Acne.org Products
so I had a really awful breakout in August- whole face was covered in cystic acne, literally my whole face in just two nights. I panicked and read about Hibiclens, an antibacterial wash used in hospitals. it worked very quickly to rid me of all the cysts and inflammation and I was just left with red marks. in order to clear the the cysts I washed my face with hibiclens about 4 times a day at times leaving it on for an hour then washing it off with NO MOISTURIZER. (I know, awful for my skin) now my 4 months later my skin is still red, extremely dehydrated yet oily and not to mention sooooo clogged and congested. it's so easily irritated by everything I feel as If I ruined my skin and on top of that on my forehead I have bumps that are flesh colored and sometimes red, with no head and no 'seed' or anything inside besides liquid. they can be "picked" off and leave a pit like red circle on my face that takes forever to heal. however they respond well to head and shoulders but since it has SLS and is irritating it furthers irritation and never gets rid of them completely. nothing will. I've tried glycolic acid and BP and prescription topicals. I'm convinced its not acne. I have been on a candida diet since I broke out originally... any ideas???? please
One of the side effects of using Hibiclens is severely irritated skin. Also, it may be that the P. Acnes bacterium on your skin built up a resistance to the wash. I hope you were using the recommended amount of this product, because if you were overusing or leaving it on for too long then i'm 99.9% sure that is your problem. You use Head and Shoulders on your face, I think you're only adding fuel to the fire by doing that! You should be gentle, because irritation is only going to make the pimples angrier.
so it is what it is...be gentle going forward, only gentle washes from here on out...then experiment to find the best moisturizer...some like jojoba oil, some coconut oil, some cerave....and just try to restore the ph balance
I don't think you did any permanent damage, and trust me we've all been there and overdone things- it's only natural
but for now, be gentle and let your skin recover...no vaseline or anything crazy but experiment with a few oils and moisturizers and nurse it back slowly to health for a week or so, then deal with the clogged pores with a gentle acid, something like mandelic acid perhaps
The bacteria that causes acne and the yeast (malassezia) that causes seb derm live in an uneasy equilibrium with each other. It's possible that Hibiclens knocked out the bacteria, and then the seb derm became visible, especially since you are getting some results from Head and Shoulders.
However, there are much better anti-fungal shampoos than Head and Shoulders. Nizoral 1% shampoo can be ordered from Walgreens or CVS but only on the web. A stronger choice would be Hegor climbazole 150 shampoo from eBay. However, a very mild climbazole-based shampoo, easily useable as a face wash too, is Mustella Foam Shampoo for Newborns, sold in the US only at Target in the baby health area of the store, or at Spehora. As you have sensitized skin, this Mustella shampoo would be a good place to start.
A seb derm type of reaction to malassezia is genetic, so don't beat yourself up about using Hibiclens so aggressively. However, as a genetic condition you should look at it as treating it for the rest of your life, so you want to find effective but mild treatments that work for you..
I know this is very old !! I came across this when searching for something similar on google. Im going to add some helpful information I've learned incase someone else happens to read the post/replies etc
I hope this is okay . ACID MANTLE
Our acid mantle is part of our skin, and is what helps keep the skin protected from germs and irritants etc.
this protective barrier , the acid mantle, can be damaged. When we use many antimicrobials, soaps , scrubs etc too often, it does the complete opposite of what we are trying so hard to fix. The pH is unbalanced, and things just get worse.
Once I read about this, I quit using acne treatment / targeted soaps cleansers etc and tried a gentle approach. I used cerave cleanser only once a day, made sure to rinse thoroughlywith cool /luke warm water.
This is so imperative - it's all about repairing our acid mantle . Once it is more balanced and repaired, it is likely the majority of breakouts will diminish. Let's get to that phase, then we will re address the acne that is still occurring. I. have extremely oily skin. I cannot use any moisturizer at all , but I never need to due to my skin type . However, i think most have combo skin.
anyway , after my skin calmed down with the cerave cleanser, I started getting closed comedones that constantly turned into breakouts.
I had to stop using all face washes entirely ! I ended up using a very gentle cleansing water instead. This has been amazing for my skin and one of two products that have my face entirely clear. But I also rinse my face throughly the shower but with no product.
the simple brand micellar aka cleansing water is my fav. Not only does it clean gently, it also is full of antioxidants an anti irrantants like panthenol, vit c, & chamomile extract
Never use amythting that contains synthetic fragrance or colors - very important! Just because a plant extract or oil is natural does not mean it's helpful to skin .
I have to go but need To mention trying a SA product with zero alcohols , frangrance . Cleansing water and a chemical exfoliant has cleared my skin as in changed my life. Literally. My child is awake i can't finish this post in a way i would like, I hope this helps even just one person !!! Research micellar water and chemical exfoliants(sounds bad but is not ) like an AHA or BHA.