting it from oxidative stress

Speaker A

so to enjoy all these benefits I've established my morning ritual drinking powder matcha I got from ioto tea they tell a variety of powdered matcha as well as tea bags so I regularly purchase from this store it's not sponsored by

Speaker A

the way every morning I have tea time which is so soothing and therapeutic for me and I believe this daily tea time offers benefits of both stress reduction and providing antioxidants for my body which should help reduce acne and don't

Speaker A

forget the basics water I think the best way to drink lots of water is to build a habit and for me it was by getting a nice spacious water bottle that I I can carry around easily so I got this

Speaker A

minimal white tumbler from simple modern I love the design and how it comes with two types of Lids one for siipping and the other one for using a straw and it holds about 24 oz which is plenty for

Speaker A

about a half a day to a full day of water consumption for me this is with me all the time since I carry this everywhere to work to gym or anywhere I'm at home easily help me build a habit of

Speaker A

drinking water lastly here's my secret weapon that helped me dramatically reduce formation of new acne it's this guy right here it's penic acid from now supplement so the reason why I tried this in the first place is when I was so

Speaker A

fed up with all the medications I decided to do my own research and I learned that the vitamin B5 compound penic acid improves your Skin's ability to retain moisture Aid Skin Barrier repair and prevents harmful toxins from intering your body so vitamin B5 is a

Speaker A

great way to treat and prevent acne and apparently there were so many testimonials of people overdosing this for a certain period of time to dramatically reduce acne which can come with some side effects like nausea diarrhea abdominal pain Etc however

Speaker A

vitamin B5 is a naturally occurring substance found in various plants and animals such as eggs milk vegetable beef chicken and whole grains also it's water soluble so if your body doesn't need it anymore you'll simply pee any a is out

Speaker A

of your system so I didn't really think it would be severely harmful to my body even if I overdose it temporarily so for about 3 months I decided to take about eight pills per day after each meal which significantly helped with reducing

Speaker A

active acne the only side effect I personally dealt with overdosing this was more frequent diarrhea but it was much better than when I was taking Accutane and had all these side effects and painful constipation after all I think the trade-off of overdosing this

Speaker A

was far less than taking acate in my opinion so if you want to give it a try just do your research and see if this will be a right path for you but personally I only have good things to

Speaker A

say about this option since it's affordable you don't need prescription since it's FD approved and it's pretty risk-free now let's talk about stress and sleep the relationship between stress and acne is complex and can vary from person to person but stress is

Speaker A

known to be a contributing factor to Acne Stress can trigger release of stress hormones like all that can lead to an increase in Androgen levels and androgens stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce excess oil that can clog pores stress can also induce

Speaker A

inflammatory responses in the body and inflammation is a key factor in the formation of acne and when you get stressed you're more likely to engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms like poor dietary choices inadequate sleep and neglecting skincare routines which

Speaker A

create the snowling effect of harming your skin and lack of sleep is also a huge fact factor for causing acne there's a physical difference on my skin condition when I'm sleep deprived and it's because sleep plays a crucial role

Speaker A

in regulating hormone levels reducing inflammation immune system and also it's tied to your stress levels all that to say you need to find your own ways to regulate stress and sleep cycle I always strive to sleep before 11:00 p.m. unless

Speaker A

I absolutely need to stay up past that for example if I have an important review the next day then I might stay up longer but the next day I make sure I recharge with extra sleeve and that in

Speaker A

itself can already help a lot with stress reduction I know that I'm more depressed than cranky when I'm sleep deprived so I force myself to keep this Rhythm I also work out for 1 hour once a week which is not a lot but so far

Speaker A

that's the most sustainable way for me to work out and I do feel like that not only keeps my body fit but also helps release stress because I feel awesome after every workout so find your own Rhythm to balance stress and sleep and

Speaker A

you'll be on the right track to achieving gray skin all right let's dive into my second tip which is skin hygiene there are only three rules that I keep in mind to make sure I stay as hygienic as possible to minimize skin irritation

