My Experience with Face Reality: Acne Bootcamp

I remember being 15 and falling asleep in my makeup more often than not. My “skincare routine” if you can even call it that, was whatever cleanser smelled good in the grocery store and maybe a moisturizer if I was feeling fancy. I had a breakout here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be hidden under some Maybeline Dream Matte Mouse! Do you guys remember that stuff?! I was obsessed.

It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I started breaking out severely. It seemed as if as soon as one blemish would go away, two more would pop up. I tried everything. Everything over the counter I could get my hands on: creams, patches, serums, you name it. Proactiv worked for a little while but it never completely cleared it up. One dermatologist prescribed an antibiotic that worked great! But, knowing it was unhealthy for me to stay on an antibiotic indefinitely, I eventually got off of it and the acne came back with a vengeance. Seriously… I think I just pissed it off.

July 2018 | At its worst, the acne was deep, cystic, and painful.

Enter Stephanie Butler at Plumb and Pine. My Guardian Skin Angel. The Captain of Acne Bootcamp. My Knight in Shining Scrubs. Stephanie specializes in clearing up acne using the Face Reality System. When I started seeing her in March of 2021, my skin had plateaued. The acne wasn’t as bad as it had been a couple years before, but it simply wasn’t improving. I refused to leave the house without makeup and filters were my best friend on social media. I had a ton of scarring from years of untreated acne and poor skincare practices. To be honest… I was embarrassed to even let Stephanie remove my makeup at my first appointment. It was like I had this dirty little secret that I kept closely guarded under layers of Shape Tape Concealer.

At my very first consult, Stephanie had me fill out a questionnaire. She asked a ton of questions about my lifestyle: what medications I was currently taking, what I was using on my skin, what makeup I used, what my diet was like, etc. I learned SO much in that first appointment. I found out that some aspects of my diet could be a contributing factor to my acne, such as milk (especially nonfat- all I’ve drank since I was a kid), sugar, and fatty foods. I also learned about non comedogenic products and how they contain ingredients that aren’t pore clogging. It had never occurred to me that a product that claimed to be safe for acne prone skin could actually be causing the acne, but that’s exactly what happens. The FDA doesn’t regulate cosmetic products very closely, and it isn’t uncommon for a product to claim to be non comedogenic, when it actually contains pore-clogging ingredients. At Stephanie’s advice, I downloaded an app called “Acne-Safe”. It allows you to copy and paste ingredients from product you might put on your skin, and then highlights which ingredients are dangerous. If there aren’t any, you get the green message.

Just for funsies, I ran that Dream Matte Mousse through the app. Even though it claims to be non comedogenic, you can see the comedogenic ingredients highlighted in red. The product that passed, was my It Cosmetics CC cream, which is a part of my Acne Safe Makeup Routine (full post on that coming soon!)

The Face Reality System includes a chemical peel and facial every other week as well as at-home skincare products and the products’ strength is adjusted periodically. Every morning I use the Face Reality cleanser, toner, serum, cran-peptide cream, and an SPF lotion. Every evening I use the same cleanser, toner, and serum, but add the Face Reality Acne Med at 10%, as the Face Reality Hydragel. I also picked up the Face Reality Sulfur Spot Treatment which is a total game changer. These products have to be used under the direction of a Face Reality specialist, like Stephanie.

Using the Acne Safe app helped me to find a ton of products I was using every day that could have been contributing factors to my acne, including my makeup removing wipes, my lip balm, and even my toothpaste! I have since switched to micellar water to remove my makeup at the end of the day and regular old vaseline on my lips. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect acne-safe toothpaste, but I’ll keep you posted!

I also learned that acne has a 90 day cycle. It can take a pimple 30-90 days to form, which means that a pimple you have today, likely started as a clogged pore 3 months ago. This is why it takes a minimum of 30 days (but more likely 3-6 months) to see clear skin. However, I was pleasantly surprised to start seeing changes in my skin within the first month of my Face Reality journey. It is important to note, that sometimes things do get worse before they get better as the treatments begin to work their magic and all the bad stuff starts coming up to the surface of the skin.

At my last visit, Stephanie said she felt that I was over that “hump”. My skin barrier is starting to look much more healthy and the hyper pigmentation I developed during pregnancy is starting to fade. I have started to look forward to my biweekly facials so much, not only because I leave feeling like glowing picture of skin health, but also because Stephanie has become such a bright spot in my life. I thoroughly enjoy her thoroughness, her expertise, but also getting to know her as a person. She is kind and warm and understanding which is the best you can ask for in an esthetician.

I definitely still have a ways to go on my journey to clear skin, and I’ll update this post as time goes on, but I am already so impressed with my results and the immense knowledge I’ve gained in working with Stephanie. Beginning the Face Reality program has easily been one of the best things I’ve done for myself and I cannot recommend it enough.

You can click here to book your Face Reality consult with Stephanie. Make sure you let her know I sent ya!