ACNE JOURNALS: LUCAS S, 30

My mother has great skin, but my father has problematic skin, deep acne scarring. Word on the street is he had to do Accutane three times to help control it. And so my joke was, Oh, maybe a little bit of that filtered through to me: The three eldest siblings have no issues with blemishes or breakouts, but my younger brother and I, we have problematic skin, or sensitive skin.

I started noticing breakouts around 16, 17 years old. My mom used to work at Clinique when she was younger, and she would always give us tips on skincare, so I know tricks of the trade, thankfully. But now that I'm 29, it’s started getting worse. I describe my skin as problematic, which means it’s a sassy bitch: oily in some areas where it wants to be, and then very inconsistent breakouts. I tend to break out on my cheeks, forehead, eyebrow line, which is annoying, and very rarely, my chin. I was like, "Okay, what the heck is going on?" But I've learned to live with it. I know my triggers: I'm going to have a breakout here if I do this, or if I forget to wash my face. 

I own and operate medical spas in Los Angeles so I can do lasers and facials whenever I want. We have our own skin care line, but it’s too drying and it doesn't work with my skin. I've told my business partner on multiple occasions: "I don't use our skincare. It's way too dry and it'll make me break out." I'm just honest about my skincare usage. 

Even with so many tools at my disposal, when I break out, it's the most insecure I can be during that period of time. I feel like I have to hold myself differently. I'm just like, fuck, there's this thing on this my face and I hate this. It's almost controlling how I feel in situations where I would normally be so comfortable. 

I’ve been using these Cool as a Cucumber products for the last, ooh, probably six months now, and have completely gotten my breakouts under control. (I also wear an LED mask for skin inflammation, anti-aging, acne, two or three times a week.) I started seeing a difference probably two or three weeks into using the products. Maybe even sooner, because it's one of those things where I realized I hadn't broken out in two weeks.