I saw a thread in the Research forum recently about naproxen sodium (Aleve) ... said it was supposed to be very effective against premenstrual acne. link here

I tried it out this month, and it worked very well for me. I took two Aleve tablets each day, one with breakfast and one right after dinner -- and I only got two tiny, tiny pimples the whole week.

Normally during PMS week I would get a number of these little ones popping up on my nose and chin each day.

I stopped taking a regular dose of the Aleve as soon my period started, although I have taken one at night a couple of times since. From what I understand, you really have to be careful not to take too much ... it can cause stomach bleeding and other unpleasant side effects.

Has anyone else tried this?

just for curiosity sake, let's see where everyone is.
I'm 36.

How much sleep does everyone get & do you notice your skin improves with a good nights kip? Like less inflamed acne?

Im pretty sure it helps the appearance of acne, I wish I had time for more sleep! Like 8rs 20 would be ideal for me (instead of just 6) -i have noticed my skin is more grotesque from lack of sleep.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Okay okay, so now I'm forced to make up another thread so that I can get a couple supporters JK, lol. For those of you who don't know who I am, 15 days ago I decided to quit wearing foundation makeup for good because I got sick and tired of making myself up. I am now looking for supporters of this "say no to foundation thread" because i think having people that are doing the same thing, makes it all easier for us all. We can talk about how we feel about it or whatever you would like. But being a new no foundation wearer after wearing it for 10 years straight, is giving me a whole new perspective, from more time in the morning, to the frusterations of everybody seeing my red marks. I look foreward to hearing from you all. Please join me

Does anyone else on here feel like acne really affects your dating life or relationships.

Searching for anything new that might help acne & came across some possibilities:

Raw food diet

Not putting anything on your skin other than a simple face wash.

Apparently some of the things we put on our face make our skin worse, even though its supposed to help - i can see the logic in this because i dont apply anything to my body except shower gell & i dont have problem shin there other than afew spots on chest/back but they are not as angry as the face ones.

Obviously our skin will probably get worse before it gets better, but i reckon giving it a week or two would give an indication of it there is any change.

Also this raw food thing - I am interest but will find it very hard to stick to as doo like my hot chocolate, cheese sarnies, & milk. has anyone else tried it here?

Hi all!

I have been on a long hiatus for some reason but I am back now

My skin has gone haywire as of late due to intense stress. I've been getting tiny but very deep whiteheads all over my chin, jaw, and cheek area. My usual arsonal of M2, bactrim, and zinc have failed to really help as of lately.

Went to the derm last week and had him extract a crap load of these little spots. In addition to prescribing me spiro, we also started the paperwork for accutane. AGAIN. sigh.

I think until I start the 'tane, I am going to be in damage control mode. No picking spots unless absolutely necessary and applying copious amounts of BP. (as an aside, I haven't used BP in years) We'll see how this goes.

Cat

I have researched and read that milk thistle and probiotics can play a key role in clearing acne. Has anyone tried or experienced these products, and does it really work? Any feedback would be very helpful

Okay, so I know most people say not to use a washcloth on acne because they are harsh and abrasive. But I went to Walmart and purchased some baby washcloths which are really soft and have been using them on my face at night time only with my regular cleanser. I notice that my pores seem cleaner than from just washing with my hands and my acne seems to be disappearing more and more. What are your thoughts? Yes or no to washcloths?

I have had Mirena since February of 2008.....Since that time, I have gotten severe cystic acne and been on numerous antibiotics and facial creams. I have finally contacted my dr and I am getting it removed.... my face is so bad now and so scarred, it's devastating. I am 31 years old and have only had minimal acne...nothing that couldn't be treated or go away. I, now, have acne that is cystic and sits on my face for months at a time. I am a cosmetologist and it is highly embarrassing and humiliating to work face to face with someone every day. It stinks. I don't want to go in public and I don't want to be around anyone without makeup on. I have been getting chemical peels and microdermabrasion at work to help it since my dermatologist recommended it....well, it's not working either. I have an appt with my dr to have it removed this week, so I am wondering if it's going to get better. I never had acne as a teen. Just a pimple here and there. I used to have beautiful skin. It's ruined now. I can certainly sympathize with teenagers who have it severe and are depressed. I know how they feel. Does anyone know if it'll get better once it is removed? I can't handle it anymore.

