Feeling like I'm back at square one today. I was doing really good for the last two days.. I was keeping the picking at a minimum and things were starting to look clear (ish) since I've been on the bc pill for 21 days now. Honestly I was actually feeling kind of confident yesterday and the day before.
But last night I popped this group of pimples that had retreated under the skin for a while but started to resurface. Now I have some truly hideous patches of scabby, dry and orangish flakey awfulness that keep leaking plasma. I've been putting this aveeno moisturizer on it, which i tend to use when I over-dry my skin with tea tree oil. But right now I just feel so ugly and angry because I think I reversed any progress my skin was making with that picking session. I'm just hoping that hiding in my house and not wearing makeup today will mean things can start looking up for tomorrow and the rest of the week.
I hate this goddamn cycle and my apparent need to self sabotage
Ahh lately I've been very eh about my skin. It used to be a lot worse: red pimples and marks all over my cheeks, which luckily went away thanks to the acne.org regimen! My skin got so much better to the point where I don't need to wear make-up if I don't feel like it, which is SUCH a great feeling. But I do have these flesh colored bumps covering my forehead which has been getting me down a bit. I know I shouldn't complain because my skin used to be worse and flesh colored bumps really aren't the worst things to have. I feel like I've always had a bit of a bumpy thing going on on my forehead, but lately I've really been noticing it.
These bumps aren't noticeable all the time, just in certain harsh lighting. Plus if I touch my forehead, it feels rough and bumpy in comparison to my cheeks. I can't tell if they're clogged pores or acne, to be honest. When I pop them (or extract them using this pimple tool dermatologists use), a white stringy substance comes out. Maybe they're heat bumps too, since I've been in the sun a lot these past couple of months.
So, yeah. Sort of bummed, but not bummed because I know it could be worse (meaning, back to the breakouts I used to have) 
1 hour ago, supsarah said:Ahh lately I've been very eh about my skin. It used to be a lot worse: red pimples and marks all over my cheeks, which luckily went away thanks to the acne.org regimen! My skin got so much better to the point where I don't need to wear make-up if I don't feel like it, which is SUCH a great feeling. But I do have these flesh colored bumps covering my forehead which has been getting me down a bit. I know I shouldn't complain because my skin used to be worse and flesh colored bumps really aren't the worst things to have. I feel like I've always had a bit of a bumpy thing going on on my forehead, but lately I've really been noticing it.
These bumps aren't noticeable all the time, just in certain harsh lighting. Plus if I touch my forehead, it feels rough and bumpy in comparison to my cheeks. I can't tell if they're clogged pores or acne, to be honest. When I pop them (or extract them using this pimple tool dermatologists use), a white stringy substance comes out. Maybe they're heat bumps too, since I've been in the sun a lot these past couple of months.
So, yeah. Sort of bummed, but not bummed because I know it could be worse (meaning, back to the breakouts I used to have)
There micro comedones don't worry i have them 2, something that help is aha or bha. right now my doc has me on antibiotics
My acne isn't that bad due to BP but my face looks severely sunburnt. Red, flaky and swollen. Still feel ugly. I used to be proud of my facial features, but now my eyes, nose and cheeks look disfigured because my face is swollen. No foundation could fix that...at least I don't have time to put on a ton of makeup - I'm a senior in college worried about grad school and mid-terms and seminars and research and all that. Stay strong. This is all temporary.... I really hope that people here could actually meet up and encourage each other. Sometimes reading posts does not feel that real. I don't know. It's just people around me all seem to have beautiful skins. It's hard to talk to them, even my best friends, about my biggest, and only insecurity.
I know that if I didn't have acne, I'd be complaining about something else. Well at least I can complain with a pretty face to people in my life who can sort of relate. Anyway, stay strong. I'm already grateful enough that this forum exists. This is my go-to place when I feel down because of my face. I'm rooting for y'all.
I have to say, that having suffered with acne since age 12 (I'm in my forties now), all the maintenance, trips to the derm, always looking for a better product, sunblock, etc., always having had people comment on my skin, especially insensitive family members . . . it's certainly taken its toll me. I'm worn out by it. It has added greatly to my anxiety. Sure, bp has helped greatly over the years. But when I've been ill, or just couldn't sleep, bp has never worked. Anytime I've been in school or had to be up early for work, bp has also been ineffective. I've actually had to use blue light therapy for an extra boost or instead of bp. I'm tired of putting something sticky on my face, worrying about bleaching my clothes. I still apply the basic principles of the regimen, the gentleness and spreading bp evenly over my whole face. I'm just sick and tired of the emphasis on superficial looks. I also come here when I'm feeling down, not just for my face but in general. I'm glad this site's still here.
My acne has caused me to feel horrible about myself. I'm hiding from the outside world and just trying my best to clear it up. I've been checking this site a lot lately because it's kind of nice to know that there are people out there who I can relate to and a community here that is always encouraging each other to keep trying and not give up despite their own struggles with the same issues. It can be so emotionally debilitating. I hope everybody finds a solution for their skin problems and that some day soon and we will all be confident and truly happy. Wishing everybody a good holiday season.
