YOUR SKIN PLAN
PHASE ONE
The biggest thing I want you to remember with your skin is that we're not going to try and fix everything at once.
You've had acne on and off for years, you've previously been on antibiotics for it, and although it can completely settle at times, when it comes back it tends to come back quite aggressively. You've also now got some scarring and larger/visible pores that you'd really like to work on.
We absolutely can work on those things, but first I want to get your skin calm, consistent and in a really good place before we start treating the damage the acne has left behind.
For the first 6 weeks
At the moment you're using quite a lot on your skin, adapalene, azelaic acid, vitamin C, niacinamide alongside your cleanser, moisturiser and SPF.
So initially, we're going to do the opposite of adding more.
We're stripping everything right back and focusing on supporting your skin barrier.
Morning
- Cream cleanser
- Skin soak
- Derma Aid
- Prologic Oil Free SPF - start with the tester
Evening
- Cream cleanser
- Skin soak
- Derma Aid
That's it.
I don't want you chopping and changing products or adding something because you've had a breakout and panicked. Give the routine time to do its job.
Around the 6 week mark
We'll reassess your skin and, providing it's happy and tolerating the new routine well, we'll start adding things back in one at a time.
The first product I'd look at introducing is
Bio Balance Serum - £39.50
Then, once your skin is comfortable with that, we can look at introducing
Antioxidant Oil - £69.50
There's no rush to get everything into your routine. I'd much rather introduce things gradually and actually know how your skin is responding to each product.
Then tackle the scarring
I know your acne scarring and pores are a big concern for you, but I don't want to start aggressively treating scarring while we're still trying to understand and stabilise the acne underneath it. So I'm giving us approximately 8–12 weeks first.
I want to see how your skin responds to
simpler skincare + barrier support + better consistency + food/hydration foundations + working on sleep/stress
If your active acne is well controlled and your skin barrier is in a good place, that's when we can move into Exceed Medical Microneedling.
For your scarring, I'm potentially looking at a course of around
6 Exceed Medical Microneedling sessions
Approximately 4 weeks apart
We'll confirm that once I've reassessed your skin because the number of sessions will depend on the type/depth of scarring and how your skin responds.
If we were ready to start around November, the timing would actually work really well, we'd have the autumn/winter months to work through your course before heading back towards the higher UV summer months.
The purpose of microneedlinge is controlled collagen stimulation and remodelling to start working on the structural changes the acne has left behind.
YOUR
LIFESTYLE
You're currently doing A LOT.
You're back at uni studying primary teaching, travelling through to Stirling, working 2.5 days a week and you've described your stress levels as high and feeling like you're constantly on edge.
You're also only getting around 5 hours sleep a night, with that 3 - 5am waking having been going on for around four years.
I'm not expecting you to suddenly become someone who sleeps eight hours, meditates twice a day and meal preps every Sunday
We're looking for small changes that you can actually keep doing.
Sleep + stress
One of our biggest goals is going to be gradually increasing the amount of sleep you're getting.
You fall asleep easily, so rather than concentrating on getting to sleep, we're going to work more on your overall routine and that early waking.
I'd like you to
Start winding down properly before bed rather than going straight from being "on" all day into sleep.
Try to keep your sleep/wake times reasonably consistent where uni and work allow.
Get outside into natural daylight in the morning when you can.
Keep caffeine earlier in the day, particularly with the 3– - am waking.
Start using magnesium glycinate in the evening.
Continue with your plan to speak to the mental health team regarding your anxiety and possible ADHD.
We don't need to completely eliminate stress, that's not realistic. I just want to start giving your body periods where it isn't constantly getting the message that it needs to be switched on.
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STRESS.
Stress has been highlighted as a prevalent factor that is negatively impacting your health and wellbeing. The following guide is here to help you understand and manage stress so you can start to physically feel and see results. Navigate the guide from the tabs above, or the buttons below.
STAGE OF STRESS:
TYPE OF STRESS:
You struggle with:
Emotional, Physical, Environmental
STAGE
O1.
ALARM PHASE
Your System Is In Active Fight-or-Flight.
Right now, your nervous system is in the early stress response.
Adrenaline and cortisol are elevated.
Your body is alert and reactive.
You may feel:
Wired but productive
Anxious or overstimulated
Prone to stress cravings
Reactive in decision making
Struggling to fully switch off
Blood flow is being diverted away from the logical part of the brain, which is why when stressed you may operate more on reflex than reason.
At this stage, your body is still adaptive — which means it responds well to calming support.
Our focus is lowering stimulation and signalling safety.
NERVOUS SYSTEM SUPPORT
Ashwagandha
L-theanine
Passionflower
Valerian
Holy basil
5-HTP (where appropriate)
Magnesium
LIFESTYLE FOCUS
Reducing caffeine
Breathwork
Gentle evening wind-down routine
Lowering stimulation at night
Essential oils such as lavender or lemon balm
TYPES OF STRESS
Stress can show up in 3 ways:
Physical Stress: Work pressure and overcommitment, being busy with no true rest, over-exercising, injury recovery, poor sleep, blood sugar instability.
