144 replies to this topic

[I am Snow]

How do you shave?

When I had acne, I used an electric razor. Now I use either the electric or a real one. Depends how rushed I am to leave.

[SAK]

I'm very happy that your no-care attitude worked for, but it does not work for everybody. The biggest mistake I ever made was stop worrying about my face, because that is when it became so incredibly bad that I am now totally pitted and pockmarked. I just KNEW that I could fight this naturally and with minimal chemical assault to my face. So I ate as healthfully as I could, washed with a mild, all-natural cleanser (Suki) once a day, and forgot about it. It was just acne. I was happy. I wasn't worried. I knew it would go away some day. Then I came down with mono and acne was the absolute last thing on my mind. I barely ate, rested, and didn't care about my face.

It never got better. It continued to get worse and worse. It got so bad that every tiny centimeter of my face was covered. I couldn't sleep, because my face and neck (and my back, too) was so painful. After a year of that, I finally saw a reduction in my acne. I became very sick again and my body stopped the acne train for a couple of weeks for some reason. Then I got to see how badly damaged my face had been. And that is when my confidence went completely to hell.

And I'll tell you another thing. People DO treat you differently with acne. As I'd mentioned before, my confidence was not shot to hell until I saw that I was permanently and severely damaged. I was the same person, very friendly, quite happy. My acne was not me. But nobody wanted anything to do with me. And people would comment on my face all of the time. It hurt, even when I wasn't in a bad place. I've been living in a new place for nearly three years now and I don't have a single friend. Not ONE. I remember several occasions in the classroom where I was required to pair up in order to do a short assignment. If I was paired up with a guy, he was a complete asshole. He wanted nothing to do with me, because I wasn't one of the other beautiful girls. When I didn't have acne, I never had these kinds of problems. I'm not going to claim that everybody loved me and that I was the hottest person in the world. But if I put out effort, I got effort back. At the very least a friendly conversation could ensue for a short period of time. Now, I might as well be a leper.

People do not treat you differently if you have a few bumps and pimples on your face. That is what most people call "acne." But when you look like a creature out of a bad sci-fi movie, they do treat you differently (i.e., horribly), and your confidence can go all to hell for all other people care. My own mother was making comments over the phone about how creepy my cousin looked with all of his acne scarring and how she couldn't stand to look at him. This was before she had seen my damage. Now that she has seen what I look like, she tries to bullshit me and pretend nobody would even notice my face. I'm beautiful and I'm the only one that sees this garbage. It's all bullshit.

[SAK]

I wanted to apologize for the harshness of my last post.

I am in a really bad place right now and I realize that I am taking it out on people who actually have a positive outlook on life. I am incredibly sorry and ashamed that I have resorted to knocking down others' optimism in order to validate how I am feeling. There is no excuse.

[I am Snow]

I wanted to apologize for the harshness of my last post.

I am in a really bad place right now and I realize that I am taking it out on people who actually have a positive outlook on life. I am incredibly sorry and ashamed that I have resorted to knocking down others' optimism in order to validate how I am feeling. There is no excuse.

If you are still around, it is ok.

Some people may treat you different, but not the people who actually matter.

If your acne really got worse, I am sorry. Some people actually have a skin condition. Many do not though.

I have not met 1 person in real life who I convinced to stop worrying about acne who did not clear up almost instantly. It works.

I do not claim to have all the answers, but stressing about acne will only make it worse.

[I am Snow]

Hope everyone is having a great winter and staying warm.

I thank all of you who have been messaging me with questions and welcome any others.

I do not actively post here very much, but I do respond to EVERY single person who e-mails me, usually in the same day.

Edited by I am Snow, 23 February 2010 - 05:52 PM.

[Coppedsynergy999]

Looook. Ok. I do agree that stress can contribute to acne. I also agree that your mind can make things real through "self-fullfilling" prophecy. I also agree that you can "over do it" on the topicals and make it worse, but to encourage people to do nothing is a horrible idea. Acne is a disease caused by inaccurate cell shedding and bacteria mixed with dirt oil and germs.Pleeeease stop this nonsense. Some people need to use anti-bacterial components or products to help there skin shed old cells faster.And to say you stopped taking zinc and this helped?please man.Zinc is good for your body acne or not.Many other supplements can do wonders for your skin. I AM A REALEST. gimme a break....

[.JacktheLad.]

