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Acne Mega Thread

If you have the money for it Obagi is the best (Rx) skin care system out. Bottles can go for up to $60 though. Second to this Proactiv works for alot of people. If you have incomplete control with Proactive use it with either topical (Rx) Clindamycin phos(liquid, not gel). & or Tretinoin.

Minocycline & doxycycline are good too and taking an extra pill or two at night can produce a profound reduction in redness/ swelling if you need to look extra clear. I have noticed some difference in the various generics of the 'cyclines, one caused a rash on the bridge of my nose, one didn't, one worked much better than another so keep that in mind.

Finally while you need to wash your face and exfoliate (Mr. Clean Magic eraser is probably the best for this, one wipe, no more, seriously) -- the following is advice 2 board certified dermatologists -- avoid touching your face, resting head on arm, washing excessively as friction will aggravate acne.
 
i had acne for 2 years and tried everything possible until I used retinA in the morning and Duac cream at night it took a frustrating six months but im totally clear now.. its seriously amazing stuff.. my advice is use something effective and be very consitent with a cream or pill you might use.. and just be patient because it takes several months for your face to be clear of pimples and scars. Also my brother used Accutane and that also took 6 months but he has not had any pimples since and he had the worse case possible
 
Oh i must add that Proactiv was horrible for me i tried using it for 4 months and it made me a ton worse.. Theres not just one kind of skin problem out there (different types of acne). ^^^ but hey if it worked for them thats great but if you dont see any kind of results stop wasting your money on products like that8o
 
9mmCensor said:
grow a beard and hide it.
Click to expand...
lol, Killer call... the fun starts when that special day comes along and you have to shave, or better said scare your face..
But I had acne when in highschool and used most of the solutions by iwsh, the cream, heaps of water, swimming in the beach is a good one since the sea salt cleans and drys out the skin like a champ.
I went on a drug called roacutaine...it was a miricle solution..had to have blood tests though because they apparently had people that were killing themselves due to deppression:\ , didnt bother me though.
 
My skin has cleared up a lot lately. I suspect it is due to some of the following aspects:

1. I am staying a lot in the sunshine these days

2. I have started to take Spirulina and Barley-grass supplements

3. I eat a lot of alfalfa sprouts

Or, it might be due to my new cleansing regimen, which goes down something like this:

I wash my face with a soap made from only natural ingredients (olive oil, coconut oil, lavender ++) once or twice a day.

After washing, I apply a mixture of water and something called "Vita Biosa" to my face. Vita Biosa is a pro biotic supplement, made from several herbs, and active micro organisms. I also take this as a dietary supplement every day.
I use approx. 1 part Vita Biosa and 3 parts water.

Then I dry of the Vita Biosa/water, and apply an Aloe Vera cream. I use the Jason Aloe Vera 84%Ultra-Comforting Moisturizing Crème.

I hope this will be to some help for others!

Acne, go to hell!!
 
i apologize for not reading the whole thread, actualy nah cause seriously its fuckin long but i dont know if anyone said this but i thought i'd put in my 2 cents. When i had bad acne, i would look at information that would say, "keep out of sun, avoid sun, etc etc" and the funny thing is, the sun is the best thing my face has seen since titties. i am pretty sure that this varies person to person based on skin type/ color. i'm brownish, so i can lamp for some time and not get burned while i got my white friends getting sunburned walking from the house to the car. but for a long time i avoided sun and my skin sucked dick. but now i fucking lamp out there ahh it fucking works wonders, gotta love the sun.
 
my solution for (mild) acne is to keep things simple - wash face 1-2 times a day with cetaphil, and use a few drops of jojoba oil at night as a moisteriser. that is all i put on my face except for a scrub or mask weekly and it seems to be working well.
 
I just discovered a wonderful mild soap! Aleppo-soap is a soap made from olive-oil and laurel-oil. It is very mild, and I use it both in the morning and in the evening. It does not dry out the skin as much as other soaps or cleansers, and it seems to work well on acne prone skin :)

Also, I find the products from "henry tianus" to be very helpful! I use the hazel-mint toner, the antioxidant purifying serum, and the antioxidant purifying cream every day, and so far I am loving it! :D
 
those of who you have taken accutane, how long did it take before you started noticing a difference?
a significant one?
did your acne flare as mine seems to be doing? i am on day 8.
 
holy crap i got the worserst acne. I didnt realize it till I took a picture

but dam...Im pretty sure it was my bad habits..picking at it, eatting mad amounts of junk food, barely ever drink water..a cup maybe a week, and barely any other fluids-which i believe is the main cause, cuz my body has no way to excret toxins but through the pores

i guess they all built up over time and said "haha i got yo face whatcya gonna do"

well since i notice this in the last 3 days i been on a diet (no greasy food, sandwich and a salad pretty much, well aint that a bitch), and drink atleast 5 water bottles. i noticed it improved a little..but things like this takes time
 
I was on:

Doxicycline (antibiotic) and Differin Gel and WOW that combo works nearly instantly. I looked like a new person in a week and didn't get a pimple in the entire year I was on it.



