119 replies to this topic

[hopeful87.]

hey! im actually in a similar situation as you. i had a horrible sudden breakout during summer due to a birthcontrol pill that my dermatologist prescribed me. but after 3months, it made my face so bad that i was switched to another pill, which is yaz. so i've been on yaz for like 5 months now. right now, i don't have any active pimples..but i have a lot of red spots/marks/scars on my cheeks..sorta like yours.
but what im curious about is if yaz is supposed to clear up the red marks? or does yaz just prevent new pimples from forming? cause right now i have no pimples..which is good but there's so much red spots on my face. so do you know if yaz would help the red spots or no?

Hey there! I'm on yaz myself along with doxycycline, duac & differin. I've been on yaz for 3 months now. And I'm really sorry to hear that you had to deal with a breakout for 3 long months. My break out started and ended within 3 weeks and I was beyond miserable. Unfortunately, yaz will do nothing for the red marks. Yaz is a combination of hormones. Sometimes, our elevated hormones cause issues like an increase in sebum (thus resulting in clogged pores and acne). I don't have any pimples right now myself (knocks on wood). So my main focus is to rid myself of this horrid marks. Are you on any topical ointments? I feel like Differin (which is a derivitive of vitamin a) is helping with clearing my marks but EXTRA slowly. I need to take a picture of my current face to show my progress because there is a significant change. I'm also exfoliating. I looked up something called the baby brush method. Basically all you do is use a baby's hair brush and exfoliate your face with it (while using your regular cleanser). I heard that it helps speed up the process of getting rid of red marks. Other than that, if you can, you should set up an appt with a dermatologist. I'm going to see one on the 22nd and I'll definitely let you know what she recommends me to do! As far as scars go, I'm going to start dermarolling in another month or so when my marks have healed even more and I have no sight of even the smallest pimple that may form. You should look into the dermaroller. It looks a bit uncomfortable but It looks promising. I can't wait to try mine out. I bought one off ebay already and it's a 1.0 mm one. I just picked one that looked like the one that the doctor's were using on the doctors show. Also, I'm going to ask my doctor if hydroquinone will do anything for me. It's a bleaching agent but I've heard a bunch of stuff about how it can cause cancer if used in high doses. The only way I see that being possible is if people eat it lol or use it for longer than 6 months to a year I suppose? Anyway! I'll fill you in once I find out what the best route to take is! Hang in there!

Edited by hopeful87., 04 February 2011 - 12:52 PM.

[tk112233]

yeah i figured that the yaz doesn't help with healing red marks! cause when i last saw my dermatologist..which was january 3, he was like "hmm..you should have been cleared up by now". and i was thinking to myself 'how can i have cleared up if my main problems are red spots and marks! those take awhile to heal!'. so anyways, on that day he prescribed me duac..which only really helps whiteheads and pimples. when i do notice a new pimple coming through, i put the duac on it and later in the day it's gone. but my red marks are still pretty much the same. on some days it looks like they're fading and then on other days they still look red. and i've been using tazorac since september ever ynight..i still don't notice any difference. i remember back in 2003 when i first saw the dermatologist, i was prescribed taz and within a year i was totally cleared up! im kinda thinking that maybe my skin is so used to the taz since i've been using it on and off throughout the years that it doesn't work on my skin anymore. and i've been taking dorxy, which is like doxycycline for 3 months now..and i dont notice much difference with that. i don't think antibiotics work much for me now anymore either. i see my dermatologist in March, and i'll ask him about the differin. maybe he knows some other creams that help with red marks, so i'll ask him about that too. i've always heard about vitamin E oil helps with red marks..so i'll see what he says. oh and i stopped exfoliating cause my dr. told me to be really gentle with my skin now..so i just use a mild gentle cleanser. i do move my fingers in a circular motion for a couple minutes to get off any dead skin. but i'll ask him if i should start exfoliating again. i just don't want to be too harsh on my skin. and i'll also looking into the dermarolling.
thanks for the advice! and keep me updated on what your dermatologist says since you see yours sooner than mine!

