Hello all,
I suffer from mild-moderate acne (more moderate then mind) It's mostly around my jawline, lower cheeks, and forehead.. and I'm honestly not sure how to proceed treating it. My acne got worse last fall, I never had to much of a problem with it, sometimes I would stay home for a day because of a big pimple or something, but it never really bothered me to much. Now my acne has gotten to the point where I feel ashamed of my skin, it's worse than its ever been, and it's even getting to the point where I'm concerned I might even have scaring when its all said and done.
Down to the point tho.. I want to ask you guys what I should do next.. or if I should just keep doing what I'm doing, cause I'm sure its mostly my teenage hormones since I'm a 19 year old guy. Currently I'm just doing the water only regimen.. I wash my face once in the shower before bed, and that is all. I resort to this treatment.. cause believe it or not, I've tried almost everything available.
*Products I've tried*
-Over the counter oil free, and standard face washes
-Salicylic acid washes
- Water only/do nothing method (which I'm currently doing cause I don't know what else to do)
- Benzoyl peroxide washes (Proactiv, drug store brand, prescription) *Found out I have an allergy to benzoyl, it makes a large leather feeling burning rash on my face.. NOT PLEASANT*
-Sulfer face masks
-Sodium sulfacetimide (prescription sulfer treatment)
-Topical antibiotics (both in cream, and alcohol form)
-Rose water, and other holistic face treatments
-Retinoids for 5 months (Gave it the full 5 month chance, tried both the cream AND gel to make sure of its effectiveness.. only broke me out worse and worse)
-Extreme diet changes (I do distance running in the summer, so I exercise quite well, and to really make sure I wasn't intolerant to food I took to an extreme change.. for multiple months I went on a Gluten free, Sugar free, legume free, Nightshade free, Dairy free, Wheat free, Citrus free diet.. while only consuming carbs with healthy sources of protein to avoid any inflammatory glycemic spike.. along with this diet I took DAILY *50mg Zinc gluconate, 2x2 tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar, 1 table spoon flaxseed oil, 1 tablespoon cod liver oil.* Also to really take it to the extreme I monitored my omega intake to make sure I received the correct ratio for optimal anti-inflammatory effect... This was the most unfortunate treatment to have done nothing for my acne... although I'm sure it was wonderful for my all around health!
So all in all it does seem I have your run of the mill teenage hormonal acne, while I'm not overly surprised since I never noticed any dietary
changes in my past to effect acne (when I drank like 3 pop daily, drank a ton of dairy when I was younger very often, my skin was very tolerable.. still had acne, but quite mild) I just don't really know what to do with it now. The only two options I have left for treating my acne are literally prescription antibiotics and Accutane. I had stomach issues in the past, and i've always been sensitive to antibiotics.. so I'm quite skeptical about taking them, besides I've heard people having extremely limited success with them, and often say they do more harm then good. Then Accutane... I'm just overall against all the side effects, the claims, and the potential long term effects..
So this is where I stand.. with very limited options, and not sure at all what to do. Do I just let my acne run its course and hope for the best that I don't walk out of it with scaring?... or should I potentially damage my body with these drugs for the chance of clarity?... All opinions, comments, questions, and advice are welcome... I'm really not sure what to do.
Thank you everyone.
* I also shower daily, I don't use oily shampoo... I change my pillow case every night before bed.. I don't touch my face like ever.. and I usually wear a hat with my hair combed back to keep it off my face as much as possible at all times. *
* I tried all the products listed above for at least 4-5 months.. most of them longer at a time. I know acne products require consistency.. and I was very consistent.. just none of them yielded much of a change at all. *
Ah yes. We've all said that once during our time of problem skin. "I've tried everything"
When it comes to acne. Hormonal, dietary, etc etc, Everyone is different. No exceptions. Some medications and treatments may be able to treat a handful of people, some treatments may make someones skin worse while the same treatment could be an absolute miracle product.
You have tons of options, you haven't tried absolutely "everything" yet. Although I don't know what will and what won't work for you, I suggest seeing a dermatologist first. Let them see your skin. Start monitoring what you've tried. What worked, what didn't. What made even the slightest improvement could provide some light on to what may or may not help you.
Combine your treatments. When I saw your paragraph on your diet changes, I was like "whoah" he went through a lot!. Now I really hope you haven't stopped a good diet. Now I don't mean that you should start abstaining yourself from gluten, legume, etc etc. I'm saying: Do a basic diet. Veggies, greens. Five food groups. Limit the junkfood by a lot or don't have any at all.
I'm really sorry if my post wasn't really what you were looking forward to. I can't play derm for someone since everyone is different in their own little/big way. Although I can recommend some nice products you might wanna check out.
Zenmed, Tea Tree oil Soap, Moringa/Malunggay soap, Baking soda, Honey and cinnamon masks, Traditional chinese medicine. Adapalene, Tanda Clear+, Spa facials that specialize in Acne.
I could go on, but these were in my top faves of what worked well for me. You have a ways to go, acne is an expensive skin problem unfortunately. But you gotta keep going!
Are you taking any supplements if I may ask..? Also, how old are you? Whats your climate like there?
As for your problem, I also 'tried everything', including the regimen years ago when I was a teen but I never really did it properly. Now I am on the regimen and taking doxy, supplements and the pill. It's working. Possibly combine treatments? Have you seen a derm recently?
