9 replies to this topic

[iht20]

I did not get acne until my freshman year of college, which was last year. It was really bad then, and while I do not get pimples that often anymore, I am left these horrible red marks (see attached pictures) and am at a loss as to what I should do to clear them up. I have tried tretonin/retin A products, and all they do was dry my skin up. I currently use a clarisonic brush when washing my face, but it does not seem to help at all :/ I have also tried chemical peels, which only seemed to make my face more red.

I would appreciate any ideas on what to do if you were in my shoes...I really need to get my confidence back and have been extremely depressed this past fall. Thanks so much.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[Printesa]

Hey honey,I recommend trying some Calamine Lotion,I found it to be really good at evening out any red marks and drying out any remaining spots,plus it's really soothing,I recommend applying with a cotton ball,good luck! xo

[Basedgod]

Hey, if I were you I would apply lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Lemon Juice is great for scars while apple cider vinegar, I found was great for post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation.

[makethatchange]

Try taking zinc and vitamin c supplements in higher dose, they help with healing of the skin. I take 30mg zinc and 1000mg vit c in case you wonder.

[EmmaNaomi]

You could use vitamin C tablets that you can get from the chemist. And I find this routine helps reduce the redness:

Fill the sink with hot (but not boiling) water
Then hold your breath and submerge your face in it. You will need to keep your face in the water for at least 1 minute so unless you can hold your breath for that long you will need to come up for air.
After that quickly empty the sink and fill it with cold water. Then submerge your face in the cold water. You will need to do this for at least 2 minutes so you will need to come up for air at some point.
Then use a towel and pat dry your face.

The hot water will open up your pores and clear them out, then the cold water will close up the pores.

Edited by EmmaNaomi, 10 December 2011 - 11:54 AM.

[Sugarkissh20]

I would recommend retina micro. I would NOT use a brush or any type of microdermabrasion as they can irritate the skin. Unfortuantly you do need something that will dry out the skin because that is how the skin will eventually shed off the damaged skin.

[dieffenbachia]

Ok firstly I would avoid irritating the skin too much. Avoid microdermabrasion for now (I agree with Sugarkissh20 on this) as I think this is recommended only for alleviating scarring after the acne has gone.

Secondly I would try a mild, non-drying cleanser everyday (I use dermalogica dermal clay) followed by AHA or BHA (alpha or beta hydroxy acids) made either by the acne.org or Paula's Choice. These act to unclog pores and do the scrubbing but with chemicals but not in a peeling way (though follow instructions carefully). I would then apply a benzoyl peroxide cream to the affected area only. Try 2.5% cream first (panoxyl make one) and use this for a few months before trying something stronger (if you need it!).

Thirdly, I would insist on an oil-free moisturiser during the day and a moisturiser or serum at night. It's not about drying out the skin but trying to reduce sebum production. The more you dry the skin, the more sebum is produced to lubricate the skin. I use A'kin calming and hydrating emergency gel which if you put in a fridge will also provide you with a cooling effect. You can then layer an spf over the top of this.
Even though you're a guy, if the redness is bothering you, I don't see why you shouldn't use a tinted moisturiser - they're pretty discreet way of covering but they provide moisture and some have spf. During the day I use clinique city block sheer 25 spf, because I'm very very pale, but I'm sure there are other moisturisers with sunblock and colour.
Alternatively you could try A'kin pureman 24 hour moisture.
At night I use Paula's choice clear skin hydrator followed by Ren clearcalm 3 hydrating serum - I love this stuff!

Also if you live in a sunny climate right now, you must must must use an spf if using AHA or BHA or peroxide as sun plus any of these chemicals can damage/discolor the skin.

Lastly, it looks to my untrained eye (I'm not a Doctor, nor Dermatologist) that you may have aggravated your skin. Try any new regime for at least 1 but preferably 3 months before you ditch it for a new one. Try not to worry too much because increasing stress can also aggravate skin conditions. If you think you may be allergic to some food types then remove from diet for the time being if you want but don't if it's going to annoy you. I must say that any changes to diet or fitness may result in a skin change for a couple of weeks afterwards but generally fitness (high intensity) is a good way of improving skin texture in the long run. Also DON:T PICK AT SCABS when the skin is healing. Instead moisturise, moisturise, moisturise (I use sudocrem, and all the other moisturisers I mentioned to keep area moist). This gives your skin the best chance of healing. I actually moisturise about 8 times a day if I have a scab forming! I keep my moisturiser at my desk and run to the bathroom to do so every hour or so.
Good luck!

Edited by dieffenbachia, 19 December 2011 - 10:59 AM.

[Samsamsamsamsam]

Which peels did you try? I'm surprised it didn't help.

I will agree with above, and suggest you begin doing nightly masks involving these products below. you can find all sorts of recipes on google, and they have helped me.

-organic honey
-lemon juice
-apple cider vinegar
-aspirin masks
-aloe vera gel

[kidego]

iht20, on 09 December 2011 - 11:25 AM, said:

I did not get acne until my freshman year of college, which was last year. It was really bad then, and while I do not get pimples that often anymore, I am left these horrible red marks (see attached pictures) and am at a loss as to what I should do to clear them up. I have tried tretonin/retin A products, and all they do was dry my skin up. I currently use a clarisonic brush when washing my face, but it does not seem to help at all :/ I have also tried chemical peels, which only seemed to make my face more red.

I would appreciate any ideas on what to do if you were in my shoes...I really need to get my confidence back and have been extremely depressed this past fall. Thanks so much.

If I were you, I would get Food Allergy tested then eliminate that food I was allergic to.

[jeskahoney]

I would get a good calming lotion to use during the day. I use Beta Glucan lotion from mynaturalmarket.com and it works really
well to moisturize and also to keep the skin calm. Also, my acupuncturist told me that keeping the skin "cool" (on the inside) is really
good and it keeps down inflammation. Maybe try an anti inflammatory diet?