[hopeful87.]

yeah i figured that the yaz doesn't help with healing red marks! cause when i last saw my dermatologist..which was january 3, he was like "hmm..you should have been cleared up by now". and i was thinking to myself 'how can i have cleared up if my main problems are red spots and marks! those take awhile to heal!'. so anyways, on that day he prescribed me duac..which only really helps whiteheads and pimples. when i do notice a new pimple coming through, i put the duac on it and later in the day it's gone. but my red marks are still pretty much the same. on some days it looks like they're fading and then on other days they still look red. and i've been using tazorac since september ever ynight..i still don't notice any difference. i remember back in 2003 when i first saw the dermatologist, i was prescribed taz and within a year i was totally cleared up! im kinda thinking that maybe my skin is so used to the taz since i've been using it on and off throughout the years that it doesn't work on my skin anymore. and i've been taking dorxy, which is like doxycycline for 3 months now..and i dont notice much difference with that. i don't think antibiotics work much for me now anymore either. i see my dermatologist in March, and i'll ask him about the differin. maybe he knows some other creams that help with red marks, so i'll ask him about that too. i've always heard about vitamin E oil helps with red marks..so i'll see what he says. oh and i stopped exfoliating cause my dr. told me to be really gentle with my skin now..so i just use a mild gentle cleanser. i do move my fingers in a circular motion for a couple minutes to get off any dead skin. but i'll ask him if i should start exfoliating again. i just don't want to be too harsh on my skin. and i'll also looking into the dermarolling.
thanks for the advice! and keep me updated on what your dermatologist says since you see yours sooner than mine!

Heyy! I'm sorry I misunderstood you. If you're still breaking out, do not exfoliate at ALL. The taz is like an exfoliator at this time. I don't think that it'll necessarily stop working for you. Tazorac is a stronger form of vitamin a than differin is. I had to be bumped up from differin .1 to differin .3 and I saw rapid results from there on. The reason why I requested to be bumped up to .3 was because my skin adjusted really well to differin .1 and I thought that getting a stronger form of it wouldn't hurt at all. I don't think you should exfoliate until your skin has fully healed. I just recently started exfoliating because I'm only left with marks now. I don't have any active acne and I waited at least 2 weeks until after my acne stopped coming to start exfoliating because I wanted to give my skin time to heal. That's good you're on dorxy and using duac. Now you're fighting the bacteria inside and out. Both are antibiotics and my doctor said that the combo of fighting the bacteria inside and out should yield really good results. If you're getting acne I would try to control that first before worrying about red marks because in truth it's the active acne that's causing the red marks and once that's under control you can then focus on the marks left over from the acne you use to have. I have a handful of scars that I'll be using the dermaroller for but I want to make sure I can heal the marks first and then move forth from there. Lets see what my derm says! I'll fill you in as soon as I hear some good news (hopefully!)

[hopeful87.]

Hi everyone...

Here's the progress of my face so far! If you take a look at the pics closely (sorry the lighting sucks) you can see that my red marks are fading. They're fading from my continued use of differin .3 and using the baby brush method (i'm not really using a baby's brush, I have something similar that I got from the body shop a while back). Hopefully it'll continue to show progress like this. I'm looking forward to using my dermaroller next month.

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Edited by hopeful87., 04 February 2011 - 08:37 PM.

[Active Mind]

This is what i have done to get from bad scaring brown marks to now almost clear even toned skin first off if you have pimples i suggest taking accutane or if you have a case of more mild acne i would say start using maxclarity,the rigimen or my best advice what i have used avon professinal clear skin acne treatmentthen when you get down to 3 or less pimple go get a chemical peel its around $80dollars for a full face treatment or if your like me and want more bang for your buck then buy a jessners peel online and do it yourself with the first time doing only 3 coats for a light peel then a month later if you arent satisfiyed with your results go more agressive like i did my second time i put 6 coats of jessners peel on my entire face then around 9 coats on my lower cheeks bones where i had indented scarring and dark marks also if you really want to go the extra step for dramatic results have fine almost smooth grit paper and sand your scars right after u done applying and removing the peel since now you have peel away a few layers on skin you have to protective it apply bacitracin topical antibiotic all over your face do this for about 3 days twice a day and continue for another 1 or 2 days applying on the areas your sanded down if u did so then after 5 or so days let your skin heal naturally applying jus very light moisturizer during this time of 6 to 8 days u might want to stay home if you work take a whole week off and get started the same day you get off work altho u might need almost 2 weeks to go back to normal if you went deeper with the peel after about 7 days have passed you will look alrite just a lil pink or a lil red i would recommed to use a fading cream about 10 days after the peel but with out hydroquinone its just to harsh for freshly peeled skin i would recommed pharmagel derma fade cream after you have done this treament you will notice a 50 to 90 percent improvement i personally saw almost a 90 percent improvent in scars and brown dark spots after my second agressive peel and sand as i put this down im in the final stage of peeling i did the second chemical peel around 6 days ago the this works very well if you are brave enough to do it like i did it the results are really great.

