A man has shared how he cleared his skin of “aggressive and unmanageable” acne in just two weeks – after shunning prescribed treatments in favour of making his own treatment.
Kyle Frank, 26, from London, started suffering with inflamed clusters of acne on his face at the age of 17.
His GP prescribed him a series of topical treatments and oral medications over a four-year period, swapping treatments every few months when they became less effective.
Kyle said his skin deteriorated over time and, as a last resort, he was referred to a dermatologist to be put on a course of Roaccutane – a medication prescribed to treat severe cases of acne.
He found the side effects – which include inflamed and sensitive skin, dry eyes and a dry throat – too “extreme” and ceased use after three weeks.
“I didn’t think clear skin should be worth the damage it was doing to my body,” Kyle, who runs Frank’s Remedies, told Jam Press.
But he was still unhappy with his appearance – and the unkind assumptions people made about his skin.
He said: “Some people would assume I never washed my face and thought my skin was a result of me not taking care of my skin and eating unhealthily.
“When in fact, I had a very strict healthy diet – no high sugar, fizzy drinks or oily foods – and I also had a rigorous skincare routine I did every morning and evening, without fail.
“I couldn’t [hide the acne] – there was nothing I could do to cover it, especially as some of my acne had open wounds.
“I would avoid all photos with friends at social gatherings and instantly un-tag myself from any candid photos friends tagged me in on Facebook.”
While on breaks from university, Kyle started researching acne in depth while travelling the globe, learning about different cultural understandings and reading literature from the 1800s about natural ingredients.
He was particularly interested in how indigenous tribes approached the skin condition with natural, earth-sourced ingredients, and felt inspired to try and concoct his own treatment in 2016.
Kyle said: “I had tried every product out there that claimed to clear my skin. I also trusted & put a lot of faith in GP’s and dermatologists, as they are the specialists.
“But everything I was being prescribed was actually doing more damage to my skin, which was really disheartening.
“I always believed there was a natural solution to everything, so I decided to embark on my own journey, to learn more about the root cause of acne and create my natural solution – with the hope of one day having ‘normal’ clear skin.
“I kept a journal to document all my learning while on my travels, alongside key skin-balancing ingredients with multi-functional benefits I was interested in using.
“I then learnt about the chemical structure of different types of products (face washes, gels and creams), and started assigning ingredients to the products I wanted to create.
“I had a backpack with different ingredients that I was given from farmers I met and raw ingredients I picked along the way.
“When I got back home to London, I started formulating and crafting in my kitchen.”
Experimenting using ingredients like aloe vera juice, lava ash, ylang ylang, rose quartz and calendula, Kyle used a process of “trial and error” over a period of several weeks to formulate a cream.
Within two weeks of perfecting the homemade treatment, Kyle found his skin clearing up dramatically and looking far healthier.
He said: “I remember looking in the mirror – as I would do every day to see if my skin had improved – and seriously thought I was in a dream.
“After years of my skin just getting worse and worse, I couldn’t believe it was actually starting to clear and finally improve.”
Within six months of using the cream, Kyle’s skin had completely cleared – with no post-acne scarring, discolouration or blemishes.
He has since launched his own vegan skincare range, Frank’s Remedies.
The range consists of five products – a face wash, toner, treatment gel, cream and detox mask – which Kyle swears by, and says are suitable for all ages, genders and skin types.
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