You noticed that everyone else pretty much has clear skin? Welcome to the club. I hate it too. Every time I see people with clear skin in public, I die a little inside and think to myself "Fuck my life" or "Why do you hate me God". Here's a statistic for you : Only 2 out of 10 people have acne (20 % of the people in the world). Kind of depressing we're the minority in all of this. I just look at it like God hates me (and all of us) and likes to see us suffer and it's amusing to him. God hates me, but it's okay, I hate him right back.
hello.. i am with you. i know what you're going through as i've been there too. all of us acne sufferers are hurt to know that others will never understand our situation until they get in our shoes. i've stopped college because of insensitive people (they were my one of my closest friends) laughing behind me or when i'm not around. they tell jokes that are insults to you. it's really degrading. anyways, i'm starting to accept what had happened.
my advice to you before you do anything more drastic on your skin is to let it rest first. i think you've done many harsh things on your skin because it's shiny (i'm really sorry if i'm wrong 'bout this).
in my experience, when i had mild acne before i usually try every soap (i was 14 then i don't know what i'm doing) the harsher it is the more i like it 'cause i thought that if you have squeaky dry skin it means clear skin. i'm so wrong and i found it just few months ago. well, this is in my case. i've noticed that when i don't wash my face (i'm so lazy) my face gets very very oily BUT i don't have new zits. i came to realize that the more dry my skin felt the more it's irritated. acne do not come from dirt, never. have you noticed scavengers, they're all dirty yet their skin is glowing? because their face are not dried up and are not irritated from harsh chemicals. please just try it for about 2 weeks if it'll work for you. you've got nothing to lose. 
what i use is cold cream as i never wanted to make my skin dry up even for seconds. i slather some, massage it for a minute then wipe it off very gently to prevent irritation (even slight redness means irritation). sometimes i just wash it with plain water until there's just thin film left, instead of foaming my face i foam my hands then i just dab my foamed hands gently on my face and rinse immediately. my skin is not stripped of moisture. after that i put some moisturizer. i don't use regular moisturizer anymore for it has many chemicals in it. i use sebo de macho (i believe it's made of castor oil and mineral oil in its purest form). it's really made for scars. i know it's gross to sleep with greasy face. but i tell you, my face WAS the oiliest of all. and my skin develop millia instantly from petroleum jelly BUT that was before when i used to wash my face with harsh chemicals. now i'm not that oily anymore. if i put some sebo de macho my pores produce very little oil only.
i'm not telling you to do what i do literally. i'm just trying to say that be gentle with your skin. it might be reacting with everything you put on it. the lesser the better in my case. i've even read on a thread here, someone just wash his face with plain water. and he said he's getting clear. if you want to put some medicated treatment try to put natural moisturizer with it. i'm on tretinoin right now and i don't breakout too much. just 1 or 2 tiny bumps and that's it. what i do is put my plain moisturizer first (yes the greasy thing) then i follow with tretinoin 0.025. i don't experience redness or flakes just mild tingling sensation.
i believe that as long as you're not irritating your skin at any point then it will not react. regarding about the tretinoin my skin is so much tolerating it i believe i can handle 0.1% but i don't want to aggravate my skin. well everyone has different skin types, i just really hope i've helped you in a way.
i hope you heal well. God bless you and remember you are not alone we're family here.
You noticed that everyone else pretty much has clear skin? Welcome to the club. I hate it too. Every time I see people with clear skin in public, I die a little inside and think to myself "Fuck my life" or "Why do you hate me God". Here's a statistic for you : Only 2 out of 10 people have acne (20 % of the people in the world). Kind of depressing we're the minority in all of this. I just look at it like God hates me (and all of us) and likes to see us suffer and it's amusing to him. God hates me, but it's okay, I hate him right back.
what? only 2/10 people? I see way more people having acne... it can't just be 2/10....