[N.clare]

Just read some of your posts and i thought id mention that you should really be helping your skin repair itself... its taken me a long time to realise that. If you use alot of harsh treatments then make sure your moisturising well.

The best ive ever tried is Kimberly Sayer Tangerine & calendular healing cream.... its actually amazing as it lightens red scars and reduces inflammation loads. Ive noticed better results with this than I have done with retin a, differin, duac, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, erythromycin, tetracyclin... the list goes on but I cant even remember the names of all the crap ive tried.
Im 24 and have hormonal acne, spots scar deeply on my face now im a bit older and harsh treatments have aged my skin, thats what made me look into natural products.

I really cant recommend this stuff enough.

[hopeful87.]

This is what i have done to get from bad scaring brown marks to now almost clear even toned skin first off if you have pimples i suggest taking accutane or if you have a case of more mild acne i would say start using maxclarity,the rigimen or my best advice what i have used avon professinal clear skin acne treatmentthen when you get down to 3 or less pimple go get a chemical peel its around $80dollars for a full face treatment or if your like me and want more bang for your buck then buy a jessners peel online and do it yourself with the first time doing only 3 coats for a light peel then a month later if you arent satisfiyed with your results go more agressive like i did my second time i put 6 coats of jessners peel on my entire face then around 9 coats on my lower cheeks bones where i had indented scarring and dark marks also if you really want to go the extra step for dramatic results have fine almost smooth grit paper and sand your scars right after u done applying and removing the peel since now you have peel away a few layers on skin you have to protective it apply bacitracin topical antibiotic all over your face do this for about 3 days twice a day and continue for another 1 or 2 days applying on the areas your sanded down if u did so then after 5 or so days let your skin heal naturally applying jus very light moisturizer during this time of 6 to 8 days u might want to stay home if you work take a whole week off and get started the same day you get off work altho u might need almost 2 weeks to go back to normal if you went deeper with the peel after about 7 days have passed you will look alrite just a lil pink or a lil red i would recommed to use a fading cream about 10 days after the peel but with out hydroquinone its just to harsh for freshly peeled skin i would recommed pharmagel derma fade cream after you have done this treament you will notice a 50 to 90 percent improvement i personally saw almost a 90 percent improvent in scars and brown dark spots after my second agressive peel and sand as i put this down im in the final stage of peeling i did the second chemical peel around 6 days ago the this works very well if you are brave enough to do it like i did it the results are really great.

Gosh I would love to do a chemical peel but I'm just so scared. I feel like a chemical peel will give me the results I want but I'm so worried of messing up my skin or burning it or something. I've never done a chemical peel before. But I want to do one so badly. I actually go for laser hair removal at a private doctor's office and my sister told her about my situation. I'll be seeing her in a week for my session and she told my sister that she'll have me cleared up in no time if I do a chemical peel. I work 5 days a week which sucks completely because I see nearly 30 to 50 clients a day so I have to interact with people. When you did your first chemical peel, how much improvement did you notice? I reallllly want to do a peel but I'm just scared it might ruin my skin. Do you think a chemical peel can instigate a breakout? I have 0 acne THANK GOD. I've been acne free for a good few weeks already and I have been exfoliating with a brush I bought from the body shop and I'm noticing change but not drastic change. I think if I continue with this regimen I'll see results in a few months. But I'm impatient and want my social life back. Lets see what my derm and the laser hair removal specialist say. I'm ready to give something a shot but just worried of any adverse reactions. I just thread my eyebrows and the area is BRIGHT red. I've never reacted like that to threading aside from a light pink tint. Do you think my skin might be too sensitive to a peel right now? Thanks so much for your input! I'm keeping chemical peels/dermaroller as my top options at this time.