Looook. Ok. I do agree that stress can contribute to acne. I also agree that your mind can make things real through "self-fullfilling" prophecy. I also agree that you can "over do it" on the topicals and make it worse, but to encourage people to do nothing is a horrible idea. Acne is a disease caused by inaccurate cell shedding and bacteria mixed with dirt oil and germs.Pleeeease stop this nonsense. Some people need to use anti-bacterial components or products to help there skin shed old cells faster.And to say you stopped taking zinc and this helped?please man.Zinc is good for your body acne or not.Many other supplements can do wonders for your skin. I AM A REALEST. gimme a break....

fair point and id argue the same thing about cells shedding etc.

but have you heard of meat? there is plenty of zinc in meat, even herbal teas. you do not need to supplement with anything. do you think the islands where acne dosnt exist they wake up and crack some supplements? no.

[I am Snow]

Looook. Ok. I do agree that stress can contribute to acne. I also agree that your mind can make things real through "self-fullfilling" prophecy. I also agree that you can "over do it" on the topicals and make it worse, but to encourage people to do nothing is a horrible idea. Acne is a disease caused by inaccurate cell shedding and bacteria mixed with dirt oil and germs.Pleeeease stop this nonsense. Some people need to use anti-bacterial components or products to help there skin shed old cells faster.And to say you stopped taking zinc and this helped?please man.Zinc is good for your body acne or not.Many other supplements can do wonders for your skin. I AM A REALEST. gimme a break....

From your response, I see you have not taken the time to really read this thread. You have taken way too much out of context.

Here is something from a message I sent to one of my emailers, and I think most can benefit from it:

"Well... the hardest part of all of this is to stop worrying.

It is hard for me to explain, but this is how you must see it:

You are not trying to stop worrying about acne because you think it will make your acne go away. This method will only continue to make you think you are "doing" something for your acne and you will still be worried that it wont work... and then it probably wont.

You must stop worrying about acne BECAUSE you wish to not worry about acne. You must realize acne is not important. The rest comes naturally. You must first desire to just let go of all of your concerns and worries about acne. You must stop worrying about what other people think. You must stop worrying about if next week your face will be clear.

You must just not care anymore whether you have it or not.

It is hard, very hard, but once you have done it, you will look back and realize just HOW MUCH stress and worry you had bottled in you and how relieved you are to have let it go. You will also remark at how your face is actually more clear now that you stopped caring.

Hopefully that helps,

- Harrison"

[dykim90]

great story man. honestly.

[I am Snow]

great story man. honestly.

It can be anyone's story. Hope all is well with this community.

Stay confident!

[onelittleone]

after reading some of the post here i have to say i fell somewhat better about myself



Thanks

[I am Snow]

after reading some of the post here i have to say i fell somewhat better about myself
Thanks

Keep reading it and things like it... and feel better about yourself every day.

[lolatme]

great another wannabe zen master trying to get inside the minds of acne sufferers all over the globe. mind over acne? please. that's just dumb. what does that solve? nothing. are you saying i shouldn't care about acne at all and just live life like my face is as smooth as james bond? why shouldn't i care about acne? why should I have a no care attitude? what is the point of ANYTHING if you aren't gonna care about what others think of you? People is the essence of life. people see other people and all people have faces. if my face looks like a blast site theres no reason to go out. Why set yourself up for failure? you think girls like guys with acne? ugly ones wont care but hot ones do. I don't want to settle. I will never settle. I will never put myself out there unless I have reason to. should blind people be truck drivers? no. just like acne sufferers shouldn't be part of regular society. I can't believe someone seriously expects people to take this advice. mind over acne. what? So should I walk through the mall or airport and simply IGNORE all the people staring at me like an I'm some kind of alien? literally an alien. Should I? fuck no. Why would I? To feel better about myself? just to be able to say I stepped out of my comfort zone? pointless. clear skins notice big time and care big time if someone has severe acne. I'm not even gonna read through all 6 pages or whatever in this stupid thing. I know it's full of fake shit. feel better about myself? WTF FOR? how can someone with bad acne feel GOOD? ever? about ANYTHING? do you realize what ur saying?

[slave2makeup]

I'm not even gonna read through all 6 pages or whatever in this stupid thing. I know it's full of fake shit.

hahhahahhah lol i just thought the same thing

[I am Snow]

I'm not even gonna read through all 6 pages or whatever in this stupid thing. I know it's full of fake shit.

hahhahahhah lol i just thought the same thing

May you stay slave2acne as well then.

