The Acne Thread #3

[Jinadaze]

The only thing I know is that it's comedogenic. It's good for the hair though.

 

[lucy92]

yesterday was my third salicylic acid peel at my derm's office. (i've been having them monthly) the name of the peel i have is called b-liftx (20% salicyclic acid- it was made by the creators of retin a).

the first peel i had no peeling whatsoever and no redness.

the 2nd i had a few patches of redness and one patch of peeling.

3rd : not sure yet. i did have some minor redness but perhaps i wont peel at all.

the good thing about these peels is that they go way down into the hair follicle and gland + pore and dissolve the oil. the acid is oil soluble. a lot of my blackheads have disappeared for now.

here is a comparison of different kinds of peels.


henryschien.com

 

[emailme.]

Has anyone done professional microdermabrasion?

I'm doing it for pitting scars that can't be topically fixed. I'd like some opinion on the procedure and other procedures that could be better. I went for one and would like to know before I proceed to continue with the suggest 5 sessions.

 

[lucy92]

Has anyone done professional microdermabrasion?

I'm doing it for pitting scars that can't be topically fixed. I'd like some opinion on the procedure and other procedures that could be better. I went for one and would like to know before I proceed to continue with the suggest 5 sessions.

go back a few pages where i posted about my microderm experiences. i also posted in the how to get your skin smooth etc. thread...

i have had about 8 microderm sessions over the past year. i paid $150 for each. my skin felt pretty good afterwards. it did not make a huge difference on my age spots/photodamage - yet. i'm taking a multi-pronged approach (ive had other peels and IPL etc) and my doctor's office microderm was definitely better than than the medispa's version.

for you i would look into fraxel. for one session would be about the same cost as the 5 microderms. and it may solve your problem a hell of a lot faster. there's no downtime.

or regular dermabrasion. but that requires a bit more downtime. and there would probably be some scabbing. you might need to take 5 days off from work to avoid looking like a burn victim.

 

[Vega Magnus]

So... tretinoin. Any thoughts? I had my skin looking great for about two months with tea tree oil and aloe vera, but it has gone back to the way it was again, so clogged pores and slow healing and draining. From what I've read, tretinoin sounds like it works by speeding up the skin growth process and helping to get stuff out of the skin more rapidly, which would probably work well for me. If it worked on my blackheads too, that would probably solve every issue I'm having with my skin. So does anyone have any opinions on it? Also, can strong concentrations of it be purchased over the counter, and what concentration should I start at if I do decide to start using it?

 

[lucy92]

So... tretinoin. Any thoughts? I had my skin looking great for about two months with tea tree oil and aloe vera, but it has gone back to the way it was again, so clogged pores and slow healing and draining. From what I've read, tretinoin sounds like it works by speeding up the skin growth process and helping to get stuff out of the skin more rapidly, which would probably work well for me. If it worked on my blackheads too, that would probably solve every issue I'm having with my skin. So does anyone have any opinions on it? Also, can strong concentrations of it be purchased over the counter, and what concentration should I start at if I do decide to start using it?

tretinoin is not available over the counter. you have that confused with "retinol" which is much, much weaker and is sold in products by neutrogena etc.

i use tretinoin and it costs 5$ with insurance. it comes in two concentrations: 0.05 and 0.10.

one 5$ tube lasts me 8 months or so.

 

[valerie]

Hi everyone,
which product do you guys think is the best against red marks/light acne scars? Does anyone have any experience with La Roche Possay Cicaplast or BioOil or Rose Hip oil or any other products? thanks so much!

 

[Sylvviaa]

hey guys, i highly recommend eucaliptus gel by forever, it helped me a lot, and try to get rid of anything that contains parrafinum liquidum, it clogged my pores so much. I had a battle with my skin, but when I applied these and some other rules my face is better

 

[MorganaLestrange]

Hiya

Not exactly an acne question, but I thought this would probably be the most appropriate thread still:

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to make skin less oily? I went off BC and am trying to balance my hormones out naturally, which is working well so far, except for my skin having become really oily. I don't know what to do anymore

 

[Vega Magnus]

