For the control of cystic acne, you may want to look into this... it's almost as effective as accutane... it's called Pantotenic Acid B5 supplements...

I'm 42. Occasionally I get small whitehead pimples even at this age.I also cut back on dairy for the past 2-3 years. But I notice that when I have sugary drinks such as Starbucks iced coffee, the number of whitehead pimples increase... but that's just me.You mentioned that you currently get acne flareups. May I ask, what kind of foods do you eat daily?

Hi Acnescarcure,

Great to hear from you. I will definitely look into Pantotenic Acid B5 supplements. My flareups consist of 2-3 inflamed pimples now days at a time. I have attached more pictures for reference. I had a nice 2-3 month break from them where I would get a small manageable pimple a week which I was able to fight off with some 5% Benzoyl Peroxide cream. Yes I call that a lucky break as I feel more better about my skin minus the breakouts despite having existing scarring. But recently I spent a couple of months traveling in Philippines and Vietnam and towards the end of that trip I started getting these more nasty and larger angry looking spots. I was avoiding dairy mostly during traveling but succumbed to having some Yakult (probiotic drink) in hope of keeping my gut full of good bacteria as I am prone to developing a bad stomach while on the road. And a few visits to KFC, McDonald's etc due to lack of healthier dining options.

To answer your question I have eliminated most processed sugar from my diet. I have stopped eating chocolates, cookies etc. I don't drink coffee or fizzy drinks (except tonic in my gin at times) and only stick to green tea three times a day. I do tend to eat fried eggs or omelette with some toast for breakfast on a daily basis. I do spread a bit of fruit jam or marmalade on a toast if I am craving some sweet. My only sugar fix these days. I also eat plain porridge/oats with almonds and raisins on a regular basis.

I have not yet tried going gluten free because bread has always culturally been a staple and an important part of my diet as I also tend to eat pita bread or traditional Indian roti bread with my main meals. Indian food is big here in UK and very easy to find. I also drink a moderate amount of beer. I am thinking of eliminating eggs from my diet and see if that makes a difference. Probably it's the antibiotics or hormones in them that still makes me breakout.

And I would definitely want to do something about my existing scarring as I get days when I suffer from low esteem because of it specially on the days when I have additional breakouts and it brings all my attention back to the state of my skin.

Thanks for the response.. I know of people who eat unhealthy foods all the time but they never break out, so everything is still a mystery.

As for your acne scars, I'm in thee U.S. and am not familiar with the UK. But if you are Indian, maybe you can reach out to this doctor who treats acne scars in India who has experience in treating dark-skinned individuals. The before / after photos of his patients in his videos look promising. Almost seems unreal. You cannot get these types of results here in America. I'm wondering if this is legit.

After watching his videos, let me knowwhat do you think?

Does your skin and hair get oily/greasy quickly? Because I've found out that was my problem. However I still needed to go through a round of accutane to keep my oil level down.

If i don't wash my hair every day my hair produces oil like a factory. And i wash my face at least 4 times spread evenly daily. After waking up and washing your face, try washing again at around afternoon and see whether you get oil on your hands. If yes, you need to get that oil off your face by washing regularly daily.

This solved my problem with cystic acne. Because regardless of what you eat, if you are as unfortunate as me and produce gallons of oil you need to deal with it by washing it off.

You need multiple treatments of subcision with filler or sculptra. I'd also suggest CROSS for your ice pick scars. Do some research in your area and look for experienced dermatologists that do cannula subcision. Try to develop and night time skincare routine that helps with exfoliation, which will help smoothen the scars and keep acne flare ups at bay. Look into retinoids like Retin-A and adapalene 3%. AHA creams are also great for exfoliation.

Acnescarcure,

Thanks for sharing a scar revision video from India. The doctor in the video seems to have the midas touch but it all seems too good to be true for my liking. Despite being of Indian heritage I haven't visited India since I was very little and after doing some research on the forums here I would rather look for a solution across the Atlantic. Circumstances permitting I would like to pay a visit to Dr Weiner or specially Dr Rullan in California for a Canula Subcision procedure and see if that brings any improvement.

Inception,

Yes, I do tend to suffer from oily skin and if I don't shampoo for 2-3 days my hair does get very greasy. I do wash my face 3 times daily. During my recent travels in South East Asia I noticed that I was working up lots of sweat due to high levels of heat and humidity and probably that also contributed to more breakouts as it was not always easy to keep on top of all that while on the road. I have been reading quite a bit on the food and acne relationship lately and I do believe that there are certain foods which may trigger acne too by raising your insulin levels etc. So I intend to isolate a few more things from my diet and see how that goes.

Dodgerguy,

Many thanks for pointing out the treatments that could help with my acne scarring. After reading other forum members experiences on here I am also of the opinion that canula subcision and fillers would be a good starting point. I would still like to keep an open mind with regards to results when the time comes and wouldn't get my hopes too high early on. Also thanks for suggesting a night time regimen. Currently I have been applying benzoyl peroxide 5% cream to subdue my current flare up of 3-4 spots. When I don't have any spots I usually apply a well known South Korean brand (Innisfree) toner and then a moisturiser from their men's range but I guess I need to do more by incorporating a Retinoid or an AHA cream into my regimen.