ACNE!

accutane! I had REALLY bad acne as a teen and into my twenties. When I finally got it...it went away and stayed away for more than 10 years. Later on I had another bout of adult acne when I got pregnant but never was bad like it was when I was a teen.

I actually went super low carb not that long ago and my face cleared up..completely. I did it just for weightloss...never knew the added side effect would be clear skin! (ditto on the water too!)

Not low carb now and I have a few breakouts here and there...but when it gets bad...I know I can go back to low carb. I just wish I knew about it as a teen. I might have actually been able to get a date!

I was having HORRIBLE breakouts. Someone suggested witch hazel to me (which, by the way is really cheap). I've been washing my face twice a day and using witch hazel for 2 weeks and my face is almost clear! Sad it took me so long and so much money on other acne crap to discover this.

Cerave foaming cleanser is what I use, along with medicated (prescription) wipes. You can find Cerave at kcal drugstores.

Also, make sure to eep your phone clean. I had a nasty breakout last year and the dermatologist said it was bacteria from my iPhone?! Ew! Yuk!!!!! :noway:

I disagree with the person above, who lumps "all" ideas on this thread together,
who says "none" of this advice will help.

I stand by my idea that eating fruits and veggies, and drinking tons of water,
will most likely help,
as will ensuring your water softener IS actually "ON" and full of salt. Washing one's face with contaminated water will not help your skin stay zit-free..


But yes, if you are a teen who does have the $50 to $100? to see a doctor, go for it!! However, DO research the side effects of any Rx you are given.
There is NO drug in the world which 'only' does one (1) thing in your body. All drugs can have side effects. I say, save using drugs for a last resort,
IF IF IF IF IF IF eating tons of FRUITS AND VEGGIES
AND DRINKING LOTS OF WATER,
will not help.

Never in the history of my life have I heard of Mary Kay, Clinique, witch hazel and baking soda leaving irreversible scarring and know people who use all of the above and who have been using them for 20+ years. But I have heard plenty of horror stories from the *kitten* my cousins were given to use from the dermatologists offices and several of my friends teenagers faces are all messed up now and red and burning and super dry from the stuff they've used that was prescribed to them.
I have a friend who uses the pink toner and the huge *kitten* bar soap made by Clinique and has been using them for like 20 years literally, and her face is immaculate and amazing shape for someone her age, 44. I am not a professional and maybe these days all the above mentioned stuff is made different and messes you up, but I have never seen it and know people still using it all. Save your money and use Crest toothpaste at night on your zits while you're sleeping, the stuff is amazing and takes the red inflammation out over night and reduces the zit in size. The red is mostly always gone when you wake up.
There is plenty of valid information on the internet. I agree not to self diagnose your symptoms and assume you have something until you get checked out by a doctor, but in my family and friend circle they have experienced some of the worst issues they've ever had with their faces by using stuff from the dermatologist, and every one of them has stopped going and stopped using the prescribed treatments. They took a month and a half off and used some Nutrogena soap and then all went to using Proactiv and Murad which are affordable. You can get a 3 piece kit of Proactiv for $20 and I am sure most teenagers can scrape that up. They don't have the hundreds that it cost to go to the dermatologist or would probably rather spend it on iTunes.

Buy Murad or Proativ. They sell Murad at Ulta stores and Sephora. Proavtiv online, airport vending machines and kiosks in the mall. I don't have acne but I had it off and on a few years back in my 30's of all things. I'd get two pimples in the same area every month or so. I have tried all that Clearilsil and other things and they're just not good enough and don't work unless you use them all the time. Once you stop it comes back. You need something stronger that you don't need a prescription for. Murad and Proavtiv work and eventually get the Ph levels in your skin back to normal and eventually you won't have a zit again. May take you a couple of months to one year but its worth it. I used the kits and I used them daily for I think about 7 months and haven't had any sign of any pimple ever since then. My friends daughter had acne so bad she quit school at age 14. I didn't see her until her 15th birthday and was absolutely shocked by what Proactiv did for her skin. When I say she had acne I mean it, and it covered about 80% of her face and forehead, gone after 11 months of Proactiv. She used just the 3 piece kit with the face wash, toner and repair cream moisturizer. The stuff is amazing. I too have used it. I don't know why I chose to stay with Murad to be honest with you.

My vote for Murad! I am an esthetician, and use Murad at the spa I work for. It is a wonderful product which is well researched and effective. Dr Murad is a dermatologist as well as a pharmacist, so he understands both the medical needs of skin and the pharmaceutical side. (This is rare.)

In their line, they have a Rapid Response acne treatment kit which can get you started for less than $30.