i have it worse then you . . . and it makes me so angery when people say did you try antibiotics, did you try birth control, did you try this did you try that!!! i have also tried everything. i have even been on accutane and it made my hair fall out, i was clear for a year and now its back worse then i had it before. i dont have clear skin anywere anymore, its on my face back neck chest stomach arms shoulders . . . and worse then it is on your face. i also have no friends, and dont want any. i stay at home and just want it to get a little better so i can at least get a job. . . or something. but i know how you feel, im 20 and i dont know one person that has severe acne, i dont understand i guess its a bacterial infection . . . but antibiotics accutane and everything antibacterial cream wont take care of it ? it makes me so angery, but anyways your not alone girl. i just wish everyone like us could hang out. hah no one understands the real pain of this unless you have been through it, and most people dont go through it. if i find a cure ill let you know . . . but honestly im so lost in what to do and i would honestly say do not do accutane unless you want your hair to fall out and your acne to come back 100x worse then it is now . . . and i also have done diet changes . . . i dont eat dairy meat (except fish) gluten sugar andything with pestisides or preservitives, im on a antibiotic right now a anti depressent and birth control, i hate sounding like o poor me, but i really want to live and i wish i could just not care and walk out and not give a fuck about what people think of me, but i cant, i see my reflection and i want to gag at my own skin. . . anyways ill pray for you thats all i can do at this point. i dont understand why there would even be something like acne, just doesnt seem right. i hope you find something that helps let me know if you do, ill try anything, but i have tried everything. good luck
To the OP: I hope you get some sort of proper help from your derm. I do believe that antibiotics are not the answer, they are obviously not helping. In your place, I would bite the bullet and go onto Accutane. My acne was very persistent (decades) on/off but in the last few years I started getting cystic breakouts - fortunately only in localised areas, but still awful, painful & unsightly. I recently completed a 7 month course of accutane on a medium dose and SO far only had a couple of minor pimples since then.
Yes, some of the side effects whilst you're on the drug are a bit unpleasant but for me it was totally worth it! I read these boards before accutane, all the advice about diet, etc. and the scare stories about accutane, but it just drives you crazy trying all these things that don't work and worrying too much about the one thing that does work.
You really shouldn't have to suffer like this, I hope it clears up.
hello!
No matter what you are doing your best, and that is good enough
Do you get itching with your acne? If so, there is a theory out there that acne might be caused by mites. The website demodexsolutions.com explains it more. I hate to feel like an advert, but its the stuff I am using right now and I like the results. I do go through almost clear cycles and then more cysts, but the nearly clear times keep me motivated to keep using the creams. There's this area on my cheek that was filled with painful cysts, and now there is a little guy there now. I will post more if in fact, these creams clear me up %100, but I just wanted to make sure that you knew about this different approach to acne.
I understand how you feel honey, i used to have acne too and i still have the difference is that mine has always been mild. But still im in the same shoes as you. Before i didnt let acne bother me, i never did when i was younger i had acne since i was 10 years old, all the boys in my class (in Elementary school) were in love with, yet i still had acne on my face but that didnt stop me from being beautiful in my own and natural way. Then i hit 16 years old and i still had acne, now never in my life any of my friends said something negative about my acne in fact they never really cared they just told me how nice i was with them and how cute i was. Even though maybe they told me this not to make feel sad? i dont know but then after a few months when i was 16 acne did start it to bother me till the point that i was just crying all day long. And i was really shocked by this because in my entire life dealing with acne since i was 10 i have never dropped a tear over acne so i wondered why im crying about something that guys wants to be with me, that they dont even care about my acne, that i didnt care about acne before but why now? why im crying over acne now in my 16? i never really got an answer for that, the thing was that since i always had mild acne there were times where my skin would just turn red and a lot of pimples all over my left cheek and then to make it worse, i heard my nephew who was at that time probably 5 years old that i had a lot of pimples in my face and that i looked like a corn and then i even had to tolerate my older sister looking at my pimples and talking with my mom, in front of me how awful my skin looks likes and all the pimples i had so now i understand, now i have the final answer i used to cry over acne because i had two people in my family my stupid sister and my idiotic nephew talking trash about my face. And i really never cared what people said to me but at that time my hormones where changing and going crazy and i became for a long time a sensitive person.
