Any opinions would be appreciated thanks.

Interesting question. Was that a Dermatologists diagnosis or a GP?

It could well be folliculitis. Not sure how that diagnosis will help you much though. Chronic folliculitis is about as equally challenging to treat as chronic acne. And the pathogenesis is pretty closely related too.

It was just a GP (Family Doctor)

Chronic folliculitis is about as equally challenging to treat as chronic acne. And the pathogenesis is pretty closely related too.

I have been reading about folliculitis and it is mainly treated with Anti-fungus instead of Anti-Bacteria medication. The GP recommended I also shave everyday.

I'm sorry I can't really help, but if it is Pseudofolliculitis barbae shaving everyday will probably make it worse.

If you believe it's anti-fungal I'd suggest trying Metronizadole gel or Azelaic Acid. Neither did much for me mind you.

Thanks for your feedback and tips.

What does your shaving routine look like? Try using a beard trimmer and let everything heal. Then it should give you a better idea if it is PFB or not. Just my two cents. There are also products that help with razor bumps/ingrowns (Anthony Logistics For Men Ingrown Hair Treatment (my fave), PFB Vanish, Bump Patrol, Bump Stopper, Tend Skin, etc.). Doc could also prescribe something like clindamycin phosphate. In my opinion, most people have no idea how to shave correctly (I know I didn't until after college). Head over to Badger & Blade and get some wonderful advice!

Quick Update:

I tried the 3 day Apple cleanse which consists of only eating Apples, Carrots, Lemon Water, and Spring water for 3 days. This dramatically helped my acne.

Since then I have been observing myself as I introduce new foods into my diet. I am getting new acne if I don't stick purely to the cleanse. If I have a larger breakout I do the apple cleanse for one day only and the next day I see my acne subside.

What is difficult is that even when I strictly follow the Paleo diet (just veggies, fruits, olive oil, meats and spring water) I still get pimples. What also worries me is that with the Paleo diet I am losing weight and muscle mass.

One thing that is for certain is that the cleanse definitely works. What I could do is do the cleans and introduce only 1 food at a time but I am very concerned that I will lose a lot of weight.

I'm 27 and have exactly the same thing as you have posted pictures of. Everytime I go to the doctor they tell me mine is acne but everything they give me (differin, BP, duac etc) doesn't really help and I still get the same thing as you. I've mentioned folliculitis to 3 doctors but they are convinced it is still acne...I still think it is folliculitis. I've had loads of antibiotics for years when I was younger but they never really got rid of it and now I'm not using them it's still about. Anti-acne exfoliants (chemical/physical) seems to make this problem worse, have you had this issue too?

I've tried using an antibacterial but this doesn't seem to work either. Apart from the antibiotics have you had any success with anything else? Anyone got any ideas I'm at a loss!

Thanks all

Does it itch? Minocycline is for bacterial infections. If its acne or folliculitus the antibiotic should work. If its the fungal type of folliculitus it won't work.

Did the doctor do a culture test?

I have the exact same issue. It's not folliculitis.

I did an experiment and completely grew my beard out, and it still continued. So - it's definitely not ingrown hairs. The whiteheads will continue regardless if you shave or not.

If you are taking minocycline, i highly suggest that you go to the nearest drug store and buy some probiotics, IMMEDIATELY.

I didn't take the minocycline my doctor prescribed because just like peanutbagel I took all sorts of antibiotics in my teens and they didn't help, including minocycline. If my acne gets bad again like in my pictures posted above I might consider trying minocycline again.

Right now what I am doing is monitoring my food. I know that apples and carrots help me as determined from the cleanse so I continue to eat lots of apples and carrots and drink lemon water while eating other healthy foods. My acne is no where near as good as it was after the cleanse but it's more manageable. I tried for two weeks to keep a log of my food consumption while only introducing 1 new food on top of the cleanse but I got mixed/ inconclusive/ contradictory results so it's still a mystery to me unfortunately.

The only thing I am pretty certain about is that the cleans does work but once I start eating other "healthy" foods my acne returns... mind you not as severe. It's problematic to keep testing which food(s) are the culprit because I have lost about 15 pounds and my friends have commented that I should not lose anymore weight.

Some other things that I think are helping me somewhat are:

a) applying Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar on my problem areas at night and sleeping with it on

b) applying Dead Sea Mud masks and Aztec Indian Healing Clay masks 1 or 2 times / week.