Now I just never wash my face directly with soap. I actually virtually never wash or touch my face at all. I shave every other day and every night I wash carefully with Nuetrogenia oil free acne wash then apply benzoyl peroxide (burns a bit) and then once in awhile I apply witch hazel if I don't feel like doing the benzyol peroxide.

it works pretty well but you have to be consistent about your routine. I slacked off on it a few days and broke out again but now its ok again.

I also cut all greasy foods and am changing my sheets/pillows every few days. I think these 2 things help also.
 
For those of you who need help getting rid of acne - Read this!

Alright, well my whole life growing up I had perfect skin, in fact I miss it so very much but I have finally found a way to combat my acne (which I started getting around age 18 or so and I'm now 21).

If you can afford it you need to get some BenzaClin (http://www.benzaclin.com/), you can read more information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzaclin.

Now, BenzaClin has an antibiotic in it called Clindamycin and it also contains Benzoyl peroxide.

But I found mixing that with Salicylic Acid containing products such as Clean & Clear Advantage Spot Treatment Gel (can be purchased anywhere but here's a random link http://www.drugsdepot.com/viewitem.php/drugsdepot/pd2090753/Clean_Clear_Advantage_Spot_Treatment_Gel_.75_Oz) makes the acne treatment much more effective. So basically, overall Salicylic Acid combined with the BenzaClin works wonders.

Now please before using any of these products make sure you don't have any type of drug interactions - consult a doctor first if you don't know for sure (most likely that's who you'll be getting your BenzaClin from anyway)[EDIT: Just thought I should say it here as well - BenzaClin interacts VERY bad with birth control PLEASE consult your doctor about using any products before actually using them!].

I've seen ads on TV for acne stuff that contains both Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl peroxide but I've never heard of adding in an antibiotic and I'm telling you mixing these 3 things together works; it works really well.

Your skin will peel a bit, but mine doesn't peel bad at all really and I don't even moisturize it (I'm letting it dry out the pimples I do have currently because I had a break out from running out of the stuff). If you do need to use a moisturizer make sure it's oil free, and it's used to help treat acne as well if possible. I use Clean & Clear Advantage Oil-Free Acne Moisturizer Salicylic Acne Medication, http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Clear-Advantage-Moisturizer-Medication/dp/B0013NFYY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=beauty&qid=1272729708&sr=8-1. As it says it also contains Salicylic Acid, so let's say you are peeling kind of bad, and need to take a day off of using the other stuff, you can moisturize using this stuff and still get some acne medication on your skin - the stuff works wonders honestly.

I just felt the need to post this because I know that I'd have appreciated it if someone else did for me, so I hope this helps some of you who have a problem with acne/pimples/breakouts whatever.

And as I said PLEASE check with your doctor before using any of this stuff, in fact BenzaClin interacts VERY badly with birth control so women DO NOT use it - talk to your doctor about alternatives!

Other than that, taking vitamin supplements like vitamin A can help improve how the pores remove dead skin cells and overall help with skin regeneration and health so take that into account as well :)

Hope this has helped some people!

-dp
 
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Heh, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the thread title - I've had horrible acne since I was.. I think 13 or 14, and I'm now 21 like you. Jesus, 8 years, that's a damn long time.

Anyway, I'm really glad that you've finally found something that works. Having bad acne at this age sucks balls -_-. Back in high school at least it was somewhat common, or at least not at all uncommon. Now it feels like I'm the only one with skin this bad.

Anyway yeah, unfortunately I've tried my hand at clindamycin (bith benzoyl peroxide and salycylic acid stuff too) - mine was prescribed though, was that over the counter? Haha at my peak I was using tetracycline pills, isotretinoin gel, clindamycin phosphate gel, benzoyl peroxide face wash, and clindamycin phosphate alcohol face pads. Worked up to that over years with dermatologists, and still wasn't getting much out of it. Went to South America for a few months and just stopped taking everything; combination of exercise and constant sun (and sunburns) kept things about constant, but everything went downhill when I got back to the states, so back on oxytetracycline and starting to use some isotretinoin gel again. In May, I'll finally be starting Accutane (I've had such a hassle getting it), I pray that that finally works for me.

Has anyone used Accutane? I hear it's something of a miracle cure. I could certainly use a miracle :/
 
Nothing you do to your skin topically will ever really cure acne. Yes, it can help heal up the lesions that are already there but acne is breaking out on your skin because of something internal. The only "miracle cure" is to change your diet. It takes a lot of work to find out what your body is reacting to. For me it was gluten, soy, corn, and dairy foods.

