Acne (free)

I thought I'd put up a self-portrait firstly because I didn't photograph anything else, today, and secondly because I'm pleased with this haircut and, frankly, I don't know how many more good haircuts I've got left in me. 

I like this photo. Funnily enough, I quite like how my face has become a bit older again. But - and this might seem like an odd thing to say - most of all I like my forehead. 

About twenty years ago I went for a haircut and the hairdresser massaged some mint lotion into my scalp, which really stung. A couple of days later I broke out in spots along my hairline and over the next few months a full blown case of acne rosacea progressed down my forehead and onto my cheeks. (You can see the remnants of that on my right cheek.)

My GP at the time - who is, as it happens, a Creationist - told me nothing could be done about it and I endured a decade of spots until a consultant who was treating my (then) wife said to me, rather bluntly, "Why have you never done anything about those spots?" A course of mild antibiotics did the trick (although I still need to take a short course once every year or so. Less often of late). 

Consequently, I still get some joy from having an acne-free forehead. It's the first thing I see when I look at this photo. 

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-3.7kg