[hopeful87.]

Just read some of your posts and i thought id mention that you should really be helping your skin repair itself... its taken me a long time to realise that. If you use alot of harsh treatments then make sure your moisturising well.

The best ive ever tried is Kimberly Sayer Tangerine & calendular healing cream.... its actually amazing as it lightens red scars and reduces inflammation loads. Ive noticed better results with this than I have done with retin a, differin, duac, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, erythromycin, tetracyclin... the list goes on but I cant even remember the names of all the crap ive tried.
Im 24 and have hormonal acne, spots scar deeply on my face now im a bit older and harsh treatments have aged my skin, thats what made me look into natural products.

I really cant recommend this stuff enough.

I'm not moisturizing much to be honest :/... I have a moisturizer by clinique and it's a gel but I just don't like the feel of it on me skin. It's like that for a lot of moisturizers I've used in the past. I'll definitely look into this product but i'm curious... Will it cause an initial breakout?

[Active Mind]

Chemical peels are good but they have to go deep cuz very light ones only give little improvement as i saw with my first very light peel i did in december then on my second one i saw more improvement cuz i sanded down my skin after the peel which i did almost ten coats on the scar areas there are cons and pros to chemical peels mostly the cons are red skin crusting and flaking of the skin and some people have a small breakout including me but i only got like 4 pimples and are now going away although some people dont breakout overall the benefits beat the cons what i have done since december has improved my skin more then the fraxel laser i had done about a year ago in conclusion the peels are safe and effective you could either do them yourself and follow the instructions the peel comes with step by step and earn a lot of money i paid 30 dollars for a jessners chemical peel bottle which you could get 4 or 5 sessions of peels so it would roughly last about 4 or 5 months or you could go to a doctor to have it done at $80 to $100 a session.

[eagles05]

hey, i read your whole thing today and wow good results:) i would reccomend you stick with what you are doing. dont change anything, if the differin is working for you and ur marks are lightening then why change what you are doing and possibly cause a breakout? just my opinion. Good luck:)

[cab]

Hey I didn't read this thread past the initial post so I don't know how it's all going but just thought I would put it out there that early last year after a terrible breakout while I was very sick I ended up with pretty nasty red marks. I found hadly change after a few months and opted for some peels which didn't do alot. I had 4 IPL sessions with someone I trusted and saw a dramatic improvement not 100% but I felt like I could stop being self conscious about them. Throughout this I used a retin-a and felt that it helped alot, though it wasn't differin which I personally don't like, it was the normal isotretinoinin (sp?) . Anyway all these things really helped me and though everyone is different if nothing else is working out for you maybe give it a shot. Also I had a 2 indentation scars one was a hole in my face the size of a pin head and they have been healed maybe 70% now through dermarolling (just using the retin-a cream with it, like I put alot more on the affected area than normal when I do so) and you can't really notice them anymore.

Good luck!

[hopeful87.]

Hey I didn't read this thread past the initial post so I don't know how it's all going but just thought I would put it out there that early last year after a terrible breakout while I was very sick I ended up with pretty nasty red marks. I found hadly change after a few months and opted for some peels which didn't do alot. I had 4 IPL sessions with someone I trusted and saw a dramatic improvement not 100% but I felt like I could stop being self conscious about them. Throughout this I used a retin-a and felt that it helped alot, though it wasn't differin which I personally don't like, it was the normal isotretinoinin (sp?) . Anyway all these things really helped me and though everyone is different if nothing else is working out for you maybe give it a shot. Also I had a 2 indentation scars one was a hole in my face the size of a pin head and they have been healed maybe 70% now through dermarolling (just using the retin-a cream with it, like I put alot more on the affected area than normal when I do so) and you can't really notice them anymore.

Good luck!