All of that just became a mess to me, i didnt wanna go out and i used to cry of anger when i looked in the mirror. Then one time a magical fairy tail came to me in my dreams and told me about all this people who has cancer and they are trying the best they can to survive and fight against this terrible disease i also learn not to care what others had to say about me and my physic. Now my skin sometimes looks pretty bad but i handle it because i wear a small amount of concealer yes you read right concealer works the best for me !, because it does cover my mild acne and red marks and it gives a natural look. And my mom is now always saying how good my skin looks my sister wont talk shit about my face anymore and my little nephew whos now is 6 going to 7 pretty soon now just tells me how skinny im but never heard the word corn from his mouth when he used to laugh at me. Now everything change for the good, and the less i think about my acne the more happy i live my life.
Even has hard as it looks, just always think positive, maybe you should take a look at some people who got severe burn and they are completely disfigured for life. Those kinds of stories really helped me to realize how dumb i was to be worrying about something that totally has a solution. Just be strong and live your life to the fullest cause life is just too short.
hey! to calm the redness I highly reccomend the oatmeal "regimen" . I learned this from someone who had acne very similars to yours , it would go down her neck as well and she said her face was itchy and she had a lot of cystic pimples ( i saw her a lot ) . I myself am suffering with moderately severe acne but its gotten better
, im doing different stuff but im planning to go on the acne.org regimen and hopefully help clear it up as much . But what you do is take a handful of oats (its better to mix them in the blender , and after your face is cleaned and washed take the oats and run them under water until you get a paste consistency . Afterwards apply it on your face and leave it until desired , I usually leave it for around 15 or 5 min the least . And IMPORTANT thing is to do it EVERY NIGHT ‹, makes a huge improvement I promise . I warn you though
that the oats will clog your sink so use a filter . This will calm the redness and acne , she has basically clear skin now and shes been doing it for months ....
look into accutane. that's all i can tell you, girl.
and you know, when i see posts like this, i just want to meet the poster and become friends. this board has really been there for me a couple of times a few years ago.
i wish you well, and you should just post here whenever you find yourself having a hard time. all the best
I started getting pimples in the seventh grade so i was about twelve years old. I didn't think much of it because a lot of the kids at school had it too, It was really mild though. I did use products like clean & clear, acne free, clearasil, but i regret not being persistent, I was only twelve and i would get lazy to do the regimens, I regret it tho because for the past several years it got worst, It has been six years now. And i can say I have tried EVERY THING, from natural remedies, ads on TV, burts bees, lush products and nothing has worked. I thought even changing my diet would help because my mom would always tell me to "stop eating greasy foods and my face will clear up". I was up to the challenge and i started running everyday and stopped eating junk food, dairy products, even MEAT!! I now eat very little to no food and drink alot of water. I was clearing up a little but then it just went back to being severe. Instead of helping clear up my face i lost 45 pounds! I started university and everyone i mean EVERY ONE has clear skin! I feel when Im walking by everyone just stares at me. It has really damaged my emotional life because i have no friends, I have never had a boyfriend, I cry to myself a lot and just wish i would die. I can't get a job because of my acne. I had a job for like two months and little kids would always look at me and say "EWWWW!!" in front of everyone. Some would question their parents "Why does she have a ugly spotty face, mommy?" and some would just look at me and make faces at me. Random people ALWAYS stop me and tell me they have the cure but i just listen to them nod my head because i know it wont work. I get mad at my mom when she tells me im beautiful but i get mad because i know shes only saying it to make me feel better. The only place im beautiful is from the inside but not one guy has ever got the chance to get to know me because of my image, Please help, I cant go on looking like this.
