3 replies to this topic

[hadituptohere]

Hi, folks ... I'm curious as to what happens IF comedonal acne like mine starts to heal. I refer specifically to big skin-colored whiteheads that appear in clusters on my cheeks and have been there for YEARS. I've been to 3 dermatologists trying to treat them. The first looked at me in distaste and said, "You have a ton of whiteheads" (really????) and then asked why I hadn't been to someone before (obviously, it's the money, you jerk. You think I like looking like this?). The second derm put me on Tazorac - first the cream and then the gel - and Doryx which did nothing for me. I stopped the Tazorac because I could see no visible results after refilling the prescription twice. I moved to Japan in January so naturally haven't been to a doctor since then. I haven't done much to it at all, aside from going on birth control which helped - a little bit. And then only for a few months.

I'm traveling home next month for the first time in a year and feel unwilling to return looking as bad as I do now. I feel like I need to be an acne fighting warrior! So lately I've been using my leftover tazorac cream diligently along with ACV as a toner. I recently bought some acne supplements from Fancl, which I started taking 2 days ago. I've been doing the Tazorac for about 2 weeks and the ACV for about one. As can be expected, I am molting constantly. The ACV is really helping my leftover redness but my whiteheads are still horrible and so are my ice pick scars. I'm seriously considering taking the ACV internally since I have no doubt my whitehead issues are internal rather than external.

My question is ... suppose all this stuff actually works (it would be the first time in my 15 years that anything worked for my whiteheads) ... what can I expect? Will the buried whiteheads become pustules? Will I be subject to redness and all around crusty grossness?

Said pictures:







As always, thank you for your attention; any advice would be great. I am also considering trying to get an appointment with a derm when I'm back home ... unless anyone can recommend a great English-speaking derm in the Osaka, Japan, area! My insurance coverage is so much better here ...

I also read the post on how to get rid of acne like mine. I wish I could say Paula's Choice BHA had worked for me when I tried it 7 years ago. Nothing. Maybe I should give it another try?

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[hadituptohere]

bump ... anyone?

[zelio78]

From my experience some came to a head and some others just dried out. There is an initial irritation to the superficial layer of the skin that will cause some redness and scaling. In my case it looked worse before it got better which is pretty much like anything else I've used for my skin.

[hadituptohere]

so, zelio - you actually saw improvement in your whiteheads?? i find that very comforting since they are just the most stubborn little buggers; i haven't had clear since since I was 12 because of them. What were you using?

I've been doing the Taz very diligently plus ACV now for about 2 weeks and my whiteheads really look like they are bulging - I can almost see white in some of them; it's quite gross! I can actually see them from farther away these days. Does this mean they are getting worse or getting better?