Hi! Um so far I'm still pretty much scarred up but my marks are fading. Slowly but surely, I'm noticing icepick scars and rolling scars but thankfully it's not alll that bad unless you're really close to my face. I want to start dermarolling but I'm scared. I don't know if now is a good time to start or if I should wait a while longer? I'm a bit low on cash right now so I can't go in for IPL. But I have been using Differin .3 morning and night and applying duac as a spot treatment. I'm also using the baby brush method which is helping tons with fading my marks. I feel like If I continue to use the brush method, my red marks and brown marks will be gone within the next 2 to 3 months. I also feel like they'll fade even fast if I start dermarolling? Not sure. But as soon as my dermatologist appt comes up, I'm going to ask when the best time to start would be. Have you applied vitamin c to your face before? I've added recent pictures to my album. I'll post them on her as well. Thanks for the input! Everyday I'm beginning to be more and more hopeful about my skin healing

[hopeful87.]

Here's what my face looks like now. It's very slowly starting to fade. I know it'll take months to go away but as long as it does, months don't seem too far away

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[Ham84]

I was just looking at your old pictures again and I was curious how your skin's doing now and tada! you just posted three new pics.

You're making good progress. It's fading fast. Do you still get pimples or is your face 100% acne-free right now? What's your current regimen/ lifestyle?

Edited by Ham84, 10 February 2011 - 03:12 PM.

[hopeful87.]

I was just looking at your old pictures again and I was curious how your skin's doing now and tada! you just posted three new pics.

You're making good progress. It's fading fast. Do you still get pimples or is your face 100% acne-free right now? What's your current regimen/ lifestyle?

Heyy! I know I can't believe it's fading this fast either! I thankfully do not get pimples anymore. As of right now I'm 100% clear of any active acne. I do on occasion get a pimple or two in random spots but things are slowing down. I'm noticing less and less acne as the days goes by. I think my birth control may have something to do with it.

So currently I'm taking Yaz (birth control), doxycycline 100 mg two times a day and applying differin .3 morning and night. I only use duac when I see a pimple coming. I have also added the baby brush method to my regimen and I'm doing that nearly every night 4 to 5 times a week. Maybe that's also helping? About 2 weeks ago, I over applied differin .3. I guess I was frustrated with my skin lol and wanting to see rapid results I thought more was better. Although that's not the case. I had nasty snake skin for 2 days and then miraculously it started peeling. On the 3rd day when my skin had fully peeled, I was left with lighter pigmentation. Go figure? I feel like doing that again lol but I won't. Slow and steady wins the race right? I'm also waiting to go and see my dermatologist on the 22nd so I can ask about dermarolling and when I can start. It's sitting on my dresser and I'm so tempted!

I'm also going to start working out again. I think i'll start off gradually and work my way up. Before I would work out rigorously and now I'm just going to start slowly. Maybe from jogging to running. I'm still drinking 1.5 liters of water a day and I've added vitamin c at least 2000 mg a day. (I'm sick so it's helping fight a cold).

My doctor told me to see how things go until summer and then start weaning off the doxycyline. I think I'll be staying on Yaz for a few years until I need to get off for conception related purposes.

How are you holding up??

[Ham84]

I'm doing fine thank you. Still on doxycycline once a day, still have active acne and red marks, but I'm only 1 month in, so I need to be super patient (and I don't have patience at all!! I should be lurking in the "severe acne subforum" instead in the "red/ dark mark subforum" as I still have acne). I see a lot of similarities between your and my skin disease and the severeness of it so when I'm feeling a bit sad about my skin, I think of your progress and I'm happy and opportunistic again.

I went to see the dermatologist on Tuesday and he said I don't need to moisturize in the morning. I'm happy about that because I really don't like the feeling of it. I'm just sticking to my calamine and Differin.

I used to overapply Differin thinking it would heal my skin faster, but now my left cheek is a bit flaky. I really don't mind the flakiness to be honest as I prefer flaky snake skin over oily fish skin.

And that's my little update for today. I already talked too much: I don't want to hijack your thread.

So you're applying Differin in the morning and in the evening before you go to bed? You don't use make-up to cover up the red marks? How do you feel about your red marks when you go outside or go to work?

I don't know if you compared your before and after pics, but your progress is amazing, it truly is. Stick to your regimen, you've come a long way. It would be a real shame if you suffer a setback now due to carelessness and not sticking to your regimen.

Edited by Ham84, 11 February 2011 - 06:52 PM.

