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My story:
My first bout of acne appeared in high school. It was mild, probably hormonal. I know it caused me a lot of stress back then, and I started wearing a lot of makeup. In college I went on birth control and within a few months my face was mostly clear, with the occasional pimple. I went off bc almost two years ago, and within the last 6 months or so my skin has started to act up again. And about two months ago a patch of tiny bumps that don't come to a head appeared all around my chin and mouth. Then about 3 weeks ago my face became incredibly inflamed and red and felt like it was burning, probably because I was doing too much to my face to try and clear the acne. The redness has calmed somewhat, but not nearly as much as I'd hope after 3 weeks, and the acne is still there with new cysts appearing all the time... At this point I wish I just left the acne because the redness and cysts are becoming unbearable.
In 17 days I'm supposed to leave for Europe and stay there for a month. But I don't think my face will be healed by then... I am on the verge of tears. I am especially concerned because I'm supposed to spend about 70% of the time camping (= no makeup) and meeting new people.
Please help. I'm thinking of canceling the trip and just staying at home, hiding inside.
please don't cancel your trip. You will regret it so much in the future & i bet you saved money that you probably worked really hard for. My 21st birthday is next week and my friends are planning all this crazy hotel stuff for me but i'm on the verge of not going too because of a horrible breakout... but i know if i don't i'll regret it.
You can be at home with acne or be having fun in a new exciting place with acne. I know how hard it is, but sometimes you've just got to push on with life. You have another 70 years of life if you're lucky. You don't want to be on your death bed thinking about the time you've wasted.
Thank you, to both of you. I keep trying to tell myself these same things, but I need reassurance from others. I hope I'll feel better about myself by the time I have to leave...
My dermatologist put me on antibiotics a few days ago, and today will be day 3 of taking them. I hope I'll see improvements in the next week that will lift my spirits.
Back in 2006 my sister got married in Cancun in Mexico and all of her family and friends were supposed to be going over there for two weeks.. My skin wasn`t terribly bad at the time but the thought of being away from home, having a different diet and a different cleansing routine really freaked me out and right up to a few days before flying out I contemplated not going.
Anyway, I eventually decided to go only to discover when I got to the hotel resort that we stayed at that I had forgotten to pack my normal cleanser. This really freaked me out as I had no option but to use the hotel soap to wash with.
It took all of my willpower but for the sake of my sister, I just sucked it up and got on with things. I didn`t take my t-shirt off once and lived on a diet of smoothies, fruit, rice, fish and vegetables for the entire holiday. However in spite of this, I was still able to enjoy myself and I have a lot of good memories that I will be able to look back on in years to come. Funnily enough, (not sure if it was anything to do with the climate or the water), my skin was really good throughout the entire holiday.
Just thought I would recite this story to show that no matter how bad your skin or your phobias about your skin are, it really is best to try and suck up and push on with things. It may take you out of your comfort zone but in years to come, you will have memories to look back on rather than regrets.
My story:
My first bout of acne appeared in high school. It was mild, probably hormonal. I know it caused me a lot of stress back then, and I started wearing a lot of makeup. In college I went on birth control and within a few months my face was mostly clear, with the occasional pimple. I went off bc almost two years ago, and within the last 6 months or so my skin has started to act up again. And about two months ago a patch of tiny bumps that don't come to a head appeared all around my chin and mouth. Then about 3 weeks ago my face became incredibly inflamed and red and felt like it was burning, probably because I was doing too much to my face to try and clear the acne. The redness has calmed somewhat, but not nearly as much as I'd hope after 3 weeks, and the acne is still there with new cysts appearing all the time... At this point I wish I just left the acne because the redness and cysts are becoming unbearable.
In 17 days I'm supposed to leave for Europe and stay there for a month. But I don't think my face will be healed by then... I am on the verge of tears. I am especially concerned because I'm supposed to spend about 70% of the time camping (= no makeup) and meeting new people.
Please help. I'm thinking of canceling the trip and just staying at home, hiding inside.
