I am an RN. I am in my 30s. I am fed up. Well for a long time I have had acne. Oily skin, hair etc. Acne for like 20 years. I have always used Neutrogena products which work wonderful for me. Their products that are mostly clear are without a lot of moisturizers so my skin doesn't get oily right away. I use the clear blue liquid (clarifier) through the day. I usually have used the orange Neutrogena bar soap for acne. It makes the skin feel nice and tight-not oily. I like Neutrgena because it uses the salicylic acid. I also use their skin clearing makeup = which has 0.5% s.a. in it. WHAT I LOVE has been the "clear pore treatment" by them, but I believe it has been discontinued. It was a clear gel you put on at night after cleaning with the bar soap. It was like it got into the pores and dried up the little plugs-almost crystallized them so that when you wash next time they just get washed away. And they dried up blackheads. ANYWAY I THINK they have a similar product now called Oil-Free Acne Stress Control - 3-in-1 hydrating acne treatment. It goes on after washing my face with the bar soap (well I will get to that part) and it is less sticky feeling than the other discontinued stuff. And you can apply it any time of day. This has always worked good for me-when I stayed at it. Now I have a new tube and am trying to be religious about it because I am having issues. It really makes the skin feel great and it takes along time for it to get oily again. Often though I would just use the bar soap if things were going well. I am now using the grapefruit scrub in the shower because of my PROBLEM ! I believe I had the flu in July and it was awful. Sinus infection then raging strep throat infection. My throat was just a huge white patch. While I was getting better and taking an antibiotic I noticed my forehead was bumpy and sandpapery feeling. It eventually travelled down the sides of my face and then to my neck below my ears. It is still there. I am back at using all the products I have mentioned but has anyone had this happen? I half imagine it was the strep infection that started it all. I am an RN and at first thought I was allergic to the antibiotic but it didn't itch and hasn't really gotten better. I also am restarting lactobacillus (probiotics over the counter) that I did take recently for bronchitis in October while I took another antibiotic to prevent antibiotic related stomach upset. Lactobacillus is good bacteria that can inhibit bad bacteria throughout your system-so I am using it again. It seemed to help my face out. That or it was the other antibiotic. So has anyone had this happen? I imagine it was the strep only because when I was little I had scarlet fever and that procuces a sandpapery rash on the trunk due to the infection in your bloodstream. It felt like my forehead feels now. Also this flu was just vicious and took me out. Talk about a stress to the system. SO I will keep at it and let you all know how it goes. HOPEFULLY IN A SHORTER POST> But has anyone else had this happen after an illness? and no I don't think it is sensitive for using too many products. I am trying to stagger them so I can see what will work best now that my skin has changed.

About 3 weeks ago I had a cyst develop on my cheek, right next to my nose. It grew and grew in size, so I had my derm inject it. It went away about a day later. A few days after that, I noticed a dark maroon colored mark on my face where the cyst was. When I touch it, I can feel a pocket of fluid underneath. It's a bit painful.

It's been on my face for a while, and last night I got fed up with it and tried popping it. One side of it did pop, and blood came out. but the other side remained intact. It looks like it's filled with blood. Why doesn't it come to a head? Should I use a pin or something to pop it?

Also, I'm on 80mg of Accutane a day, which I know increases the risk of scarring, so that makes me a little more wary about ripping the thing apart. Any advice?

Hi im coming 21 and still have face, neck, chest and back acne.
I have very oily skin on my face but it goes really dry when i wash it.
It consists of lots of blackheads and these random big spots that are very painful.
I don't and never have had the common rash sort of acne just lots of big spots and loads of noticeable blackheads that sometimes don't amount to anything sometimes do.
Can anyone share their experiences with this type of acne and anything that worked for them?
I currently use Benzoyl Peroxide 10% and Isotretinoin cream both of which have severely irritatred my skin and made my acne much much worse....

I'm beginning to think there a real waste of time.
All their environ products have done have made my skin red and chapped and now they choose to tell me that even when they do laser treatment my skin will be this bad again after a while
I've seriously had enough
I've completely stopped going out unless its entierly necessary
I'm thinking of going on Acutane it seems to be the only option I have left!

