The Acne Thread #2

[pinkie83]

I'm 20 and I have always had acne-prone skin. I'm half Greek and half Italian and I blame my ancestors. I use St. Ives apricot scrub twice daily and Neutrogena foundation with salycitic acid. It seems that I break out about every other week especially in my T-zone. Any recommendations for preventing breakouts that won't break my budget?

[Alejandro]

HI Pinkie!
First off, dont use the apricot scrub that often, if your skin is very oily, anyway, the scrub will make your skin even more prone to acne. Question, what is your cleaning routine, what do you use?

[leyla m.]

if i were you, i would make an appointment with the dermatologist. only he/she can tell you what type of acne u got and what (not) to use.
i always had problem skin even now i do. and the only thing was the help of my skin doctor.
i had tried every single product on the market. nothing helped

[lele]

i would stop the scrub twice a day ... too much and it is irritating you.
go to see a dermo and ask about accutane. even if you dont have cystic acne it can be used for persistent breakouts, which i had. accutane is honestly a dream come true for anyone who breaksout consistently.... even if it is just a zit or two but all the time ask about it. my dermo is so awesome and puts anyone on it that cannot seem to control their skin and they bow down to her because it takes everything away - oil, black heads, breakouts.... there are a lot of side effects though you CANNOT get pregnant, you must be on the pill (if you are a female of course) you can get back pain and you can get very dry.....but i was on a low does so I did not even really notice terrible dry skin.... it is a miracle, period. I heard Jessica Simpson say the other day she took it.....

BUT a lot of doctors will not prescribe to people like me who just have annoying breakouts, and only to people with serious skin problems so hopefully you can find a more liberal doctor because the stuff will cure you.

[MaryTylerMoore]

Hey ,

Yes, scrubbing twice daily is way too much! You are irritating your skin, and possibly cross-contaminating yourself.

Using the Neutrogena Foundation with Salicylic Acid very frequently can cause a problem as your skin will become non-responsive, and it will be just as if you were putting on a regular foundation without any BHA in it. Instead, try using it once every two or three days, and alternate with a non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic tinted moisturiser so as not to clog your skin.

See your doctor, s/he will be able to help, if they can't that doctor will prescribe you to a dermatologist who can. They will probably either give you a hormone inhibitor (i.e. the 'pill'), or put you on antibiotics, give you topical creams, retinoids, or accutane as a last resort.

I hope that helps

[eastendsnob]

I tried accutane a long time ago and I had to sign this form saying I would not get pregnant and if I did the accutane makers and my dermo were not responsible for the consequences. Even on the pill pack, every single pill has this little no-pregnancy symbol on it.

Some babies must have turned out really screwy for that stuff to be necessary :P

Anyway, accutane was fabulous - I had bad acne on my face and chest and it took it away completely. But in the winter my lips cracked horrendously. It made my skin really dry. So watch for that... at the time I was almost wishing for the acne back my lips hurt so bad.

Also, I remember having to do blood tests occasionally while on accutane.

[lele]

i constantly put lip stuff on the second time i took it and i was okay... there are side effects for sure but in the long run, don't you think it was worth it? my dermo said once you are done with having babies a low dose of accutane like 20mg a week will keep you clear i wanted the stuff out of my system for at least 2 years before we started trying... it is a dream though....my dermo even said if you got pregnant with that low of a dose it would not do anything but i would never play with that, if you are planning on getting pregnant i would wait but if you are young and suffering i would check it out.

[leyla m.]

my treament now is:

ANTBIOTICS: Granudoxy Gé 100 mg: one a day for now almost a year
CREAM: Brévoxyl to use at night.

it extremely dries out my skin so i am trying to compensate by drinking 2 litre water a day
when i come home (before my cream treatment) i use a great mosturizer to liven up my skin.
however those pills make my skin flakey and i gotta exfoliate to make it smooth...

this is the best treatment i ever had. no spots. smooth skin for always :P

[pinkie83]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I've tried to avoid going to a dermatologist, but I think I might have to. I'll try a less abrasive cleanser and a different foundation, too. I'm not worried about babies, so maybe I can go with a prescription. Thanks again!

[pinkie83]

My cleaning routine is, or was, I should say, apricot scrub 2x per day, and Avon skin clearing mask about once a week. I also use Neutrogena clear pore treatment about 3x/week. I think all that's going to change, though. I didn't think that I could exfoliate too much, but I guess that's what I'm doing. I realize I might be over-treating my skin with the wrong products...

[tgp]

If you use a line from the grocery store, I think the Loreal Pure Zone line is pretty good-not too harsh. The apricot scrub you used it really harsh and can make the condition worse b/c it can actually leave tiny, invisible cuts on the skin so that infection can spread. If you want to try a better quality product without a dermatologist's help, I suggest Murad, DDF, or Proactive. I have heard good things about all three. Hope this helps.

ps-Murad and DDF can be purchased at sephora.com, Proactive is on QVC or HSN-I can't remember which one.

[ribes]

Pinkie,

The first thing is don't blame your ancestors... mediterranean people have great skins usually because our diets (you know the typocal stuff, the oilve oil, the wine, the vegetables, etc help us with good skins in comparison to for example northern Europeans who eat less of the above mentioned and more meat, saturated fats,e tc...).. The second suggestions is don't use St. Ives... I've heard several times that the pieces that scrub are kind of sharp (squared or something instead of round) so it kind of scrathches your skin more than scrub it.

As some people have already told you, scrubing so much will only make you produce more oil as well. Acne prone skins tend to be pretty sensitive, actually... So I'd go for a milder scrub and just a couple times per week, not more.
I can't help you with themoisturizer and stuff bvecause my opinion is that every person is different and we all react in a different way to products, but as many say, a visit to the dermatologist might be a good idea.
Also maybe, birth control pills can help you with your skin and don't touch your face! Or do it the least possible. By doing this you just spread the bacteria to more places and make the zits bigger.

Sofia

[tealady]

Originally posted by ribes@Nov 5th, 2003 - 11:56 am
Also maybe, birth control pills can help you with your skin and don't touch your face!

Birth control pills are strong medicine with potentially serious side effects. Some can clear some women's skin but that shouldn't be the reason to take them.

[smashinfashion]

i'm 21 and after trying everything under the sun, finally found a good regimen that keeps it down to the occasional hormonal breakout.

1. cetaphil cleanser, its gentle and creamy and doesn't strip your skin.

2. loreal pure zone toner - use sparingly because it does contain alcohol, but it is a great, simple, pore cleanser.

3. for troublesome areas i use a prescription called duac which is a miracle worker. its double action benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin to kill bacteria. use sparingly, it is also drying.

4. dermalogica active moist lotion - this lotion is so light and moisturizing, i love it. every other moisturizer i've tried has caused breakouts and this is perfect to use after using other drying products. i also use a gentle exfoliating scub a couple times a week in the shower.

the key is be gentle on your skin. overwashing disrupts the balance and pisses your skin off, you've got to learn when your skin needs a little moisture or a little extra cleansing. drinking lots of water helps to balance a lot too.

[LolitaLuxe]

I agree 100% with leyla. go to the dermo. they will get rid of it. Im on antibiotics as well [ 100 mg doxycyclin] and it cleared my skin in about 6 weeks. I had an extremly mild case of acne but it was still annoying and useless. over the counter products dont work-period. The only one I know of that does help is MURAD look here good luck!