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I have battled with acne a d tried EVERYTHING!!! Cutting gluten (wheat products) out improved my skin like nothing else (I posted a forum about the effects of cutting out gluten). If you don't want to try that, drink a LOT of water (an absurd amount) and use tea tree oil. It's like $10 at Walgreens and smells like kerosene, but it's AMAZING!!! It heals acne better than SA or BP or any of that crap. NEVER use that St Ives crap. Use a gentle exfoliant. A mint julep mask that has sulfur is good too.
Update timez!
So far, still have a lot of redness that seems to be subsiding.
I've picked up a few things in the last couple of days:
Started taking 50mg of Zinc every morning along with fish oil.
Taking a pro-biotic every other night.
Also on the way:
Tree tea oil: https://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Tea-Tree-Oil/dp/B000ELP5KA/
And shampoo/whatever the hell I want it to be lol: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Woods-Tree-Castile-Soap/dp/B004VTWA1I/
Don't screw around with minocycline. It's a short term solution to a long term problem. I was an 8-month veteran of the stuff. Couldn't be happier when I was on it and it was working, but it started to lose its effects and I ended up with one of the worst cystic cases I've ever had after it was done with.
My advice? Run a regimen for the next 2-3 months. Cleanser, toner (salicylic 2%), BP, moisturization, the whole nine. If you are not seeing any improvement at all with whatever regimen you decide to go with, run accutane. DO NOT touch your face at all - I am telling you, scars/PIH is something that, after all of the hard work it is going to take to get rid of acne, you absolute do not want to have happen (check my profile gallery for some pics of how beautiful PIH is). Also, make sure to apply a non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) sunscreen daily. That is extremely important, especially for red marks. Do your regimen religiously. If you are not seeing improvement after 10 weeks (minimum), then get on accutane ASAP before any more damage is done. Be as gentle as you possibly can with your face, and again, apply sunscreen (spf 30+).
Advice on accutane and how to deal with it? You need to get up to 1mg/kg of bodyweight. Look up the calculations for how to determine how much you need to take to get to that point by month 3 or so. If you're a big dude, then it's going to be a bitch. If you are skinny, then very good for you, because it is going to start working quicker. Is it gonna suck? Yes. Initial Breakout? Yes. Breakout after finishing? Not necessarily for everyone (didn't happen to me). Stay on at least 6 months, screw that 5 month crap. Make sure it works for you. Always wear sunscreen to avoid any residual redness after finishing. Do your best to stay busy and try not to get depressed and all that. 6 months is a long time, but once you're done you will be happy with results.
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Thanks for the info! I want to stay the heck away from Accutane, it scares the crap out of me. Seeing as I had little to no acne for the past 5 years, I think I made this worse by using expired BP and SA. It was my fault and I think by staying away from any face washes my body is starting to heal itself.
Time will tell!
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Thanks for the info! I want to stay the heck away from Accutane, it scares the crap out of me. Seeing as I had little to no acne for the past 5 years, I think I made this worse by using expired BP and SA. It was my fault and I think by staying away from any face washes my body is starting to heal itself.
Time will tell!
You're 24 and you have a pretty serious breakout here. I totally agree - avoid accutane at all costs, but don't be stupid just because you're trying to be hopeful. Me? I should have been on the stuff when I was 13, not at this point in my life. I and my parents wanted to avoid it, so I spent years trying all of the other regimens, antibiotics, etc. At the end of the day with certain cases everything but accutane is just time passed (wasted) while your face continues to scar up and get worse. If your regimen is not working 2.5-3 months down the road, you need to get on accutane before serious damage is done. Period. Imo the fact that you're getting this kind of breakout at 24 means something must be up, hormonally or otherwise. Don't take it lightly. If you're not seeing significant improvement by that third month, get on it. Get done with it. And get this shit out of your life permanently.
I follow you and I really do appreciate it. I would really dislike any sort of scarring as would anyone.