Get on Accutane for sure. Rebuild your emotional strength on Accutane. Then follow a good diet. If you cannot afford Accutane, then look at my post it can cure atleast 50 percent if not all of your acne. Good luck.
i just wanted to give you my opinion on acne and what i think you should do. i have studied acne and acne causes alot, just because over time you become obsessed with the idea of clear skin, especially with friends and family being around you all the time with a flawless face. trust me it has driven me nuts lol i belive acne is caused by some sort of imbalance of the body and is showing signs of whats going on internally. for people with mild acne creams and lotions can usually fix the problem but with ppl with persient cystic acne topicals are just not gonna do the trick, they need to focus on whats goin on inside there body. i do think the diet affects your acne,but even with a diet change for severe acne thats only gonna clear it about 50% i reallly really would advise you to try a hormonal treatment like spirolactone especially since ur a girl. if your acne has been persisent this long your probably have hormonal acne. i mean theres a reason we have clear faces until we hit puberty (horrrrmoonnessss lol) and if its been happening for this long i would advise you to try a hormonal treatment. Accutane is very harsh and will only solve your acne problem while you are on it,if it is hormonal. i went on accutane and my face was crystal clear but a month after i went off it came right back.
Sweetheart I truly believe you are beautiful. I understand having to live with cysts on the face and other people being hurtful. My face has gotten worse over the last year and I keep telling myself I AM beautiful and people who don't like it can kiss my $#*&@! I would love to wear make-up, but it just makes it worse. I have a lot of freckles so I try to get sun on my face to kind of mask it. I have not tried medication, but I'm researching the options. Keep your chin up. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself all the great things you love about yourself. Not the dislikes, but everything that truly makes you a great person. You'll see how quickly you start believing God created you for a great purpose and people will see you in a whole different way than you think!!!
i just wanted to give you my opinion on acne and what i think you should do. i have studied acne and acne causes alot, just because over time you become obsessed with the idea of clear skin, especially with friends and family being around you all the time with a flawless face. trust me it has driven me nuts lol i belive acne is caused by some sort of imbalance of the body and is showing signs of whats going on internally. for people with mild acne creams and lotions can usually fix the problem but with ppl with persient cystic acne topicals are just not gonna do the trick, they need to focus on whats goin on inside there body. i do think the diet affects your acne,but even with a diet change for severe acne thats only gonna clear it about 50% i reallly really would advise you to try a hormonal treatment like spirolactone especially since ur a girl. if your acne has been persisent this long your probably have hormonal acne. i mean theres a reason we have clear faces until we hit puberty (horrrrmoonnessss lol) and if its been happening for this long i would advise you to try a hormonal treatment. Accutane is very harsh and will only solve your acne problem while you are on it,if it is hormonal. i went on accutane and my face was crystal clear but a month after i went off it came right back.
I got my hormones checked and they are normal. So I don't know what is wrong with me. I started using benzoyol peroxide and my acne has cleared up tremendously. Obviously I have a lot of red marks and crater like scars but I rather have scars then acne. Do you think I just had bacteria on my skin?
if the bp really works well for you then u should stick with and see if it works consistently and really notice which areas on your face its clearing up (like for ex if it cleared up acne on ur jawline but not ur forehead acne or vice versa) this will help to determine if its hormanl,intestinal issues or some other body toxicitity or imbalance. Also alot of people on hormonal treatments for acne have normal hormone levels, but their acne still clears up becuase their body is more sensitive to hormones than usual even if their levels aren't very elevated. just like ppl are more sensitve to food breaking them out then others are. it really depends on if ur doctor or derms think that would be right for you along with ur family history for blood clots, high bp etc.etc. if you really want to speed up the healing process chug down water and eat lots of fruits and veggies if u dont already. a Derm saying 'ur diet doesn't effect your acne' is crap.its just an excuse for them to send u out with another med. they make money off of. if ppl really think about it food effects EVERYTHING in your body so why not your skin? having a good balanced diet realllyyyy helps although it may not get you totally clear you still should see signifigant improvements.
