16 replies to this topic

[Obii]

Hey everyone,

Basically, the title says it all. I have an extremely long and sad story with acne, but most importantly the asinine amount of oil my face produces. I'll keep this as short as possible for attention span purposes. Basically, I'm a 23 year old male, and ever since I hit puberty I have had massive amounts of oil on my skin within 15 minutes of getting out of the shower, sometimes even in less time than that. People constantly ask why I'm sweating, and it absolutely tears my self-confidence to shreds. I have been attempting to remedy this since I was 17 years old, and I have been on literally every single treatment in the book. Doxycycline (did not work for acne or oil) , Minocycline (worked for acne but not oil), Duac, Proactiv, many Clearasil products, Neutrogena regimens, the ance.org regimen (I've lurked these forums for awhile), jojoba oil, and antibiotic creams, and until recently, putting urine on my face twice a day for 30 minutes. Finally, about a year ago, I decided to bite the bullet and take Accutane, and I was partly encouraged by the multitude of success stories I read on these forums. It was heaven for a good 5 weeks or so - I was not producing as much oil (still was producing some), my skin looked great, and I had tons of confidence and didn't have to fight with the mirror every morning. Unfortunately, it caused my brain to start swelling and I had to stop - It gave me post-concussion syndrome that lasted for a good 8 or 9 months and that I still occasionally feel the after-effects of. It was torture. After that, I tried Differin and Tazorac (both retinoid topicals), but both of them made me itchy to the point where I had a huge rash on my face after about a month of using them. So here I am now, back to pissing on my face every morning and night just so I don't get acne at 23 years old, which still does not solve the intense oil problem. My skin produces more oil than anyone I know. It is absolute torture for me to go to work and school everyday and not be able to enjoy life to the fullest extent because of something that's completely out of my control. I live an active lifestyle, working out and studying hard, and no matter what, I'm always held back by this, in every social situation. Please, if anyone has any suggestions for me, surgical or not, I would greatly appreciate them. I will take any and all suggestions at this point.

I've also tried taking Zinc pills, cutting out processed foods (which I'm still doing), and adding more Vitamin A to my diet, none of which are working.

Thanks guys.

Edit: I also forgot to mention I use Clean and Clear blotting sheets, but I have to use them at least every 2 hours, and it usually takes 4-5 sheets to get my skin to an acceptable point.

Edited by Obii, 01 April 2012 - 06:40 PM.

[cvd]

Urine on your face? Does it work? Ugh! Sorry to hear about the oil problem. Have you tried witch hazel? Some people swear by it. Use it like a toner. Or how about an alcohol based antibacterial solution? What do you wash your face with?

[Coppedsynergy999]

Start washing your face with WATER ONLY and then use bp. This should help quite a bit. Use warm water and a mcirofiber cloth to clean your face.

[Obii]

Urine on your face? Does it work? Ugh! Sorry to hear about the oil problem. Have you tried witch hazel? Some people swear by it. Use it like a toner. Or how about an alcohol based antibacterial solution? What do you wash your face with?

Urine is honestly the best thing I've ever tried other than accutane as far as the acne goes, I just put it on a cloth and dab it on. I've heard of witch hazel and I've never tried it, and I've never heard of the antibacterial solutions you're talking about. What are they and how do I find them?

I wash my face with Proactiv right now, after using urine. Works for acne, but not oil.

Start washing your face with WATER ONLY and then use bp. This should help quite a bit. Use warm water and a mcirofiber cloth to clean your face.

Honestly, with everything I've tried, including bp, I don't see how water only and then bp would help - especially when, in my experience, leaving something acidic on overnight is disastrous.

[AutonomousOne1980]

i would suggest staying away from bp, but using it on teh short term may be helpful, and get a strong concentration of glycolic acid(do it right) or another hydroxy acid to help keep your pores open from dead skin cells so they will not become blocked. glycolic acid can burn your skin, so be careful but i believe all the vitamin a derivative ointments to be bad for our health and skin, glycolic acid is simply fruit acids.

lower your intake of milk, other dairy and animal fats, they tend to contain natural and even synthetic hormones that were are sensitive to, but never do a low fat diet, you need fat to absorb fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids.
stay away from corn chips with added vegetables oils, but corn itself is likely fine for you.

that should or could get you started, everyone is slightly different.

whole grain wheat and well cooked/correctly cooked beans at a high temperature will keep your digestive system moving along.