Emotional Stress: Unhappy or unsafe relationships, loss or grief, past or present trauma, feeling unworthy or misaligned with your true self, living in constant self-criticism.
Environmental Stress: EMFs, pollution, endocrine disruptors, ultra-processed foods, free radical exposure.
REGULATING EMOTIONAL STRESS
Healing does not begin with elimination diets or new supplements. It begins with safety. Some foundational shifts include:
In relationships, friendships, and work environments.
If something consistently dysregulates you, it needs addressing.
REGULATING PHYSICAL STRESS
Healing often requires doing less — not more.
If someone is training five days a week with high-intensity cardio or HIIT sessions, we may look at reducing this to around three sessions per week, lowering the overall intensity, or replacing some workouts with more restorative forms of movement. This could include Pilates, yoga, walking, or strength training with longer rest periods between sets.
Exercise should regulate the nervous system — not overstimulate it.
REGULATING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS
It’s impossible to remove every environmental exposure completely, and trying to do so often creates more stress than benefit. The goal is not perfection, but gradually reducing overall load where it feels realistic and supportive.
Supportive shifts may include using stainless steel or cast iron cookware, drinking filtered water, choosing organic produce where possible — particularly for high-pesticide foods — and avoiding smoking or vaping. Other helpful strategies can include improving indoor air quality through ventilation or air purifiers, turning Wi-Fi routers off at night if practical, placing phones on airplane mode while sleeping, introducing more indoor and outdoor plants, and reducing the use of synthetic fragrances within the home.
YOUR DAILY ROUTINE:
This routine has been custom made for your needs and lifestyle:
AM
1. Get some morning light
Try to get outside or get natural daylight into your eyes as early as you can after waking. Even 5 - 10 minutes while having your hot water/coffee or getting ready counts.
2. Hydrate
Start the day with a good drink of water. Keep your Stanley with you and aim to gradually work towards around 1.5–2 litres across the full day.
3. Skincare
- Prologic Cream Cleanser
- Skin Soak
- Derma Aid
- Prologic Oil Free SPF
Keep it simple and consistent - no extra actives for now.
4. Eat breakfast
Try not to head off to uni or work running on coffee alone.
Your egg + toast is a good base. Other easy options could be Greek yoghurt with blueberries/raspberries, nuts and seeds, or eggs with toast and some avocado.
Aim to have a source of protein, fats and carbohydrates to give you a properly balanced start to the day.
5. Supplements
- Vitamin D - with breakfast
- Omega 3 - with breakfast or another main meal
6. Caffeine
Your coffee is absolutely fine. Just try to keep most of your caffeine to the earlier part of the day, particularly while we're working on the 3–5am waking.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY
You don't need a perfect diet or routine.
Your main goals are
- Aim for 3 meals where possible rather than unintentionally skipping meals on busy days
- Include a good source of protein at each meal
- Keep your Stanley nearby and sip regularly
- Gradually work towards 1.5–2 litres of fluid
- Add colour and variety where you can - berries, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds
- Continue gradually introducing Greek/live culture yoghurt and pay attention to how your digestion responds
- Your cookie, chocolate, pizza or fizzy juice can still fit into your week!
And give your nervous system a break.
You're juggling uni, travelling and work alongside already feeling quite anxious/on edge. Try to create even a couple of short periods during the day where you're not studying, working, scrolling or rushing.
Even 5 minutes of doing absolutely nothing productive counts.
PM
1. Eat a proper evening meal
Keep meals simple. Chicken and rice or tuna pasta are absolutely fine.
Again, think
Protein + carbohydrates + healthy fats + some colour/fibre
2. Start switching off
Because you fall asleep easily but regularly wake between 3–5am, I want to concentrate on what happens before bed, not just getting you to sleep.
Try to give yourself around 30–60 minutes before bed where things start becoming quieter.
Dim the lights, reduce scrolling where possible and give your brain a bit of a signal that the day is finished.
3. Magnesium glycinate
Take this in the evening as part of your wind down routine.
4. Skincare
- Prologic Cream Cleanser
- Skin Soak
- Derma Aid
And leave it there.
Consistency is the treatment just now.
5. Sleep
We're gradually aiming to increase your sleep from the roughly 5 hours you're currently getting.
You don't have to suddenly achieve a perfect 8 hours.
For now, concentrate on:
- A reasonably consistent bedtime
- Less stimulation before bed
- Caffeine earlier in the day
- A proper evening meal
- Magnesium in the evening
- Keeping the room dark and cool
- Getting morning daylight the following day
If you wake between 3-5am, try not to immediately grab your phone or start thinking about everything you need to do that day. Keep things dark and boring and give yourself the opportunity to fall back asleep.
ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES
These documents have been together as general educational tools to help you understand stress better, and therefore be able to control it.
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