I'm new to LJ and I'm going to blog about my experience with acne and things that actually work! I've been on Differen, Retin-A, Salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, and Accutane *twice*. I'm trying a new natural way and thus far it has actually worked.
I know how it feels to cancel plans because you don't want anyone to see you... or skipping school because you can't even stand the thought of someone looking at your face... or completely shutting people out and becoming a recluse. I've been there and done it ALL. So if you're interested in trying a new, healthier way to fight acne you can read my blog :) I can't even describe how great it feels to actually be able to go out without makeup.
Basically last week I got a horrible spot come up just under my eye, like the worst place it could be, but it's turned into one of them horrible acne cysts, n it's so red and big it's pretty much impossible to cover! I'm too embarrassed to go to college because of it! What is the best thing I could use or do to make it heal like within the next couple of days, or even just make it go down a little or get rid of the redness so it's easier to cover and less noticable. I've heard cortisone injections are the best but sadly they don't do them where I live :( I've tried the hot compress trick, hydrocortisone cream and calamine lotion, none of it is working very well.
Talking from experience what is the best product or home remedy to get rid of this horrible thing? Even advice on how to cover it up so it's barely noticeable would be a great help, I've got really good concealer but even that isn't working :/
I don't have really bad acne, I'd say I'm mild to moderate, but it really affects my self esteem, I've been on erythomycin for a while, but it doesn't seem to be working anymore :(
Okay guys. I've read that lemon juice and vitamin E oil are good at fading red hiperpigmentation marks left over from spots. But which one is better?
Well, I'm going to do a little experiment. I'll be using lemon juice on one of my red marks and vitamin E on the other. It'll probably take about a month to see results but I'll keep you updated and we'll find out which one is the winner!
Feb
xxx
Thanks to everyone who posted to my message and answered questions for me, I really appreciate it.
At the moment, I am using non-comedomic skin products and I'm washing with Garnier deep pore cream wash for sensitive skin(used it before and it seems to keep the spots at bay) and I also use Simple soap at night. I stopped using a scrub after some woman on the Clinque counter told me they spread bacteria was she wrong?)
Anyway, my skin is behaving itself relatively okay at the moment, I'm on Diantette birth control, this might be it, but too soon to tell.
I'll stay on this for 6 months and if that doesn't work, it's maybe best to try Spironolactone.
Thanks guys!
Hey everyone. I've just joined Live Journal to try and get some support over my acne problems.
In all honesty, I have mild acne but it's destroying my self-esteem and ruining my relationships. I actually broke up with my boyfriend over it because I was so convinced I looked hideous and I just couldn't cope with him seeing me without makeup in the morning when i stayed over.
Thankfully, we are back together (he took me back because he knows how depressed i am right now)
I've been on anti-depressants and am in councelling for my low-self esteeem. I'm also currently on the contreceptive pill Dianette but am only on day 6. I'm also using Retin-A, but only at the lowest strength.
I have some questions to ask you guys and I really hope you'll get back to me as my acne is making me want to die sometimes(I'm sorry for being so extreme-but it's the truth)
1. Has anyone else been on Dianette? Or Dianette-35? Did it work for you and how long did you take it?
2. I have red scar marks on my face from previous acne. Should I get a chemical peel? Will it work? What type etc?
3. I smoke. It's terrible I know. Would this make my skin worse? I'm worried that if I stop my skin will get more oily and so...more spots
4. Lastly, how do you deal with the low-self esteem associated with acne?
Thanks guys
xxxx
Hi, my name's Beth and I'm a 15-year-old from Canada who, honestly, hasn't been dealing with acne long at all. It's only been the last 6 months or so that I've been struggling with it.
My story is: I have body dysmorphic disorder, and my obsession has always been with my skin. Since I was a little girl, 11 or 12, I've been caking on tons of makeup; foundation, concealer, blush, eyeshadow, etc. to make my skin look clearer and more luminous. I look back at pictures of myself when I was 12, 13, 14 and marvel at how beautiful my skin was, yet I always thought it was disgusting and covered in blemishes and acne. I was unable to even put my garbage out at the curb without spending a few hours on makeup application.
Back in September my doctor prescribed me Stievamycin, but in the beginning didn't see a reason for it because my skin was pretty much clear. Stievamycin usually takes 3-4 months to work, and since it is a topical gel an initial breakout is expected. I used it up until December and then stopped, because oh boy did I EVER have a breakout . . . and then I waited, very patiently, for that breakout to clear, leaving me flawless. It never cleared.
Now, I'm struggling to clear up what Stievamycin did to my skin. I have bumps that aren't fully pimples all over my forehead, and a couple very hard, headless and noticable bumps underneath the skin. Around my cheeks I have flat blemishes that are bright purple-red and stand out against my pale pale complexion. At the left side of my face I have clusters of whiteheads that are sensitive to touch. Overall my face is red and patchy.
At the moment I'm washing my face twice a day with Noxzema Anti-Bacterial Lathering Cleanser (Triclosan Medicated) and applying Clean & Clear Deep Cleaning Astringent (Medicated with 2% Salicylic Acid). 3-4 times a week I apply a Baking Soda Mask for 20 minutes and then rebalance my skin's PH levels with a vinegar solution that I wash off later. I also use sea salt scrubs every other day and am taking Yaz for birth control.
Am I using too many different products on my skin, and too often? It doesn't burn or irritate my skin it seems, I got use to the Stievamycin which BURNS like acid and peels layers of skin off.