[I am Snow]

great another wannabe zen master trying to get inside the minds of acne sufferers all over the globe. mind over acne? please. that's just dumb. what does that solve? nothing. are you saying i shouldn't care about acne at all and just live life like my face is as smooth as james bond? why shouldn't i care about acne? why should I have a no care attitude? what is the point of ANYTHING if you aren't gonna care about what others think of you? People is the essence of life. people see other people and all people have faces. if my face looks like a blast site theres no reason to go out. Why set yourself up for failure? you think girls like guys with acne? ugly ones wont care but hot ones do. I don't want to settle. I will never settle. I will never put myself out there unless I have reason to. should blind people be truck drivers? no. just like acne sufferers shouldn't be part of regular society. I can't believe someone seriously expects people to take this advice. mind over acne. what? So should I walk through the mall or airport and simply IGNORE all the people staring at me like an I'm some kind of alien? literally an alien. Should I? fuck no. Why would I? To feel better about myself? just to be able to say I stepped out of my comfort zone? pointless. clear skins notice big time and care big time if someone has severe acne. I'm not even gonna read through all 6 pages or whatever in this stupid thing. I know it's full of fake shit. feel better about myself? WTF FOR? how can someone with bad acne feel GOOD? ever? about ANYTHING? do you realize what ur saying?

Calm down, then I will address you as well.

[eleonne]

The Murad Acne Complex cleared my face of acne. (I had severe acne, cystic as well as comedonic). I still have acne from time to time, one or two sometimes, but it's nothing compared to the face I used to have before =( My face has really cleared.

I am not certain, however, if it was solely Murad that cured me. It could be that I was no longer stressed as I have already graduated from college. Stress could have been a factor and it might've been coincidental that during the time I was applying Murad products, I was no longer experiencing any stress. The Roaccutane I took could also have been a factor (I used the Murad set when my face was at its worst - when my face was experiencing relapse from the therapy. The acne was worse than ever 6 months after the therapy >.<); although my acne did worsen months after the therapy, the long term effects of the drug could have cured my face of severe cystic acne. The long term effects of Isotretinoin could have coincided with the time I was applying Murad products. This has always been a puzzle to me since I had very severe cystic acne, and I know for a fact that no topical medication can treat a cystic acne condition.

I posted this because of the invitation of the original post. Although Murad Acne Complex, a topical skincare product set, might've not cured me of my acne permanently (I will have to live my whole life before I'll know the answer), it did help. I just consumed one package of Murad that was sent to me, and then switched to other products that I needed to maintain my skin's integrity (VMV Hypoallergenics Superskin for Oily Skin), because Murad was not available in my country then (I think). I am still enjoying an almost clear skin for five months now ever since I used Murad =) The positive effects of Murad was apparent on my skin after just one month of usage.

The point that I would like to make here is that - absolutely in my own opinion, I think topical medications do help. It did in my case. I am indeed skeptical to the idea that topical products can cure acne permanently, that's why I am on maintenance. It's still going well for me. I hope it continues to be so =)

There are many different cases of acne and countless factors that could influence it. I don't want to put off anything as absolute - not doing anything could work out for you as much as doing something could work for somebody else.

Listen to your skin ^___^ LOL XD

Edited by eleonne, 24 September 2010 - 01:40 AM.

[beastyfee]

I'm too lazy to effectively stick to a regimen. I mean, I take accutane, but I forget to take it so often that I have 3 boxes extra and I have 3 months to go.

I'm such a rebel.

[tk13]

for the guy that started this post .. how bad was your acne at its worst? i think it sounds like a great idea, but its really not practical for someone with a legitimate skin problem. If i stop using topicals i break out worse and it bothers me. I have tried it. I guess i never quit caring about it all together .. but not caring about something doesnt make it magically go away. If a diabetic stops caring about his/her blood sugar does it solve anything .. fuck no .. it would exacerbate their problems. I see it as the same thing for someone with an acne problem. I totally agree that you can overdo it with topicals because i used to do that, but not caring would be disastrous for some people's skin and would ultimately probably come back to bite them at some point. I mean it would be fantastic to just up and quit caring about it ... and even better if that actually cured the problem. That is not possible for a lot of people .. especially those who do have pretty bad acne. I guess a lot of our lives would be better if we just quit caring about it all together .. unfortunately mirrors exist lol. Im pretty far from optimistic when it comes to acne .... but realistically speaking this would probably prove disadventageous for a lot of people. I recently (like the past week) tried to go without using anything on my face .. just wash it ... after about three days i started getting a nasty sucker on my left cheek that if i had just left it alone would have likely turned into a cyst (based on past experiences). My skin didnt get much worse .. it stayed pretty stagnant .. still mild acne/scars/etc., but i started getting a pimple larger than i have gotten since taking accutane ... and ive been using topicals since a few weeks after i stopped it. I suppose that in the time period of stopping everything i never quit caring about my skin completely .. i thought about it less bc i wasnt doing anything for it and it started to get a little worse. I have since conlcluded that doing nothing is probably a bad idea for me seeing as simply not caring or thinking about it is pretty hard given the condition of my face. I wish i could stop thinking about it honestly ... im pretty sure my skin would get worse if i did that though given my recent experience .. and even past experiences. If i missed a night or two of topicals in the past i was sure to start breaking out worse ... just another reason to not stop using them.