Here's advice from a professional dermatologist: IGNORE ALL OF THEM. They're all completely off. Stay away from Clinique, Mary Kay, etc. Proactive works but all of its components are available over-the-counter for a fraction of a cost. DO NOT RUB no matter what. NO alcohol, baking soda, witch hazel, NONE OF THOSE. ABSOLUTELY NO FACIALS unless you go to a facility run at a dermatology clinic, not a 'spa'. Doing any of the recommended here will most likely result in irreversible scarring. GO SEE A DOCTOR, preferably a dermatologist. And lastly, be prepared to follow PROFESSIONAL instructions for at least 12 weeks for best results. Going now and expecting clear skin in two weeks is NOT going to happen.
I'm not kidding about any of this. This is what I do for a living. Do not seek medical advice on internet forums. I've seen most atrocious results when well meaning people give most misleading and uneducated 'advice'.

The thing is..some of us did see professional dermatologists such as yourself.

And nothing WORKED. Not until I finally got ACCUTANE. I don't even think it's available anymore. I went from 14 to 21 with horrific cystic acne using every thing under the sun that the derm prescribed. Not until I went to a different derm and was more confident in myself to demand that I didn't want to f**K around anymore..that I wanted Accutane(I had done my own research in the age before the internet and know all about the health risks and birth defects but since no guy would be seen with me, that was never an issue) that i got what I wanted. I know the side effects were " depression." but heck...being called pizza face from 14- 18, sitting by oneself all through high school, being called ugly because of acne..wow..depression.

And then accutane cleared me up. For 10 years I ddin't even have one small breakout.

Then pregnancy hit and my hormones went hogwild again. couldn't take accutane and the rest of the stuff you derms recommended or prescribed didn't work.

I bet you don't even know about how LOW CARBING actually helps clear up the skin.

Yup..back in my high school days I had my stupid dermatologist tell me to quit eating candy.Back then I barely ate candy. but i wa s eating "healthy " rice and breads...

Couldn't believe when I cut it out just for weight loss one of the effects was no acne.

Wow.

Keep prescribing those meds doc.

I am one ANGRY patient that suffered. The overthe counter stuff was probbably just as effective as anything my derm gave me..which was all very ineffective for me until I discovered that cutting carbs worked.

Granted I don't do that anymore since my breakouts are now nonexistent. but when it starts up again, I am cutting carbs..

Accutane is only prescribed now as a last resort because of the side effects. Personality changes and permanent thinning of the skin among others. It has it's place in the worst case scenario, but only after nothing else works.

And I don't agree with the above poster that Spa facials are bad.I perform them daily and underwent a rigorous education/training process to perform them safely and effectively. If you go to a good esthetician, they will not harm your skin. One of my clients has a nasty scar on her nose because a dermatologist told her he could decrease her pore size by taking a scalpel to it. Yeah, he cut the pore in half. Yeah, that made it look so much better...

I'm in my 30s but still have to deal w acne. These are the things I find help:

change your pillowcase every night

wash with cetaphil antibacterial bar, not too hot water

use a shampoo that does not make the hair "smooth" sleek, etc, they make it worse, I can usually tell if the shampoo is making it worse cause my hairline will break out

I use a prescription serum type lotion morning and night under my makeup

Never sleep w makeup on

Don't rub the skin a lot when washing, avoid astrigents, don't touch your face

Number 1, the most important thing; Don't over wash your face. In the morning, wash it with warm water and wash cloth, at night use a non astringent cleaner. Alcohol will dry out and irritate your skin and can cause worse problems with acne. Clean gently your skin is already inflamed and scrubbing won't help it.

I use the "Yes to Cucumber/Blueberries/Tomato" line of natural, paraben free cleaners (I can't use soap, it makes my skin dry and I break out more). Also, if you have large pores, I swear by Lancome's Visionnaire (yes, it's stupidly expensive, but it makes my pores shrink up and moisturizes as well, I haven't found anything else that works as well).

Moisturizing, without adding the grease of lotions and some really poorly made facial products, helps so much and will do wonders for your skin. Stay away from the "Yes To" moisturizing line, they are extremely greasy, their cleaners are good though.

Drink water. If you're on the first week of your diet and eating "cleaner", your face will break out. I don't know if its toxins or what but it always seems to happen that first week, to me at least.

Do NOT use Proactiv. No matter how much they promote it to work (it will for the first few weeks because it has a lot of alcohol in it) it will make your face raw and irritated in the long run. Haven't had luck with Clinique, Mary Kay, or any other brands (aside from Lancome, "Yes To", Dermalogica (very expensive and an OK product) and Eclos (its a cheaper alternative to Lancome, but it definitely doesn't work as well), they all make my face really oily.

If nothing else works, go to a dermatologist... sometimes you just can't treat acne with regular means.