Skinmaxxing from Acne-Prone Skin (PIE + Cystic Acne Edition)

[Sebarooo]

I've always suffered from cystic acne, around my jaw, leaving red marks that would last for months and then i broke out all over my face, leaving deep PIE marks that's stubborn and made me look subhuman. This guide covers the no BS ways to actually heal PIE, and get good skin afterwards. No azealic acid or vitamin c serums. This is a guide for people willing to go the extra distance, to get mogger skin, from someone with a bad starting point.

This post is for anyone trying to recover from cystic acne, PIE (post-inflammatory erythema), and slow-healing, inflamed skin
If you’ve cleared your acne but are stuck with red marks that won’t fade, this post is for you.
PIE isn’t pigmentation or regular scars... it’s vascular damage (dilated capillaries under the skin) caused by inflammation.
And no, your “routine” won’t fix it. You need to rebuild, not cope. I'm also assuming that you already have a good diet that aids your skin, and not eating food, that actively makes your skin worse.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)​

If you’re serious about fixing PIE, IPL is your best move. IPL is a form of laser treatment you can get regularly, with little downtime at your dermatology office or beauty clinic. It's among the most effective ways to speed up healing of red marks, since they break down the capillaries, forcing them to heal. Most often, you will need 1-5 treatments to be completely gone of marks.

You'll look worse for about a week, but the end results are very much worth it.

• Targets hemoglobin, collapsing excess capillaries
• Speeds up vascular and collagen repair
• Visibly reduces redness in just a few sessions

Tips

• Go every 2–4 weeks
• Avoid sun exposure and self-tanners
• Do not use retinoids, exfoliants, or acids 1–2 weeks before or after IPL your skin barrier needs to be calm and to not have any active acne.
• Always use SPF 50 daily after treatment, or you’ll undo your progress
  
  
  

  Retinoids & Retinols​

  
  Retinoids help long-term collagen remodeling, which indirectly improves PIE texture and resilience.
  But timing matters:
  
  • Use them during off-cycle periods (not around laser sessions)
  • Never combine retinoids and IPL — the combo can cause over-sensitivity and worsen redness
  Stick with low concentration (like 0.025% tretinoin or gentle retinol) and build up slowly.
  
  
  

  Peptides and the Klow stack​

  
  Once vascular healing starts, you can use peptides to speed up regeneration.
  
  
  • GHK-Cu: The copper peptide that boosts collagen, elastin, and capillary repair
  • The Klow Stack: (GHK-CU, TB500, BPC157 and KPV) Is a peptide blend including that’s excellent for PIE healing, collagen remodeling and lower inflammation leading to a more even skin tone
  If you don’t have visible vascular damage (just mild redness or uneven skin), GHK-Cu alone is enough.
  But if you have vascular damage, that's severe, the klow stack will help with a process called angionesis, which is the formation of healing capillaries, which is the thing that we're after.
  
  (I'm assuming that you're not a pussy, and inject it, instead of cope serums)
  
  
  

  Internal Support: Fasting, Berberine & Milk Thistle​

  
  PIE fades faster when your inflammation and insulin levels are under control.
  
  
  • Intermittent fasting → lowers inflammation and promotes healing through autophagy
  • Berberine (500mg 2–3x/day) → stabilizes blood sugar, supports recovery
  • Milk thistle (silymarin) → aids liver detox and improves circulation
  • Prolonged fast (48-72h every two weeks) A regular prolonged fast, every now and then, puts your body in autophagy, which will help it clear out damaged proteins, and help heal some of the damaged skin tissue. It wont do wonders, but it will help with some of the immediate redness.
  These three work together to calm the system that caused inflammation in the first place.
  
  
  

  Supplement Stack for Healing PIE​

  
  Here’s what I take and why, this combination supports vascular repair and reduces oxidative stress:
  
  
  

  Supplement	Function
  Beta-Carotene (100mg)	Antioxidant; supports vitamin A pathways and makes skin glow
  Zinc (50mg)	Speeds healing and cell turnover
  Lycopene (12mg)	Protects skin from UV and inflammation
  Astaxanthin	Potent antioxidant for vascular repair
  Lutein	Helps protect skin from light-induced inflammation
  Copper (skip if using GHK-Cu)	Cofactor for collagen and capillary formation
  Vitamins D, C, E	Boost collagen and protect from oxidative stress

  
  The Beta carotene, Astaxanthin and Lutein also have the added benefits of giving your skin a warmer, more orange/red hue, which has been found to look more healthy, while masking some of the red marks and help prevent UV damage, which can sometimes make the PIE last longer, or turn into PIH.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Skincare Routine = Maintenance, Not a Cure​

  Even the best skincare routine will only help around 5% with PIE, it’s mainly for supporting recovery.
  Keep it simple:
  
  • Gentle cleanser + Barrier moisturizer,
  • Sunscreen, SPF 50 daily - the most important step
  PIE will stay red longer or worsen if you skip SPF, even indoors near windows.
  Think of sunscreen as the “don’t lose progress” rule. You can also use Tinted SPF to hide some of your blemishes.
  
  
  

  Vasoconstricting Eyedrops (Temporary Redness Hack)​

  
  If you need to visibly reduce redness fast - for example, before going out or taking photos
  you can apply vasoconstricting eyedrops (like tetrahydrozoline or brimonidine-based drops, e.g., Lumify) very lightly on problem areas.
  
  They constrict surface capillaries, reducing visible redness for a few hours.
  • Use only sparingly (a drop on a Q-tip, dabbed gently)
  • Do not use daily, overuse can cause rebound redness or even cause breakouts since they're not meant to be applied on skin
  This is a temporary visual fix, not a treatment - think of it as a photo-day trick.
  
  
  

  Microdosing Isotretinoin (Preventing Relapse)​

  If you’ve invested in IPL, GHK-Cu, and supplements to repair your skin, the last thing you want is new inflammation undoing your work.
  That’s where microdosing isotretinoin comes in.
  Instead of full-dose Accutane (which is harsh), microdosing = 5–10mg a few times a week under dermatologist supervision, or alternatively, just buy it grey.
  
  Why it’s worth it:
  • Keeps sebaceous glands suppressed enough to prevent new lesions
  • Prevents new inflammation → no new PIE
  • Helps maintain an even tone and texture long term
    
  You don’t get the extreme side effects like dryness, cracked lips, or all the side effects just steady oil control and prevention.
  If you’ve gone to this extent to heal your skin, you don’t want to start over because of one breakout.
  
  
  
  I think that I've covered everything that i've found about PIE in this post, would be happy to hear if anyone has any other ideas or tricks that they use. I've heard some people get better skin on MK677 but not mention Pie specifically, would be interesting to hear about.

 

[ybuyhgui]

blud thought we wouldn’t notice the thread is 80% GPT

 

[Sebarooo]

blud thought we wouldn’t notice the thread is 80% GPT

Yeah, i used chatgpt a bit to help me write it, but all the research has been done by me.

 

[tunisianropemaxxer]

holy gpt