Has anyone tried this & is it effective?

Im waiting for mine to arrive but then realised that my facewash contains glycoic acid & face cream is 2% salycic acid, & neither are effective. Does this mean AHA is unlikely to be effective too?

I nearly bought some benzoyl peroxide yesterday but as some1 mentioned on another post it is very aging & wrecks you skin (& I recall this from using it many years ago) now as an adult I dont want to do wrecking my skin but is there anything I can do?

I also use retin A here & there - does anyone know if it is possible to get hold of it in cream form? as I only seem to be able to get the gell and it just flakes straight off like a cobweb

Hi everyone if you bothered to open well why dont you go ahead and write down what cleanser it is you use for your face?? Dont be shy to anwser the question

This is a question for the guys.Does facil hair make your acne worse at all?seems to me everytime I grow facil hair I break out pretty bad and with some cysts.I like facil hair on my face and the way it looks but I dont dare grow any facil hair anymore cause it seems to make me break out for some reason.how about you?

hey

I'm a 24 year old male. so I used to have a clear forehead maybe one or two occasional pimples every 6 or 7 months but about 3 months ago I started feeling some changes on my forehead. u know it was easly irritated ( I have a sensitive skin but it didn't use to be this much sensitive). after a week 5 or 6 pimples appeared on my forehead. they looked like whiteheads. I managed to treat them with lemon juice and my skin was almost back to its normal condition. although I still felt it wasn't as smooth as it used to be. however, after two weeks the pimples reappeared. first three of them then 6 and it started getting worse. my forehead is now really oily and covered with these little red bumps that seem to get worse whenever I sweat or stress out. I started washing my face twice with face wash and cleansing gel, they reduced the oil on my forehead but those little small red bumps are still there. this problem is taking its toll on my self esteem as well. I really don't know what to do. I'm in desperate need of help.

I went to see my derm yesterday and he said that it is acne and he prescribed me clindamycin and erythromycin.I never suffered acne before and I still wonder why it happened to me.

by the way I'm not sure but I think my problem started right from the day when I was under direct sunlight for about 4 hours without wearing sunblock. could that have caused the problem?

I attach two picz from my forehead[attachment=29773:DSC01301.JPG] [attachment=29774:DSC01302.JPG]

Hello,

I'm 49. I've had very serious cystic acne for several years. Tried various medical treatment. Nothing helped. Following changes in my routine, my acne completely disappeared. I haven't had a pimple in more than a year. Hope this can help others. Here is what I did:
Clay masks (twice a week)
Increased fluid intake (water and tea)
Oil free moisturizers only
Change face towels at least twice a week
Everyday use of Neutrogena pore refining toner after cleaning with a mild face cleaner.
I'm not sure if my acne subsided as a result of of all of these taken together or if one or more measure in particular is the cause.
Good luck!

I have the problem that if i just cleanse & use moisturiser - the moisturiser seesm to make acne worse because it is too rich - even cetaphil moisturiser made my skin worse.

If I use nothing my skin feels tight.

If I use topicals my skin if read & flakey & I still have a large number of spots/hard lumps which are perhaps less juicy than with moisturise but are surrounded by red blotchy marks about in inch radius so my whole face except my forehead looks really awful.

I find a gentle face wash seems to be much better than proper acne ones but I am struggling to find the right thing to put on my face after cleansing

I have tried salycic acid, benzoyl peroxide, retin a, cetaphil, urine!, normal moisturiser, serum....but my skin is either irritated & dry or moisturised but juicy spots.

I have acne all over my cheeks & chink & jaw (including hard lumps under skin) & alot of small spots scatter all over my neck,chest, upper back, blackheads on nose, & every morning wake up with several whiteheads. I am fed up of being a spotty mess. I believe it is due to hormones, however can hormones alone really make your skin this bad? I heard about the leaky gut think but I dont think it can be this either as I dont have any of the symptoms other than acne.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

Ok so here is a short review.. ive tried many OTC products proactiv i tried the acne.org products and nothing really cleared my skin. I finally went to a dermatologist in march and he gave me some tazorac 0.5% i believe its a retin-a. anyway i used that until about 2 weeks ago when he said my pours were clear and i didnt need it anymore.