I suffer from cystic acne.

I used to have general acne all over my back/chest and face but accutane cleared that up.

So now im just left with cysts on my face and the occasional break out on my face.

So the question is, what best gets rid of cysts?

Like i said, im just finishing a 6month course of 60mg accutane, which didnt work. Ive tried hot presses, ice. Nothing. BP, nope. And numerous anti-biotic gels/creams.

Whats worked best for you?

Last thing for me to try i think is laser treatment(we shall see what my derm has to say first). I hear alot of positive things said about it but im getting the impression that ot helps most with lighter acne as oppose to large(2cm diameter) cysts.

Anyone had their cysts cleared from laser stuff?

Hi, im 17 and ive been suffering severe acne for about 2 years. Ive been perscribed all the anti-biotics my doctor could think of and after one session with my dermatologist i was given a 4month course of ro-accutane. I completed that with a 50% improvement and went back to see him. I was put on an extra 2months of ro-accutane. This has completely cleared my back and chest, im just left with some pretty nasty scarring.

My face however, has had no effect from it. Right now i currently have 4 large cysts on my face. 2 of which ive had for 12months now. Im going to see my dermatologist again in 20days, and im wondering if anyone knows what the next step will be?

I cant deal with more accutane. Im avoiding friends, uni, work cause im so self concious. The fact that accutane makes me look just as bad except with horribly flaky skin is just too much to continue with. Ive felt this way for way too long. Is there anything i can suggest to my dermatologist instead of more accuane?

Thanks in advance.

Accutane was one of the best decisions ive ever made! Before i went on accutane i had acne but it wasnt that bad but since im a very active person, playing soccer and volleyball with make up on made it a lot worse. i tried not wearing makeup when i was playing sports but it still stayed the same. it was making my self esteem go wayyy down. it came to the point where i never wanted to leave the house without makeup on. pounding the makeup on didnt help my acne at all but i felt like it was the only way i could try to cover it up somewhat. Once it got to the point where i felt like none of the topicals or other acne treatments would help i heard about accutance. i researched it and saw all the side effects that it had and it kinda freaked me out but i was looking for something to finally work. i went on it and the only side effect that i had was dry lips. it wasnt too bad but i was realy expecting the joint pains to be a lot more rough but they were actually pretty normal. im so glad i went on accutane. its a great product and i get compliments about my skin all the time now. if your debating whether you wanna go on accutane or not... just do it! it really works and was a life saver for my skin. still be aware of all the side effects and know what your getting yourself into. its a great product just make sure you take care of yourself! hope this helps out! and hope accutane is as successful for you as it was for me!

<3
m

Hello all;
So heres the story: last year around this time, i started to break out real bad; first time i ever had more than 2 cysts at a time; then winter came and it got worse; real bad. like 5 on each side of the face at that time; then i reluctantly went to the doctors - after admitting to myself that it wouldnt get better on its own (stupid huh?);
so i started to eat healthy and I was prescribed bp5% and an erythromycin benzoyl peroxide topical gel (an antiboitic ointment i think) so it might have gotten worse after that for a while but then come february it got better and as it became summer everything was pretty good compared to me in december; over the summer i decided not to take bp or any of that stuff and id get one or two pimples now and then but it was good;
then it became september and i started to get small pimples - i thought no big; then it started to get worse and worse; a week ago i went back to the doctors to get the same two medicines;

now it's november first and i have 4 cysts on my left cheek and at least 10 pimples on the right =((... I think it got much worse since i started the bp and topical again.... =(.. i dont know what im doing wrong.. im eating healthy working out when i get the chance... is it just initial break out or what ever? or is it jus tthe seasons that messing with my face? should i not go out into the cold much?

I am sure this question has been posted hundreds of times, but I was wondering how long accutane takes before noticeable results begin to happen. I understand that it is supposed to get worse before it gets better (which it is), I just want to now how long it gets worse before it starts to get better.