[cvd]

I use a perscription called "Cleocin-T Solution". It is an antibiotic in an alcohol base. I know alcohol can be harsh for some people but I have very oily skin and seem to be able to use it with no problems. It seems to help keep the oil down. I sometimes think the excess oil is because my skin is irritated by acne bacteria because when I kill the acne bacteria by using BP cleanser and Cleocin-T then my skin is far less oily. And less red, etc.

[Rjavi10]

I have EXACTLY the same problem with intensely oily skin. My acne is gone thanks to a strict regimen I follow, but the scars and oily skin remain. I too have to go to the restroom at least once every 1-1.5 hours to blot my skin, and Its a real pain in the ass (and emberrasing too-I don't like to do it in front of other people, so I either have to do it in the stall or wait for everyone else to leave and hope nobody walks in on me doing it). Anyway, I do use a product called Dermalogica oil control lotion after washing my face-its a very light lotion-it literally absorbs into your skin within 15 seconds after applying and does not leave your skin feeling greasy. It seems to help with my oil production slightly but my oil eventually comes through. It doesn't seem to work very well for me, but it has gotten great reviews online by people claiming to have very oily skin like ourselves. Maybe you should give it a try? You can get a small bottle off Amazon.com for about $25, the stuff will last you for months though

[Coppedsynergy999]

Urine on your face? Does it work? Ugh! Sorry to hear about the oil problem. Have you tried witch hazel? Some people swear by it. Use it like a toner. Or how about an alcohol based antibacterial solution? What do you wash your face with?

Urine is honestly the best thing I've ever tried other than accutane as far as the acne goes, I just put it on a cloth and dab it on. I've heard of witch hazel and I've never tried it, and I've never heard of the antibacterial solutions you're talking about. What are they and how do I find them?

I wash my face with Proactiv right now, after using urine. Works for acne, but not oil.

Start washing your face with WATER ONLY and then use bp. This should help quite a bit. Use warm water and a mcirofiber cloth to clean your face.

Honestly, with everything I've tried, including bp, I don't see how water only and then bp would help - especially when, in my experience, leaving something acidic on overnight is disastrous.

Look mate, for gods sake. You are pissing on your own face. Try washing your face with just water and a microfiber cloth for a couple of weeks. IF you have some areas that start developing acne put bp on the areas every night. IF you dont try this its only your loss. It completely cleared my skin. I rarely worry about acne anymore. If you dont try it whatever. You could also use FINACEA. get a prescription. Thats a really great medicine. It wont leave the skin red and its NATURAL!! Also, try joining a gym with a chorinated pool. That will zap the oil and deeeep clean the pores while also getting a fit body. Cmon bro the answers are at your fingertips.

Edited by Coppedsynergy999, 01 April 2012 - 10:28 PM.

[Obii]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

i would suggest staying away from bp, but using it on teh short term may be helpful, and get a strong concentration of glycolic acid(do it right) or another hydroxy acid to help keep your pores open from dead skin cells so they will not become blocked. glycolic acid can burn your skin, so be careful but i believe all the vitamin a derivative ointments to be bad for our health and skin, glycolic acid is simply fruit acids.

lower your intake of milk, other dairy and animal fats, they tend to contain natural and even synthetic hormones that were are sensitive to, but never do a low fat diet, you need fat to absorb fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids.
stay away from corn chips with added vegetables oils, but corn itself is likely fine for you.

that should or could get you started, everyone is slightly different.

whole grain wheat and well cooked/correctly cooked beans at a high temperature will keep your digestive system moving along.

I used to drink dairy nonstop but I don't drink it anymore, usually only in a protein shake after the gym, and I barely eat processed foods/animal fats. Thanks for the advice.

What kind of foods would you suggest for a proper fat intake?

