21 replies to this topic

[ll_1002]

Has anyone had this problem?

I have a very light skin colour. Had perfectly clear skin until this year, when out of no where, my face and back exploded with acne, mostly comedonal. I've been on tetralysal for about 4 months now. The acne is only slightly improved.

The odd thing is that I've noticed my face is now about 4-5 shades darker than my neck and the rest of my body. It is really very noticeable, and friends have commented on it. It's not the red marks from old pimples, though I have those as well. But the whole of my face just looks very tanned compared to other parts of me. I know tetralysal causes sun-sensitivity, but I've been mainly indoors, and besides, my arms, which are more exposed to sun than my face when I go out, are normal in colour (same as the rest of my body).

Oh, and I also used differin for about 2 weeks (alternate days) about 3 months ago. It turned my face bright red. Stopped using it as my face felt like it was burning. Could this be due to the differin? But surely the effect should have worn off after 3 months!!!!!!

Anyone experienced this? Any advice on how get my face back to normal? I tried using some "whitening" skin care products I bought from ebay, but have seen absolutely no improvement.
I feel super self-conscious about this. If anything, this is worse than the acne itself.

[CCasey]

should have worn sunscreen, regardless if you're only for a short period of time. anyways, i dont know, maybe your face is just more sensitive. instead of whitening your face, how about tanning the rest of your body.

[dykim90]

yes, use sunscreen. since you and like everyone on the website suffers from acne or have, you obviously use products on your face and so your skin becomes more sensitive to everything. for example, the sun. so youre skin will produce melanin, from melanocytes, to protect itself from the sun. i dont know that is why your skin is darker than the rest of the body but that is what i had to share.

[ll_1002]

Thanks for the advice. It's still a puzzle to me why this is the case, but I just really want to look less weird. Anyway, any suggestion on a sunscreen that won't cause breakouts? I've always hated using sunscreen, as they seem to break me out and make my already oily face look more greasy.

yes, use sunscreen. since you and like everyone on the website suffers from acne or have, you obviously use products on your face and so your skin becomes more sensitive to everything. for example, the sun. so youre skin will produce melanin, from melanocytes, to protect itself from the sun. i dont know that is why your skin is darker than the rest of the body but that is what i had to share.

[Surenixie]

strange, i have had the exact same problem!! i have been on the regimen for about a month and a half now and i am definitely close to clear except i have a weird problem with prolonged redness and at times when i observe myself in the mirror i realize my facial skin looks several shades darker than my neck and body which is weird looking too since i am also really pale skinned :S before i went on the regimen my face was much lighter but of course i had all those nasty pimples on my cheeks.. and now that my pimples have died down.. weird redness is on my cheeks and even when i dust on some light mineral powder foundation my face still looks darker than my neck O.o

[plt]

i have the same problem. i don't think it has anything to do with cleansers and whatnot. because i wash my neck as if it's part of my face.. so it gets the same treatment my face does.

right now i'm experimenting with wearing darker makeup on my neck than my face, but it would still be nice to know the actual cause of this.

[tabasco sauce]

I'm going through the same thing.
I used benzoyl peroxide with great success through university and foolishly stopped when i became clear. Over the past couple of years i've tried restarting my own variation of the regimen but had become extremely sensitive to BP (redness, burning, swelling)...
This time around, i am using BP again w/ the assistance and monitoring of a dermatologist which kind of forced me to soldier through the burning stage (which, now 2 months in, is finally becoming only a mild stinging for 20 minutes to an hour after BP application...)
However, i do find that my face is darker than the rest of my body and neck and it really bothers me. As you said it's not redness (at least i dont think it is), but more like a tan that is relegated to my face.

Since i experienced so much irritation at first, im hoping that this 'tan' will also fade with prolonged use of BP.


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[Lee1234]

BP was the cause for me. My neck and arms are about 3-4 shades lighter than my face. I couldn't wear sunscreen due to negative reactions and now 4+ years later, my face hasn't lightened.

[tabasco sauce]

BP was the cause for me. My neck and arms are about 3-4 shades lighter than my face. I couldn't wear sunscreen due to negative reactions and now 4+ years later, my face hasn't lightened.

are you still using BP? or have you been off of BP for the past 4 years?


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[Lee1234]

BP was the cause for me. My neck and arms are about 3-4 shades lighter than my face. I couldn't wear sunscreen due to negative reactions and now 4+ years later, my face hasn't lightened.

are you still using BP? or have you been off of BP for the past 4 years?