Thanks

This is a really good product, Sulfur is the main ingredient, and it works really fast. It's great for drying up cystic pimples and can drastically reduce the size of a huge cyst over night . I've found that it's also great for controlling breakouts, and another cool thing about it is that it blends in with the skin, so If you have a red spot, just dab a little bit over it and it will be hardly noticeable. I've spent so much money on skin care products, I wish I had found this $10 product a long time ago. I just wanted to share this with you guys because it helped me.

And if you don't take my word on it, here's some reviews from other people.
Acnomel Reviews

hey guys, this is my first post
finally decided to join and stop lurking haha

Okay well let me give you some background info;
I'm 20 years old, soon to be 21 in college, Asian (korean), and pretty tan actually compared to most other asians

Anyhow
I never experienced severe acne until the ripe age of 19!!! LAST YEAR. winter time to be exact.
so of course, like many of you who experienced it unexpectedly, I was shocked.
the months of December through March were the most painful months of my life; I'm not talking little acne that some freak out and call severe. I legitimately had 5-6 monstrous purple cysts/nodules on my cheeks and temples and occasionally two or so on my jawline.

I'm a pretty good looking guy so this crushed my self-esteem and it was hard on my relationship with my girlfriend, who held me down throughout this painful time, which I love her for.

Anyways summer time came around and my skin cleared up. In fact all active acne disappeared and my scars healed pretty magnificently. If I had told you about my severe acne experience during this summer, you would've laughed and called me a liar.

So I felt good for about a good 6 months...until now recently. I live in NYC and the weather's switching up and turning cold again and I'm seeing the same pattern of events as last year. A couple pimples showed up...and now a cyst...and now another cyst (same areas as last year temple & cheeks). So i'm freaking out again but calming my mind by trying to get to the bottom of the problem:

So here are my THEORIES of the cause of MY cystic acne:

1. Seasonal change-clearly the big one that should stick out to you is that somehow for last year and soon-to-be this year's winter seasons, my cystic acne flares up.

2. Weightlifting/Working out-DISCLAIMER. Let me explain. I dont think working out causes acne. in fact, I think it helped me heal so marvelously last year. However I think abruptly STARTING to work out intensely and ABRUPTLY STOPPING working out has drastic effects on your hormones.
For example: I STARTED intensely bulking up and gained aroudn 20-25 pounds in a matter of 3 months (NO steroids) last year summer. Saw a few pimples but nothing big. Then winter came and my cystic acne came out of nowhere. So blaming working out and bulking, I stopped abruptly. THAT...I see now...was a mistake. Cysts and nodules spread even faster after I abruptly stopped working out.

Also* This year, I restarted working out after my active acne was gone in the summer. with no protein or anything really, all natural with just food and vitamins. all's been well....UNTIL the NYC weather started getting cold again, I just stopped working out for 4 days abruptly (not b/c I was worried about acne but because I was lazy) and I just got a cyst. first cyst of this school year.

3. Depression/Stress-This I believe is the primary factor. I remember last year when I stopped working out after blaming it for causing my cysts, I became very depressed. Didn't look directly at anyone, was ashamed to be with my girlfriend, blah blah blah. I went to tthe mirror frequently and looked at myself....and as I did this...MORE AND MORE cysts and nodules came. I think if I had somehow controlled my emotions the first time around and not blown up about the cysts in the first place...they would'nt have gone on as long as they did.
This is the TOUGHEST thing to swallow as who the hell doesn't get more depressed looking at themselves in the mirror? then you get even more depressed about not being social anymore and not being the person you used to be.

So these are my THREE main theories. Tell me if they sound like they make sense to you. I'm not saying they are for everyone but for me this is what I've definitely noticed-a definite pattern to my pain.

*also reminders-I never had acne before last year at the age of 19, around the time of starting to intensely workout, and second year of college...if that helps

Alright im going to the derms office on tuesday, and hopefully i'd get some advice to help even more clear up my acne fast )
i'll update you guys on how it went.. cant wait!

I have had cystic acne since my late teens, I'm now 23. I finally decided I have had enough of the bad pain and embarrassment. I wanted to start living my life again. So I got serious and went on a strict diet, drank LOTS of water, and used some antibiotics. My face cleared up and I was so excited! Then I figured it was time to start using moisturizer like everyone says, so I bought oil free neautrogena for sensative skin and my face went crazy. Now all my cysts are back .

