16 replies to this topic

[practical]

My best friend is getting married in March. I'm a bridesmaid. The bridesmaids' dresses are beautiful - soft pink, flowing, and...strapless.

I have bad bacne. When I wear swimsuits, people ask what I did to my back. They're not just zits. They last for months, leave bad scars, and appear again. They show up on the back of my shoulders. I can feel them through my shirt. They are huge, ugly, and painful. It would be very difficult to conceal them completely with makeup on my friends' wedding day.

Out of desperation I typed "acne" into google the other day and came to Dan's acne.org site. Tonight I went to the store to buy the products. My face has mild acne, but I'm going to start with my face and see what it does. I'm excited, and I'm glad I'm doing something now instead of panicking the week before the wedding.

I got "Equate Skin Cleanser". I meant to get Cetaphil, but it was right next to Cetaphil and I guess I grabbed the wrong one. I got home and went "Huh?" But I used it, and it seems fine. Apparently it's very similar because it says on the bottole "Compare to Cetaphil Cleanser".

I got "Neutrogena On-The-Spot Acne Treatment." It burned and made my skin a little red. But I read all the instructions and I know that's expected. My skin isn't as red as it got with Proactiv (I used Proactiv once about four years ago and it made my whole face puff up and turn red).

I got "Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion". It came with a free "Gentle Cleansing Bar". I don't like having unused clutter laying around, so maybe I'll use that up, since it's the brand of cleanser I was supposed to get in the first place.

I just did it on the lower half of my face today - I didn't feel like experimenting with more. We'll see tomorrow.

I'm also excited about these message boards - there is a lot of good advice. I've decided to change my sheets more often. Maybe I'll buy some new sheets to make it more rewarding...

It's bedtime, but I don't feel like I can get into my bed until I have clean sheets!

Edit: Sheets are changed. And, I meant to mention this earlier: I've been taking Vitamins C, E, and Zinc daily to keep from getting sick. My facial acne isn't as bad as usual, and I haven't gotten sick yet, so I'll try to keep that up. For the record, I have taken my vitamins today.

[practical]

It's nearly 7 AM and I have to go to work, but I just want to say real quick that overnight I am suddenly conscious of everything I do to my face. This morning I kept my hair in a towel while I washed my face and applied medication. Then I was very careful not to let my hair touch my face while I did my hair, and not to let hair product get on my face. Then I immediately put my hair back so it wouldn't touch my face. I think some of the zits I get on the sides of my face are from irritating hair product.

Speaking of which: You know how some girls can't go out the door without makeup? I normally wear it maybe two or three times a year, so I don't have to worry about skin-irritating makeup. But I cannot get my hair wet without putting hair product in it. I have very difficult hair - it's curly and very very thick, so it gets poofy and dry if I don't do something to it. So that's what I'm being careful about.

I only have mild acne compared to many people. It depends on what time of my cycle it is. Right now is the worst time for me - about 10 days after the first day of my period. I have about 3 "big" zits and 5 smaller ones.

I don't really have one "problem area" that I keep reading about. I have constant small blackheads on my chin, nose, and between my eyes like many people, but I get "big ones" on my cheeks, chin, forehead, side of face, wherever.

Well, now I have to go to work.

[jamesjoyce]

accutane. stopped my whiteheads and "sebaceous filaments" on my nose. only took 3 months for me.

[Beauty Bot]

my body and more specific my bacne cleared completely on accutane within about 3 months.

I don't know what I would have done in your situation, not being clear like I am now. I can finally wear clothing that shows my back/shoulders/chest!

The CSR will probably help your face, but for body acne, you might want to look into something else. Unless you have someone to help you do the CSR on those tricky places on your back....

[chaz (charlotte)]

This is really bad....but last year i fell asleep revising in the sun whilst sitting in the garden. i hadnt put sun creme on...stupid me...but i used to have really bad bacne and iused to hide it all the time... but the sun burnt made it disapear completly. i couldnt believe it. i wasfinally able to wear strappytops! i'm not saying go get skin cancer and sit out in the sun...but i'm jst telling you what happned. so maybe fake tan might cover your back acne you never know. xxx ps, the acne red marks on my back are slowly coming back but the feeling of havin no bacne was amzingxxx

[Beauty Bot]

but the sun burnt made it disapear completly. i couldnt believe it. i wasfinally able to wear strappytops!

yup, tanning will do that in the short term..... it really dries you out and can clear you pretty quickly.

however, it can go the other way too. she could clear, then break out horribly a few days before the wedding, which would suck! Also, some people don't respond well to tanning.

and there's always the fact that burning is bad for you

........

what about tea tree oil? there's the thing about spraying the solution on your back a few times a day..... there's a thread on it here.

[dog20]

this cleared my bacne in 2 weeks

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php?showtopic=107656

[beentheredonethat]

If you go ahead and start Dan's regimen on your back that should give you enough time for it to clear you up. But if you wait it may not.

