TreatAcne

Hello, I am a full time worker/student who enjoys studying Statistics. I love reading about Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Men's Health. I also enjoy studying many other biological life sources, such as plants, herbs, aquatic, and environmental.

I have been suffering from acne since I was 12. I have never gone onto the internet for help with my acne before, but this community website seems to be a good place to start. I look forward to reading more stories from everyone else and learning about skin/body/health/acne care as much as I possibly can.

ABOUT MY ACNE:

I have moderate to severe acne and have dealt with almost every kind of acne there is (except for large black heads for some reason). The majority of my acne shows up directly on my face and neck, whereas the rest of it will appear on my chest and all over my back and shoulders. Seldom is it on my arms and thighs. My face is always the worst. If there is severe acne on my back and chest, then my face will always look worse... however, if there is currently very little acne on my chest and back, that does not mean that my facial acne is gone. Ever since my first acne.org regime, my chest and back acne slowly got worse again, a sign that I caught my acne at JUST the right time before it worsened again. If I were to stop my regime(s) anytime soon, I'd look like a white strawberry with red seeds.

ABOUT MY FAMILY:

My skin is genetically oily since my mother and grandmother BOTH have acne and acne scarring. Unlike my father who's severe acne eventually went away later into adulthood, my mother still gets numerous cysts and pimples to this very day. My brother is 3+ years older than I and has even more severe acne than I do, and his is still ongoing. I am not 100 percent sure, but by his description his acne is slightly different, such as more cysts and acne prone skin coverage other parts of his body more, like his back.

ABOUT MY TYPES OF ACNE:

My skin is especially oily around the high cheek and nose area (which for some reason gets the least amount of acne). Whenever i wake up in the morning, it's so thick and shiny it might as well be dripping. I don't have sideburns but I do have slightly more facial hair around my bottom checks and upper neck area (not noticeable though since it's VERY thin and light). THAT'S where I get the majority of my acne. Quite often, I have an acne beard. The sides and under-chin/cheeks of my face are far more infected than the front view of my face.

Acne will frequently appear on my back and chest, both having the same kind of cyst, white head, red spotted acne. There is no pattern for my facial acne (such as the "T" shape or a certain consistent type of acne shape there is). On average there are approximately 50 or so spots on my face at a time. If one goes away, another one eventually show up.

ABOUT MY FUTURE:

I fully expect this problem to continue for an extremely long time. Not only is it slowly get worse, it's slowly become much more unbearable. Acne IS genetic, hormonal, and an extremely aggravating health issue, and in my personal experience shows absolutely no signs of leaving any time soon.

ABOUT MY HYGIENE:

My acne makes me look as though I do not take care of myself when that is nowhere near the truth. Not only do I exercise for more than 30 minutes at least 5 days a week every morning and AVOID extremely bad food, I also maintain a relatively healthy 7-9 hour sleep schedule. My ONLY guess for the TRUE CAUSE of my acne is a LACK OF PROPER NUTRIENTS. Because I can not afford to eat bright and vibrant salads every day, well then I just DON'T eat them at all.

Aside from having a mixture of flaky and oily skin all over my face, I also have eczema and slight dandruff. My acne is the worst of all my skin problems. I have tried everything I possibly could over-the-counter until I finally gave up and decided to read and look at it myself into much more debt. I understand that the majority of my genetics and hormones is out of my control and that I have no choice but to deal with this, but I also understand that there must be an answer and/or solution to this small but huge (and often painful) problem.

ABOUT MY READINGS:

Acne is simple yet complex, and I find it's structure so incredibly interesting and fascinating, especially with the number of products and diets out there that claim to help acne and/or dozens of other issues with the human body. With a challenge like this, I can't wait to hit the books and find out more.

It's not much, but I'm showing off my pictures and occasionally journalizing my personal regimes and experiences. I also share links that others have sent me as well as a few possible regimes that MAY work better for people with different skin problems. My pictures are always updated however, but I do hope to see the same thing from others. Wish me luck and I will do the same for you.

INTERESTING RESOURCES I HAVE FOUND:

Any information you may possibly have is extremely vital. I take everything I read about acne seriously and to heart. Here are several links I have found pertaining to acne as well as a few interesting reads that might benefit you in some way:

