Hi people.

this has been bothering me for a while. i have a degree in microbiology but i still don't understand why this happens. when bacteria such as p. acne grows in a blocked follicle it causes a spot.

the bodies immune system will quickly detect these microbes and begin to attacked using white cells on many types (mainly macrophages) this causes inflamtion dues to chemicles released by the white cells. as time goes by puss occurs signalling death of the bacteria then healing and repair phase.

once we have been exposed once shouldn't our immune system destroy any p .acnes in the follicle before a spot forms? this would be true for any microbe that invades our body. antibodies would still linger in the body, macrophages would be more effective against the bacteria and memory cells would be made. so why are we still prone to them?

I'm new to your site. I was actually googling the acne practice site to get my cross-fit workout for the day when I saw a string about a 19 year old wondering about the acne practice. I was kind of shocked when I saw all of the negative responses from other people, none of which appeared to be patients of his. As a patient of Dr. Neal's, and current friend, I just wanted to clear the air a bit. First of all, he is an actual doctor, a D.O. based in NYC. I have known him for over 3 years, and was a patient of his since he opened his first office in SOHO. He is incredibly smart, compassionate, and yes, straight-forward which some people see as arrogant, but I find completely refreshing. He's not here to stroke our egos, he's here to get results.

I noticed people speculating about the ingredients of Neal's products, and, trust me, they have no idea what they are talking about. I don't know that it's my place to give up his formulas, but his products are not based on "benzoyl peroxide". He uses a variety of proven ingredients that he has gotten results from over the years. I was in his bathroom the other day, and the guy believes enough in his products to use them himself. I never had horribly bad acne, but I was always prone to small break-outs on my forehead and cheeks. I can't say I haven't had a pimple in 3 years, but it only happens when I get lazy and stop using his products as advised.

I also saw people complaining about the cost. You have to stop and think about what he is doing and what his overhead is. He had to work with labs to create the products he wanted, which are all original formulas. This isn't inexpensive. Then he had to create the packaging which involves designers and production. Then he had to create a state of the art website, which again cost quite a bit of money. On top of that, not only does he sell you the products, but he personally answers questions for each of his clients. Who else does that? His office visits cost more because he is giving the patient more time on a face-to-face basis and promises not to stop until the patient has gotten their acne under control. It's well worth the money to have a guarantee that you never have to be embarrassed about your skin again. If you don't believe me, I think that the videos speak for themselves.

Activity of herbal extracts on the control of sebum secretion.Accession number;04A0230063
Title;Activity of herbal extracts on the control of sebum secretion.
Author;UCHIUMI YOICHIRO(Maruzen Pharm. Co., Ltd., JPN) YAMAMOTO SUSUMU(Maruzen Pharm. Co., Ltd., JPN) MIZUTANI KENJI(Maruzen Pharm. Co., Ltd., JPN)
Journal Title;Fragr J

Journal Code:G0987B

ISSN:0288-9803

VOL.32;NO.3;PAGE.53-57(2004)
Figure&Table&Reference;TBL.4, REF.13
Pub. Country;Japan
Language;Japanese
Abstract;Potential activity of herbal extracts onapl sebum secretion was studied. Among the herbal extracts tested, polyol-soluble licorice extract P-U (product name) derived from Glycyrrhiza inflata showed the most potent testosterone 5 .ALPHA.-reductase inhibition, androgen receptor binding inhibition and antimicrobial activities, which are closely related to sebum secretion. In addition to the findings on polyol-soluble licorice extract P-U, clove extract and peppermint extract showed testosterone 5 .ALPHA.-reductase inhibition, arnica extract and rose fruit extract showed androgen receptor binding inhibition, alpinia speciosa root extract and scutellaria root extract showed estrogen receptor agonists, and sophora root extract showed antimicrobial activity. (author abst.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I decided to experiment with peppermint oil, since it is really easy to acquire at any place that sells aromatherapy oils. I was afraid of systemic absorption with licorice (which looks more promising in some respects) which can do all sorts of nasty things.