Is there any way that your friend will agree to have a seamstress add a panel of sheer material to help cover the situation? That way you could use makeup, and the material would camoflage anything the makeup couldn't conceal.

[Beauty Bot]

Is there any way that your friend will agree to have a seamstress add a panel of sheer material to help cover the situation? That way you could use makeup, and the material would camoflage anything the makeup couldn't conceal.

that would probably look really pretty! depending on how many bridesmaids there are, maybe they could make a shall for the others out of the same material or something.....

[practical]

Wow! Thanks, everyone, for your input. I posted 11 hours ago and came back from work to find so many replies!

I'll check with my friend on dress possibilities.

I'm going to cut down on the amount of bp I'm using; a friend noticed that my face was red and asked me if I was unusually warm. I joked that I was embarrassed. If the itchiness and redness doesn't go away...well, we'll see.

And I don't like the way it smells.

Hm. Accutane. You need a prescription for that, don't you? Ironically, I think my friend that's getting married is on that.

Right now I don't have insurance, but I should soon. But maybe not soon enough...Hm. I'm thinking out loud.

dog20, thanks for the link. That's a very interesting regimen, but it's inexpensive, and I'm willing, so I'll try it! I have been taking zinc as a vitamin daily to stay healthy, so hopefully that's been working on my skin too.

Apparently my facial skin is more sensitive than I thought. Until I get used to the bp, I'm going to apply it only at night. I think I'll shower at night, too, so it won't wash off during the day. I hate showering at night. But it's for the common good, right?

Until I get supplies for the regimen dog20 referred me to, I'm going to use the regular Regimen on my back.

QUESTION: I have very mild facial acne compared to most people on these boards (I'm just guessing by descriptions.) The thing that drove me to these boards was back acne. Should I even be using the Regimen on my face? It stings, it makes my face red, it's a pain to remember, and now I'm thinking: "Since I only get a few zits a month anyway, will this make much of a difference?" Of course I want better skin, but looking at the "before" and "after" photos on this board, my acne is better on my worst day than a lot of even the "after" photos.

[practical]

AACK!

Last night when I dutifully put the stuff on my face, it burned painfully for at least 2 hours after I put it on. I know I'm supposed to expect some redness and irritation, so I bore through it. It was so painful I sat with a fan on my face and read to distract myself, and ended up going to bed around 9. I like to think I have an average pain tolerance, but I was almost in tears.

And this morning MY WHOLE FACE IS SWOLLEN. Is this normal?

I'm a little red like I was yesterday, but my whole face is actually wider. And it hurts to move my mouth at all.

I wish I could call in sick to work...

[markkm]

Swollen? Yikes. That kinda sounds like an allergic reaction to the BP. Have you ever used BP before? Also make sure you are using tiny amounts to begin with, and slowly increase it. If this keeps up, I would suggest trying a different BP product, and if that does the same, you may be allergic.

[Beauty Bot]

I can't use BP other than for small spot treatments..... if I put it on my whole face it gets VERY itchy, burning, red, and my neck would swell (even if I put BP on my forehead!)....
sounds like you are allergic to it like many people are....

try SA (salicylic acid) or the tea tree oil thing....

[practical]

markkm: I used Proactiv a few years ago but stopped because I got the same reaction. Now I'm saying, "Duh!" I must be allergic to it.

finallymejess: Thanks for your suggestions. I'll probably wait till my allergic reaction clears up, then try bp once more just for small spots. I put some on my back and didn't get a bad reaction, so maybe I'll just switch to that. If I run out and see no improvement, I'll try tea tree oil and/or SA.

Continuation of personal log:

Today was brutal with my swollen, burning face. I iced my face with an ice pack on my way to work, and that helped a little bit with the pain (and also working in a cold warehouse until everyone else shows up an hour and a half later). I washed my face with just water and the swelling went down a little. My face is still red and starting to peel, and is still very painful to touch. I let my two girlfriends know what was going on because they were wondering. They told me I should use Proactiv - I was like "NO! I used it before and this same thing happened!"

I'm kind of afraid to put lotion on my face because Cetaphil seems to burn my skin now too, but I put a bit of Vaseline on the really burning spots. My skin soaked it right up and it feels a lot better.

Tonight: I'm going to drink some tea, relax, do some cleaning and laundry, and read.

Tomorrow: Do not wake up at 6 AM (woohoo!). Shower, bp on back, nothing on face. Clean and read and relax, then pig out! Have a happy Thanksgiving!

[Intoxifornication]

aww practical, i think accutane would help you get your back clear... but u better find a derm so he/she can truly help you

good luck!

[practical]

Oh great.

I'm glad I don't work today.

This morning, my eyes are swollen almost completely shut!

Yesterday the swelling was just on my cheeks and the sides of my face. That seems to have gone down, and the redness has also mostly disappeared. I'm flaking and extremely dry in places but I'm using Vasline. I'm also breaking out way worse, but I'd rather have a normal sized, normal colored face with acne than a swollen, blotchy face with acne.

Woe is me!

(Actually I think it's kind of funny!)