Speaker A

and bacteria's transfer rule number one clean tools rule I keep everything touching my face squeaky clean from lotion specialized to makeup sponges I clean my lotion spatulas with alcohol wipes before and after usage and also use disposable makeup sponges when

Speaker A

applying lotion serum and makeup I also swap out the towel every 2 days and dive into fresh clean sheets rule number two shower power I always shower before bed your hair is a magnet for dust so let's not bring that to bed and after a day of

Speaker A

makeup I'm on it makeup off face washed Ponto no clock pores on my watch Ru number three hands off hair up avoiding face touching is my Mantra hands usually stay away and when possible I tie up my hair to prevent it from potentially

Speaker A

irritating my skin these are just some small efforts I make to maintain cleanliness for my skin but the main thing for your takeaway is to minimize contact with your skin and anything that comes in contact with skin should always

Speaker A

be as clean as possible the last topic I want to tackle is skin care there are mainly two things in skincare that I always try to maintain these days first I reduce my makeup I used to wear makeup

Speaker A

every day whenever I needed to go aside they would include applying full face foundation and concealers all over my face and trust me even if you use non-comedogenic makeup products you're technically still applying something on top of your skin that prevents your skin

Speaker A

from breathing and the best is to just avoid wearing anything other than sunscreen but I know how challenging it is to fight the temptation to put the foundation on your skin when your skin looks red and textured so what I

Speaker A

typically do before going to work is I would wear oil-free sunscreen from differing which doesn't irritate my skin and if I have some acne marks that I really want to hide then I use this Neutrogena skin clearing blemish

Speaker A

concealer as a spot concealer in order to prevent any bacteria transferring to my skin instead of using this sponge applicator that comes with it I use a disposable makeup sponge to apply concealer on my skin and I try my best

Speaker A

to minimize the coverage of this concealer over my skin and when I'm not going to work I simply don't put anything on my skin other than some serums and moisturizer just nothing so when you have lots of active acne try to

Speaker A

reduce social Gatherings that encourage you to wear heavy makeup and keep your skin as clean and unclogged as much as possible here's another great tip for you to reduce wearing makeup try to take advantage of your hormonal cycle to

Speaker A

gradually transition to not wearing any makeup so after my period ends I usually have much cleaner skin without much pimples until I enter my period per cycle so I use that time to not put on any makeup so I feel less insecure going

Speaker A

outside or going to work and that duration of time without makeup will maintain your skin to be healthier so when you enter your period cycle you'd only need to deal with much less pimples and even then you would minimize wearing

Speaker A

makeup to conceal any blemishes this really helped me slowly transition to wearing less and less makeup which in a long run along with all the other efforts helped clearing my skin and the last thing I want to mention is try not

Speaker A

to pop your zids and when you do only pop the ones that are visibly ripe you can tell it's ripe when you see this white lump of p on the surface and if you decide to get rid of it yourself

Speaker A

you'd want to make sure you use sterilized Nole to poke it for drainage and then use extraction tools or Q-tips to squish it out and don't forget to use an alcohol wipe to clean the surface of your skin before you do that and after

Speaker A

that you want to wipe it again with another alcohol wipe and cover it up with spot patches I use this Care Plus spot patch from ol of young which you can get from Amazon as well I like this

Speaker A

because it makes your redness and acne spot less visible while helping it to heal after sucking out all the remaining PS and preventing it from getting external toxins or bacteria I know all of these sound like a lot but if you're

Speaker A

already spending loads of money on buying expensive products or going through painful acne treatments then I bet these will be worthwhile not only for your skin but also for your overall health and I suggest you to just think

Speaker A

of these efforts as self-care rather than way to just tackle acne which you want to do anyway for yourself and if you're currently fighting acne and if there's anything that you personally found effective on clearing acne I would

Speaker A

love to hear your story so please drop your comments below I hope this video was helpful and if it was please like And subscribe that will help a lot to grow this channel so I can create more useful content down the road thanks for

Speaker A

watching and I wish you the best glowing skin soon see you later [Music] bye

Topics:adult acneacne treatmentAccutane side effectsisotretinointretinoinacne dietstress and acneskincare routinegreen tea acneclear skin

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