I am just so sick and tired of this!! I'm so young, why do I need to wear tons of makeup? I go to school and see every other girl, radiant and freshfaced, and I'm jealous that they can just roll out of bed and not worry about applying foundation to hide their acne-riddled skin. :( I am at my wits end, I barely goto school or go out with friends anymore because I don't want to clog my pores with makeup and I feel so uncomfortable with it on. I cry every time I look in a mirror, I can barely face my mother and her boyfriend whom I live with. I am moody all the time now and even feel suicidal. I hate myself more than anything and try as much as possible NOT to look into reflective surfaces. I wish I were dead:( I can't live like this anymore.
help please, I just need suggestions on what to do? thank you, i'm so glad this community is alive. <3
Hello everybody! I am a long time acne sufferer that has really tired of talking about skin care with perfectly clear-skinned friends. (I have a friend who spent a lot of money on the clinique skin care line because her face was "getting really bad", which meant a cluster of pin point sized dots.)
Here is a little back story on me: I have had acne since I was ten years old. It started as the occasional bump on my chin or the end of my nose. By the time I was thirteen it had spread to my cheeks and I had learned to never leave the house without a thick mask of make up.
I don't have it as bad as some. I do a pretty okay job of hiding it. But I have had people (mostly younger kids) come up to me and ask what was wrong with my face. I guess I'd describe it as moderate to severe.
From 13 onward I saw a dermatologist. I have probably been on three or four separate antibiotics over my life. I actually learned to swallow pills specifically to take these antibiotics. My regimen was always some pill in chorus with some prescribed topical gel. I have tried retin-a, differin, and I believe there was another that I can't remember. The pills usually helped a little bit until my body got used to them, but the gels I could go without and never notice any difference.
I am now 21 years old and I'm tired of all this nonsense. I was on cephalexin twice a day for a while and I would say that is the clearest my skin has ever been, though it wasn't perfect. Unfortunately, after using it for about three years, it started to become less effective. My dermatologist said that was normal and I needed to switch to a new antibiotic. The new antibiotic made me sick and that was pretty much the last straw for me. I didn't really want to spend the rest of my life alternating between antibiotics.
I slowly weaned myself off of this pill last year and started using a salicylic acid face wash twice a day and a very large amount of benzoyl peroxide at night. This seemed to work really well for a while, but over the last few months I have begun breaking out so badly that some days I have wanted to cry thinking about leaving the house. I tried cutting out all of the harsh chemicals and used a plain face wash twice a day and my skin broke out in huge, painful cystic acne that I have never had in my life. I then tried the acne free severe kit and although it seemed to be working well the first week (my boyfriend actually commented that my skin looked really nice) it seemed to start breaking me out. I stuck with it for a while, and after not seeing much more improvement, I added some other products to my regimen. Unsuccessful. Out of desperation, I have slathered so much benzoyl peroxide on my face over the last few days that my skin is flaking off- and my skin is not at all sensitive to benzoyl peroxide.
At this point I literally have no idea what else I can do. I can't think of a single product I haven't tried. I really don't want to be on any oral treatments anymore and my dermatologist never had any other suggestions for me. Is this really it? Is this really just something I have to live with?
My question is: is there anybody in here that has made miraculous strides with their acne simply through topical means? If you don't mind sharing, what are your regimens? What has worked really well and what has been completely terrible? I realize that everybody has different skin, but I need to compare notes because I am simply not doing well enough on my own.
My skin is not sensitive at all and not prone to dryness, just very very TERMINALLY oily.
Thanks a lot! I am really glad this group exists.
I haven't signed onto live journal in so long, but I thought I would share what's been going on with my face.
I'm of mixed ethnicity and have tan, oily skin that hyperpigments easily. I would say my acne was moderate and cystic...it did get extremely bad quite often. I would call in to work because of my face...I felt like a monster.
Anyhow, I have been clear for almost a year. Yup. I got clear kind of due to a fluke. I got put on Differin and started having that initial breakout everyone speaks of. The initial breakout turned into weeks of horror and nodules and just the worst weeks of my life. I stopped it. The nodules it left me with would not go away, so I tried topical clindamycin (Galderma), and my whole face started clearing up. It took only one week to see significant difference. I was clear after about two weeks. It heals everything quickly and with no scabbing and less redness/irritation. Sure I got a pimple here and there but my cysts were gone. Someone told me before that topical clindamycin didn't work on cysts, ha! It works on mine. I should have tried it earlier.
Fast forward to now, I am using retin-a-micro, topical clindamycin, and hydroquinone 4%. I was so scared to start retin-a-micro because of my adverse experience with Differin but it has gone on without a hitch. I started it about 2 months ago. I kept doxycycline on hand in case it got bad 'cause I wanted to stick with the retin-a. I took the doxy the first two weeks just from my own fear but realized I didn't need it that much. But I would take one at night if I felt a pimple coming. Anyhow...I decided to mix in a bit of the retin-a-micro with clindamycin. I would say a 1:2 ratio, respectively. I started slowly and did this every other night. I had dry skin (the flaky crap that retin-a does) but no IB. I gradually increased to doing this every night instead of every other. Now I use it every night, mix it half and half with my clindamycin. After this sinks in I put on hydroquinone to areas where I had a small bump or pimple ( I don't have to use it much anymore). I know Ziana has clindamycin but I feel retin-a-micro is gentler and I used the smaller dose, the .04%. I felt that this way I had more control than if I had just bought Ziana.
So now, I have the best skin I have ever had. With clindamycin, I was as clear as I thought I could get and I was happy. I decided to start retin-a to curb the evils of aging and wow...I didn't know it would completely clear my skin. I LOVE my skin. I do. I can go without makeup and I can feel beautiful even when waking up. I don't have to hide my face or make up excuses. People can see my freckles now because I don't have to cake the makeup on. It is so freaking nice to finally have something work for me. I tried for years and I am just glad I didn't give up hope. I'm hoping this lasts...
accomplished
cheerful