# ケビンのニキビとの戦い、もうすぐ出す手無くなりそうで詰んだ - Show: 英語で雑談！Kevin’s English Room Podcast - Published: 2026-10-17 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1518322346_14681d531add.html - Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/260e5c24/podcast/play/127313718/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-9-12%2F09834928-4dce-6d6d-f5a4-6f0e3a38b970.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. Kevin opened up about his ongoing battle with neck acne — an area where his face-targeting laser treatment AviClear cannot be applied due to the presence of dangerous tissue. While his facial skin has improved noticeably, he feels his remaining treatment options are nearly exhausted, leaving him at a loss for what to try next. ## What this episode answers ### How effective has AviClear been on Kevin's acne? AviClear has visibly reduced Kevin's facial acne by destroying sebaceous glands, and he can feel it working — though new breakouts have appeared on his neck, where the treatment cannot reach. ### Why can't AviClear be used on Kevin's neck? His clinic told him there is dangerous tissue in the neck area, making AviClear too risky to apply there. ### What treatment options does Kevin still have left? He has two options left: the antibiotic Vibromycin, which can only be taken for one to two weeks at a time due to antibiotic-resistance risk, and a different laser treatment he considers less effective than AviClear — neither feels like a real solution. ### What prompted Kevin to start his skincare journey? Kevin started when he joined a dating app and decided to level himself up; even after meeting his partner and getting married, he wants to finish the journey rather than leave it incomplete. ### Why does Kevin think his skin might be worse now than it was five years ago? Kevin's hypothesis is that overusing powerful active ingredients — retinol and active vitamin C — has compromised his skin barrier and made it more vulnerable to acne-causing bacteria, despite those same ingredients being intended to improve skin long-term. ## Article ## Dry studio air kicks off a skin conversation The moment recording began, Kevin noted how dry the studio air felt — "my face feels dry" — and the conversation naturally drifted to skincare. His co-host admitted he rarely notices that kind of dryness himself, then jokingly suggested Kevin might have made his skin hypersensitive by overdoing his skincare routine. ## AviClear is working on his face — but his neck is a different story Kevin gave an update on his acne situation. He has been receiving AviClear, a laser treatment that works by destroying sebaceous (oil-producing) glands, and he can genuinely feel it making a difference on his face. The problem is his neck. His clinic told him there is dangerous tissue in the neck area, which means AviClear cannot be safely applied there. Kevin described the feeling as if all the "dust" (the root cause of his breakouts) that had been on his face was simply being swept downward and collecting at the lower part of his neck. "I've just gathered the dust into one spot — I haven't actually solved anything," he said with a rueful laugh, while still insisting that continuing to treat his face is necessary. The texture under his eyes has improved and his center face is noticeably better, but the area along his jawline and below has started breaking out. ## Running out of ammo The treatment options Kevin still has on the table are shrinking fast. The first is the antibiotic Vibromycin. It works on acne, but he can only take it for one to two weeks at a stretch — cycling on and off creates a risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, so he is holding it in reserve as a last resort for when things get truly bad. The other option is a different laser treatment, which he describes as less effective than AviClear — not something he is eager to pursue. As he put it, his "ammo" (ammunition, meaning available options) is nearly gone, and he can no longer see a clear next move. "I have thrown money, time, and knowledge at this with everything I have. To end up here — it is genuinely exhausting," Kevin said plainly. There was a period when his skincare journey felt like he was climbing, and that was exciting. Now it feels like he is sliding back down, and it is taking a mental toll. ## Where the journey started So why did Kevin go this deep into skincare in the first place? He traces it back to the moment he joined a dating app and started looking for a partner. He decided to level himself up, and skincare and acne treatment were the first things he tackled. He eventually found his partner and got married — but even now he keeps going because he does not want to leave the journey unfinished. ## Was his skin actually better five years ago? The over-actives hypothesis Looking back at old photos, Kevin feels his skin was cleaner five years ago. He acknowledges that his diet back then was "a mess," which makes it all the more puzzling that his complexion seems to have been better despite that. His working hypothesis: too many active ingredients. He has been heavily using retinol (vitamin A) and active vitamin C — the kinds of powerful "offensive" ingredients that temporarily irritate and inflame the skin in order to drive long-term improvement. His theory is that sustained use of these has degraded his skin barrier, leaving it more vulnerable to acne-causing bacteria. He also noted that his prescription acne medications are retinoid-based (closely related to retinol), meaning he may be stacking multiple aggressive actives on top of one another. He closed the episode on a cautiously optimistic note — "I'll figure out something new" — and promised listeners he would keep them updated on where his acne journey goes next. ## Takeaways - AviClear has improved Kevin's facial acne by targeting sebaceous glands, but it cannot be used on his neck due to the presence of dangerous tissue, so breakouts have migrated there instead. - Kevin's remaining options — short-course Vibromycin (limited by antibiotic-resistance risk) and a less effective laser — leave him feeling his treatment arsenal is nearly exhausted. - Kevin suspects that years of heavy use of powerful active ingredients like retinol and active vitamin C have weakened his skin barrier and may be making his acne worse than it was five years ago.