Do you only get those little bumps around your mouth? I had that too and I thought it was acne but it turned out it was perioral dermatitis. Is it itchy and are they in clusters? Luckily antibiotics are the best way to treat them anyways.
Also apple cidar vinegar (organic) helps with both acne and dermatitis 
OH HEYLL NO. gurl you are going on that trip!!!! well i mean if you wanna. its freakin europe is people not seeing your skin (which, by the way people probably see already. makeup can only hide so much, its probably good for your mental health to get away from that for a bit) oops went off on a tangent. is people not seeing your skin so important that you would give up a trip to freakin europe!?!?!
seriously, go on that trip. you would be missing out on sooo much if you just stay hiding in your house. just one thing though, if you do go, dont try to start any new regimens or anything. i always try to do that right before a trip or big event and the change just messes up my skin and then i leave for whatever im going to with my skin trying to recover back to its usual acne state 
but yeah. EUROOOPPPPEE! 
ABSOLUTELY go to Europe! I know it seems bad now, but if you don't go, you'll regret it later. Think about it: a month-long trip to Europe is a once in a lifetime experience. You'll meet people, eat new foods, and experience new cultures, among many other things. All of this is much more important and relevant than your acne. I can guarantee you think your acne is worse than it actually is, and I can also guarantee you'll see some people in Europe with worse skin than you. Don't let your acne hold you back. I studied abroad this summer in Asia and I almost let my acne prevent me from going. But I went, and it was one of the best times of my life. and I saw a LOT of people with acne there, having a great time regardless of what their skin looked like.
Don't let a cosmetic problem prevent you from seeing the world. No one is going to care that much about what your skin looks like. You'll undoubtedly regret not going later on when your acne is gone and you're looking back on your life.
Also, I'm sure you'll see improvements with antibiotics. You've taken control now, so let the antibiotics take their course. They usually take a month or two to start working anyway.
. Gosh, thank you everyone for your encouraging words!!! I can't thank you enough.
I've been on the antibiotics for about 5 days now, and so far my face is still quite red and I still have 7 or so active cysts. Today my face is incredibly dry, but I'm hoping it just means that the top layer of my skin is regenerating and shedding itself. Which I'm happy about because 2-3 weeks ago my face was red and burning and so terribly painful.
Anyway, I still have two weeks left. I'm sure my skin will continue to heal.
But seriously, thank you to all of you. I appreciate so much that you took the time to respond. It has really improved my mood!
Do you only get those little bumps around your mouth? I had that too and I thought it was acne but it turned out it was perioral dermatitis. Is it itchy and are they in clusters? Luckily antibiotics are the best way to treat them anyways.
Also apple cidar vinegar (organic) helps with both acne and dermatitis
Gosh, thank you everyone for your encouraging words!!! I can't thank you enough.
I've been on the antibiotics for about 5 days now, and so far my face is still quite red and I still have 7 or so active cysts. Today my face is incredibly dry, but I'm hoping it just means that the top layer of my skin is regenerating and shedding itself. Which I'm happy about because 2-3 weeks ago my face was red and burning and so terribly painful.
Anyway, I still have two weeks left. I'm sure my skin will continue to heal.
But seriously, thank you to all of you. I appreciate so much that you took the time to respond. It has really improved my mood!
Do you only get those little bumps around your mouth? I had that too and I thought it was acne but it turned out it was perioral dermatitis. Is it itchy and are they in clusters? Luckily antibiotics are the best way to treat them anyways.
Also apple cidar vinegar (organic) helps with both acne and dermatitis
Yes! I was a bit disappointed that my dermatologist didn't have much to offer in the way of explaining why they were there. They're still there, but maybe in a few weeks the antibiotics will tackle them. I'm hopeful.
Red and burning is a big sign for perioral dermatitis! Good thing he put you on antibiotics that's what cleared me up in a couple weeks . Try n stay on them for 2-3 months to make sure the infection is out of your body