I am trying to clear it up again hopefully. But what is a safe moisturizer that won't cause my skin to breakout again?

I had a large nodule on the center of my chest in the past. I can't remember its development but eventually it formed a hard, isolated lump that looked like a grain of rice stuffed directly under my skin. The surrounding skin was red but the lump itself was skin color.

Initially I thought it was keloid, but over the years there was no growth, so I believe it was a hypertrophic scar. My dermatologist injected steroid back in September and in a few days it was reduced to something akin to PIH.

Fast forward to this month, and the site has started growing a nodule. It's a hard, red pimple without a head. While not very big and only slightly painful, it feels uncomfortable. Do you think it's a recurring nodule or is it a new, unrelated one that happens to develop on the same spot?

How should I treat it? I'm inclined to rub ice on it, but I'm afraid the stimulation may break the nodule inside. I have 250g tetracycline capsules and BP at the ready. Should I apply the band-aid method on it?

I can post a picture if anyone would like to see it.

Anyone know why when you get a cyst/nodule it turns sooo dark/purplish colour?

The colour is almost worse than the actual cyst itself, cos it draws attention to that spot, rather than if it was flesh coloured!!

Thanking you,

Honey

Did any of you girls wax while on accutane?

I go on it in December. The doctor told me not to shave due to ingrown hairs. I don't want to avoid bikini line waxing since I go to the beach alot.

so I am off to the doctor about some cysts I keep getting around my time of the month.

but other than icing, BP, and ibuprofen, what is the BEST, most EFFECTIVE topical medicated cream/gel to use.

Just want to know which is the best one to ask my doctor to prescribe for me?

would it be an antibiotic cream/gel, or something else?

Thanks in Advance,

Honey

P.s. I also notice when I get the cysts,they seem to turn very dark/purple in colour. any reason why? and what can I do to avoid/reduce the colour? the colour is very noticeable, without makeup or coverup on.

has anyone of you tried the st ives apricot scrub? it is an exfoliator.. is it okay to use it for an everday facial scrub?

I had a small cyst injented with cortisone three weeks ago. It was the second time the dr. had injected the area (he had injected a cyst in the same spot 3-4 weeks prior). Because it was in the same spot, he said he was going to put more medicine in. He didn't even mention there could be any side effects.

One week after the injection, a large swelling appeared and I went in to see him, but he dismissed it. Several days later, a dent appeared at the site of the injection.

Now, 3 weeks since the injection, and the indentation has gotten worse (it is now a depression that runs up and down my forehead). I've read the previous posts about it, and most people say it should go away in 6 months. But, it's quite upsetting. Anyone who is self-conscious enough to get a cyst injected is obviously self-conscious, so Im not dealing with this well. Plus...6 months is a long time! And some people said it could take a year or be permanent.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone decided to seek treatment for these dents/depressions caused from cortisone i.e. seeing a plastic surgeon?

Thanks for your input.

I want to try a few other things before I go on accutane in December. I was prescribed minocyclin. is this effective for cysts? has anyone tried this product?
http://www.artistrybeauty.com/products/pro...x?itemno=702141
and is proactive a waste of money for cystic acne?

Ive actually been using face-wipes to wash my face for the past 5-6 months and havent reported on the results. Im extremely surprised!!!

I was told often how, facewipes are too harsh on the face and it will make your moderate/severe acne much worse etc...etc...

I thought, no im goin to sample this route, atleast to rule it out but its actually the EXACT same as washing with water. My acne stayed at the EXACT same level after the switch over from water to wipe.

The biggest bonus is that face-wipes cause NO flaky skin whatsoever. The wipes i have contain moisturiser and it takes me about 10 seconds to clean my face in the morning and evening. No more 20 minutes in the bathroom applying face wash then moisturiser etc...

Ill make it clear that they dont help cure acne; but its no difference from the water alternative ( well for me anyway) You would logically think that they are harsh on the skin but they actually arent. You can be as harsh or as soft as you want with them ( the same as water)

I started off using baby-wipes but they caused a stinging sensation in my face which i wasnt partial too... Try these as well; ive heard good things about baby wipes and acne.