What you should know is, I've always had maybe 3-4 pimples on my chin for the last few years. Just recently when I tried treating them with that St. Ives, I spread it around. From there it was a downward spiral.
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Thanks for the info! I want to stay the heck away from Accutane, it scares the crap out of me. Seeing as I had little to no acne for the past 5 years, I think I made this worse by using expired BP and SA. It was my fault and I think by staying away from any face washes my body is starting to heal itself.
Time will tell!
Wow, yeah the stuff did a number on me too. I just made the problem so much worse by using expired products.
Thanks for all the help Wish!
The st. ives apricot scrub messed up my skin years ago. A friend with clear skin had recommended it to me, and I tried it but my skin was a mess after a couple of weeks.
Update. Acne does seem to disappearing at a fairly good rate. I'm still getting whiteheads underneath my lip (no freaking idea why, but its something I've always had).
Since 12/9 my "regimen" is was follows (started adding the tea tree products about 3 days ago):
Morning:
Wash face with just warm water (in shower), hit just chin area with Tea Tree soap. Take 50mg of Zinc + Fish oil.
Evening:
Tea tree soap for chin + dab 100% Tea tree on whiteheads. Probiotic every other day taken at night.
Are you also still taking the minocyline?
I will just chime in that Cetaphil breaks out many people. Their ingredients are not acne friendly. It does work for some, but it causes massive whiteheads in many. I would suggest finding yourself a gentle cleanser. What cleanser were you using when you weren't breaking out? Black soap is great and natural.
Never took the Mino. Too worried about long term health effects.
As far as what cleanser I was using: Water. That is the main reason I decided to forgo all cleansing products. I figure that I was making the problem worse by trying these different chemicals that my face hasn't seen in 5 years.
Are you also still taking the minocyline?
I will just chime in that Cetaphil breaks out many people. Their ingredients are not acne friendly. It does work for some, but it causes massive whiteheads in many. I would suggest finding yourself a gentle cleanser. What cleanser were you using when you weren't breaking out? Black soap is great and natural.
You will need to exfoliate your skin and clean it in some fashion. The dry skin you're seeing is your skin not being exfoliated because our skin continually renews itself. If your skin doesn't get exfoliated, the skin will clog the pores and create another problem. This takes about a month to happen so it would be something you'd be seeing here shortly. You could use oatmeal, honey, again, the black soap to at least exfoliate and cleanse occasionally. The tea tree should help on the antiseptic level.
Your progress pictures look great!
Thanks! I remain optimistic.
Its a terrible time for this to happen. Going to see friends and family makes me very depressed since I have had clear skin since I was 18.
I always remember it could be much worse. Acne is a small speck in the big picture. Just trying to remain calm and doing what I can brings me a little comfort.
Soo, I was an idiot and ate a metric shit ton of sweets a few days ago. Hoping the mini break-out I have today(few larger whiteheads) is directly related to my lapse in judgement during those few days of junk food.
Pretty much never going to eat sweets in that amount again haha.
Edit:
Also have been drinking 1-2 cups of coffee every morning...maybe I should cut that out too.
Just a minor update.
The acne isn't getting any better imo. Just stays the same with a spot here or there appearing, then leaving all while leaving a new red mark.
I've been taking Fish oil, 25mg of Zinc in the morning and a probiotic at night.
On Jan 7th, I stopped all of it. Now, I'm going what you folks call "caveman" and only letting water from the shower to hit my face.
My reason for trying this:
I want to know what is causing this acne. I want to eliminate all "unnatural" sources for at least a week to see what happens.
My observations thus far after 1 day:
Initially, at the end of the night on the 7th, my acne seem to have flared down quite a bit on my chin. I'm no sure what is up with my chin, but it has this stupid red irritated line about an inch wide going down the middle. I have no idea what this is from since I stopped using all face wash products.