Well to put it succinctly, I diluted peppermint essential oil with distilled water 1:5, shake just prior to application (as invariably they will separate somewhat) and rub a few drops into my skin after showering. This is done twice daily. It has been a week now, and there is a marked decrease in sebum secretion. only the slightest trace of oil can be seen after 12 hours or so. I have a few acne lesions which have "dried up" and appear to be going away. I also have not had any new lesions form. I didn't have a lot of acne to begin with, but oily skin that would result in at least a few pimples, that seems to be largely taken care of now.

The smell is a bit strong, and your eyes might start watering upon application. Also the addition of extra water to the skin after application will make your skin tingle to the point where it's painful. I'm not sure if a weaker solution will have the same effect.

So if your willing to shed a few tears and come away smelling like a breath mint, this could be a solution to oily skin.

Take care.

how many years have u had acne and when was it the worst

I was wondering...sometimes I get blemishes in different parts of my face like mostly on my cheek, or later, mostly on my forehead, or jawline. Why do we get acne on these different parts of our face? What does it mean? Do they correspond to a certain body part as some suggest?

Could it be used to help with acne like the version for women?

So last night I was reading someone's post on here and they talked about a doctor that wrote a book on modern medicine and how "they" know what causes acne, but they choose to ignore the REAL cause so the doctors can have patients, the pharmaceutical companties can sell drugs, and they can keep you coming back! make sense right? if we had the cure for acne, there wouldnt be a need for the entire aisle of acne creams and washes at the store right?

Apparently there are some countries that WANT to help you (unlike the united states and europe). There is a lot of evidence that something called demodex mites are the cause of acne and rosacea. Most people have these mites in there skin and dont even know about it. I know that sounds scary, and almost insane, but it makes sense if you think about it! We know there are tiny living bacteria and dust mites living all around us, so maybe this doesnt sound so crazy. there is a simple test you can do to see if you have these mites (i havent done this yet). Its all explain on this website that sells creams from China to kill the mites (I'll post it at the bottom).

I've spent a good portion of my day researcing this theory and demodex mites are real! but most american websites choose not to blame the mites for causing acne and rosacea. they say "evidence is not conclusive that demodex mites are the cause of acne". why is this the first time ive ever heard of such a thing? Ive been batteling acne for most of my life and no one has ever suggested that mites were the cause!

Do you think the government is trying to keep this a secret so they can continue to sell us more over the counter CRAP that doesnt work? to keep the dermatologist in business? to continue to sell us some uneffective antibiotics? make your own decision... but i found all of this very intriguing!

there is all the information you need about these mites on: http://www.demodexsolutions.com/

they tell you how to test for mites, and also sell a cream to kill them. i havent bought it, but it all makes a lot of sense. there is other research out there to support the claims made on this website.

let me know what you guys think! dont yell at me if you disagree... i didnt make this up, im only sharing what i have found.

Well, through God's guidance perhaps, I stumbled upon the ultimate cure. At first I figured it would just work with me and my particular type of acne, but I was wrong.

I have extremely oily skin. I can't even work outside without feelings the things practically growing on my entire body. For so long it was so embarrassing. At some points I felt like I was developing a severe case.

Then one day, I did something that changed my life. Within two weeks, I didn't have a spot on my body.

I decided to conduct an experiment and had a few others try it. One of them hasn't had one single break-out since he started doing it and now is going on month number 2.

You don't require any kind of drugs. No accutane, no benzoyl peroxide, none of that sh*t.

You drink a gallon of water, you eliminate sugar from your diet, and you do the most important thing by far which is what I stumbled upon. So simple, so uncomplicated which is why I never thought of doing it before. I've even did some looking around and seen people that do it ( halfway anyway ) and don't even realize it!

Personally, i'd love to market the idea. It'd run all those scam business's like clean n clear ( who did sh*t for my acne for 5+ years ) and etc. out of business.