After all my efforts I think I only got about 20-30% closer to understanding and solving my acne problem.

Update:

Hi Members,

After testing various foods/ diets etc... and not noticing consistent improvement I decided to try the minocycline as prescribed by my doctor.

I took my first minocycline pill on Sunday September 16, 2012. After about 3-4 days my active pimples disappeared. Today, I still have no active pimples. I attached 2 pictures to show the dramatic improvement that occurred in just 3-4 days. Any red marks in the pictures are scars left from prior pimples.

I am not certain how long this excellent improvement will last. My doctor prescribed 30 100 mg minocycline pills to be taken 1/day on an empty stomach.

Hope this helps someone.

That's great news. Strongly suggests some kind of bacterial involvement in your condition.

I would be interested to hear how you get on long term with this line of therapy.

That's great news. Strongly suggests some kind of bacterial involvement in your condition.

I would be interested to hear how you get on long term with this line of therapy.

 

Thank you. Today's pictures don't look that great perhaps because I took them right after I shaved but there is a remarkable improvement. When my mother saw me after not seeing me for a week she commented that my face looked excellent (relative to what it's usually like).

Unfortunately, it's just going to return when you stop taking the minocycline. It's only a short term fix

If the antibiotics work why not opt for natural antibiotics once you have to go off them? Coconut oil and oil of oregano are two great ones but there are tons of others.

If the antibiotics work why not opt for natural antibiotics once you have to go off them? Coconut oil and oil of oregano are two great ones but there are tons of others.

 

Thanks for the suggestions Alexisc. I have been taking the antibiotics for 15 days and the results are amazing. My doctor said I must stop taking the minocycline after 30 days of use. Once I stop I will start drinking Coconut oil and oil of oregano.

Thanks again for the tips.

aye dude, just as a heads up, you should definitely cut out the antibiotics soon or supplement with probiotics while u are taking antibiotics or you might end up like me with leaky gut because basically antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut lining. You need the good bacteria to keep your candida (yeast in the gut) in check so it doesn't overgrow. Yeast overgrowth is bad because it can eat away at your gut lining making your gut more permeable which would allow toxins come through creating food sensitivities. So if you consume dairy products, food can get through your gut into your bloodstream, signaling your natural antibodies to attack them because the antibodies view them as toxins even though they aren't. WHICH ultimately causes you to break out in acne. this ish is no fun at all. just giving u a heads up! i took antibiotics back in april for a month and it ruined me, now i'm stuck with this condition waiting for it to heal up. I wish my dermatologist told me to take probiotics with the antibiotics.

aye dude, just as a heads up, you should definitely cut out the antibiotics soon or supplement with probiotics while u are taking antibiotics or you might end up like me with leaky gut because basically antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut lining. You need the good bacteria to keep your candida (yeast in the gut) in check so it doesn't overgrow. Yeast overgrowth is bad because it can eat away at your gut lining making your gut more permeable which would allow toxins come through creating food sensitivities. So if you consume dairy products, food can get through your gut into your bloodstream, signaling your natural antibodies to attack them because the antibodies view them as toxins even though they aren't. WHICH ultimately causes you to break out in acne. this ish is no fun at all. just giving u a heads up! i took antibiotics back in april for a month and it ruined me, now i'm stuck with this condition waiting for it to heal up. I wish my dermatologist told me to take probiotics with the antibiotics.

 

Thank you for the post. I took 2 probiotics after reading it.

I purchased probiotics specifically designed for users of antiobiotics so hopefully I will be OK.

Thanks again for the warning. I will also try to eat more Kimchi and Active Yogurt.

awesome man, hope you beat this thing soon!

You're lucky to see improvement so fast, It's my third week of Minocycline right now and results are not that good.

My ''acne'' is similar to your (around mouth and nose only) but mine is WAY more inflamed (redness & rash)

I had something similar to the back on my shouder last year, I tried SA & BP to no avail and finally head n shoulders got rid of it within a month.

Hello Members,

Tomorrow will be my last day on Minocycline (30 days). I wanted to get some advice on how I can maintain these fantastic results. I have had nearly flawless skin for the entire 30 days.

Should I buy Cococunt Oil & Oil of Oregano as one poster previously suggested? Do you recommend I use some kind of topical anti-biotic cream?

Thank you for your feedback.