I use a perscription called "Cleocin-T Solution". It is an antibiotic in an alcohol base. I know alcohol can be harsh for some people but I have very oily skin and seem to be able to use it with no problems. It seems to help keep the oil down. I sometimes think the excess oil is because my skin is irritated by acne bacteria because when I kill the acne bacteria by using BP cleanser and Cleocin-T then my skin is far less oily. And less red, etc.

I might have to try that. What order do you do your regimen, and what else do you do morning/night?

I have EXACTLY the same problem with intensely oily skin. My acne is gone thanks to a strict regimen I follow, but the scars and oily skin remain. I too have to go to the restroom at least once every 1-1.5 hours to blot my skin, and Its a real pain in the ass (and emberrasing too-I don't like to do it in front of other people, so I either have to do it in the stall or wait for everyone else to leave and hope nobody walks in on me doing it). Anyway, I do use a product called Dermalogica oil control lotion after washing my face-its a very light lotion-it literally absorbs into your skin within 15 seconds after applying and does not leave your skin feeling greasy. It seems to help with my oil production slightly but my oil eventually comes through. It doesn't seem to work very well for me, but it has gotten great reviews online by people claiming to have very oily skin like ourselves. Maybe you should give it a try? You can get a small bottle off Amazon.com for about $25, the stuff will last you for months though

Usually ANY lotion that I try in the morning that claims to reduce oil never works, it somehow makes it more greasy, especially when left on all day. I might have to give it a try though, thanks for that.

Urine on your face? Does it work? Ugh! Sorry to hear about the oil problem. Have you tried witch hazel? Some people swear by it. Use it like a toner. Or how about an alcohol based antibacterial solution? What do you wash your face with?

Urine is honestly the best thing I've ever tried other than accutane as far as the acne goes, I just put it on a cloth and dab it on. I've heard of witch hazel and I've never tried it, and I've never heard of the antibacterial solutions you're talking about. What are they and how do I find them?

I wash my face with Proactiv right now, after using urine. Works for acne, but not oil.

Start washing your face with WATER ONLY and then use bp. This should help quite a bit. Use warm water and a mcirofiber cloth to clean your face.

Honestly, with everything I've tried, including bp, I don't see how water only and then bp would help - especially when, in my experience, leaving something acidic on overnight is disastrous.

Look mate, for gods sake. You are pissing on your own face. Try washing your face with just water and a microfiber cloth for a couple of weeks. IF you have some areas that start developing acne put bp on the areas every night. IF you dont try this its only your loss. It completely cleared my skin. I rarely worry about acne anymore. If you dont try it whatever. You could also use FINACEA. get a prescription. Thats a really great medicine. It wont leave the skin red and its NATURAL!! Also, try joining a gym with a chorinated pool. That will zap the oil and deeeep clean the pores while also getting a fit body. Cmon bro the answers are at your fingertips.

I'm not so much worried about the acne as I am the oil, as I said earlier. And trust me, if the answers were at my fingertips, I would have found them long, long ago. I don't think you understand how stubborn some people's skin can be.

Edited by Obii, 02 April 2012 - 01:09 AM.

[Coppedsynergy999]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

i would suggest staying away from bp, but using it on teh short term may be helpful, and get a strong concentration of glycolic acid(do it right) or another hydroxy acid to help keep your pores open from dead skin cells so they will not become blocked. glycolic acid can burn your skin, so be careful but i believe all the vitamin a derivative ointments to be bad for our health and skin, glycolic acid is simply fruit acids.

lower your intake of milk, other dairy and animal fats, they tend to contain natural and even synthetic hormones that were are sensitive to, but never do a low fat diet, you need fat to absorb fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids.
stay away from corn chips with added vegetables oils, but corn itself is likely fine for you.

that should or could get you started, everyone is slightly different.

whole grain wheat and well cooked/correctly cooked beans at a high temperature will keep your digestive system moving along.

I used to drink dairy nonstop but I don't drink it anymore, usually only in a protein shake after the gym, and I barely eat processed foods/animal fats. Thanks for the advice.

What kind of foods would you suggest for a proper fat intake?

I use a perscription called "Cleocin-T Solution". It is an antibiotic in an alcohol base. I know alcohol can be harsh for some people but I have very oily skin and seem to be able to use it with no problems. It seems to help keep the oil down. I sometimes think the excess oil is because my skin is irritated by acne bacteria because when I kill the acne bacteria by using BP cleanser and Cleocin-T then my skin is far less oily. And less red, etc.

