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[bizz]

I admittedly wax my cheeks, chin, upper lip. I hate it, but shaving does not work and I have never used a "personal shaver" (as someone recommended--I'm assuming that was a reference to an epilator, which hurts even more than waxing). I cannot afford threading. I need to wax once every two weeks. (If only I had paid for laser hair removal long ago--I'm thinking of it now, but it's so expensive.)

Right now I have five cysts of varying size (these are cysts that have recurred for ten years--they always come back in the same place), whiteheads, clogged pores, and awful red marks that look like...waves. As in, permanent acne scars.

On Accutane, even when I foolishly picked, the marks would heal. I've been on 100 mg of Spiro since Sept. 2009 and it's never been this bad. I bruise and cut my skin more easily, I have muscle cramps, and my hair is oilier and thinning. The drug has hurt me alot when it was supposed to be a relief from Accutane and allow me to wax.

I use salicylic acid astringent, Triderma anti-redness mosturizer (it's mostly aloe), wear foundation minimally (few to no comedogenic ingredients), stay out of the sun during peak UV hours, and wear Retina A (rarely, admittedly---even using a small amount, it makes my skin flaky and sore), use 10 percent benzoyl peroxide...and wax once a week. But I've used this Sally Hansen wax for five years; I usually rub Aquaphor over sore patches (or did on Accutane) and the redness would subside. It'd still leave my skin red, but it has never been this bad. I removed the wax with the (awful) oil it's packaged with, then used baby shampoo to get the wax remants. Again--stuff I've done before, though. For years.

I've also started rubbing this across the marks--it has green tea, allantoin, onion bulb, and tamanu in it. http://www.scarzone.com/burn-gel.shtml

Marks, zits, marks, rash--whatever it is, my skin texture is uneven, rashy, and ugly. And I'm taking a treatment to prevent this. Hard little zits seem to be leaving a trail around the cysts.

I look and feel horrible. What can I do? Can someone recommend a non-comedogenic soothing tone-evening cream, preferably on a drugstore budget? I know Neutrogena makes a Tone Correcting cream with Retin-A and Hyaluronate, but revoltingly it has PPEG-8 myristate in it. Like, second ingredient. I need something gentle enough to smear on cheeks.

I tried using this from Jason, too, Jason's soothing Tea Tree gel with aloe, tea tree oil, arnica, and marigold--same deal! http://www.vitacost....ason%20products

I have a blue and red light. Will that help or hurt at this point? What about hydrocortisone cream?

Edited by hj211, 31 March 2012 - 07:29 PM.