I've been on this site for a bit over three months. I come here almost everyday for comfort. My skin has been on a rollercoaster ride for months. I'm so emotionally drained because of this. I'm feeling terrible now because I just did a whitehead extraction at a salon and my face looks angry and disgusting. I don't know what do to anymore... I never really know what to do with my horrible genetics. My mom told me that she used to have the shittiest skin in her twenties and thirties. Now I'm 21 and my face is a wreck. Thanks mom for letting me know that I may suffer for up to 30 years... given the fact that my acne started when I was 13.
Awful.
I had to shed a tear to myself last night since my social anxiety has started to grow again and I've come to realise it's returned just as bad as before.
My low self esteem and confidence is somewhat almost entirely linked to acne, and with it's persistent prescence. I feel so drained fighting against it psychologically, and it's really starting to wear me down. To the point where my dreams and wishes in life are slowly starting to fade because I just can not get out there and do them due to my self consciousness.
How easy is it for those without skin problems? 
This is probably the worst i've felt in a year. Thought the acne.org regime might help but im up on month 7 soon and it has become worse and worse since christmas. Trying to stay strong but its hard to keep oneself from crying. Freaking 8 years. Come on, like will it never end? Talk about needing a break. Hard to stay focused on Uni and leaving the house when all i wanna do is cover my head with a pillow. But hey I probably got another 20 years of acne life ahead of me so might aswell try and befriend my sorrow.
I feel so exhausted from trying to deal with my acne right now. I just feel like venting a little.
So I never had acne during the awkward years when I was 13-14. A few of my friends had acne at the time, but my skin was completely clear, apart from an occasional small pimple once in a blue moon. It's when I turned 15 that I actually developed acne, but even then it was pretty mild for a while, mostly just a couple of zits before my period. I saw a dermatologist, she prescribed BP and some face wash and it was fine for a bit. But then I started to get clogged pores and suddenly every pore on my face was pretty much blocked up. The texture of my skin changed completely and it became gross and bumpy. My derm prescribed a whole bunch of topical treatments over the course of about a year, but everything would work for a while and then just stop. My face was full of little bumps and whiteheads and new pimples almost every day and I started to get hyper pigmentation and red marks because of it. It just continued to get worse and worse, and I eventually started to get cystic acne as well. I'm 18now and everyone I know my age has sort of grown out of their acne at this point but mine just seems to get worse and it's so frustrating. I have tried just about everything under the sun short of Accutane; I've taken every kind of topical treatment imaginable and was put on Doxicyclin for a while, which kept me clear for a couple of months but then it was back to square one. I change my sheets every other day, I follow a very healthy diet (no junk food, no refined carbs, no sugar), I've eliminated dairy from my diet, which helped with my cystic acne, I try not to pick or touch my face, I follow a simple routine ( a Neutrogena salicylic wash in the morning, followed by Cetaphil moisturizer, and then a pH balancing foam wash in the evening. I use castor oil in the evening as that has helped with my clogged pores and cysts, as well as my scars), I've stopped using makeup daily, I've even tried the oil cleansing thing, which honestly just made my skin worse but I was desperate and at a loss about how to deal with my face.
Recently, I've developed acne all the way down my back as well. At this point, I am just so tired and frustrated. I do everything I can to take care of my skin, both inside and out, but it all just seems a bit pointless right now. Every time I catch myself in a mirror anywhere I feel so gross and disgusted. My skin is so red and aggravated, and there's nothing I can do about all my red marks because whatever I put on them breaks me out further. I don't want to go out or even leave my room anymore and I become terribly anxious and self conscious when I'm in public. I've been trying to think positively, but after three years of doing that I'm feeling pretty hopeless.
Today I am looking worst in this year so far. I cant even count how many new pimples have appeared. I try to hide from everything and everyone. In addition to that I have been feeling sick the whole week and I lost my voice. I mean I cant even show up anywhere + I cant talk. And this upcoming week I have so many important events, I dont know how can I handle all this stuff. Hopefully some miracle will happen or something. I have been only surviving and not living for the past 5 years that I have acne ...
On 4/9/2017 at 7:13 AM, MyLifeIsPain said:Today I am looking worst in this year so far. I cant even count how many new pimples have appeared. I try to hide from everything and everyone. In addition to that I have been feeling sick the whole week and I lost my voice. I mean I cant even show up anywhere + I cant talk. And this upcoming week I have so many important events, I dont know how can I handle all this stuff. Hopefully some miracle will happen or something. I have been only surviving and not living for the past 5 years that I have acne ...
On 4/5/2017 at 2:46 AM, RubyK said:I have been on differin treatment for 3 months now for comedonal acne. There's been lots of improvement and I am thankful for that. The whole journey has been truly depressing. I have mainly marks now and they are equally heartbreaking. When will this end? I miss my life
I know how long of a battle acne can be. I know how you feel when you talk about the hardships of social interaction with acne/acne marks. The disease can truly steal time and quality from your life. It can drain you of energy and obliterate your self confidence, leaving you with poor self image, anxiety, and depression.
Everyday lately seems to be a struggle , I want to believe that accutane is going to clear me but staring my 4th month and I still have clogged pores , black heads, and milia . I shouldn't have had such high expectations, that my skin would be flawless. So yeah today is a tough day.