I might have to try that. What order do you do your regimen, and what else do you do morning/night?

I have EXACTLY the same problem with intensely oily skin. My acne is gone thanks to a strict regimen I follow, but the scars and oily skin remain. I too have to go to the restroom at least once every 1-1.5 hours to blot my skin, and Its a real pain in the ass (and emberrasing too-I don't like to do it in front of other people, so I either have to do it in the stall or wait for everyone else to leave and hope nobody walks in on me doing it). Anyway, I do use a product called Dermalogica oil control lotion after washing my face-its a very light lotion-it literally absorbs into your skin within 15 seconds after applying and does not leave your skin feeling greasy. It seems to help with my oil production slightly but my oil eventually comes through. It doesn't seem to work very well for me, but it has gotten great reviews online by people claiming to have very oily skin like ourselves. Maybe you should give it a try? You can get a small bottle off Amazon.com for about $25, the stuff will last you for months though

Usually ANY lotion that I try in the morning that claims to reduce oil never works, it somehow makes it more greasy, especially when left on all day. I might have to give it a try though, thanks for that.

Urine on your face? Does it work? Ugh! Sorry to hear about the oil problem. Have you tried witch hazel? Some people swear by it. Use it like a toner. Or how about an alcohol based antibacterial solution? What do you wash your face with?

Urine is honestly the best thing I've ever tried other than accutane as far as the acne goes, I just put it on a cloth and dab it on. I've heard of witch hazel and I've never tried it, and I've never heard of the antibacterial solutions you're talking about. What are they and how do I find them?

I wash my face with Proactiv right now, after using urine. Works for acne, but not oil.

Start washing your face with WATER ONLY and then use bp. This should help quite a bit. Use warm water and a mcirofiber cloth to clean your face.

Honestly, with everything I've tried, including bp, I don't see how water only and then bp would help - especially when, in my experience, leaving something acidic on overnight is disastrous.

Look mate, for gods sake. You are pissing on your own face. Try washing your face with just water and a microfiber cloth for a couple of weeks. IF you have some areas that start developing acne put bp on the areas every night. IF you dont try this its only your loss. It completely cleared my skin. I rarely worry about acne anymore. If you dont try it whatever. You could also use FINACEA. get a prescription. Thats a really great medicine. It wont leave the skin red and its NATURAL!! Also, try joining a gym with a chorinated pool. That will zap the oil and deeeep clean the pores while also getting a fit body. Cmon bro the answers are at your fingertips.

I'm not so much worried about the acne as I am the oil, as I said earlier. And trust me, if the answers were at my fingertips, I would have found them long, long ago. I don't think you understand how stubborn some people's skin can be.

Washing with water only will reduce oil. Then try swimming and taking b5 or something. Also NO DAIRY. You gotta try it man

Edited by Coppedsynergy999, 02 April 2012 - 01:55 AM.

[cvd]

My routine is listed below. The BP cleanser seems to help reduce oil because it kills acne bacteria. I then follow-up with the Cleocin-T solution...it is much like a toner. And it really seems to help. I use DML lotion on my cheeks because they get dry and I then brush my still moistened fingertips on my t-zone area to help with some residual flaking (yeah - I get some flaking and oiliness - charming). DML lotion is designed for acne prone skin. I also use a mineral make-up that absorbs oil. So the combo seems to help keep oil at a minimum.

I would say give your skin some time. It may calm down on its own and produce less oil. Be thankful your skin is clear! This is an accomplishment for most of us. I would agree with the posts above about swimming in a chlorinated pool. When I was swimming 3-4 times a week my skin was much less oily...plus I felt great.

[bryan]

Washing with water only will reduce oil.

What does the part about washing with water ONLY have to do with it? Is that the way you try to reduce the possibility of worsening your acne?

[Prim]

Well I'll add my two cents as well. My skin doesn't sound as bad as yours but I still fight the oil. Sometimes I can only go an hour before I can drag a fingernail across my forehead and get a glop of oil. It's disgusting, so I hear what your saying.

