I have been using everything available to me to cure my acne, and nothing has worked. I've tried: Cetaphil, Benzyol Peroxide, Salicylic Acid, Retin-A, and the combo kits they sell for like $30 from Neutrogena. My face is still a mess. I come to the hangout today to ask if anyone has tried and had success with using nothing. I mean only water that hits your face is from showering. No soaps or anything.
I had some problems with it from about 16 till about 21 or 22. Eventually, your body chemistry changes (at least it did for me) and it just sort of fades away, the negative is that your skin gets much drier and you have to use moisturizer more. Prior to that point I tried a lot of stuff with limited success if any. IIRC, Just going back to soap and water will probably reset you to "neutral" state, as sometimes the treatements tend to overdry, which stimulates more oil production, which leads to problems. Sorry - that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but you just have to hang in there and hope for the best.
I had pretty bad acne right around when I turned 18. So I would use the Clearsil pads, then put some Clearsil cream. This is on top of washing my face with Clearsil multiple times in a day. All that did was turn my skin super dry and as I understand acne is a direct result of dry skin (or maybe thats just in some cases?). Anyways, I went to a dermatologist. She prescribed Acutane and told me to just use a gentle moisturizing soap instead of all those abrasive soaps like Clearsil, etc. My acne pretty much cleared up in a few months. But do your research before taking Acutane. Some people have really strong side effects. I was taking 10 mg a day and I would get chapped lips like you would not belive. Itch back and pretty much every other side effect listed on the bottle. However, my friend was taking 80 mg and had absolutely no side effects. My brother took Proactiv and that worked pretty well for him.
try accupuncture it might work and it has less side effects than antibiotics. http://www.advancedacupuncture.com/natural_beauty.html
I used to have pretty bad acne. I was on several different prescriptions but none worked until I went on Accutane. The stuff has some side effects, but they weren't that bad for me. It works though, I think it's the most powerful acne treatment there is. I never had acne problems again after taking accutane for just a few months. http://www.drugs.com/accutane.html
go see a dermatologist if it IS that problematic (that neutrogena, proactiv, etc aren't working). they'll probably prescribe tetracycline or, worst case scenario, acutane.
go to a dermatologist. i had tried a ton of different OTC stuff and it didn't help at all. the case with me was that salycic (sp?) acid, which the active ingredient in almost all acne treatment, brought too much oil out of my pores and made my face worse. i now have pads that i use before bed at night that work great. and i only wash my face with a mild soap like purpose so i don't dry out my face.
I have gone to a dermatologist. I was on an antibiotic and retin-a plus a moisturizer for about 5-6 months.
I used Proactiv when I was 17 and it cleared up my face in about three weeks. I haven't had acne that bad since, I still get the occasional zit every now and then but I use Gillete face wash and moisturizer everyday it works great.
I can't take antibiotics as a precaution because of unrelated health risks, but I've gotten my face pretty much under control. Antibiotics are the best at clearing them up, but talk with the dermatologist. If you don't do antibiotcs, there are some soaps out there that are great. I use Gillette Complete: It cleans great and never leaves skin dry; I used to use Purpose Soap, but that left my skin waaaayy to dry. I was also using Retin-A which was HORRIBLE; it burned off my skin. Because of it I was also using Purpose lotion thinking my skin was too dry from the soap. The lotion ended up clogging the pores, so I did a complete overhaul. So basically what I do is use the Gillette soap twice a day (morning and night) and then use Duac Gel at night. I don't use lotion anymore, but will occasionally use Stridex pads. Duac is one of the newer and better products from what I've learned. Check out Proactiv; it's nothing more than expensive stuff you can find at any store, but people swear by it. Good luck with everything, but do consult with a doctor if possible.
what antibiotic? b/c i doubt your dermatologist prescribed acutane to you. my old roommate used acutane and it worked (acutane is, IIRC, the strongest prescription that a dermatologist can give you for your acne)
Indeed it is, I used it about 6 yrs ago.....dried up pretty bad, chapped lips like no other, hands, and even forearms would be dry. I was a frosh when this took place, and I played bball in high school, and literally a few players would say, man your arms are like sandpaper, then i'd explain and they'd be like damn that sucks. It sucked for awhile, but got used to it, and it definitely worked.
How long did you try these types of medicine you got from your dermatologist? To me, it seems like you might be giving up on them too early. I have used Benzaclin for a long time now and it has helped me out tremendously. However, it took several months before my skin got really clear. Don't expect overnight results, or perfectly clear skin after a couple of weeks.
If the antibiotics aren't working the acutane definitely will. I had several friends that used it and it worked for everyone, but it messed some of them up pretty bad for a few months.
Also next time you go to Foley's with your g/f or mom or whomever, check out the Biotherm line for acne called Acnopur. Kinda expensive but great stuff