[I am Snow]

The Murad Acne Complex cleared my face of acne. (I had severe acne, cystic as well as comedonic). I still have acne from time to time, one or two sometimes, but it's nothing compared to the face I used to have before =( My face has really cleared.

I am not certain, however, if it was solely Murad that cured me. It could be that I was no longer stressed as I have already graduated from college. Stress could have been a factor and it might've been coincidental that during the time I was applying Murad products, I was no longer experiencing any stress. The Roaccutane I took could also have been a factor (I used the Murad set when my face was at its worst - when my face was experiencing relapse from the therapy. The acne was worse than ever 6 months after the therapy >.<); although my acne did worsen months after the therapy, the long term effects of the drug could have cured my face of severe cystic acne. The long term effects of Isotretinoin could have coincided with the time I was applying Murad products. This has always been a puzzle to me since I had very severe cystic acne, and I know for a fact that no topical medication can treat a cystic acne condition.

I posted this because of the invitation of the original post. Although Murad Acne Complex, a topical skincare product set, might've not cured me of my acne permanently (I will have to live my whole life before I'll know the answer), it did help. I just consumed one package of Murad that was sent to me, and then switched to other products that I needed to maintain my skin's integrity (VMV Hypoallergenics Superskin for Oily Skin), because Murad was not available in my country then (I think). I am still enjoying an almost clear skin for five months now ever since I used Murad =) The positive effects of Murad was apparent on my skin after just one month of usage.

The point that I would like to make here is that - absolutely in my own opinion, I think topical medications do help. It did in my case. I am indeed skeptical to the idea that topical products can cure acne permanently, that's why I am on maintenance. It's still going well for me. I hope it continues to be so =)

There are many different cases of acne and countless factors that could influence it. I don't want to put off anything as absolute - not doing anything could work out for you as much as doing something could work for somebody else.

Listen to your skin ^___^ LOL XD

I may be wrong, but I think you are a female. As I have already said here, women tend to have acne no matter what because of their monthly fluctuating hormones. This is why birth control helps often.

Either way, it is great to hear that you have had success. Good luck in the future!

for the guy that started this post .. how bad was your acne at its worst? i think it sounds like a great idea, but its really not practical for someone with a legitimate skin problem. If i stop using topicals i break out worse and it bothers me. I have tried it. I guess i never quit caring about it all together .. but not caring about something doesnt make it magically go away. If a diabetic stops caring about his/her blood sugar does it solve anything .. fuck no .. it would exacerbate their problems. I see it as the same thing for someone with an acne problem. I totally agree that you can overdo it with topicals because i used to do that, but not caring would be disastrous for some people's skin and would ultimately probably come back to bite them at some point. I mean it would be fantastic to just up and quit caring about it ... and even better if that actually cured the problem. That is not possible for a lot of people .. especially those who do have pretty bad acne. I guess a lot of our lives would be better if we just quit caring about it all together .. unfortunately mirrors exist lol. Im pretty far from optimistic when it comes to acne .... but realistically speaking this would probably prove disadventageous for a lot of people. I recently (like the past week) tried to go without using anything on my face .. just wash it ... after about three days i started getting a nasty sucker on my left cheek that if i had just left it alone would have likely turned into a cyst (based on past experiences). My skin didnt get much worse .. it stayed pretty stagnant .. still mild acne/scars/etc., but i started getting a pimple larger than i have gotten since taking accutane ... and ive been using topicals since a few weeks after i stopped it. I suppose that in the time period of stopping everything i never quit caring about my skin completely .. i thought about it less bc i wasnt doing anything for it and it started to get a little worse. I have since conlcluded that doing nothing is probably a bad idea for me seeing as simply not caring or thinking about it is pretty hard given the condition of my face. I wish i could stop thinking about it honestly ... im pretty sure my skin would get worse if i did that though given my recent experience .. and even past experiences. If i missed a night or two of topicals in the past i was sure to start breaking out worse ... just another reason to not stop using them.

As I said in the beginning of this thread, some people really do have a skin CONDITION. Most people that I have met in person, or talked to on here, do not.

As for any regimen, you need to try it for at least a month before you make a judgment about how it works.

The most important message though, is that it isn't about getting rid of your acne. As long as "getting rid of acne" is all that is on your mind, you will just be adding to your stress.

I still get pimples from time to time, but now I just don't care. I see some others with pimples/acne/sever acne... and I just want to tell them they look great. They walk around with their sullen faces, girls especially... and they are really beautiful.

Edited by I am Snow, 15 October 2010 - 07:20 AM.