[lnymphl]

i just wanna say that i'm glad you're so positive and hopeful now. My skin was like yours except my marks were bigger and I still have noticeable ice-picked scars. Be grateful you dont have noticeable scars =) I've tried an at-home chemical peel which worked pretty well, but it also broke me out so just be cautious of that if you decided to do a chemical peel. Good luck.

[hopeful87.]

I'm doing fine thank you. Still on doxycycline once a day, still have active acne and red marks, but I'm only 1 month in, so I need to be super patient (and I don't have patience at all!! I should be lurking in the "severe acne subforum" instead in the "red/ dark mark subforum" as I still have acne). I see a lot of similarities between your and my skin disease and the severeness of it so when I'm feeling a bit sad about my skin, I think of your progress and I'm happy and opportunistic again.

I went to see the dermatologist on Tuesday and he said I don't need to moisturize in the morning. I'm happy about that because I really don't like the feeling of it. I'm just sticking to my calamine and Differin.

I used to overapply Differin thinking it would heal my skin faster, but now my left cheek is a bit flaky. I really don't mind the flakiness to be honest as I prefer flaky snake skin over oily fish skin.

And that's my little update for today. I already talked too much: I don't want to hijack your thread.

So you're applying Differin in the morning and in the evening before you go to bed? You don't use make-up to cover up the red marks? How do you feel about your red marks when you go outside or go to work?

I don't know if you compared your before and after pics, but your progress is amazing, it truly is. Stick to your regimen, you've come a long way. It would be a real shame if you suffer a setback now due to carelessness and not sticking to your regimen.

Hey

I have compared my before and after pictures and I sit and wonder how I survived that breakout. I get watery eyed thinking about those 3 some weeks when the infection was at it's peak. To be honest, I still don't go out. I dodge social outings as much as possible and I will not step out of my house without having a full face of make up. Unfortunately, the marks show through the makeup because I'm using only my foundation and no concealer. But since the marks are fading it doesn't look as horrendous. And I know you'll get through your initial breakout in no time. If I survived through this battle then I'm sure you will. I mean look... Here you are giving me hope that I'll have beautiful skin again. I honestly don't know what I would have done without this site. It's a God send. Especially when family failed to see how badly this effected me. I think the combo of differin and exfoliating is helping to heal my red marks and to smooth out any indentations. I'll be starting my dermaroll treatments soon. I'm hoping that I'll be clear by or near the end of this year thanks again for checking up on me. It feels good to know that someone is as concerned as I am and that my experience could be of assistance to people. I'm going to make a collage of my progress so everyone can see how far I've come

[hopeful87.]

i just wanna say that i'm glad you're so positive and hopeful now. My skin was like yours except my marks were bigger and I still have noticeable ice-picked scars. Be grateful you dont have noticeable scars =) I've tried an at-home chemical peel which worked pretty well, but it also broke me out so just be cautious of that if you decided to do a chemical peel. Good luck.

Hi there! Thank you. I was miserable for all of november through early January. I figured that there's no point in dwelling on what's happened and to just keep a positive mindset. Plus, looking at other peoples blogs and questions gave me more hope was the chemical peel the only method you used to rid your face of red marks? What was your regimen like? I'll definitely consider all the odds before jumping into a chemical peel. I finally am 100% clear of active acne and hope I can keep it that way for a while

[amyelizabeth94]

Hi there,
Good luck with your recovery. Our stories seem similar, so I wanted to post. I had a terrible breakout from Nov-Feb 2010 (never had acne before this) and the first picture is my skin last Feb. Make-up couldn't cover. I did a series of 6 lactic acid peels last March/April. Now I'm using an AHA scrub a few times a week, BHA nightly (to help with acne as I still get 1-2 a month), niacinamide/aloe gel, and recently added LED lights. I'm trying for babies, so no retinol for me. I also take MSM, a multi, calcium, and eat tons of green leafy veggies.

The 2nd picture is from this January, 1 year later. My marks are mostly brown now and make-up can finally cover them. But it still looks pretty bad without make up. It's been a long road to recovery, but they do fade. It seems like marks on my cheeks last forever, but forehead, nose, and jaw marks are gone in a month.

Just wanted to share my story with you. Hope it helps.

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Edited by amyelizabeth94, 12 February 2011 - 10:47 AM.