Today, the irritation is back, along with maybe 4 super small whiteheads. Im not sure if that is just surface junk that is healing due to less irritation from washing or what, but it sucks!
Can any confirm that initial smaller breakouts and irritation are normal when starting the caveman?
Oh, another factor that I just thought of: Hard water! I looked up stats for the well where my current apartment gets its water. Get this, its (417 mg/L [ppm] or 24 grains per gallon)! The previous two places I have lived before moving here in the last 6 months had water softeners! Hmmm, could it be partially due to super hard water?
If so, are there any shower heads that help remedy hard water?
Hello all. My name is Montezz. This is the story of my life!
I've been struggling with acne since I was about 17 years old. Back then, it was pretty light. I got a few bumps here and there, but nothing too serious.
The summer of 2006 is when it hit me the hardest. It's almost like all of the pores on my face clogged up a once!
My freshman year of college was horrible. I had breakouts all over my face. Blackheads, cyst, whiteheads -- you name it.
I finally decided to find a dermatologist. It took some time, but his products eventually cleared up skin.
By the time I graduated from undergrad in April 2012, I was totally clear.
Fast forward to now. I'm now 25 years old. I'm in Chicago attending DePaul University for graduate school. Recently, my acne came back with FORCE! Out of nowhere!
Some of it's probably my fault. Why? I got cocky.
Since my face was pretty clear for a while, I thought I was done with breakouts. I figured I probably grew out of it.
NOT!
When will I ever stop breaking out without using all of these chemicals on my face?
The combination of products which cleared my skin were the following: 2.5-5% benzoyl peroxide face wash, clamydicin pads (spell check), epiduo, and doxycyclin pills.
I recently went back to the dermatologist here in Chicago and he prescribed me the same regimen except for the clamydicin pads.
I replaced the pads with 2% Sylacic Acid Oxy Pads.
Hopefully my regimen clears me up again!
However, I'm so tired of these breakouts. I'll be 26 years old Jan. 16. I'm too old for this. Literally everyone around me has clear skin! Especially, in my graduate classes.
I'll keep you all updated!
I achieved clear skin for about a year and a half. Mine just recently came back with force -- and out of nowhere, too. After I stopped the regimen which helped me achieve clear skin. This regimen really worked for me: 2.5-5% BP face wash, follow up with clamydycin pads, and then apply epiduo. Moisturize if your skin becomes too dry. I would recommend great tea oil.
Hello all. My name is Montezz. This is the story of my life!
I've been struggling with acne since I was about 17 years old. Back then, it was pretty light. I got a few bumps here and there, but nothing too serious.
The summer of 2006 is when it hit me the hardest. It's almost like all of the pores on my face clogged up a once!
My freshman year of college was horrible. I had breakouts all over my face. Blackheads, cyst, whiteheads -- you name it.
I finally decided to find a dermatologist. It took some time, but his products eventually cleared up skin.
By the time I graduated from undergrad in April 2012, I was totally clear.
Fast forward to now. I'm now 25 years old. I'm in Chicago attending DePaul University for graduate school. Recently, my acne came back with FORCE! Out of nowhere!
Some of it's probably my fault. Why? I got cocky.
Since my face was pretty clear for a while, I thought I was done with breakouts. I figured I probably grew out of it.
NOT!
When will I ever stop breaking out without using all of these chemicals on my face?
The combination of products which cleared my skin were the following: 2.5-5% benzoyl peroxide face wash, clamydicin pads (spell check), epiduo, and doxycyclin pills.
I recently went back to the dermatologist here in Chicago and he prescribed me the same regimen except for the clamydicin pads.
I replaced the pads with 2% Sylacic Acid Oxy Pads.
Hopefully my regimen clears me up again!
However, I'm so tired of these breakouts. I'll be 26 years old Jan. 16. I'm too old for this. Literally everyone around me has clear skin! Especially, in my graduate classes.
I'll keep you all updated!
I know, its sucks right? Being male, 24 and having acne really blows mud haha!