he put me on glytone facial cleaner to help keep my pours clear and he said if i get any acne to just take some BP for the bacteria. my question is whats a good OTC BP product?

when i went for my second visit in june he prescribed me benzefoam and that made my face really burn and caused a rash and blister effect on my chin. my skin is oily but my chin area can dry out pretty easy so i think thats why that happened.

anyway ive heard so many good things about my dermatologist but he was not covered by my medical insurance so i was paying out of pocket. i dont want to have to pay another $80 to go back just to find out what BP product i can buy at a store.

so as it stands my regime is just twice a day using the glytone facial cleanser. my skin has been fine so i havent used any lotion its not dry in any spots. and on sunday i apply a clay mask. my acne is about 90 times better i just have small white heads but they are annoying i just want clean smooth skin like every other 28 yr old adult.

Hello,

I'm not new to the board but I haven't been around for a while. I'm Karen.

Results from Internet searches about acne always seem to include the word "oily." I realize that oil trapped in the skin is what causes acne. But my skin is never shiny or greasy. Does anyone else have this issue?

I'm specifically interested in neem oil & neem leaf products and whether or not they'd be good for skin like mine. I'd say my acne is mild to moderate. I have a few whiteheads, some inflamed blemishes & clogged pores on my nose. I especially seem to break out around my mouth & chin.

Thanks in advance!

Is there any way to treat acne without completely distroying the skins acid mantle & therefore irritating it like mad?

my current treatment is drying my skin but my skin looks worse but less 'juicy' but irritated.

do i keep carrying on in the hope that the irritation settles down? or is tis just continually toying with the acid mantle & just making skin worse?

I also feel more wrinkley from these topical treatments so theyre obviously not good for the face.

Urgh. I suppose I will have to go to the doctors about this but I've done the rounds 3 times before & it always resulted in nothing working but roaccutane. But the results are only temporary is there really no other answer?

Mind moving this to the holistic section? Even though I'm an adult, I ain't 25. LOL I just woke up.

I'm going to try fasting again on juices and water, hopefully succeed this time without any seizures. Also I want to restore my relationship with Jesus and God and the other Ascended Masters to help me heal to optimum health. I do not want criticism towards this, that's NOT what I'm looking for. My acne is not mild at all but they're stubborn and won't go away fast enough.

I have no facial acne, my face just sometimes gets a little dry or sometimes very rarely slightly oily. My pores are a bit noticable though and I figured that fasting will close them up. My body is clearing up but it won't clear fast enough without a little help from nutrition.

I also still have aging fine lines, they're not as deep but they still shouln't be there. My facial skin is uneven and still has tiny little marks and a few acne scars (not mild or severe).

I drink tons of water, about 4-5 liters a day to keep toxins from piling up and to keep hormones regulated. I get more than 8 hours of sleep. I drink pomegranate juice and eat healthy foods, sometimes junk.

But I believe the only way to heal is to restore relationship with Jesus/God and to fast on juices and water for at least 10 days. Maybe consume a banana to slow the fast on day 5 to restore energy and help hunger pains.

My ear also breathes (right ear) and my left ear pops sometimes.
Whenever I exercise I suffer from irregular breathing due to allergies which sometimes get mild.

During the fast I plan on doing meditation, chakra and aura strengthening along with exercise to dramatically speed up the healing process.

As you can see I have a lot planned.

I'd like some home remedies for acne scars and fine lines that don't contain toxins that will interfere with fasting.

I will post a self pic up when I'm done with all this.

Also, will sex/masturbation break the fast? I don't know why I'm asking this since I'll have a relationship with the Ascended Masters. lol

I don't want ANY haters or criticism against fasting in this thread.

Lastly which juices should I drink and what to avoid? I apologize this is such a long post.

i have been getting a rash on my back and shoulder area, its like big red areas on my skin not bumps. it kinda looks like a leopard skin, or a camo pattern. its not painful and only slightly itchy, sometimes not at all.

can zinc cause this? i have been on it for 3 months and the rash started about a month ago

can my antibiotic (doxy) cause it? i have been on it for 5+ years so i doubt it

or can it be a mixture of both..?

i take the zinc 50mg. once a day and the doxy once a day 100mg..

please help thanks a lot

ahhh i realy dislike acne.....

