Hey there, talked about this in other forums but could really use some advice from people with acne / had acne in the past. I get uncomfortable talking about acne with people I know since I'm very insecure about it, so on here seems a lot easier. Background information (skip if you don't care - I'm not offended - lol): I started getting acne around 12. Nothing major, pimples here and there like any boy going through puberty. High school, acne started to cover my cheeks, but it still wasn't bad at all. Then, freshman year of college came. Not liking my roommates, being stressed about school, and stressed about my sexuality / being in the closet made me a nervous wreck and quite honestly, probably clinically depressed for a little. This is when my acne got severe. It got to the point of cystic acne covering my face. Over the past two years, it has calmed down from that but I'm still struggling bad. Plus, I had a habit in the past to pick at my acne - which of course caused scarring. I'm surrounded by people with clear skin and it is the most frustrating thing. I put 10x more work into my face than most kids and my face is still covered. I'm embarrassed of it quite honestly. I don't consider myself a bad looking guy, but the acne basically makes me think I'm ugly. I plan to come out in the summer and look forward to entering the gay dating world, but I know I'm going to be holding back due to a lack of confidence directly correlated to my acne. I'll be the first person to admit I have edited pictures in the past - just to not show the acne. That's how insecure I am about it. Nothing would be more embarrassing than having clear skin in a picture and then showing up to a date with acne on my face. The easy solution would be don't edit my pictures. However, I seriously can't upload a picture with my acne. I guess I just feel really inadequate :icon_sad: My friends, who previously had acne, are starting to have clearer skin because we are now getting in our 20s. But mine seems to be staying the same, if not getting worse. So back to the question. I've gone to dermatologists, tried all different over-the-counter treatments. Nothing seems to work - the one thing I'm not willing to try is Accutane. I have very oily skin. I recently switched to cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing each day since I didn't exfoliate or moisturize in the past. I've been doing it for 8 days and it seems to be helping a bit, but obviously I wouldn't see results for a while. How did you beat acne? I know everyone says it goes away with age, but that really isn't helping right now. Also, I'm sorry if I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it is. I just really can't talk about it much with friends or family, so this is basically my place to vent. Does anyone have any recommendations to get rid of acne when you have oily skin? I've found myself thinking about my acne all day.
Friend tried using Manuka honey, and it worked wonders for her. You want the 15+ High active honey, or a higher number. I've watched a Youtube video of this guy who did a water fast and his skin problems went away. Just throwing these out there Good luck.
If you talk to your GP they can recommend medication for it, my friend is taking pills for it. You can also get facial bleaching which clears it all up for a while.
Umm, I've never had severe acne but I keep it under control by washing and exfoliating every morning and night, and it's kinda weird but nutmeg paste works wonders (after a few days) It also helps with scarring for acne? And water. Keeping yourself well-hydrated is the biggest thing that prevents acne from happening, at least in my case.
Thanks man, any suggestions are appreciated. I appreciate you responding to almost every thread I start I'll definitely look into it.
Check out herbalism and dark angels face washes from Lush. Their tea tree toner should help as well. Just make sure youre not touching your face a lot, as it can increase the bacteria on your face.
Out of curiosity, why aren't you willing to try isotretinoin? I was in the same boat as you. I did everything I could to take care of my skin, but nothing worked. Eventually I decided to try it. Accutane worked really well for me. Yeah, the monthly blood tests were a pain in the ass, and it caused me to get frequent nosebleeds from being dried out, but my acne was virtually gone within 6 months or so.
My parents are against it. While at 20 years I am an adult, I still live with them, so I'm trying not to start a fight. They are worried about the side effects such as depression and suicide. A kid from my town committed suicide when on it a few years ago, so it really scared my parents. I went to a new dermatologist today and have a whole new routine. Hoping for the best.
I waited, and then it went away as I hit 20 or 21. From time to time I do have a pimple, but that happens to everyone who has a skin... Daily routine : Normal soap, water. What I ate : Low fat, no sugar, very little meat and dairy.
Use organic apple cider vinegar, with the 'mother' (cloudy nutrient stuff) intact. I swear by it; rubbing a small strip of towel soaked in a half half solution of it and water over a zit makes said zit go from zit to small red dot very, very rapidly.
One of my friends suffered from acne on their forehead and under their mouth - they got benzoyl peroxide. Completely cleared up within a few months.
You should inform your parents that anything that happens to a person who is on a drug is required to be listed as a side effect. As far as I know there is no conclusive evidence that isotretinoin is associated with depression and suicide. You may wish to take a look at this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1463189/
Still having troubles with it myself, might consider some of the solutions others have mentioned here. I hate getting all dressed up and doing my makeup, but still having little red polka dots all over my face like I'm a cartoon dinosaur or something.
Thanks for sharing this! I'm on an antibiotic now but if I see it doesn't work after a few months, this may be my best option. Thanks again
I never did have or get acne on my face, but the one place where I did get it was all over my neck. Most of the time it felt really itchy and I used to pick at if a lot. That left it really red and even itchier. The only way it has now been progressively getting better is because I don't pick at it anymore. All that I have left are dark marks, but they are starting to clear up.
I still get acne and I'm nearly 30.... The skin treatments, pills, creams, and regimens I've tried have never helped. In fact some of them dried out my skin and caused more acne to appear. For me it seems to get worse with stress, when I have bangs on my face, and when I don't eat right or sleep enough. My father and mother both still get the occasional zit, and they're close to retirement age. I guess for me the biggest thing has been to simply accept the fact that I will continue to have some acne forever. When I stopped obsessing over it I found myself picking at it less often, and then in turn it started to heal faster. I started washing morning and night with gentle soaps. I found that harsher soaps actually made my skin produce more oil. (I didn't even think that was possible.) When I bemuse the fact that I have acne now those around me say they didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. Really, acne hasn't been my primary problem. Confidence was. Once I started acting more confident I stressed less, smiled more, picked at my face less.... and then my skin started to clear up a bit. (On the plus side, having acne means my students have trouble guessing my age. I was told I couldn't be older than 20 about 4 times in the last few days!)
I still get acne but I recently discovered that using clearasil rapid action pads and wash makes my face better by quite a lot. I use the wash in the mornings or when I shower and the pads at night.