breaking out after stopping antibiotic use?

I've been using clindamycin on my face and minocycline as an antibiotic for a year now. It's helped control my acne pretty well, but I want to stop using it to opt for organic products instead. Has anyone broke out significantly after they stopped taking antibiotics, and if so, how long did it last?

lol its jesus's organic skincare regimen

So, after a year (almost to the date) using a cleanser, toner, gel and antibiotic prescribed by my asshole dermatologist, I have decided to stop shoveling hundreds of dollars on his expensive products and trips to his office to use organic products instead. Specifically, the Alba line.

I started using their moisturizer and it's made my skin much softer and smoother. Although I believe what my dermatologist prescribed has reduced my acne significantly, I think I can do better on my own. The cleanser (which exfoliates as well) is extremely harsh, despite his claims otherwise. I can't speak for all dermatologists, but I genuinely believe mine is simply trying to milk as much money off me as possible.

I haven't decided if I want to continue using the antibiotic. It's called minocycline, and if anyone has any experience with it (or antibiotics in general), let me know. I know that acne grows resistant to it over time, that antibiotics can actually contribute to acne developing.

I'm afraid of my skin breaking out like crazy, so I'm going to slowly transition over. I'm going to keep using the dermatologist-prescribed products (called, if anyone's interested, prescribedSOLUTIONS; all are laden with chemicals, some unpronouncable) while allowing my skin to get used to the moisturizer, then slowly switch over to Alba's cleanser, toner and moisturizer. I haven't decided yet whether I want to keep using the gel, called clindamycin. If not, I'm going to use tea tree oil instead, which has been proven to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide, without the irritation.




Also, I'm a vegan, which means no meat, fish, or dairy (including byproducts like whey, sometimes found in bread). What I'm going to say next has become quite the cliche on this website, but I'll say it anyway: I eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I make a fruit smoothie containing flax oil every day and eat a veggie sandwich or salad. Besides fruits and vegetables, I eat pasta, soup, pancakes, bread, dark chocolate, sandwiches, rice, noodles...


Status of my face right now: a couple fading acne scars, six or seven tiny zits, thankfully not so noticeable. I'm more concerned about the texture of my skin, so long as I don't break out a lot.

organic skincare or dermatologist-prescribed cleanser?

so, I've been using a cleanser, toner, and clindamycin gel with an antibiotic called minocycline for about a year now. all were prescribed by my (asshole) dermatologist. my skin is definitely better, but sometimes it dries up considerably, and I still have acne and am not completely satisfied with my skin as it is.

I recently started using an organic, oil-free moisturizer in addition to all the shit he prescribed, and my skin is much smoother and I'm more satisfied with it. which got me thinking: is organic skincare better than the chemicals in most brands? I can't even pronounce some of the ingredients in the cleanser he gave me, which I'm not thinking is a good thing.

my skin's very oily, my acne's not awful, which is making me reluctant to stop using those products now. so my questions, then, are, has anyone had success with organic skincare? and, would you recommend I stop using the products from the dermatologist and instead treat my skin with organic products instead?






(truth be told, I hate my dermatologist, and believe he's not genuinely concerned with improving the skin of his patients but instead wants to milk as much money out of them as possible. the toner's real expensive, and if I didn't have insurance the entire thing would be ridiculously pricey. the products are directly from the dermatologist's office, which of course means that in addition to getting paid for every visit (during which he says, I think your acne is improving, okay, see you in two months), he collects the money from the actual products themselves)

exfoliating once a day?

My dermatologist prescribed an exfoliator, toner and gel in the mornings. The exfoliator is called Surface Improvement from prescribed solutions. It's directly from the dermatologist and contains sodium laureth sulfate, not to mention other chemicals I can't pronounce (alkyl acrylate crosspolymer -- what the hell is that?).

I stopped using ProActiv and have been using this regimen for half a year. I've continued using it because my acne has cleared up more than when I was using ProActiv, but I'm the healthiest person I know and my skin still gets flaky, is not completely acne-free, and has a washed in appearance on some days.

So really I have a couple questions: Is exfoliating once a day too harsh for skin? Judging from the occasional dryness, I'm going to assume yes, but I want to be sure it's the exfoliator doing the harm.

And also, should I find a better cleanser/exfoliator without harsh chemicals? My skin's really oily, which is why my dermatologist recommended I exfoliate once a day anyway, but I'm only sixteen, and I read that the cell turnover at my age is sufficient enough without an exfoliator.