Hi all,

In march this year my body decided to have some sort of internal freak out, I woke up one morning to find my cheeks exploded in redness and tiny tiny bumps. the redness went but the bumps remained.

(i do get spots from time to time, but never had acne, and i am 27 years of age)

Now ... 6 months on .... to my misfortune.... I have come up with acne.... those tiny harmless bumps have exploded some more!

The worst bit is I am getting married in March

I cannot explain how desperately I need this to go. If I wasn't getting married, it would not bother me, imagine a spotty bride.... UGHHHH!!

anyhoo, my doc has prescribed Duac for every morning, and Isotrexin for everynight. They seem to hav stopped the production of new spot, but the existing ones remain.

Have these gels been successful for anyone else?

Are facials recommended in this condition??

Before I went to my doc i had a acne specific facial, and invested in some acne proof products, the products were a waste, not strong enough to stop the oil production.... alot of oil production I'm having. I had one more facial 2 days ago, and it really seems to have brought the spot up from under the skin...... is that a good thing??

oh and following this, I can feel lumps under the skin, even where theres no spot on the surface.... i guess the duac & isotrexin have stopped them coming to the surface maybe. is this good or bad?

I appreciate you reading, and anyone that can help.

Distressed bride to be

Bambi

So I'm a 25 year old male and I've noticed that my biggest issue is with getting white heads pop up fairly regularly. Now what is interesting to note is that I often find these white heads mostly (but not all) have a hair growing directly through the middle of them. I even noticed recently that 2 that appeared towards the top of my nose near my eyebrows had a hair growing through them.

So what I'm trying to figure out is are these ingrown hairs (I doubt this simply because the hair isn't tucked inside the spot, it's growing directly through it), folliculitis or just simple coincidence that my white heads are growing in follicles already occupied by hairs?

Anyone have this happen to them or a solution for me to consider?

Hi everyone,

im just about to turn 26 and i've had acne since i was 9... its never gone away but it has gotten better when i started to discover that it wasn't a hormonal imbalance... it was because of the foods i was eating.

i knew i was lactose intolerant, but i didn't think that it was causing some of my acne... well... over two week and drinking a glass of milk and day and then eliminating it from my diet, i discovered it was having a huge effect.
All dairy products (including modified milk ingredients) have been cut.

Preservatives i.e. Benzoates! these are terrible little things for people who have an allergy to them. it is rare, but when you do, it can be very detrimental. they are in most things with high acidity, like pops, juices and pickled things. they do occur naturally in some foods but not in as large a quantity.
i've since cut out all of the added and 90% of the natural foods that contain it. wine requires natural sodium benzoate to stop the fermenting process.

Aspartame. we all know it is bad for us... but have we sat back and seen what it does to our physical appearance as well. when i stopped drinking diet coke i actually had a friend ask me if i was pregnant because she has never seen my skin have so much colour in it.

Colourants. Tartrazine. there are many websites out there saying how toxic this substance is... and you will only find it in low end candies and juices... so you are better off and healthier to just cut these things out anyway.

Sulphites... yes... it does mean giving up wine. it also means dried fruit, chips and other snake foods. many trail mixes and granola bars are loaded with them.

Emulsifiers. anything liquid, hand soap, shampoo, laundry detergent. if i worn tight jeans for the day i would have small red marks and some tiny white heads on my legs. i now use all natural laundry detergent with no dryer sheets. lush bar shampoo and conditioners and dove bar soap.


so... these are the big ones that i've discovered have the most effect on my skin. i have not been able to be completely clear... so i know i am still missing some things. but over the last 5 years and many many many exclusion experiments, i have found what causes me the most problems and i hope that maybe it helps you find yours.

i have yet to meet a dermatologist that would tell me that they is another solution for adult acne other than accutane, but i have found one. it just takes some getting use to.

Ive heard that it is much more common in women in their 20s than to men. I am however a 23 year old male. Ive suffered from acne on and off since I was 11. It started out only on my forehead, then it spreaded to my cheeks. And now, I only get acne on my jawline.

So what's the deal? Are hormones causing this? I really dont want to get on accutane as im afraid it will make me scar even more. I already have a lot of scarring.

