I have posted on this site a few times but never actually posted my regime. I am a 29 year old male and had severe acne in the past but have now been acne clear for about 5 years (give or take a few small breakouts) so just wanted to share with everyone how I managed to do this to hopefully help others.

I have been onthree full rounds of Isotretinoin (accutane) which always worked but my acne always eventually came back after 6 months/year, so after the third time i though i would take matters into my own hands because i was tired of the cycle of getting clear skin, my acne returning, waiting months to see a derm,feeling depressed about my skin, being put back on the same drug.

so this is my step to step guide of how I have stayed clear (mostly) for 5 years. Step 1 might be the hardest because you will have to find the right dermatologist, but if like me you have persistent acne and have already been on a full course of accutane then this should definitely be an option to consider.

step 1 - ultra low dose of Roaccutane. I currently take about 30mg/week (3 10mg tablets). This is a super low dose so barely any side effects and a great maintenance dose if you have already been on muliple rounds of high dose accutane.

step 2 - only wash face twice a day. I only wash my face once in the morning and once at night (unless I have been to the gym where I have a shower to wash sweat off).

step 3 - don't use multiple face products to wash your face. I only use 'Simple kind to skin face wash' which is soap free and perfume free. In my experience all these anti spot face washes tend to just make things worse by aggravating the skin.

step 4 - don't use multiple face products after washing your face. I only use a small amount of moisturiser in the morning and that's it. Again in my experience BP, face clensers etc tend to worsen things. Same goes for treating spots with spot creams such as freederm. They tend to dry up the zit which then takes a lifetime to disappear. Let your spots clear naturally (as hard as that can be!)

step 5 - Don't Pick or touch! And only pop a zit if it has a head to It, otherwise leave it be!

step 6 - Drink lots of water!

step 7 - try avoid fatty, greasy food like chippys or fried foods. Not saying cut this out completely because to me life is about enjoying the simple treats in life now and then. But if if I have a big fatty greasy meal, I usually wake up with some sort of spot of blemish so I'm sure there is a correlation.

step 8 - try and not stress. Easier said than done when you have acne but I defiantly think there is a correlation between stress and breakouts so try keep stress to a minimum however you can.

step 9 - exercise. For me exercise helps me to de-stress, especially running, which in turn I believe helps me stay breakout free as I am less stressed and can sleep better.

That's all the steps I can think of atm but if I think of anymore I will edit accordingly. Hopefully this helps someone as I know how debilitating acne can be! Any questions just ask :).