I achieved clear skin for about a year and a half. Mine just recently came back with force -- and out of nowhere, too. After I stopped the regimen which helped me achieve clear skin. This regimen really worked for me: 2.5-5% BP face wash, follow up with clamydycin pads, and then apply epiduo. Moisturize if your skin becomes too dry. I would recommend great tea oil.
I've been clear since ~19. This whole round of acne has me completely perplexed. The only change I can see is my recent (last 6 months) move to a new apartment. Eating habits etc all stayed the same.
I run 25 miles/week and am fit. Exercise is a huge part of my life 
Ah well, just sticking with the Caveman for meow, see where it goes. On day 5 currently, seeing some improvement (I think).
Just a minor update.
The acne isn't getting any better imo. Just stays the same with a spot here or there appearing, then leaving all while leaving a new red mark.
I've been taking Fish oil, 25mg of Zinc in the morning and a probiotic at night.
On Jan 7th, I stopped all of it. Now, I'm going what you folks call "caveman" and only letting water from the shower to hit my face.
My reason for trying this:
I want to know what is causing this acne. I want to eliminate all "unnatural" sources for at least a week to see what happens.
My observations thus far after 1 day:
Initially, at the end of the night on the 7th, my acne seem to have flared down quite a bit on my chin. I'm no sure what is up with my chin, but it has this stupid red irritated line about an inch wide going down the middle. I have no idea what this is from since I stopped using all face wash products.
Today, the irritation is back, along with maybe 4 super small whiteheads. Im not sure if that is just surface junk that is healing due to less irritation from washing or what, but it sucks!
Can any confirm that initial smaller breakouts and irritation are normal when starting the caveman?
Oh, another factor that I just thought of: Hard water! I looked up stats for the well where my current apartment gets its water. Get this, its (417 mg/L [ppm] or 24 grains per gallon)! The previous two places I have lived before moving here in the last 6 months had water softeners! Hmmm, could it be partially due to super hard water?
If so, are there any shower heads that help remedy hard water?
When I moved from an apartment with very, very hard water to my current residence that has a water softener, I did notice a difference in terms of *irritation* of my skin (i.e., redness, flaking, itching), but not necessarily the acne itself. One thing you could try is washing your face AFTER you take a shower (instead of at the same time as) with distilled water (water with all of the minerals stripped out of it) in the sink. Of course, if you are also dealing with body acne, that might be a little more difficult.
Also, If your acne is caused by something exclusively environmental, it should take very long to see some marked improvement. This is because it takes about 2 weeks for a pustule (an inflammed pimple) to form from a microcomedone. If something environmental is clogging your skin, this means that from the time you stop exposure to the environmental trigger, any microcomodones formed from that trigger should have developed and be on their way to healing after about a month. As such, if you don't see significant improvement, you should really consider a prescription regimen of some kind along with your dietary and environmental adjustments.
Another thing - I am sorry for the rant but - how much research on accutane have you REALLY done? I noticed you said a few posts back that you wanted to stay completely away from accutane. People tend to hear the word "Accutane" and go "Nope Nope Nope..." without even understanding what accutane is, what causes the scary side effects you hear about or how common they actually are (seriously, MILLIONS of people have been prescribed isotretinoin since it came out - those scary side effects are NOT COMMON).
Everything you do comes with potential risks, including doing nothing. If you read a placebo-controlled study of the efficacy of topical or oral medications in the Journal of Dermatology or any other medical journal, you will see that people report side effects *on the placebo*. Literally, people who are not taking any medication for their acne report skin irritation, dryness, peeling, or any number of adverse responses. <--DOING NOTHING HAS SIDE EFFECTS TOO.
Of course, I am not suggesting that prescription medications like accutane are your only choices, but I am suggesting that they should be *a choice*. I am simply arguing that a choice *not* to use accutane (or any medication) should be equally as informed as the choice to use it.
Good luck!