Well not too much has changed. I guess it has gotten better but it's definitely not a fast process. This takes a while and I wonder if it'll ever be all gone. It's not nearly as bad as it first was though. I'll take new pictures eventually.

Doc put me on clindamycin pills which fight bacteria. 150mg 3x a day.

He also put me on chlorhexidine gluconate 4% W/V. Some kind of soap that I'm supposed to put on in the shower once a day.

We'll see how this goes.

getting pretty fucking peeved at this point. hasn't improved whatsoever. they keep giving me new antibiotics just hoping that one will eventually work. is there not some way that they can find out what bacteria is actually causing my folliculitis? they cant just do tests and stuff? going back to the doctors on monday... very impatient though this has been going on for way too long.

It's been a couple of months since i last checked this forum. Skin problems are the worst, especially when you don't know what's causing it.

Tell me what did the derm say at your last visit, did you do any blood tests, is it acne or something else? Can you post some new pictures to see just how much it actually improved?

First off yes he's diagnosed it as folliculitis. I've tried maybe 7 different oral antibiotics at this point. The condition was actually gradually going away, it was just hard to notice.

It turns out you don't know what you have till it's gone! I've been at Cuba for almost 2 weeks now. About 4 days in my family went on a 2 day hike where I was practically covered in sweat the entire time I was hiking (I sweat very easily). A couple days later, combined with some sun (I might also have rosacea, not sure if the sun worsens acne/folliculitis in that case) I broke out with what seems like folliculitis like I originally had it back in June. Unbelievable. I had such an improvement since then but only really realized it due to it now being back. I've also been still taking antibiotics the whole time.

I don't know what caused it to come back like that exactly, especially with me still taking medication but I'm assuming its a combination of that sweaty hike + the sun. I'm not too sure. I'll take some photos when I'm back home in a few days. Hopefully I can see my dermatologist asap. I'm also going to go back to the pharmacy and try to restart some of my old antibiotics if I have some refills left, because I don't think the one in currently taking is doing much if it came back so strongly like this. It's really frustrating, I just don't want to have to deal with this anymore. 6 months of progress all gone it seems.

Hey buddy,
I really feel for you man. I am going through the exact same thing but on my legs and bottom. I shaved my legs for trivial reasons (my leg hairs were so long they would get stuck in my socks hah). And got my butt waxed as my girlfriend suggested it (I'm not a hairy guy but I thought a nice smooth bum would be an improvement) - how wrong I was. Anyhow, after 2 days I had red bumps (folliculitis) particularly on the front of my thighs, back of my thighs, and on my ass cheeks. The beautician told me to moisturise like 3 times a day with this special tea tree oil lotion they sold me but it has done practically nothing. So I went to the chemist and explained it to them and they recommended at hydrocortisone 1% cream. You can apply it twice a day for up to 7 days. After a day or two I started seeing pretty good results. The bumps are no longer red, or aggravated, and seem to be disappearing. I apply it after I have a shower in the morning and a showering before bed. The only thing though is that the cream doesn't work when there's friction (as I'm guessing it sort of rubs the lotion off). Thus it has worked everywhere except for my bum, as it's hard to avoid sitting on my butt. But I am trying to put the lotion on at night and sleep on my side/or stomach and it has gotten slightly better.
Really recommend trying it, you can just get it over the counter. Again not sure if it actually fixes the problem, but it stops the inflammation/redness that occurs .

All the best and would love to hear of your progress and if you try this.

Hey, good to know there are other people out there with the same problem.

Well I've trusted my dermatologist thus far. It really was much much better before my trip to Cuba. But clearly the problem hadn't fully gone away or else it wouldn't have came back just like that. Since coming back from my trip I've been taking some different antibiotics that I had leftover. My next appointment is on Monday. I'm also considering laser hair removal for my back and butt, as I really don't see a point for having hair there. I don't have much hair on my back; my butt is a different story. But I've heard laser hair removal can treat folliculitis, which is why I'm considering it.

To add: Basically I have red dots all over my body, including on my face and scalp. The dots themselves aren't really visible in the daytime, but they seem to ruin my complexion because it's as if they blend in with my face.

I'll update next week.

He put me on a low dosage of accutane now, 80mg once a week. We'll see how this goes

Well I do believe it is too soon to truly tell, but in the past week, god damn, the acne on my face really seems to have improved. I REALLY hope it is the low dosage accutane doing this, taking my 2nd pill tonight so we'll see if this next week follows the same pattern. Just gotta keep my hopes up

Doc said to take it for 6 weeks before coming to see him again - who knows, maybe I'll be fully cleared up by then

Hey OP,

Read your whole thread - bummer man, hang in there. Felt like sharing what I did.

