Our story

I stayed on tretinoin 9 months too long because I convinced myself I was making progress.

*SPOILER ALERT* I was not.

Hi everyone! My name is Elle. I'm 27 and I'm a pharmaceutical chemist/clinical researcher/dermatological assistant-turned-machine learning engineer. Quite the career pivot, I know. I've also struggled with cystic acne almost my entire life. As many of you know, it can be incredibly painful physically and emotionally. I've tried topicals, antibiotics, diet and lifestyle changes, and over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription treatments but between having ADHD and living a busy life, my skin progress tracking throughout these treatments was largely inconsistent. I began judging my skin based on perceived changes, but with minimal evidence.

One day - following 9 months of tretinoin use - a friend mistook my "after" photo as a "before" photo. It was an innocent mistake but made me question how I was evaluating my progress. After this wakeup call, a second look at the photos revealed that tretinoin may have actually been increasing my skin irritation with no real improvement in my acne. Shortly after this revelation, I switched to isotretinoin (a.k.a. Accutane) and began seeing real progress within two weeks. Don't get me wrong: I'm very happy that my cystic acne is virtually gone now, but I wish I'd switched to isotretinoin earlier and saved myself from some scarring!

When I shared my story with friends and family, I realized most of them have had similar experiences with their skin and skincare regimes. So, upon completing my Master's degree in Molecular Science and Software Engineering (MSc.), I decided to use my new skills to build the app that I wish existed when I was treating my acne. And that's how Gia came to be!

Our team would LOVE to hear your ideas, feedback, and stories so please don't hesitate to reach out!

My skin 45 days into tretinoin Before 45 days
My skin after six months on tretinoin After 6 months
6 months on tretinoin Progress is not looking stellar here. I wish I would've realized sooner.
My skin after one month on Accutane
1 month on Accutane One month. That's what actual progress looks like.

Gia is the tool I wish I'd had back then: consistent photos, tracking reminders, unbiased analysis, and a straight answer about whether to continue my treatment plan or start looking at other options.

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Tell us what you'd like to see in a tracking app and we'll try our best to build what you want.

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Progress updates, skincare truth bombs, and the occasional bacne joke.