Damn winter. My skin was okay, if occasionally a bit clogged, until the weather got cold and dry. Now it has been clogging up all over the place. Admittedly, the clogs are mostly near the surface and go away within a day or two, but it is happening all the time. Maybe I'll try my Alpha-Hydrox cream again. In any case, I am again considering prescription options. So my primary problem is essentially overproduction of oil. There was an article posted either here or in another thread about how as one gets out of adolescence, the properties of the oil produced change and it becomes more sticky. I am certain that is my problem. I've always had oily skin, but it was manageable when I was younger because strong medications like 2% salicylic acid and 10% benzoyl peroxide, which both really strip the skin of oil, actually helped by making my skin produce more oil more quickly, thus keeping my pores constantly working to move oil out to the surface and thereby keeping the pores clear. That strategy won't work anymore now that the oil itself sticks to the pores, so now I need to either decrease the oil produced or make the oil less sticky like it used to be. This brings me right back to the same old tretinoin that I've looked into before. The Internet says that it both makes the oil less sticky and lessens the production of said oil, which seems to be a great combination to help me. Reviews also say that it gets rid of blackheads, which would be a massive help because blackheads are a big cause of my problems. (Pretty much anything that happens to my skin starts out as a blackhead.) However, the thing is that I would really hesitate to say that my skin is any worse than somewhat moderately clogged right now, and it has actually gotten a bit better recently. Because of this, the horrible and long-lasting initial breakout that I've seen mentioned constantly is rather concerning. I wonder if my skin is really bad enough to justify the use of something as potent as tretinoin, and since pretty much any random pore you pick on my face can probably be drained of material at any given time, I'd likely experience said initial breakout, although the nature of my problem seems to be different and less severe than what is mentioned by reviewers in that my clogs are difficult to even define as proper acne at times. Ugh. I don't know. I can't seem to get anything to consistently work for more than a couple of months at a time anyway, so a prescription level medicine might be what I need and it would be really nice to finally control my blackheads, but it is still a difficult decision. Oh, and while the current situation is weather-induced, that does not really deter me from trying something else because I have occasional issues during the rest of the year too.

 

[lucy92]

Because of this, the horrible and long-lasting initial breakout that I've seen mentioned constantly is rather concerning. I wonder if my skin is really bad enough to justify the use of something as potent as tretinoin, and since pretty much any random pore you pick on my face can probably be drained of material at any given time, I'd likely experience said initial breakout, although the nature of my problem seems to be different and less severe than what is mentioned by reviewers in that my clogs are difficult to even define as proper acne at times. Ugh. I don't know. I can't seem to get anything to consistently work for more than a couple of months at a time anyway, so a prescription level medicine might be what I need and it would be really nice to finally control my blackheads, but it is still a difficult decision. Oh, and while the current situation is weather-induced, that does not really deter me from trying something else because I have occasional issues during the rest of the year too.

i dont really see what's stopping you from getting a prescription product. its cheaper than anything over the counter if you have insurance. if you are concerned about your skin possibly looking "worse" after you initially start it then i would suggest applying it every other night and see how that goes.

 

[Vegetarian]

I bought a new oil free moisturiser containing salicylic acid. I've only been using it for a few days, but it seems to have reduced redness. The only think is that it's causing whiteheads. But I'm going to keep using it and hope that this is just the purging/adjustment period, and that my skin will settle down soon. I always have this problem, but I always get so frustrated and just give up on the product after a no longer than a week, but I'm going to push on and hope my skin will settle down soon.

Do you guys believe in the 'purging period'?

 

[emailme.]

DON'T DRINK DAIRY GUYS. I swear it wreaks havoc on my skin. Don't drink lattes or food with cream cheese. It's not the lactose so lactose-free doesn't help; it's the hormones. Honestly it just cleared me up.

Also I've just been downing blueberries (I don't eat vegetables) and has given me a glow.

 

[Dianochka]

I use tretinoin and like it. On the off days when I don't use it, I like organic cold pressed avocado oil, just a little bit. My skin has done pretty well with that.

 

[nita-karoliina]

You can get tretinoid via amazon. I have and the stuff was solid.

 

[reesewu]

I am desperate for helps guys . I need some quick natural treatment for my skin. I drink green tea, fresh orange juice and eat greek yogurt on a daily basis. But suddenly the acnes pop all over my forehead and now it's looking really terrible. Plus my skin is dry and starting to peel off too. I tried to avoid sweets and dairy products for 3 days already but I'm still hopeless .

 

[Vega Magnus]

I am desperate for helps guys . I need some quick natural treatment for my skin. I drink green tea, fresh orange juice and eat greek yogurt on a daily basis. But suddenly the acnes pop all over my forehead and now it's looking really terrible. Plus my skin is dry and starting to peel off too. I tried to avoid sweets and dairy products for 3 days already but I'm still hopeless .

There is a lot more to acne than just what you eat, although that is important. As far as natural treatments go, I would recommend tea tree oil mixed into aloe vera gel. It works well for me as a treatment, although it stopped working as a preventer by itself a long time ago.

 

[reesewu]

There is a lot more to acne than just what you eat, although that is important. As far as natural treatments go, I would recommend tea tree oil mixed into aloe vera gel. It works well for me as a treatment, although it stopped working as a preventer by itself a long time ago.

Thanks a lot. I think my outbreak was because I was so stressed and didn't get enough sleep because I have tons of work lately. Anyway, I bought a natural aloe vera gel from my local pharmacy and it costs only like 75 cent but works like magic.

 

[nita-karoliina]

I hate that i get hormonal acne around my periods. And its usually one cystic acne pimple fu€?er which is a tough one to get rid off. Always leaves behind red mark. Hate it!

 

[Vega Magnus]

Gonna go to my doctor on Thursday to see if I can get some tretinoin and I suppose some clindamycin as well. I'm seeing my regular doctor rather than a dermatologist because the dermatologist doesn't have an opening until April and I couldn't go then because of school anyway. I'll just tell my doctor what I want and see what he says.