My holy grail of oil control (besides the blotting papers) has been bareMinerals READY Touch Up Veil. It's a translucent powder with SPF 15. It comes in a very nice black compact which is not girly looking at all. I even put it on before bed so my face is not soaking with oil in the morning! (I seriously used to wipe my face with witch hazel at 2am it got so gross). I am truly shocked at how much calmer my skin is because it's not as irritated with oil and I don't have to blot as much. I will never be without it!

Another product is Smashbox Anti-shine. It's not a lotion, more like a gel with the oil-absorbers suspended in it if that makes sense. In the reviews I read that it's supposed to be one of the most potent oil-absorbers and men who are bald say they use it on their heads to avoid shine. I have it myself and it is verrrry strong. Just hard to put makeup over.

You can find these online and if you go to Sephora they let you return anything you don't like or you could try it in the store (ask for a sample). Anyway I'm sure you've tried a ton of things already, but for anyone who's lookin' those are the products that have worked for my massive amounts of oil.

BP and a good clean moisturizer seem to have balanced my skin out significantly over time too, but I know you didn't want the BP. Good luck

[Coppedsynergy999]

Washing with water only will reduce oil.

What does the part about washing with water ONLY have to do with it? Is that the way you try to reduce the possibility of worsening your acne?

Oh yeah. These chemicals that we are washing our face with are CAUSING THE ACNE. They are deff one of the causes, of that I am POSITIVE. All you need to do is get the oil off. Oil causes acne because bacteria feed on the oil. These facewashes overdry the skin, clog the pores, change the skins ability to fight off bacteria by itself by creating an alkaline environment in the dermis, tire the skin out, just bad news. Water is the BEST CLEANSER ON THE PLANET. But you have to use a clean microfiber cloth everytime to get off ALL THE OIL. Wash with water and use topicals if you must along with a clean diet. Thats the answer to acne. Cleansers are a scam by the government to help keep us breaking out. peace

[ana17925]

I have very oily skin as well. It usually takes about 2 hrs for my skin to start looking shiny as hell, however. What you need to do is get a bunch of those cheap brown paper towels that you find in public bathrooms. Every hour or so take the paper towel and "dry" your face with it. It soaks oil in very well. So when you're at work or school, go to the bathroom every couple of hours and "dry" your face of oil with the paper towel. Hope this works. Let me know how it goes.

[paigems]

I have very oily skin too. Fortunately I'm a female and can use oral anti androgens, birth control pill, and makeup to help keep the oily skin under control. However, I do know some things that might be help you Things to try would be: topical peppermint/orange essential oils, murad oil control lotion, oil absorbing powders, and blotting sheets. There are topics here about the essential oils, some people have had success with them. The murad oil control lotion is amazinggg. It's not perfect, nothing is, but it keeps oil away for a long time. You must think I'm crazy for suggesting powder to you, but you can actually get powder that goes on clear. I like kryolan anti shine powder. If you put it on before the oil control lotion it doesn't look powdery, and no one will be able to tell.

[Obii]

Thanks again everyone for the replies. I went to a new Dermatologist a few days ago because I moved recently, explained my entire situation and specifically said "I will never be letting a retinoid touch my body again". He prescribes me Epiduo, which I had never used. I looked it up and what do you know, it's part mother f***ing retinoid. I nearly flipped. He did, however, recommend a bar of soap called Panoxyl that I've been using every morning on my face, and it does seem to reduce oil production a good bit. It's 10% BP. Not to an acceptable level imo, but the oil does seem to be reduced.

Also, that's interesting about the swimming thing, I don't go to a gym with a pool and I don't live too close to one, but once I move to my new college this fall I'll give that a try. I am going to look into some safe surgical options to see what's possible. I absolutely, positively will not get something that makes me look fake or unnatural - I simply want the oil gone or at least reduced to an acceptable point. I've done everything in my power that I think can be done to remedy this, and it's time I think to consider all options in order to finally be comfortable in my own skin - I truly feel like it's held me back from a large amount of things in my life.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read what I've said and for the suggestions, I haven't seen a lot of these and I'll be trying them all, pending the previous one doesn't work. These forums really are a lifesaver.