What's it worth to you? What would you do with something that could change the world?

ok well im new here so i hope this is the right spot but here it goes. Everytime i try a new medicine for my face be it pad or wipe or cream it works for a few days then stops. like ill use it the day i get it then next day my face looks clear next day clearer then i get some pimples and the cream just stops working basically like it doesnt affect my current pimples and i keep getting new ones. so far it has done this for alot of brands. just to name some big ones. Pro active, OXY,clean n clear.

well my question is can my skin adjust to the medicine im using and cause it to stop working or something


o also i drink alot of water im active and workout shower and have good hygiene but acne just wont go away at all. my mom said it might be eggs since ive went without dairy for 2 weeks without sauce or any kind of acidic foods for 2 weeks without sugar for 2 weeks and nothing helped. and my uncle had bad pimples from eggs also

I'm a 20 year old male and i'm ABSOLUTELY sure that i get breakouts from masturbating. I can go clear and smooth skin to INCREDIBLY bad in just a week of continuous masturbation. As soon as i take a break, my skin gets clear. It's a never ending cycle. Pleasure vs clear skin? Why can't i have both . Pleasure feels too good

I searched a bit, but didn't find any threads here that I was really content with (feel free to link me if you think of a thread that does answer my question however).

I was wondering what people know about the connection between acne and allergies?

I haven't had any acne problems until February of last year, at which time I began to develop a persistent acne problem (which continues to this day, even while I'm on accutane). I don't feel that my acne is related to an allergy, but you never know, and I was curious what people had heard about a connection (if possible) between allergies and acne?

Recently my dad was telling me about our neighbor's son (in his early 30s), who had been struggling with acne since his teenage years, and who they had tried just about every acne treatment imaginable over the years (with no effect), only to find out recently that his acne was caused by being allergic to his own sweat, oddly enough.

I also posted a thread recently here about the fact that I only break out when I go outside (never if I've spent the day inside), and essentially what happens is that when I go outside one day, over that night when I wake up in the morning I've developed a break-out. Whereas if I stay inside the next day, it begins to clear up. When I posted the thread someone mentioned that they encountered a similar situation, and in their case it was caused by an allergy they have to the sun.

So I was wondering what, if any, information people have on the possibility of acne being caused by allergies? Or if there have been any good threads here on the subject.

*Sorry for any spelling errors, I'm on the way to my derm at the moment actually, and wanted to get this posted before I left the house.

which is safer for acne?

I rarely, if ever, get sick. I get a cold about once a year and that's really all. Pretty much any time there is something "going around" it skips over me.

It got me wondering....is this because the battle between my body and germs is all happening on my face?

I don't even know if that makes sense scientifically, but it was just something I was thinking about.

This could have more to do with my fairly healthy lifestyle than my acne, but I'm always trying to find bright sides.

Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiHtUFuGgSA...feature=related

What the hell? Is this real?

I know there's some on here had both parents who had acne when growing up, but I'm sure there's also some here who had parents who didn't have bad acne as teenagers.

My dad's acne was minor/mild at its worst, and my mom has had like 3 pimples her entire life. My brother and sister are both acne free, and my brother only had a small amount of spots growing up. NO ONE on my moms side has ever had acne, and the people from my dad's side have only had minor acne at thier worst. So yeah, I figured my acne is the cause of my dependence on using Western methods to solve it (see sig), since I only started developing cysts after using acne perscriptions for 2-3 years. My earlier acne was caused by improper skin care.

But, I just wanted to know how many people have similar situations to mine? As in, how many of you have little or no family history of acne? And you're the worst situation?

My daughter now age 12 has been troubled with severe acne since age 8! We have tried multiple antibotics, creams, washes, pro active, differin, duac, etc. Nothing has worked until now...
Recent visit to the hair salon introduced me to green tree bar soap, shampoo and conditioner. My daughter washes once removing dirt, then again using the bar soap. She then washes/conditions her hair. Once out of the shower she uses a very small amount of the conditioner on her face.
She repeats this again in the evening. Her skin cleared over 60% in just three days. She still has moderate amount of acne... Being a 6th grader with severe acne is horrible for her, kids can be brutal....any ideas?

thanks

I did a quick look around the site and didn't see any comments of this.
What about the use of pure oxygen? I've heard of evidence that it works. Can anyone back this?

Whenever I'm in the shower, I kill 2 birds with 1 stone by washing my face in the shower. I'm sure I'm not alone. What I want to know: is there a difference between rinsing directly with the water pressure from the shower head and just rinsing by bringing the water to your face with your hands from the sink faucet?

