okay so, I've had an account on here forever now, but I never really bothered doing much with it apart from desperately reading reviews and forums and trying to figure out some way to clear up my skin. If you dont want to read about my adventures with acne and various dermatologists (cuz this will be LONG), scroll down to the pretty asterisks highlighting my current regimen

FIRST DERMATOLOGIST:

I'm a girl who is almost 21 now and i've had acne since I was 14. i tried various otc treatments for two years which didnt work at all and made things so much worse.... Proactiv killed my skin. I didnt go to school for two days because of Proactiv. Then at age 16 when i moved to India, I visited my first dermatologist, who put me on faceclin( topical clindamycin with nicotinamide) , faceclin A (topical adapalene 0.1% with clindamycin), and Benzac AC (benzoyl peroxide 2.5%)....apart from the stinging and burning of the BP in the first week or so, i had no other complaints. He had also told me to stop wearing makeup, but my skin was hideous and i had just moved to a new place, my teenage self needed all the confidence she could get. So i didnt stop, and years of acne had made my makeup skills VERY good. Also, i was using vichy dermablend make up which was wonderful at covering acne spots marks.

SUCCESS!

In about 4-6 months my "moderate acne" which felt more than moderate to me, was pretty much gone, and he put me on glyco 6 ( topical 6% glycolic acid in a cream base) to apply every night as a treatment for the marks left over.....i was told to stop the clindamycin gel, and keep using the adapalene everyday for a few hours as maintenance. My skin had this beautiful dewy glow, people were always compliementing me for it. I didnt use much makeup anymore, maybe a dust of powder , tiny bit of concealer but thats it.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE : dermatitis , urticaria

This whole time i think my skin was getting senstive to the change in weather , the pollution, the water change etc. and it suddenly got super red and sentive and itchy. i had clear skin, with weird rashes on my face...they would come and go in a few hours, and never left any scar, so while i was upset, i was also very thank ful for my clear skin. I later found out this was called dermatitis and i also had urticaria, which i still suffer from. The derm prescribed a corticosteroid cream called Flutivate. It worked , but i couldnt keep using it all the time since these corticosteroids are bad in the long run, and when i stopped using it the rash would come back anyways. So I gave up on it and used aloe vera gel, which helped a little bit. Dryness makes it worse, and moisturizer helps with that a little bit, but its mostly about letting go and letting the rash take its course, for me atleast.

ACNE STRIKES AGAIN..with a vengeance

Fast forward to 8 months later, i was 18 now..and all of sudden, i had a very large deep painful pimple on the side of my face. two weeks later, i had a cluster of deep pimples on my cheek. I went back to the derm and told him i was still continuing my medicines properly...he decided to put me back on clindamycin...but there was no change even 4 months later, no improvement at all. Instead, things were getting worse and worse, with my pimples being more cystic and nodular instead of being pus filled like they used to be, and the derm kept asking me to continue with this regimen. This wasnt working anymore.

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW DERM/TREATMENT CONTINUED

Since then, ive been to three other dermatologists in three years, all of whom have failed to help with my skin...except accutane and stronger retinoids, i had tried almost everyhting under the sun: clindamycin,adapalene,bp,glycolic peels (from 15% to 40%), microdermabrasion, lactic acid peels,salicylic acid peels,antibiotics (azithromycin etc), epiduo, lemon juice internally and externally,psylium husks regimen.....epiduo was given to me as a spot treatment and no more, but it still made my skin crack and hurt , and didnt heal the pimple underneath all the cracking , although this was 60 % my fault, youre supposed to use a very very tiny amount of it since it is a retinoid. Different brands of Adapalene 0.1% gel as a spot treatment would work but putting it all over the face only gave rise to rashes and no prevention of acne. While microdermabrasion and the peels did make my skin much glowy-er and brighter, they never stopped the new acne from showing up, and if i missed my appointment treatment of every two weeks, my skin would get dull and oily and pimply almost immediately....also, these two treatments while helpful, were way too expensive. Eventually the derms all said "You're still young, one or two pimples might erupt despite all the treatment"...except it wasnt one or two, one or two i'm okay with---- these were huge and painful and scarring. I took a break from all dermatological treatment to see if that would work. Some days were okay, some days i just cried cuz of all the redness and painful ugly bumps on my skin. People just commented on the fact that my skin "used to be so nice a couple years ago, what happened to it? go to a dermatologist".