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I stopped using BP now. I'm trying to see if leaving my skin to it's own devices can restore it's natural colour again, but whilst this method has cured my acne, the discolouration remains to this day.

[tabasco sauce]

BP was the cause for me. My neck and arms are about 3-4 shades lighter than my face. I couldn't wear sunscreen due to negative reactions and now 4+ years later, my face hasn't lightened.

are you still using BP? or have you been off of BP for the past 4 years?


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I stopped using BP now. I'm trying to see if leaving my skin to it's own devices can restore it's natural colour again, but whilst this method has cured my acne, the discolouration remains to this day.

Let me know how it goes... best of luck


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[liquids]

I had this happen to me as well. The cause was the benzoyl peroxide it does darken your face from the rest of your body. Chemical Peels WILL reverse the damage by peeling off the discolored skin. Makeupartischoice.com and Platinumskincare.com sell chemical peels that will correct the damage. Good Luck.

[ManlyCurls26]

I have this problem. I've been having this problem for years, until I ordered TCA which is a chemical peel. If you want to go that route then I suggest you first try the lighter peels first, such as glycolic acid or lactic acid. If the lighter peels are unsuccessful then TCA should clear you right up.

[JaredN]

Same thing happened to me but not "a lot" darker. Doctor prescribed me Benzoil Peroxide and it made my face tanner. It's darker than my neck, but nobody really notices. People do ask me how they heck is my face still tan in the winter though haha.

[tabasco sauce]

so to update... i went to my derm yesterday, nothing out of the ordinary.
he said my face looked much better, but has me trying samples of Tactuo (in the US it's called Epiduo, a mix of adapalene/bp) for the next month hoping for a better result.
He said my face was a little dry, but didn't mention anything about my face being discolored... im quite worried about the Epiduo though since almost all reviews say that your face will get red/flaky/scaly... and i just went through all of that with the BP... i'll keep updating when i can.


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[Lee1234]

I have this problem. I've been having this problem for years, until I ordered TCA which is a chemical peel. If you want to go that route then I suggest you first try the lighter peels first, such as glycolic acid or lactic acid. If the lighter peels are unsuccessful then TCA should clear you right up.

Holy!! I saw the before and after pics of a girl who had a TCA peel, with the exact kind of deep PIH I have and it completely cleared her up . I'm in awe...it's too good to be true...it must be.

[ManlyCurls26]

I have this problem. I've been having this problem for years, until I ordered TCA which is a chemical peel. If you want to go that route then I suggest you first try the lighter peels first, such as glycolic acid or lactic acid. If the lighter peels are unsuccessful then TCA should clear you right up.

Holy!! I saw the before and after pics of a girl who had a TCA peel, with the exact kind of deep PIH I have and it completely cleared her up . I'm in awe...it's too good to be true...it must be.

Yeah, TCA peels are awesome! Why haven't you tried it yet?

[Lee1234]

I have this problem. I've been having this problem for years, until I ordered TCA which is a chemical peel. If you want to go that route then I suggest you first try the lighter peels first, such as glycolic acid or lactic acid. If the lighter peels are unsuccessful then TCA should clear you right up.

Holy!! I saw the before and after pics of a girl who had a TCA peel, with the exact kind of deep PIH I have and it completely cleared her up . I'm in awe...it's too good to be true...it must be.

Yeah, TCA peels are awesome! Why haven't you tried it yet?

I didn't think it'd be so effective tbh, I kind of lost hope for my PIH a while back. I'm going to speak to my GP about referring me to a derm soon though. I'll be doing this as soon as possible. Thank you

[ManlyCurls26]

I have this problem. I've been having this problem for years, until I ordered TCA which is a chemical peel. If you want to go that route then I suggest you first try the lighter peels first, such as glycolic acid or lactic acid. If the lighter peels are unsuccessful then TCA should clear you right up.

Holy!! I saw the before and after pics of a girl who had a TCA peel, with the exact kind of deep PIH I have and it completely cleared her up . I'm in awe...it's too good to be true...it must be.

Yeah, TCA peels are awesome! Why haven't you tried it yet?

I didn't think it'd be so effective tbh, I kind of lost hope for my PIH a while back. I'm going to speak to my GP about referring me to a derm soon though. I'll be doing this as soon as possible. Thank you

I was just like you, I didn't think it would work, even after looking at all the successful before and after pictures. But I took a chance and I'm glad I did. Good luck, I hope you manage to clear your skin.

[audreyjade]

My face is much darker then my neck as well. It's not tan though, more like redness. My neck is very fair--like porcelain white almost--and my face is currently very broken out with lots of red hyperpigmentation. It's a nightmare