Theres not one brand that i would recommend as ive tried a lot and they all seem equal. Just make sure its fragrance free and contains moisturiser.

Just posting my results using face wipes as an alternative. It sems to be a taboo amongst acne sufferers.

I woke up this morning and I found a large'ish red spot with no head and slightly painful to touch. This is the first proper spot I've had in ages so I'm unsure.

I have had steatocystoma multilplex since I was 17 years old(six years ago). On top of that, I have hormonal acne due to a hormonal imbalance. It has caused a little hair growth on my chin, neck and chest which have caused more skin irritation.
Last week, I had a huge reoccuring cyst on my chest. The dermatologist drained three weeks ago, but never cut it out. All 7 dermatologists I have spoken to do not want to cut it out because they know there is a great chance I will develop a keloid scar. At this point, I don't care. It's painful to have to go through this every month. The only thing that stopped me from getting it cut out was the chance of it still coming back. Last friday, the doctor injected with Cortisone. It never went down. The steroid injections used to work but now they do nothing.

-Begin ACCUTANE in a month. I Signed all these documents saying I would not get pregnant while taking it. It was crazy.
- Was prescribed minocyclin but not planning on buying it because I'm already putting out money for Loestrin24fe.
- I just called the hospital to have three quarter sized cysts removed from my bikini line but I'm wondering if I should wait to go on accutane.
- The PA wanted me to dilute clorox with water and use it on areas where I have cysts to remove bacteria.
-Switched to Cetaphil anti bacterial soap bar
- Taking skin/hair/nail vitamins by blue bonnet with 15,000 IU of Vitamin A. Worked for my face back in August and my nails never chipped.

- Sea Salt- I swim in the Pacific ocean just to get rid of facial acne and calm inflammed cysts. I have to do this a few days in a row before I see a significant change.


Which products and methods have you tried that I have mentioned? which ones worked for you?

I'm at my wit's end. I'm 23, have had severe cystic acne since I was about 11 and I've been on everything under the sun, including Accutane, which only improved my skin by about 50%. Now I hear that you need to go on it twice of it to improve more than that. To be honest, my skin isn't as out of control right now as it has been in the past, but mostly because I'm on hormonal birth control. However, I want to go off of the birth control because it makes my migraines much worse, and even on the birth control I still get huge painful cysts, especially on my jawline and neck, and on my back. I went to a new dermatologist today (my old one stopped taking my insurance) assuming he'd put me on antibiotics and a wash for the time being, which he did. However, he said I'm not a candidate for Accutane and he would not put me on it even if the antibiotics don't work, which they won't. I've been on them enough before to know that. I have a cyst on my back right now that he injected, and he said it's so big that I might need to have it surgically removed, but I'm not a candidate for Accutane?! I told him I get these all the time but he didn't seem to listen or care. He just kept saying "It'll get better" as I'm sitting there crying. Well, it hasn't gotten better in ten years and I've been on everything he gave me already. I'm an adult now. It's not like I'm 15. And I don't want to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life and always risking waking up with a huge painful and embarrassing cyst on my face or back and unable to wear normal clothes in the summer. I could try another doctor but I'm sick of not being listened to and I have to take off an entire day of work (which I don't get paid for) to go to the doctor and I can't keep doing that. So what am I to do? Go off birth control, let my skin get to its natural terrible state to prove that I need Accutane? Thanks... and sorry if this was somewhat incoherent. I'm typing through tears.

I just recently have been breaking out wit cystic acne on my neck and jawline around 2 months ago and i just turned 18.

I used to be clear like totally wit a pimple here or there and i used to eat fast food alot and smoke (weed alot, sometimes cigs and cigars) and drink beer and only use a facewash in the shower and eat alot of sugar.

Now since i keep getting cysts i dont do anything i just mentioned up there anymore and im wondering if u guys have any ideas why i started to break out soooo bad.

also since i used to do all these things would they have an effect on my acne now or is it from another reason.

i personally think i broke out from smoking weed because it became so stressfull when i did it i would have anxiety attacks pretty much and i started smoking ALOT of black and milds but stopped

Hey all,


I've browsed these forums for a long time now, and have used Dan's regime a lot as well (almost a year and a half now)

I have rather sever acne. Or I should say, without treatment, my face is very severe acne prone, it's rather under control now, but not to my satisfaction.