FINALLY...SUCCESS AGAIN?

I went to another dermatologist recommended by a friend who also had been to a few other derms herself, and she swore by this one. (5th one so far) When i finally went, she asked me about all the prescription meds i'd used, and when i refused anitbiotics (they hurt my stomach),she gave me a cream called Deriva BPO to apply for a few hours everyday, and LitePeel. DONT FORGET ABOUT SUNSCREEN , she insisted I wear enough everyday.

Deriva BPO is 0.1% adapalene in microspheres+2.5 % benzoyl peroxide, and LitePeel is a 6% glycolic acid in a lotion base. Similar to Epiduo and the glyco 6 that i had used before, but i had never used them together. Its been almost three weeks now -- which is not enough time to love or hate an acne regimen -- but my skin really is SO much better, its healing all the old pimples slowly, but its preventing new ones from cropping up AND making my skin smoother ! To be fair, this dermatologist probably had an easier time with me than the others did, because we had already eliminated so many meds before she decided on my regimen.

This is the first time since i was 17, that my pimples are being PREVENTED and not just treated. I honestly dont know how long this will last, but its been ages since I was this excited about my skin's healing...its not 100% clear yet, but what is left is a bunch of marks slowly lightening from the LitePeel, and one or two pimples drying up and healing. Im also wearing a LOT less makeup. i cant wear much anyways since it cakes around the invisible flakes on my skin caused by deriva, but it doesnt bother me anymore since there isnt tooo much to cover either, i dont really mind a few marks showing through. A couple of my friends have also noticed that my skin is better, without me telling them that i visited the new dermatologist.

I know this post is REALLY long, so I apologize I know that everyone's acne and skin responds to treatments very differently, there's no universal cure for acne, but I feel like if one of us has found out what personally works for us, we owe it to the acne sufferers out there to talk about it , cuz you never know, it might work for someone else too !

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PRESENT REGIMEN:

MORNING

-- wash face with handmade organic neem soap

(helps my skin feel clean and less oily/grimy)

-- follow with your favourite moisturizer if needed

-- Slather sunscreen on the skin

(SUPER IMPORTANT advice from all my derms! since glycolic acid, adapalene AND bp ALL make the skin very sensitive to the Sun)

-- Makeup

(just concealer where possible)

EVENING

-- wash face with organic neem soap, cleanse face once more with makeup remover very gently with a washcloth

-- apply deriva bpo all over the affected area (NOT spot treatment ) keep for 3-4 hours

(ONLY PEA SIZED AMOUNT ! this is very important ::any more than this amount on your face and you might experience more burning and stinging than usual...and the next few days will be hell with flakies and redness and itching, tiny tiny amount is enough

**Deriva BPO is 0.1% adapalene gel with 2.5 % benzoyl peroxide**

-- 3 hours later wash off with just water, just before bed apply LitePeel lotion

(apply with your favourite moisturizer if required)

**LitePeel lotion is 6% glycolic acid in lotion base**

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The not-so-great effects of this regimen

I have to mention that this regimen made my skin quite flakey and tight and itchy and red for a few days, but it was not intolerable at all, most acne sufferers have been through this before, and it just helps to know that it does get better, some people with sentive skin might still get a few rashes here and there, i still do, but i dont really care about it , it might be my dermatitis at work. It might also make your skin a shade lighter, i didnt mind it since it made it looked "refreshed". A couple of tiny pimples have still managed to break through, but its only been three weeks, and i'm not even 21 yet, i guess i just have to wait that part out.

CONNECTION TO HORMONE LEVELS

ALSO, I want to say that if you can go and get a blood test to get your hormone levels checked, DO IT !! i want to ask my doctor today about that, cuz hormones are directly related to acne, and i have been dealing with a lot of hairfall recently, so it might not just be as "superficial" as people make the stress of acne out to be, maybe there is something bigger to be addressed, that can explain the acne too. i know i have polycystic ovaries where the cysts come and go, so its still kinda mild, but i thnk that could also be linked to my acne.

sorry for the long post, hope this helps somebody atleast, if you havent found what works for you, don't stop looking