hey girl are you on birth control? I started getting acne my freshman/sophomore year (and also went on minocyclen @ that time) and it went away completely on bc. there's a lot off ppl on here that are skeptical about birth control but I think it's wonderful for acne. ortho tri cyclen lo was what I had the best luck on. you are probably genetically pre disposed since you're pretty young (or you could grow out of it, fingers crossed) but in that case you just have to put in a little extra effort. staying active/exercising can also help. african black soap is my favorite cleanser and has gotten rid of A LOT of clogged pores (preventing new zits and illiminating the super bumpy texture of my skin). Also use salycillic acid (2%) but w/o the black soap I don't think it would do much since it didn't before I added that in. the derm can give you lots of stuff too. have you seen your regular doctor and a derm about this? cuz if not def do that. xoxoxo

Hm. If there was one thing I could have changed when I had acne in high school, it would have been to change my diet. I think that a lot of the cause for my acne at that time revolved around drinking milk at breakfast and lunch, and those horrible school meals with canned fruit and way-too-spicy chicken fingers. Of course I went the topical/antibiotics route, and dug that hole quite a bit deeper for myself; though I did see immediate results, I fear I may have damned myself in the long run.

When my mom handed me a packet from a health food store on how diet affects acne, I shrugged it off. Didn't think it was true, because science would have realized it if it were true. But I experimented with diet a while later, just to prove her wrong, and it turns out that my inflammatory acne was the result of my terrible diet.

Now I feel old lol :\

Anyways, it sucks. I know how you feel. I'm still struggling with comedonal acne (though it's almost all gone now). I look at people with flawless skin, and I just shake my head to myself, because they have no idea just how lucky they are.

As a side not, 4 months of mino should have you clear or close to it. You could look into alternatives. Antibiotics tend to be great for short term benefit, but could be dangerous in the long term.

I would have already gone that route, but I found out I can't take birth control because I have migraines with auras.. Which apparently puts me at risk for a blood clot. Which sucks, because the derm&I think that my acne is more of a hormonal issue since it gets significantly worse around that time of the month lol. Thank you for the advice though, much appreciated <3

oh yikes that is rough, well that's okay at least you won't get stuck in the cycle of being on birth control forever and then having it get bad every time you go off. it sounds like using retin-a and stuff like that from a derm would be your best bet. I would avoid accutane and large amounts of benzoyl peroxyde (last resorts) unless it gets to that point. when you're my age (25) you might get upset about the later effects of those things. Hasn't happened to me personally but i've read it so many times I thought I would mention. the derm can give you lots of other things besides those two. and maybe switching your antibiotics? and make you sure you find a derm who is nice/understanding cuz that can make a huge difference, if they seem kind of like an ass hole find a different one. also, avoid copious amounts of sugar. I still eat sweets and everything and don't believe in restricting your diet, but when I was eating lots and lots of sugar (working at a bakery) my acne got bad.