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Hello,
getting straight to the point. I have had clear skin for almost all my life, it was natural. I didn't have to use any special facewash, creams, etc. I came home from school and washed my face with water and that was it. I am now 21 and have been breaking out since March 2012. I started breaking out REALLY bad along the jawline at first, and after about 3 months, I finally cleared it up but dermal (deep) hyperpigmentation marks were left. After a while, I started breaking out again. I would get huge cystic pimples on my nose, forehead, chin, basically everywhere other than my cheeks. Like many others, I have tried almost everything (some things I refuse to try are accutane, proactiv, etc.). What cleared my jawline acne up was taking Pantothenic Acid tablets and Zinc tablets, but I guess my body got used to it and it is no longer effective. It has been a year and a half now and I am looking like complete s (pardon my french). I eat healthy, I'm fit, I do my best to keep my face clean every hour. I don't know what to do anymore. I currently have a ton of dermal hyperpigmentation marks all over my forehead, nose, chin, and jawline, and 2 nasty cystic pimples on my nose. (see attached pictures, looks worse in person)
Now getting into the emotional side of things, acne is starting to ruin my life. My self esteem and confidence are at an all time low and I'm just not happy anymore. Every morning I wake up and look in the mirror and think to myself "wow... wtf happened to me...".. I feel like people are constantly judging me even though they don't say it out loud, I know they're thinking something. It's hard for me to meet people, i just don't want to show my face anymore, and I would be lying if I said I don't have any suicidal thoughts. I'm running out of options and if I don't find a solution by early next year, I'm giving up. I'll just have to deal with it and live feeling like s everyday.
Honestly, it doesn't look that bad. You have nice skin texture, so you will be able to heal nicely. Have you done any hormonal, allergy, or vitamin deficiency tests? You might be able to find out what's wrong by doing some tests.
Also, the pimples on your forehead could be a reaction to a product you are using, like your shampoo or cleanser, or even sweat. When you say you try to keep your skin clean every hour, do you mean that you clean it every hour? Because you should only wash your face twice a day.
Whatever route you decide to go, it's important to keep a positive outlook. I used to isolate myself socially and I found that I would just obsess about my skin more, so try to do things you enjoy and don't look in the mirror too much. Have a day where you pretend you don't have acne, and go out and enjoy life.
I get nodules like the ones on your nose and the only thing that has worked for me is a hot compress. I know it sounds too easy, but I started carrying hot compresses around with me. Whenever I felt one coming on, I'd find a microwave, heat it up, and hold it on the nodule until the compress started to cool. The I'd give it an hour or so, heat the compress up again, and do it again all day. It also really helped with the pain. This would cut their healing time from weeks to days and reduce the swelling better than ice or hydrocortisone.. It would also bring the nodules to a head faster (I wouldn't recommend draining them, but I found mine usually popped in the shower or when I washed my face). If your insurance covers it, I also highly recommend cortisone shots. I know alot of people are scared of atrophy, but I've had 6 shots injected by a reputable dermatologist for the ones that get really bad and risk scarring, and I haven't had any serious issues with atrophy. One shot did give me a slight indentation (it was an especially bad one that would have left a very bad scar) but it has already filled in within the past couple of months.
The acne on your forehead looks like BP or a BP/antibiotic topical combo will clear it up. Also, avoid wearing hats and keep your hair clean and off your forehead, no thick gels are styling creams. I agree with other people though, the non-acne skin on your face is very healthy, which tells me your condition will probably clear up with treatment. It's a process, just remember that no one is perfect- and you are your worst critic.
Get tested, hormones, thyroid, food intolerances - because you're right, before you didn't have to think about your skin and now you're probably doing everything right to keep it clear and it's not making a difference. You must find the internal cause & treat it, pharmaceutical drugs won't do that. In the meantime, use a mild cleanser, oil free moisturiser & Aloe Vera gel as a daily routine.
Hey, I know your pain. I dealt with pretty severe cystic acne for many years of my life and it was worst when I was around your age (18-19 was when mine was worst). Of course, that's when many people are most readily able to meet lots of people, socialize, etc. I felt very similar to you and was constantly self-conscious. Even now, I can kind of get nervous around people just because of the years I spent feeling down about my appearance.
With all of that said, I changed a massive number of things in my life from the clothes I wear and the food I eat to the amount of sun I normally get and the type of toothpaste I used. One year after my face was at its worst, it was at its best. For me it took more than just medicine... it took a whole re-approach to life. A big part of that new approach was a new positive outlook on life. It sounds like acne has you down in the dumps, which makes sense to a degree, but shouldn't be the case forever. If it's got you constantly stressed, you've just discovered one of the reasons why it's so hard to get rid of. Stress is a b*itch and it can prevent any treatment from working. So, think about your psyche (btw, your acne doesn't look that bad from your pics - I've definitely seen much worse).
Also, keeping your face "clean" every hour is NOT doing your acne any good. It may just be precipitating it. Washing too much will irritate your skin more than you may think.
All the previous posters here have made some good points. You made a good choice posting here b/c we're here to help! Damn I wish I had the balls to get on a forum like this when I was younger!
Although I do not think your skin is all that bad I understand that will not make any difference because you clearly do think it is all that bad. I went down the whole suicide route , was not happy with myself and defiantly not my skin but then I started to think of the people I care about and the people who care about me and I realised that If I just gave up my Acne would not affect me any more it would affect the people I would leave behind. My Acne being the cause of passing and my passing being the cause of grief to the people who care about me.
So I kept getting up everyday feeling like shit and in time I felt better about myself and in time so will you and I can promise that. How? Well because everything good bad or indifferent will change , how you are feeling about your skin , the advancement in Acne treatments and your skin itself will change in time. Embrace what you have in life and focus on that. Be sure to keep hope alive if not for yourself then for the people including me by the way who have hope for you.
" A man is not finished when he is defeated , he is finished when quits".
Keep trying all the treatments out there ( including Accutane unless there is a medical reason why you cannot take it ) and try to come to terms with the fact that many people including me again may not actually think your skin is all that bad at all. Keep you head up mate and you will beat Acne emotionally not just physically.
Food sensitivities is where I would start. I changed my diet and have accordingly not gotten a cyst in years. I would eliminate wheat and milk/ice cream (butter, yogurt are probably ok). Citrus can also cause problems.
Bovine colostrum (powdered) can help with food sensitivities. It eliminated my inflammatory acne by the end of two weeks; however, once you stop taking it, the acne will return unless you've healed the internal problem. I will be taking my third 'round' of colostrum soon; each time, I heal a little more, to the point where my acne did not return until 2+ months after stopping the second 'round' (the acne returned within 3 weeks after the first round).
Your acne dose not look that bad at all Definitely not severe, though I can see how someone who has had clear skin all there life would see it as being severe. All I can say is that acne takes a lot of time to get rid of. Many people, me included, have spent the last 10 years or more fighting acne that is much worse than your case and still have not conquered acne, What would you be if you gave up in just 1 year?
I am not saying you are going to have acne for the next 10 years, everyone is different. All im saying is that you should not expect a quick fix for acne. There is a lot of trial and error involved in curing ones acne. In general, there is no quick fix.
Keep positive, please. I myself understand how hard it is to have skin issues. Your skin is not even close to severe, although I can see why you would feel that way because you just recently began to break out. You still have plenty of time to outgrow this pain, don't give up just yet!