Initially I tried Proactiv (2 years ago), I stuck with it for about 4 months with little success.

After that I tried Dans regime (yes, I followed it to the dot) for about 8 months. It worked very well to clear up my Acne, I'd say it took my acne from severe (15-20 new pimples a day) to rather mild (only about 5). I would say after about 3 months on the regime, my face had settled down as far as It was going to on Dan's program, it continued to stay that way for the following months, it had its ups and downs but on the whole stayed about the same. It wasn't completely gone, I'd have 5 or so red marks on my face every day, along with the occasional cyst that would really protrude out.

Due to this long period of no-change acne, I decided to up the ante a bit on the program, I started using 10% Benzoyl washes, along with an occasional gritty wash (sal acid sometimes). I basically replaced Dan's wash with 10% washes for a while, with some good success. Due to this change I decided to try 10% Benzoyl cream as a spot treatment on the big cysts and zits that Dan's 2.5% didn't seem to have any effect on. This also worked with good success, though still didn't complete the problem because due to the fact I was using it as a spot treatment, I was only applying it AFTER a zit showed up.

I had read that 10% Benzoyl was highly irritating on the skin so I was hesitant to use much of it, however, through spot treatment after spot treatment, I slowly fazed out 2.5% for all 10%. My face didn't really get irritated much at all.

Now, this worked VERY well. I know people claim/state that 2.5% is just as effective, however, I have tried both 2.5% and 10% extensively, and for long periods of time to establish their effectiveness, and I would say definitively, for me, 10% works better than 2.5%.

I've been on this "Modified" regime of mine for about 5 months now to establish that constant "State", to see if my face would clear up completely. However, it hasn't.

Though, better than all other variations I've tried, it still isn't the ticket.




Now, my question to all you guys is, what else can I try? Accutane is far out of the question, I don't care enough about how I look to start taking oral medication and messing with hormone levels.

I've also read recently that 10% benzoyl can be a bit damaging to the skin over time, is this true?

Would Sal Acid be worth a try? I've used it as a spot treatment from time to time with varying success, though never enough or consistent enough to establish if it works, and I'm also afraid of ditching 10% benzoyl for a while to try Sal, in fear of getting severe acne back.


Thanks for the input,

-E

ok so i have a 1 large cyst on my left cheek and its really dark because of all the dry up blood and it seems like the flakes also made it look darker and its really pissing me off cause im not dry or flakey in that part just that one spot is fill up with flakes and dried blood any suggestion how am i going to get rid of all this stuff? or should i just let for the cyst to slowly go down and remove all this?? am i allergic to this or my skin is sensitive?
thanks for the help in advance

I hope this is not a reoccurring instance. I have a cyst on my shoulder blade. This pisses me off because I have no back acne so I am wondering where the hell it came out of. Also, I have no cysts on my face. What should I do about it?

Hey there guys!

For about 8-10 months i had a pimple on my nose, that was pretty strange... it wasn't like a typical pimple. (i have a lot of blackheads on my nose)

It always grew, went red, and got small again and disappered. Than all the shit restarted and i was pretty depressed.

However, for abou 6-8 months now, all i have left is a small hump on the nose, which is VERY annoying, as it's visible and i have a big nose anyway. sometimes it's small and a bit visible, but most of the time it's bigger and annoys me a lot.

I went to the derm and she wasn't sure but thought it is a sebaceous cyst and can just be removed with surgery, and it would leave a big scar. Of course, that scared the shit out of me!

However, I'm not willing to give up. Has anyone got experience with it? I mean, there must be a way to help me on this... Past year has really sucked for me, and now i want to do a little "restart" for my life, and removing this cyst would be the first step for me!

here's a little pic (it looks small on here, but it's bigger than it looks here, sry for the bad quality).

http://250kb.de/u/081205/j/97582fb2.jpg

Can anyone help me out? PLEASE. Anyone have experiences about this? Never really had bad acne problems.