I started getting pimples in the seventh grade so i was about twelve years old. I didn't think much of it because a lot of the kids at school had it too, It was really mild though. I did use products like clean & clear, acne free, clearasil, but i regret not being persistent, I was only twelve and i would get lazy to do the regimens, I regret it tho because for the past several years it got worst, It has been six years now. And i can say I have tried EVERY THING, from natural remedies, ads on TV, burts bees, lush products and nothing has worked. I thought even changing my diet would help because my mom would always tell me to "stop eating greasy foods and my face will clear up". I was up to the challenge and i started running everyday and stopped eating junk food, dairy products, even MEAT!! I now eat very little to no food and drink alot of water. I was clearing up a little but then it just went back to being severe. Instead of helping clear up my face i lost 45 pounds! I started university and everyone i mean EVERY ONE has clear skin! I feel when Im walking by everyone just stares at me. It has really damaged my emotional life because i have no friends, I have never had a boyfriend, I cry to myself a lot and just wish i would die. I can't get a job because of my acne. I had a job for like two months and little kids would always look at me and say "EWWWW!!" in front of everyone. Some would question their parents "Why does she have a ugly spotty face, mommy?" and some would just look at me and make faces at me. Random people ALWAYS stop me and tell me they have the cure but i just listen to them nod my head because i know it wont work. I get mad at my mom when she tells me im beautiful but i get mad because i know shes only saying it to make me feel better. The only place im beautiful is from the inside but not one guy has ever got the chance to get to know me because of my image, Please help, I cant go on looking like this.
You simply cannot allow your acne problems to control you. It sounds trite of course, but you are doing a massive disservice to yourself by living amongst self-replicating negativity. I understand comments, particularly from children, are very damaging, but I promise you that a good portion of the things you encounter are imagined. You are always going to be the most intimate with your own face, therefore even tiny flaws will stand out like grotesque monuments should you spend to long making them so. Your mother is not spinning lies either, acne does not inhibit beauty. One can clearly see from your avatar that you have a very pleasant and warm appearance-your acne may be a problem, but it doesn't make you a troll. Misinformation wont help your cause, and there will be plenty of people who might have false perceptions of why or what causes acne-but don't let ignorance dictate the course and pace of your life. You are young-enjoy it. It sucks seeing the porcelain masses parade around you seemingly everywhere, many of us have been in those shoes, but your experience with acne does not have to be an endless tailspin. There is a tremendous strength in people like you, I want to stress that, one that cant be plucked from the air by others or gathered through happenstance. Acne is, without question an opposing force, but you can use this opposition in a positive way. Try accepting your bravery over your shame. Appreciate your strength and diligence, your fortitude in coping with a problem that would have driven others into hysterical straights loooooooong before you even started looking online for help. These traits are far more engaging and wondrous than some perfectly smooth face without so much as a pock-mark for character. Don't believe the hype.
A solution exists, many people in this thread have suggested treatment options, i think you should determine that course yourself under the guidance of a dermatologist
And please, remember, if you dwell in a negative place, everything around you will seem sour and plotting. You have the confidence to post pictures of yourself online and without the smokescreen of makeup of kind lighting-you have the confidence to live your life happily, you just dont know it yet.
Good luck, you are pretty cool.
You're skin looks really inflammed, the only thing that i found that helps stop acne and inflammation is emu oil. After using it my breakouts stopped and i regained the plump glowing skin. Emu oil has fatty acids the same fatty acids that is in human skin, this is the only way top stop acne and replenish. I've tried many moisturizers, none came even close to emu oil.
To the OP
I understand exactly what you're going through and it sucks soooo much, regarding accutane...i went on it at 17 and i had acne pretty much the same as yours... my acne did clear up extremely well and i managed to get two fun years out of high school before i finished, the acne came back at the age of 22 mostly with cystic acne around my neck and back, i am now 27yrs old and had a liver biopsy due to abnormal bloodwork, found out i have Chronic Hepatitis of the liver, i dont drink alcohol so you can bet accutane is the cause of this, and the doctors will never admit it.
Best of luck to you finding your acne cure
I'd agree with the other people who say "Accutane". You might not have as "hard" of a time trying to get a doctor to prescribe it for you, since it looks like you're obviously suffering. Perhaps you can get the doc to give you those cortisone injections for the really bad cysts-- call their office and ask if that's something that could be arranged on short notice.
I have a sister who had acne very similar to yours and she went on a course of Accutane in her teens after trying every dermatologic remedy under the sun-- then she found out in her 30s that she had polycystic ovarian disease. Do you think perhaps you might have a hormonal problem like PCOS or a thyroid issue?
