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[emlea]

Hi there, just thought I would introduce myself!

I'm a 22 year old girl who used to live by the sea who now lives in London. I've been dealing with my skin problems since I was in early secondary school, it all probably started when I was about 11. So... As you can probably relate - I am a bit fed up, and have now vowed to myself that I will sort this out.

I now have combination skin which is congested and is still breaking out into moderate acne - mostly on the right side of my body.

In the past I have used Witch, Simple, Garnier, Alpha H, Dead Sea Spa Magik, Body Shop Tea Tree, St Ives, (I've spent far too much money on) Dermalogica, and my last attempts have been using AcneFree all the way from America.

The only thing that I think has helped was the Garnier Active A moisturiser.

I have not tried birth control pills because I don't want to mess around with that system to try and fix another, my family have had trouble with pregnancy before so I don't want to add to the probability that I will .

I cleanse, exfoliate with a light exfoliant, tone and moisturise twice a day, and make sure I get all my make up off, and with the AcneFree it has got BP in it and Retinol Complex, and it hasn't really done anything. I clean my sheets regularly, I keep my hair off my face most of the time, I clean my phone. I'm trying to drink more water.

All my friends have lovely skin, and it's so frustrating having gone past my teens feeling like there is no hope to get my skin to a stage that remotely resembles theirs. I know it shouldn't matter but I feel embarrassed and want to hide my face away half the time. I want to be able to let my boyfriend touch my face without feeling uncomfortable and ugly!

So yeah... I'm mainly here to find something that will help me fix this - I know it will be a lot of trial. And I would like to be able to speak to people who are in the same sorta boat who can empathise and suggest things.

Thanks if you read that essay! Emilia

[Omnivium]

You won't have much luck with otc products. Some prescriptions work, but they do more harm than good. I think both are scams.

Most veterans of this board get clear by changing their diet. I will probably end up trying that soon, although I already eat pretty healthy. These two threads have useful diet information:
http://www.acne.org/...et-supplements/
http://www.acne.org/...low blood sugar

Basically if you eat low glycemic load meals, avoid inflammatory foods and eat anti-inflammatory foods, you should clear up.