Whatever you do, stay away from Accutane and especially long term use of antibiotics. These things mess up the balance of your body horribly and will hurt you in the long run. I warn against it with every cell of my body-you are doing yourself a disservice.
 
^^^ Most definitely the first thing to try...

I've never had a bad struggle with acne fortunately, but I empathize with those that have.

One thing I've noticed that seems to help with complexion is exercise and diet. It really is a matter of trial and error. You can keep a record of your complexion to ease in examining your diet and reaction to exercise. A clean diet will help your body function more naturally and with greater ease. The less it has to expel (due to inability to process) the better. Whole foods. Foods that as one Bler said "you understand" (a paraphrase I'm sure). If you can't look at its ingredients and get a good picture of its origins, you need to think twice about what you're eating.

Fish oil is one supplement that I notice seems to have a direct affect on my complexion. Attempt to acquire this through diet as much as possible, but research the fish oil pills and go with a company that has its products third party tested for mercury (and other toxins). I'm using krill oil right now and it seems to be having the same benefits.

I hope things clear up for you, and I hope you can see in the mirror whats really there.
 
When I was treating acne my dermatologist prescribed me an oral antibiotic, benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and a bar of soap. He did say most of the magic was in the benzoyl peroxide

It worked but I couldn't take the peeling from the benzoyl peroxide.

With that said, http://acne.org basically has the same regimen with less irritation( non irritating face wash, benzoyl peroxide, and non-clogging lotion ).
 
While I agree with you to an extent Deja, diet alone (home remedies in general) really doesn't cut it for severe acne like mine. I eat almost no processed foods, good amount of fruits and veggies, TONS of water a day, go to the gym regularly, sleep well and for at least 8 hours a night, am very rarely stressed, and still have horrible skin. Yes, it is a result in part of your body getting rid of junk through the skin, but it's also very much a result of the amount of oil secreted which is very much a result of testosterone levels. And given the fact that I'm a hairy young male standing above 6'2" with a voice like Barry White, I'm gonna guess that my acne is mostly a result of excess sebum secretion due to hormones heh.
 
SpelunkingTheMind said:
While I agree with you to an extent Deja, diet alone (home remedies in general) really doesn't cut it for severe acne like mine. I eat almost no processed foods, good amount of fruits and veggies, TONS of water a day, go to the gym regularly, sleep well and for at least 8 hours a night, am very rarely stressed, and still have horrible skin. Yes, it is a result in part of your body getting rid of junk through the skin, but it's also very much a result of the amount of oil secreted which is very much a result of testosterone levels. And given the fact that I'm a hairy young male standing above 6'2" with a voice like Barry White, I'm gonna guess that my acne is mostly a result of excess sebum secretion due to hormones heh.
Click to expand...

Hun, my "acne" was so severe I got stared at in the street. So severe, that at my old job my boss pulled me aside to talk to me in private about "what was being done about my skin" (I cried for hours after). I even had children out in public look at me and ask their mother "what was wrong with that lady's face". It got so bad that it wouldn't heal and I developed a serious staph infection in my face that spread into my blood.... I can show you pictures from that time, if you want, and you can look at my recent pics in the healthy living photo thread.. those pics are not retouched.

All of this was caused by eating wheat which was destroying my insides and making holes in my gut which was leaking food particules into my blood and causing a violent autoimmune reaction which for me, showed up as skin problems. It can show up in a variety of ways, but I PROMISE you this is because of something you are eating. Yes, hormonal imbalances add to the problem but they too are caused by eating the wrong foods.

I thought I was eating "healthy" too. I ate tons of whole wheat and unprocessed foods, thinking I was doing the right thing... I had no idea that wheat could do this to a person. And don't you for one second listen to what the God damned dermatologists say because they are there to make money, NOT to help people. I was told flat out by a dermatologist that "food has nothing to do with skin problems". What bullshit!

If you are eating wheat at all you should consider going off that before you try anything else, and the other major allergen foods as well. Actually, doing a total elimination diet is what you should do, before anything else. If food is causing this for you and you go on accutane you are just going to be prolonging the hell your body is going through. Accutane "works" by shutting down the natural and healthy way your skin functions. Acne is NOT caused by oil. I slather my face in oily moisturizers every day and don't have one blemish develop.

Please, think about what I'm saying. I was never told how food (even what is commonly thought of as healthy food) could do this to a person and my life was destroyed for years because of it. Celiac disease (wheat intolerance) as well as other food allergies are extremely common, and many many people are unaware they have these problems because they are never told that the randomest things, from depression to skin problems to fatigue all can be related. Please, just think about it.
 
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