1.) Milk and Sugar causes Acne: http://www.huffingto...a_b_822163.html
2.) The Clear Skin Diet (I did NOT like this book): http://www.amazon.co...26921136&sr=8-1
3.) Diet and Acne (In General): http://www.acne.org/diet-and-acne.html
4.) Top 8 Acne Mistakes: http://www.webmd.com...atment-mistakes
5.) "The Acne Prescription" (I did NOT like this book): http://www.amazon.co...06&sr=1-1-spell
6.) AcneNet: http://skincarephysi...enet/index.html
7.) Acne for Dummies (My favorite Acne book): http://www.amazon.co...27300210&sr=8-1
8.) Celebrities with Acne/Other: http://skinema.com/
9.) Several articles about Calamine Lotion: http://www.livestron...alamine-lotion/
10.) Dozens of articles about Acne: http://www.naturalne..._diet_acne.html
11.) Four ways milk causes Acne: http://www.naturalne...acne_blood.html
12.) ... More information about milk: http://www.naturalne...acne_blood.html
13.) Information about Tea Tree Oil: http://altmedicine.a.../TeaTreeOil.htm
14.) Acne Remedies: http://altmedicine.a...atod/a/acne.htm
15.) Herbal treatment for Acne: http://altmedicine.a...acne_herbal.htm
16.) ... Other alternatives for Acne: http://altmedicine.a...d/acne/Acne.htm
17.) Tea Tree Oil: http://www.nlm.nih.g...atural/113.html
18.) Acne explained in greater detail: http://www.natural-a...adult-acne.html

(I use Safari web browser with "WOT" to help protect me against bad websites, so all of these links should be safe for you to click. NEVER give out your personal information to ANYONE, just in case a pop up on a popular web pages decided not to go away).

... and Don't forget that you can also WATCH people make their own acne regimes on YouTube.

Alas there is far too many internet links and information out there that there is no possible way I would be able to give you all the answers here. I provide links for ideas that people may have not tried yet. Please be aware that several of these links conflict with each other, and some even convince other of their own theories and remedies and the "real" problem to what is causing acne.

The reason why I provide these links is because we are all DIFFERENT and may NOT be effected the same way. My only advice is to be open minded and realize that you could have MORE THEN ONE type of acne from MORE THAN ONE SOURCE at a time... just because I stooped drinking milk didn't mean that ALL my acne vanished, it just showed that I got rid of part of the milk causing acne cysts I was having on my face. I still have shiny, oily skin with several white heads on my face and cysts all over my back and chest. Journalize what you eat, when and how long you sleep, and save your receipts if you are ever going to try something new. Why you try something new, give it at least 3 months. People want fast results, it's not going to happen. Most of the time, those are FLUKES. B-E P-A-T-I-E-N-T.

MY REGIME(S):

I will always keep the current regime I am on in the correct and specified gallery folder whenever I take pictures of my progress. Anyone can view and see my regimes in my gallery, they are completely PUBLIC.

* First Regime (01/11/12 - 04/01/12):

1.) Cetaphil Facial Cleanser (16oz) (1 pump).
2.) Acne.org 2.5 BP Treatment (16oz) (1 pump).
3.) Cetaphil Facial Lotion (16oz) (2 pumps) WITH Acne.org Jojoba Oil (6oz).

* Second Regime (04/03/12 - Present):

1.) Cataphil Facial Cleanser (16oz) (1pump) WITH 2 drops Jason Tea Tree Oil.
2.) Cataphil Facial Lotion (16oz) (2pumps) WITH NOW Jojoba Oil (6oz).

WHAT I HAVE CHANGED (03/26/12):

After almost 3 months, my acne has slowly halted it's rampage for now, and the dark spots are all that's left. Unfortunately, I do not wish to continue to use the BP. Not only is it bleaching my clothing, towels, and keeps the dark spots on my skin, it also causes FREQUENT and REPETITIVE drying and flaking of my skin, especially around my neck area. No amount of lotion is helping, and as a full time college student I can not afford another bottle of BP on my own anyway. Although it has technically worked, I am forced to look into other alternative methods...

I would actually like to try different treatments that are within my college budget. I am doing this because if i KNOW that there is no other alternative for MY acne, then I will go back to the 2.5 BP regime until the nightmare is over from my life. I am very open minded however and would prefer to seek out other methods not only for myself but for others as well, thus I have decided to switch out my 2.5 BP for much more NATURAL remedies and healthy non-pore clogging oils (so I don't have to buy so much lotion).

So far I have purchased much cheaper and organic Green Tea/Lemongrass soap bars and Tea Tree Oils from online. I have never done this before, but I will always keep and show my progress in my gallery here.

AN ACNE FREE FUTURE:

Eventually, my goal is to NOT have to spend money and put anything onto my face just so I can avoid the majority of my acne, but to change my lifestyle and diet to a much more suitable level. This is an extremely difficult thing to manage for someone like myself.... not only do I sit at a desk and study for several hours a day, I DO IN FACT exercise and sleep well, so I can not imagine what else I am doing wrong. I CAN NOT CHANGE MY DIET COMPLETELY simply because a fresher and healthier diet is WAY out of my college budget... I'm a ramen noodle, hard boiled egg, PBJ, toast, hot green tea, and tons of water kind of girl (other than a few dozen fruits I am able to get my hands on). I am doing my best to cut sugar from my diet but it's not easy where I live. I have, however, quit drinking milk. Even after exercising, drinking lots of water, and avoiding several bad foods, MY ACNE IS STILL PERSISTENT. Until I discover what else works for me, I'll be here journalizing my regimes.