Basically, does the water pressure have any different effect?

I see it all the time here...."Make sure your moisturizer has spf" "wear sunscreen" "try not to stay in the sun for very long" "NEVER go tanning" ect...

Come on...
Yes, If you are going to be spending hours on the beach, then you should probably wear sunscreen. But only YOU know what you can and cannot handle. While some people burn after 30 minutes in the sun, others can stay out all day and not feel any burn at all.

It's natural to be in the sun, and you are probably spending far less time in it then any of your ancestors. They didn't have protection either. It's time to stop being so damn paranoid and start living your life outside without quite so much fear.

Yes, I'm aware of skin cancer, but even if you avoid the sun and wear a high spf, you could still get it. Just like even if you don't wear any protection from the sun and spend alot of time in it all the time, you could be fine.
Some people just get screwed and others get lucky. Kinda like acne...

I'm not saying not to take any precautions, but honestly, live a little without so much worries.

Feel free to comment/flame.

I am currently on accutane for the second time. My first run was at 60mg for 5 months. It cleared me for about a year or so. This time around I asked my derm if I could do an extended low dose. I am 22 with acne just as bad as a teenager, so if I do outgrow it, I don't see it happening around the corner. I originally wanted to try an ultra low dose regimen (10mg a day) after the initial clearing with a higher dose. However, due to Ipledge, plus the unforeseen risks associated with an extended regimen of accutane (1+ years of continuous use) my derm would only allow me to do a 30 mg dose for 8 months.

Anyway, this got me thinking about low dose accutane in general. It is my feeling that the range of therapeutic use for this drug has yet to be fully explored, and that current dosing regimens might be inappropriate for a large number of people. After a bit of research, here is what I have found out:

The research indicates that it is the cumulative dose of accutane that seems to be responsible for its length of acne remission. So in other words, taking 30 mg for 8 months should yield an equivalent remission as 60mg for 4 months. From personal experience, I can tell you right now that 30mg I am currently taking has yielded fewer side effects. Chapped lips are still prevelant but not as bad, and the initial breakout (still present at the low dose) this time around isn't as bad, especially since it seems wound healing isn't as hindered.

A study done in Israel has shown that a low dose (20 mg a day) was highly effective for moderate acne with very few side effects.

It also seems that at high doses accutane causes temporary bouts of rosacea (currently experiencing even at 30mg, face is pink and flushes regularly, never happened before starting medication), it for some unknown reason has the opposite effect at low doses and is sometimes used to treat rosacea at the 5 to 10mg a day range. The posts I have read on the internet seem to indicate that this seems to be very effective where other treatments have failed and free of side effects. Obviously, credibility from these posts is questionable.

I feel that low dose extended dosages should be an option for people who fear the side effects from accutane. I also feel that indefinite ultra low dose regimens should be an option where a patient has been on several courses of regular dose accutane. This way a person wouldn't have to suffer as the acne returns between courses and go through the hassle of trying all the antibiotics and topicals before a derm is willing to prescribe accutane a second time. A low dose course could be used for several years until a person "grows out" of their acne. I wouldn't use this for teenagers, but for people in their 20's to 30's who have persistent cases.

Unfortunately, not much has been done to analyze the safety and efficacy of low dose regimens such as this, and I definitely think some trials should be done here. For instance, common side effects such as altered lipid profiles and liver enzymes are prevalent at higher doses, would lowering the dose reduce these side effects, or is it a result of taking the medicine in general. Accutane also has been known to have a steroid effect on bone structure, and bone abnormalities were noted in people taking high doses (1 to 2 mg a day) for several years. Would this happen at the extremely low doses I'm talking about? (0.1mg a day or less)
And is accutane even effective at extremely low doses, say after an initial higher dose was taken to "purge" the acne out.

Input? Opinions? ridiculous remarks? All would be appreciated.

