Although I love being a beauty writer, the pressure to have perfect skin 24/7, 365 days a year can be incredibly taxing.

For most of my life, I had been lucky.

Part Asian genes, part diligent skincare routine, my skin was generally smooth and drama-free, and even as a teenager I never dealt with more than the occasional pimple.

Sounds pretty great, right?

Well, the downside of having non-problematic skin your entire life is that when something does happen, it feels like your whole world has come undone.

That is exactly what happened to me at the ripe age of 29, when subtle little bumps along my cheeks and jawline, which I initially brushed off as clogged pores and treated with AHA and BHAs, spread to my forehead and turned into angry, inflamed acne, some even full-on pustules, leaving me demoralised, soul-crushed, and watching my confidence hit rock bottom.

In desperation, I visited countless GPs. Each one had a different theory, from stress, to hormones, gut issues and allergies. One even told me I had PCOS… without running a single test. (Spoiler: proper labs confirmed I definitely did not.) I tried every cream, gel and pill these GPs threw at me, but nothing worked, and some treatments even made my skin worse.

OK, you’re probably wondering why I didn't just go and see a dermatologist. 

Trust me — I tried. Waitlists in Sydney were months long, and when I finally did get in to see one, the advice I got was to use Proactiv, take (more) medication and apply a certain expensive cream that “might make me purge”. Not exactly reassuring, if you ask me. 

By month six, I was broke, exhausted and still at square one. That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands.

During my self-imposed house arrest where I spent a good chunk of my days (doom)scrolling on TikTok, I noticed a wave of other beauty influencers my age sharing sudden adult acne flare-ups. Coincidence much? 

After retracing my own habits in the weeks leading up to the flare-up, I realised there may have been a good chance I had been overstimulating my skin from constantly testing products, incorrectly layering actives and overdoing exfoliants. Too much of a good thing, as it turns out, can tip the scales the wrong way.. Add in my newfound addiction to running very long distances (which was exponentially raising my cortisol levels) and general life stress, and you bet, it all showed up on my face.

Then came my saving grace: a holiday to Seoul.

Through recommendations I found on #skintok, I booked an appointment with a well-known dermatologist for the day I touched down in the land of skincare. She performed a 3D skin scan, examined my raw, red, inflamed skin, gave me a calming facial and delivered the simplest advice: “Strip your routine all the way back.”

That was it.

And within 24 hours, I saw real progress. The redness eased, the bumps started flattening, no new bumps were appearing, and for the first time in half a year, I cried happy tears at my reflection.

Fast-forward a few months to today, and my skin has finally found its balance again. In fact, it has never been better, it’s more tolerable to variables like climate, stress and hormones, and I must say, I have never been more confident with my current skincare routine. 

Here’s exactly what my flare-up taught me:

Acne (at least for me) wasn’t about adding more harsh products into my routine. It was about being gentle, rebuilding my barrier and resisting the urge to throw the whole actives cabinet at my face. My skin was breaking out because it was overstimulated with products, stressed, stripped and inflamed.

These are the products that genuinely made a difference — and to this day, I still incorporate them into my routine here and there:

When my skin was at its peak sensitivity, this was the only formula that didn’t sting. The cool gel texture instantly soothed burning and redness.

Oh my goodness, this serum has become the love of my life, and I think I’ve already made my way through six bottles since discovering it. It replenished my skin’s moisture without feeling heavy, helped repair my over-exfoliated barrier, and gave my skin that bouncy, healthy look again.

What: Avene Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream 100mlI used this as a healing step at night, especially on raw, post-breakout areas. By morning, those compromised areas looked calmer and felt less inflamed.

This moisturiser kept my skin consistently hydrated and happy, while the prebiotics helped rebalance everything that had gone haywire from months of irritation.

Ah, yes, the final (and arguably most important) step in my recovery routine. This iconic SPF protected my healing skin without clogging pores.

(Also, pro tip: My dermatologist suggested installing a shower filter to reduce irritation from hard water, which has been quite the game-changer.)

The hardest part of acne recovery is accepting that skin doesn’t heal overnight. No magic product works in 24 hours (despite what TikTok might promise).

It was slow progress. Some weeks I’d see improvement, then suddenly a new breakout would appear, and I’d feel like I was back at square one. But I wasn’t. Healing isn’t linear, and the more I reminded myself of that, the easier it became to keep going.

Consistency mattered more than speed. Sticking to a simple, gentle routine every day was what ultimately brought my skin back, instead of chasing quick fixes.

This deserves its own headline because it was my worst habit. Picking only made everything worse with more inflammation, more scarring and more shame.

I had to retrain myself to stop. I put Post-it notes on every mirror in my house, splashed with the words “DO NOT PICK!”. I avoided looking at my skin straight out of the shower when it was red and vulnerable. And when the urge struck, I’d distract myself with something, whether that was a quick walk, calling a family member or cooking a meal. 

It went to show that breaking the picking cycle was as important as finding the right products.

Today, my skin is calm, happy and healthy again (touch wood). But the real lesson has to be… less really is more.

I’ve stopped chasing every trending product, striving for perfect “glass skin”, and started listening to my skin. Now, I only add new products sparingly and with intention.

If you’re going through an adult acne flare-up, I know how overwhelming and isolating it feels. But trust me: gentle, consistent care works. Strip it back, give your skin time and above all, Stop! Picking! You’ve got this. 

Check out more of Juna's favourite products and top skincare picks below: