I must start off by thanking you for taking your time to write a lengthy post! It helps to give as much information as possible.

It's not terribly unusual to have a slightly later onset of severe acne, kind of like how some girls get their first period at 16 or later. You are, however, in the age range where it is common to have acne and high hormones and extreme hormonal fluctuations. It is possible to "grow out" of acne, but it is harder for those with worse acne to do so since testosterone levels still remain high and P. acnes bacteria may be already resistant to antibiotics.

Are you willing to go to a dermatologist? Have you started scarring yet? Because scarring (other than red marks) can warrant more aggressive treatments that you can't get over the counter.

And yes, proper cleansing is vital. One of the mistakes people often make is overwashing and not knowing what kind of cleansers they need. Many websites advise people to not overwash, but when you start obsessing over acne sometimes you forget that.

I must start off by thanking you for taking your time to write a lengthy post! It helps to give as much information as possible.

It's not terribly unusual to have a slightly later onset of severe acne, kind of like how some girls get their first period at 16 or later. You are, however, in the age range where it is common to have acne and high hormones and extreme hormonal fluctuations. It is possible to "grow out" of acne, but it is harder for those with worse acne to do so since testosterone levels still remain high and P. acnes bacteria may be already resistant to antibiotics.

Are you willing to go to a dermatologist? Have you started scarring yet? Because scarring (other than red marks) can warrant more aggressive treatments that you can't get over the counter.

And yes, proper cleansing is vital. One of the mistakes people often make is overwashing and not knowing what kind of cleansers they need. Many websites advise people to not overwash, but when you start obsessing over acne sometimes you forget that.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm glad someone read my post lol. And yeah I just didn't think my skin would be this bad now, but it was better when I was a younger teenager. There's a lot of variables to consider with acne, but I feel more confident about dealing with it now after making that post. And yes I do want to go to a dermatologist, I've been putting it off til I see if I get results within the next month..which hopefully I do lol. I saw results in just a few days to two weeks of a new regimen, and I think if I can properly execute my actions, then I'll be clearing up better in no time. It's hard to stick with a regimen when washing is so dull and time consuming, even if its not lengthy in time, it's still very consuming to me. I have bad habits with not brushing my teeth like ever, which is why they're so bad, and I know I should brush them twice a day, but I don't even take a few minutes to do that, but when it comes to washing my face on the other hand, I'll make sure I do it each night and I'll spend longer doing it when I don't even need to. So my new plan every day, starting tonight, is to continue washing gently, and applying small amounts of topical treatments on very few parts of my skin that actually needs it, and I'm going to brush my teeth twice a day and shower every other day. I'd start exercising, but it's been a bad time of the year for that with the weather, and with my inside stationary bike being hard to sit on..so I'll wait to exercise when I see better results with my other priorities concerning health. And yes, I have plenty of scars. I'll show you what are currently active acne right now (with arrows pointing at them), on one of the pictures I took recently.The ones that are visible that don't have an arrow, those are all scars, at least I'm pretty sure they are lol. It's been a while since I've had mostly just scars and less acne. Although I have 2 cysts and a few other pimples..that's not too bad considering all the scars I have used to be all active acne at the same time and were over 20 individual pimples which were all different types of acne. And no my scars are all hyper-pigmentation scars, I've never had scars that left indents or anything else. It usually takes a while for them to lessen in red color, and then it usually turns to normal skin color after a long while, unless they start breaking out in the same spot again lol.

You're welcome!

For topical treatments, it's best to apply all over your face even when there aren't any pimples to prevent new ones from forming.

If it's of any motivation for you to wash, do it to prevent worse acne and potential icepick and rolling scars. Big enough pimples with bad enough inflammation can damage collagen, especially when you start picking at your skin. Then to get rid of scars, you'd have to drop thousands of dollars on chemical peels and laser resurfacing . . . which is not covered by insurance.

Could you post what products you're using in your regimen, even if you use a product occasionally? I'd like to see the ingredient labels on them.

I hope you get results you're looking for with your improvised regimen. A month may not be enough time to see adequate results, but if it really isn't getting any better and considering how severe your acne looked previously, it'd be best to go to a dermatologist shortly thereafter.

I second the first response. Great post! You seem to have a very positive attitude which will help you get through this.

First off, you gotta work on the diet. I eat as clean as i can and even though it did not directly help my acne, it has helped my health. For you, a diet change could very well be key.

Cut back/cut out processed foods (anything in a can, box, bag, etc)

Cut out dairy

eat more fruits and vegetables, protein and fats

eat healthier carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice, turnips, yam, etc)

Since your acne seems to be scarring, i recommend you go see someone if you have insurance. It really sucks to have to deal with marks once acne has gone away and it can be REALLY expensive to treat.

A derm will better be able to advise you on a topical regimen.

You could also read up on more holistic treatments and work yor way up (given each regimen 2-3 months).

Good Luck!