I'm an esthetician student and I have a project due later today. I chose acne because I used to suffer from it and I am very interested in how it affected other people. For me, I went through very serious depression and had to attend therapy (no, I was not on accutane). Please fill this questionnaire out and please have your friends do the same so that I can better understand how acne affects other people! Thank you!!! :]

P.S. Please be as honest as possible. Any questions that you do not qualify to answer, for example the couple questions if you are single, please reply with an "N/A".

1) Do you suffer from acne?

2) What grade of acne do you suffer from?
Grade I Acne - Minor breakouts, mostly blackheads and a few blemishes.
Grade II Acne - Many blackheads, and some blemishes.
Grade III Acne - Red and inflamed, many blemishes.
Grade IV Acne - Cystic acne and inflammation.
- If you need help determining your grade of acne, try google! :]

3) Do you feel like acne effects how introverted/extroverted (shy/outgoing) you are?

4) Does acne affect the likelihood of you befriending a person? (I.E. - Less likely to friend someone with bad acne.)

5) Do you feel like acne affects how many friends you have? (I.E. - Clearer skin means more friends.)

6) When you see someone with bad acne do you make bad comments about it?

7) When you see someone with bad acne do you consciously think badly about it, even if you don't make any comments?

8) Have you ever not befriended someone because they had problems with acne?

9) Have you ever made fun of someone for having bad acne?

10) Would you friend someone with acne?
a) Yes, if it wasn't too bad.
b) Yes, no matter how bad it was.
c) Only if they were very attractive under the acne.
d) No.

11) Would you date someone with acne?
a) Yes, if it wasn't too bad.
b) Yes, no matter how bad it was.
c) Only if they were very attractive under the acne.
d) No.

12) Does acne have any affect on whether or not you date a person?

13) Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/etc. who suffers from acne?

14) What grade of acne do they suffer from?

15) Does their acne bother you?

16) Do you find them less attractive because of their acne?

17) Would you find them more attractive if they got rid of their acne?

18) Do you think acne affects whether or not you get a job you are interviewing for?
a) Yes.
b) It depends on what job.
c) No.

19) If you were hiring a person to work for you, would you take their acne into consideration?
a) Yes.
b) Yes, if it were really bad.
c) No.

20) If you have any other comments, or any other information that you would like to share that you feel would be helpful to me, please do so now:

__________________________________________________ _______
__________________________________________________ _______
__________________________________________________ _______
__________________________________________________ _______
__________________________________________________ _______

i am so fed up with my face, ever sence my face started breaking out bad i haven't been myself (i know looks arent everything but my face is just killing me!) the only time ill go out of my house is to go to work or school.. everytime my friends ask me to hang out i have to lie.. i always have a 'bad opinion' about everything.. i totally feel like someone else.. and look like someone else.. i hate this so much! i dont even know what to do with myself.. never look into a mirror again? i remember when i had confidence.. i feel like im never going to have it again.. my confidence is totally shot! and now im trying to think of ways to get out of work i dont know what to do

Noooooooooo
now it's really getting bad after a year of being mild i have a record number of like 5 pimples/healing pimples and this really sucks and I think it has to do with my diet as well, as I've started eating greasier foods and I got like 3 bumps the week I ate fried sausage for dinner on like 2 nights, I think my food has something to do with it guys D: does anyone have any dieting tips/successful diets that they can share with me please T_T

Nothing new or earth shattering here. Just information tying the two together.


Enlarged facial pores are one of the most common cosmetic problems in Asian female adults and patients frequently ask for a treatment to reduce the size of the pores. Although various factors are known to cause enlarged pores such as sex, genetic predisposition, ageing, chronic ultraviolet light exposure, comedogenic xenobiotics, acne and seborrhoea, no study results are available that show a significant relationship of these factors with the enlarged pores. Previous reports regarded enlarged pores as a phenomenon of photoageing[13-17] and treated enlarged pores using methods such as intense pulsed light, retinoic acid cream, oral isotretinoin, isotretinoin iontophoresis and glycolic acid peeling. Some reports briefly mentioned the pore size reduction effect while focusing on the acne scar treatment.[18,19] While it is true that enlarged pores are one manifestation of photoageing, many patients with enlarged pores do not necessarily show other photoageing phenotypes such as sallow skin tone, dilated pore structure, crepe-paper-like inelasticity of the eyelids and rhytids.[20] Instead, many patients with enlarged pores seem to complain of greasy or oily skin compared with other patients with normal pore size. The appearance of skin oiliness results from the presence of an excess of sebum secreted by the sebaceous gland onto the skin surface. On the face, oily skin is shiny and may be accompanied by large pores, follicular plugs, sebaceous filaments, keratotic plugs and comedones.