Back wax 11 days ago then went on a cruise. Spent the whole time drinking my butt off in direct sunlight on the beach in the bahamas. Needless to say, 1 day into that drinking/sun program I was the top left picture.

When I got home I fought back by doing the following:

1. Temporarily cut out junk food to boost my immune system: no dairy, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fast food, soda, candy
2. Continued my lifting regiment at the gym for healthy fitness and exercise (2 hours, good sweaty lifting)
3. Showered twice a day, once in the morning and once after the gym in the evening
4. During shower I exfoliate vigorously with a lufa using AXE body wash and a healthy drizzle of tea tree oil based shampoo
5. Immediately after shower while pores are open I rub in a generous amount of A&D ointment all over the affected area, thats the ointment used for babies rash or tattoos

The before and after picture shows two days worth of this process. The ointment makes your back sticky and kind of uncomfortable but its worth it.

I'll check back later to see what you think and if you have any comments or questions, best of luck bud.

Hey brah (you aware?),

Finally someone else in a similar position as I. Well I've been on accutane for like 6 weeks now, the low dosage. I guess everything has improved as I have less actual acne, however the red dots (flat) are still visible.

I saw my dermatologist today and he said to continue with the accutane. He also said that the red dots can take up to a year to go away. Disappointing but there's nothing I can do but keep on keeping on.

I might try your regimen for the heck of it, depending on your improvements in the next little while. What's your reasoning for it?

I'll try and remember to take some new photos of myself next time I trim in the next few days.

Good luck man.

Alright hows yours going now?

Mine is almost completely gone, maybe 1% left and not inflamed. I think one of the biggest things that helped upon reflection was wearing a t-shirt when I go outside and not having direct sunlight to the area for 3 weeks straight.

Also my mom suggested the tea-tree oil based products. I just got lucky with A&D ointment, I use that for my tattoos and it always heals my skin really well so I tried it out. Had my gf rub it on my back every night for 2 weeks.

Lmk how yours is turning out.

After I wash my face I can clearly see tons of red dots. Apparently they can take up to a year to fade according to my dermatologist, and that I just need to keep taking low dosage accutane. I guess I'm not getting any new acne really, but I'm finding it harder and harder to believe that these dots will actually go away.

About a month ago, I went in to do my back and underarms. Same problem here too with the back! Underarms had not a single problem.

It's cleared up a lot since I had my back done about a month ago, and now in back to a pubescent breakout look on my back. My left overs are focused on the sides of my back and just below my neckline. I just keep in popping them when they turn into whiteheads.

I never developed the red blemishes, only the red bumps that eventually turn white. I did get the blemishes on my legs when I experimented with diy strips. They took a few weeks to completely disappear. I did try "popping" those too to see if it would help. Since the skin surface was not damaged, I had to scratch and poke at the blemishes in order to drain the little bit of blood from that area. It seemed to help, but take caution when breaking the skin.

I may still take a chance and have the back done again.

Maybe it has something to do with the person doing the waxing. This is off topic at this point, I guess-- but as a female, I've had some sensitive areas waxed in the past. With one of the waxers, I would *always* have issues with raw skin, ingrown hair, infections. With the other two waxers, I had very few issues. There's probably an art to this skin-waxing thing, so (if you haven't done so already) do some research into where you have your waxing done.

I also remember having issues once the hair grew back in regardless of the waxer's skill. Being male, you've got more hair to grow back after getting waxed. Perhaps some of the broken/waxed hairs are still in the follicles and are causing inflammation and infection.

Some other issues can cause problems with waxing. If you're taking antibiotics or certain medications that cause "sun sensitivity", getting waxed will cause bad skin reactions.

Just wanted to thank FolliculitisSlayer for the Tea Tree + A&D Diaper Rash Ointment recommendation. It worked. I'm 34, was terrified by how broken out my back was after its first waxing. Went to Target, bought a Tea Tree Oil based body wash, a back scrubber, and A&D Diaper Rash Cream (in the baby section) specifically for treatment of rashes (they also sell a preventative one). Literally the next morning, my back was 70% clearer. 2 days later it's almost completely clear, all the whiteheads/irritation have completely gone away. It was like magic. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

@Max_Yeah_True, I would love to know what ended up happening? The same thing is happening to me now after getting my backed waxed