Starness, I am glad you are seeing progress. Before you go on accutane I would suggest going back on antibiotics, possibly minocycline. Also look into birth control pills, it has been shown that some brands can help regulate hormone levels to reduce acne. I have always had the most oily skin I know, so I wash my face every 3-4 hours with cetaphil and then moisturize, then use benzoyl peroxide as a spot treatment throughout the day and all over my face at night.
While adjusting your diet may help improve overall health, there has been no evidence that it will change your acne, regardless of what anyone tells you. The most important thing you can do is ensure that your face is never oily, so get on some antibiotics, and wash every 3-4 hours, then moisturize if necessary. I know scars seem better than acne right now, but down the road when your acne is completely gone it wont be so do whatever you can to prevent getting them now. Good luck!
I know how you feel I felt like the only person in college that still has cystic acne. My friends could go out all night with makeup on and never break out I was jealous. For me the only thing that helped me was helping my insides. Not just fish oil and zinc cause those are helpful but never cleared me. Today I take a probiotic everyday to control the bad bacteria and Renew Daily Detox capsules to clear out all the toxins. After three weeks of both my cystic acne cleared and allowed the topicals to do their job. Always remember even when you feel like the only one you're not never give up hope!
Hii! I was just reading this and it was really heartbreaking cause i can relate... but i can't help but share some info i found out about acne. -The REAL reason behind acne! - I know you heard that before but hear me out. I've been down the all natural organic, toxic cleansing, "i must have hormone imbalance" route. Trying product after product and vitamins and supplements that don't work. Thats because everyone is treating the wrong problem. the reason people get acne is because of these things called "Demodex Mites'' or "Face Mites" that live in our pores and feed off of our skin. For some reason this is very unknown, especially to western science(Maybe a cover up, to keep people wasting money on crappy products??). But they DO exist. I saw one for myself under a microscope on my own eyelash hair. 98% of people have them. I think only certain people get acne because of a overpopulation and weak immune response to them, and having oily skin creates a haven of living and reproducing for them.
Heres a link to a website that has all you need to know about them -- http://www.demodexsolutions.com/default.asp?all_about_demodex.asp~mainFrame
Ima tell you right now, NONE of the mainstream products in stores are going to help if they don't have some kind of mite killing ingredient in them. Changing diet might help a little if it boost your immune system.
The best way is to create a whole new regimen based on killing these little bastards. And i mean KILLING them!
I know they hate sulfur. and die the quickest from Alcohol and Tea Tree Oil. You'll notice the products with sulfur and tea tree oil have the best review ratings.
The website I posted has they're own products but I'm not too sure if its really gonna work the fastest.
I say go with a Sulfur wash. You could order some or find some maybe at Walmart or Walgreens.
And every night before bed apply rubbing alcohol or even better 100% Tea Tree Oil to your eyebrows(Seems to be a place of large population of the mites) and to any individual pimples. But you can't do too much cause these products are very drying and could irritate your skin.
Also a strange but treatment definitely worth looking into is the "Saliva Method'' idk why but MANY people say this works almost like a miracle.
Best of Luck!!!
I hope this info can get more well known so we can finally put an end to acne and its mysteries once and for all. And also put an end to all the worthless acne medications and theories out there!
Also. To add to my last post.
Natural oils seem to suffocate the mites(and adds moisture back to the skin as an added bonus)
And If you have mites, than you have them everywhere there is a hair follicle, including the hair on your head so i would highly recommend using a Tea Tree Oil shampoo. (Sulfur shampoos work too but thins out hair 
so those should be avoided) I started using my Head'n Shoulders, which has a large quantity of sulfur, as a body wash instead of shampoo. Surprisingly it did not irritate or make my body break out what so ever, but in fact cleared it up.
I'm still the same.. it got wayy better for a while but the scars remained.. and I gained all my weight back and still have acne.. I'm super sensitive to everything.. I also have a drinking problem now.. I dropped out of college.. yeaupp.. my life sucks.. because of this.. I'm having an emotional breakdown that's why I'm here..