This study was intended to determine the factors that contribute to the formation of enlarged pores. The significance of sebum output, age, sex, hormonal factors and severity of acne were evaluated. The mean sebum output level was significantly higher in males than in females and the sebum output level slightly increased with age in our study. However, sebaceous gland activity is known to decrease with advancing age[4] and it falls by approximately 40% in the sixth decade in females and in the seventh decade in males.[5] As our study group consisted of men and women aged from 20 to 40 years old, it may be possible that our participants were not old enough to show ageing effects. The pore size was significantly larger in females than in males, and the pore size slightly decreased with age in our group. However, the decrease of pore size with age was not statistically significant. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we found a significant correlation between pore size and sebum output level, sex and age (r = 0·45, P < 0·05). Among the independent variables, sebum output level (P < 0·001, t = 8·17) was the most significant factor correlated with the pore size compared with sex (P < 0·001, t = 4·37) and age (P = 0·03, t = �ˆ’2·21). Although age affects pore size, it has the least influence of the factors studied in determining pore size. Also, it is difficult to conclude whether it has a positive or negative correlation with pore size from our data alone. In comparing males and females, males showed a higher correlation between sebum output level and pore size (males: r = 0·47, females: r = 0·38) which led us to analyse additional factors that may influence the pore size in females. The major difference between the two sexes is that the hormonal factors of the monthly menstrual cycle in females are known to influence sebum production.[8,9] In our study, during the menstrual cycle, the sebum output level was significantly higher and the pore size was larger in the ovulation phase. This suggests a relationship between the two sets of values but the exact mechanism of the hormonal regulatory effect on these values is not known. The menstrual cycle is regulated by several hormones: luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, which are produced by the pituitary gland, and oestrogen and progesterone. However, very little is known about the role of female hormones in modulating sebum production. Oestrogen given systemically in sufficient amount will decrease sebum production but the dose required to suppress sebum production is greater than the dose required to suppress ovulation.[21] The ovulation phase begins with a surge in luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels. Luteinizing hormone stimulates ovulation and the oestrogen level peaks during the surge; the progesterone level also starts to increase. As oestrogen in physiological doses has a minimal effect in regulating the sebaceous gland, the surge of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone along with the increase of progesterone may have an effect in activating sebaceous gland activity during the ovulation phase. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated higher correlation when the menstruation cycle was added as an independent variable (r = 0·38 arrow right r = 0·43). We also analysed prior severity of acne in all participants, but the severity of acne did not correlate with the pore size in either sex.

In conclusion, increased pore size was significantly associated with increased sebum output level and also with sex and age. Among the variables, sebum output level correlated most significantly with the pore size; males showed higher correlation than in females. In females, pore sizes were significantly larger in the ovulation phase of the menstrual cycle but the severity of acne did not correlate with the pore size in either of the sexes. Our study clearly shows that the sebum output level affects the size of facial pores and that a treatment focused on reducing sebum production may be beneficial in decreasing enlarged pore sizes.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/550465_4

Does anyone remember reading news awhile back (maybe a year ago, not sure) about a drug that stopped sebum production and had no side effects? The stoppage of sebum production IS the side effect. Apparently it was discovered by accident because it was intended to be used for something else, but they discovered that it stopped sebum production instead. They were in the process of possibly creating a pill form to do experiments with and eventually making it into a cream form. Does anyone remember the name of the drug? I vaguely remember the name just being a mix of alphanumeric characters and it had no pronunciable name.. something like D11ACX (this isn't really it) or some garble. I was just wondering how far the research has gone into that new drug since I can't find it on google or yahoo anywhere, but I think I read the original news article on yahoo a while back.

i just want to know if masturbating can really cause pimples???!!!