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Here is a picture of my disgusting cheeks: 
Other than those two areas, I have no noticeable acne anywhere else on my body. I once struggled with acne on my forehead only (my cheeks were 100% clear), and when that went away by itself, I started to break out on my cheeks. I am currently a rising freshman in college and I do not notice that anyone else my age has the acne that I do on my cheeks. Trust me, it looks worse in real life.
I am just trying to understand, what kind of acne is this? On the left cheek in particular, the spots appear to look strange and don't even stick out i.e. don't look like regular acne at all. They're really only semi-elevated red dots that just piss the hell out of me. It is important to not that the appearance of my left cheek has been very static and has not changed in months. What is it? Is it actually just scarring? I went to a dermatologist about 2 weeks ago and he described it as pustular acne, and prescribed me Doryx 150mg, Veltin, and Acanya. I take one Doryx pill a day with water and no food, apply the Veltin over moisturizer before I go to sleep, and apply the Acanya over moisturizer after I take a shower in the morning. So far, these medications have not helped my acne whatsoever, and I am not sure whether it is because I simply need to wait longer or because they are improper for my kind of acne. So, more importantly, how do I get rid of this kind of acne?!
Hi, I, too, have acne primarily on my cheek area, and, like you, I used to have it only on my forehead-although that has cleared up at this time.
Your skin honestly looks pretty great. Apart from a very few current blemishes, your skin seems to be "active-acne" free. In other words, most of what is seen to the eye, is hyper-pigmentation from old acne.
To be honest I would say your left side is acne free and clear, just have some post inflammatory pigmentation that will fade in 6 months - 2 years realistically speaking itll take 6 months to be all gone assuming you don't get any more acne.And your derm was right, those are pustules which is the term for the generic pimple youd see on television. You haven't seen results from perscriptions you're using because 2 weeks is not long enough...give it 2 months. And those products to have a good chance of clearing most of your acne but it mostly depends on the person and their personal response to the drugs, not the type acne, that will determine its success.
PS that one pimple on right cheek looks like it would take benefit from draining, aka "popping". A lot of times for pimples like that popping it will make the entire healing process go 5x faster and reduce scarring cause inflammation will go down much quicker.
Okay, thanks for the responses. Does anyone actually happen to have experience with Veltin/tretinoin or Acanya/2.5%bp? If so, when is it best to apply these medications? I tried to put both veltin and acanya on at the same time, and my cheeks got incredibly red, so I know I shouldn't combine them. Also, I will be going to a very sunny place for college and plan to be outside a lot, and all 3 of the medications that I'm taking make your skin sensitive to the sun. Should I continue to use them and plan on using them at college as long as I wear adequate sunscreen, or should I seek other options?
Regarding the post inflammatory pigmentation from my past acne on my left cheek, 6 months - 2 years sounds like a very long time for it to fade... will the tretinoin in the Veltin speed the healing process, perhaps if I apply it at night?
Okay, thanks for the responses. Does anyone actually happen to have experience with Veltin/tretinoin or Acanya/2.5%bp? If so, when is it best to apply these medications? I tried to put both veltin and acanya on at the same time, and my cheeks got incredibly red, so I know I shouldn't combine them. Also, I will be going to a very sunny place for college and plan to be outside a lot, and all 3 of the medications that I'm taking make your skin sensitive to the sun. Should I continue to use them and plan on using them at college as long as I wear adequate sunscreen, or should I seek other options?
Regarding the post inflammatory pigmentation from my past acne on my left cheek, 6 months - 2 years sounds like a very long time for it to fade... will the tretinoin in the Veltin speed the healing process, perhaps if I apply it at night?
How did your derm say to apply to medications? If he didn't he should have. From experience I would say not to apply at the same time, probably one in the morning and the other at night. And hyperpigmentation takes a while to go away man, thats why there is an entire forum section for it, but it WILL fade, just be happy you dont have any permanent scarring(pot marks, etc..). And yes the tretinoin will help with the hyperpigmentation, all retinoids increase cell turnover in the skin so your skin will shed faster meaning the scarring will fade faster than normal. Also if youre just applying to your cheeks then i wouldnt worry about sun as long as your using sunscreen. And if youre apply to whole face then maybe become a hat person as well haha? Dont seek other options just because of sun exposure alone.
PS, Im not even sure BP and a retinoid should be combined, thatll be very drying to skin, but if its what your derm prescribed :/. and dont forget to start off slow with the creams.