Hi All,
I had very bad acne on my forehead & cheeks mostly at 15 yrs old (29 now)- went on roaccutane twice (17 & 20 yrs old) - worked both times but incrediably harsh - dry red itchy skin & very expensive.
So when I broke out again on my chin (forehead remained clear) about 4 yrs ago I tried the chinese herbal route. It worked a dream with none of the harsh side affects I had with the roaccutane. Cut out fried foods (used to love my big irish breakfasts), white bread & dairy (couldn't give up the milk in my tea though), wash face with a very gentle cleanser morning & night, dab on chinese lotion (101E) onto problems area after cleanser, let it dry & put on gentle non-perfumed moisturiser, take 8 tablets (chinese ones that herbalist gave me) 3 times a day. Clear skin 4 weeks later with an odd pimple around menstrual cycle since.
I broke out again on the chin area 2 weeks ago & started back with the herbal route - looking froward to clear skin again which I should have in about 4 weeks time if it works as well as it did before. Its a mystery as to what caused them to come back but Im going to go with what worked before.
I hope this helps someone out there as I think its the most natural & often cheaper way to treat the pimples around my chin I suffer from.[/font]

Hi I am 23 years old and have been suffering from acne for around 10 years now. Horrible feeling as many of you guys know.

Anyway my point I have spent hundred maybe even thousands of pounds on products only to disappoint. I for some reason suffer from random outbreaks of hideous cystic and unflamed acne. Last year i suffered from a really bad breakout around my temple area.

I had purchased the Mario badescu buffering and drying lotion a while before to use on my acne on my cheeks. So decided to use nothing but these two products and my breakout completely went away within a couple weeks maybe even a week not sure. Don't get me wrong it left ALOT of red marks however that area was completely flat.

I have also used the mario badescu on my cheek are ( thats where i suffer most from breakouts) which helped tremendously! However im pretty sure the buffering lotion was the reason behind me having very large pores on my cheeks after the spots had disappeared and also very mild ice pick scars almost.

Also rather then using expensive lotions and potions which i had used during my teen years; I now ONLY use Simple face wash and any moisturizer I find around the house and have found this has helped me allot.

So yeah my point lol is try and keep things simple and maybe give the mario badescu buffering lotion a go; you have nothing to lose....

Hope this helps someone!

p.s my acne has most deffo not gone away its just alot more controlled and still suffer from those horrible red marks!

random_girl

I have noticed a positive correlation between fit people and clear skin and i mean fit as in aerobic fitness. Have a look at fit sports people and the condition of their skin, they tend to have much less acne than the average population.

I just wondered how fit people are reading this?

Do you have a low pulse rate?


I know i am "unfit" and when i was younger although my overall lifestyle was much, much worse i was also much fitter.

I realise there may be other reasons why sports people have clearer skin such as lifestyle factors etc but i personally think fitness may be the key reason. When i start looking at sportspeople who are more strength orientated then i do start to notice their skin isn't always so great necessarily.

Hi all,
I have been browsing this site for two years, and finally decided to join. I am a 29 year old female mother of three, and have suffered from various forms of acne since age 11. I suspect my acne is largely hormonal at this point, but have not been diagnosed by a derm. Just this week, I started the following regimen and found it to be quite helpful. It very well may be one of the many things that bring initial relief only to stop working after a few months, but it's helpful none the less. I have been washing 2x daily with Neutrogena rapid clear foaming scrub. I follow that with Alpha hydrox aha souffle. Spot treat with clean and clear SA gel ( I'm sure any SA spot treatment would do). I had two forming cysts that were almost completely gone in two days, and LOTS of black heads and small bumps that have almost completely cleared in the last three days. I hope this helps someone else. I hope it keeps helping me, but after all this time, I am VERY skeptical.

Hi all,

I've been using Duac and isotrexin for exactly one week and 3 days. Duac in the morning, and isotrexin and night. once i apply duac it stays on til i get home from work, and is washed off, then about 4 hours later before bed Isotrexin goes on.

the first week was fine, no problems. BUT yesterday I felt an almighty burning sensation from the Duac. i didnt think much of it, but today it was EVEN WORSE!!!! so i rang my GP, who said its supposed to do that, it sort of burns the skin. she advised me to wash it off, which i did, but it didnt help because i dont have a facewash at work!! and she said to use it every other day.

has anyone else gone through this burning?

is there a better way to apply duac? than to apply and leave on all day?

does using it every other day reduce effectiveness?

thank you.