Hi everyone
So I'm pretty much at breaking point with my skin now! I'm so tempted to go on accutane as a last resort but thought I would come and ask for advise before I do.
So a brief history of my skin: I'm 22 now and started getting acne quite young at around 11/12. I only ever got it on my chin and the skin around was always smooth and clear (if that makes sense.) I mean I had bad spots on my chin but the actual skin surrounding it was never congested or anything. Then when I was 14 I started taking medication and my skin was completely clear for about 3 years..then in the winter of turning 17 it all went to crap! I think I must have had some sort of crazy hormone change because as soon as the cold whether hit..my skin got absolutely terrible. It wasn't so much acne...just extremely congested. Huge pores, uneven skin tone, elevated areas of redness, dry patches but also waxy and greasy.
After having a good 2/3 years of seeing huge improvement in my skin it was obviously really upsetting and for a while I couldn't even work out what it was. It looked like acne scarring, but I only ever had bad acne on my chin and never on my cheeks so I knew that wasn't it. I went to the dermatologist who basically laughed me out of his office and said it was nothing compared to some patients he sees.
I should note that it's only really awful in winter. During the summer months, my pores are still noticeably big but I don't get all the bumps and redness. I actually find if I'm in a really hot country (I spent 2 weeks in Southern Italy in June) I can just about get away with no even wearing foundation- just a bit of primer.
I live in London so our winters are fairly harsh. I know it sounds vain but I this has been so crippling over the past few years. I've always loved Christmas and Winter in general but the last few years I haven't been able to enjoy it at all. I basically never leave the house other than go to class (I'm at university at the moment) and only go out in the evenings. I'm naturally quite an outgoing person but this has totally wrecked my confidence. I haven't had a boyfriend since I was 17 because my self esteem is so low. I've met people on a few nights out who have tried to follow it up with meeting for lunch/coffee but I just can't even stand going out in bright daylight.. I know in the grand scheme of things, bad skin can be seen as trivial but I just want my life back and to be confident again! I am absolutely determined to move to a country that's warm all year round just because of my skin..as I say I love Winter but not when I look like this.
Anyway sorry for the "emo" rant...I have uploaded 3 photos that I took last winter. This isn't even THAT bad compared to how it can be. Often my skin is flaky as well and there are far more bumps on my cheeks. Can anyone enlighten me on exactly what this is? Is it milia? The bumps aren't really like acne because I can't squeeze them in the way you could with acne. Also they don't even really show up until I put makeup on and they seem to just get more and more visible throughout the day
Hopefully all 3 photos have uploaded. Thank you in advance for any insight. Oh and I should mention I have had 9 sessions of microdermabrasion which did nothing for me at all. I am considering a skin peel but am a bit anxious as I spent so much on the microderms and so don't want to find I am wasting more money!
. again sorry for the ramble. I just can't face another winter of this!
also I don't really get exactly what the little dry red patches are that I get. you can see them on the last photo..any ideas?
Heya, I'd just replied to your other shorter post when I saw this one here. If you check out your other post, I've written about my opinions on Accutane.
First of all, I just want to say your skin doesn't look too bad at all, but I know that acne and acne is scarring is something we all notice more on ourselves than on others. My skin is loads better than it was, but I still get really down about it sometimes. I started getting acne when I was 13. It got worse when I was about 16, so I got a topical lotion from my GP and that helped it alot but didn't completely clear it up. Then at 21 I spent seven months in Paris and my skin got really bad. I used a prescription of Epiduo and antibiotics to clear that up but the initial breakout was horrendous, I had big pustules and cysts all over my face, and when it finally subsided it left me with scarring. I'm now 23 and it just seems unfair that I'm still suffering from acne - so I understand how frustrating this is for you.
The little bumps under the skin - the ones you can't (and really shouldn't) squeeze - I had them too. Still do, but less now. I think they are milia and they can be caused by make-up because when I stopped wearing foundation I definitely seemed to get less of them. They would benefit from some form of ex foliation - if microdermabrasion didn't work you could try a chemical exfoliant - like glycolic acid. You don't have to get a peel, just a cream that you can apply at night (think Dan does one as part of the Regimen). I used to have crowds of them on my chin and cheeks, now I just have a couple here and there. I would suggest that you stop wearing make-up as well, or find an alternative foundation. I've switched to Lily Lolo mineral powder foundation (similar to Bare Minerals, but cheaper and in my opinion better) and found that it doesn't break me out at all! Although I only wear it on special occasions and when I'm going out.
I'm not sure what the red patches are though, sorry.
There's a product range I've been using for about 7 weeks now and it seems to be improving my skin after an initial breakout stage. It's the anti-blemish range sold by the Sk:n Clinic here in the UK. Quite pricey, and I was a bit sceptical, but so far it seems to be doing ok. It's glycolic acid based, so will help with exfoliation and fading red marks. The salicylic acid blemish gel they do is particularly effective. I'm going to do a review of it once I've been using it a bit longer.
As for the dermatologist - I can't believe he treated you that way. Acne is such a personal thing and to belittle you like that is insulting and unprofessional.
Thank you for your response 
I often hear that it isn't "that bad" and I think it's worse than it is etc but honestly if you saw me in real life you'd understand more why I get so down about it! My skin just has this really weird sort of waxy quality..like it's almost too thick or something. It's soooo much worse in winter..whenever I go on holiday somewhere really warm I often don't even need to wear foundation but during the winter months it's just awful. These photos definitely is not it at it's worst but I don't have any when it's been really bad.
Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely look into them. I'm so dubious now about spending a lot of money on products because it would probably scare me to add up how much I've spent over the years! And nothing has worked at all. I see products all the time that I think sound really promising and honestly if someone gave me £1000 I could easily spend it on a bunch of things! lol but I will definitely look into the glycolic acid cream
I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow and annoyingly my skin is actually "ok" at the moment..but luckily I have these photos I can show her if she thinks I'm making too much of a fuss! It's really not the actual acne that worries me..but the actual skin around it if that makes sense. Like I could deal with getting a few spots if I could easily cover them up but my pores are just so big and my skin is so dry but also waxy that when I try and cover them it just looks awful...thanks again for the response
I have had spots since the age of 15, but 10 years on, I found my skin had become so much worse than it ever had been before. It all got too much this year, when I regularly ended up in tears whilst putting on my make up in the morning - as it was so painful to touch my face, and it just looked so angry and inflamed. I'd constantly be back and forth to the bathroom at work, just to make sure my spots weren't on display - and to also apply pressed-powder to get rid of the constant shine I had, from having such oily skin. I put it down to a stressful job, lack of sleep, a busy lifestyle in London, and not being happy with my life - and that perhaps one day it would get better. I just didn't know what to do...
For years, GP's told me that I would 'grow out of it', and that 'it was my age'. They prescribed me all sorts of creams, and antibiotics, but nothing ever worked. 2 months ago, I was so fed up that I decided to go private. I had an initial appointment with a dermatologist, who said that he could put me on Roaccutane, but he felt that it was more deep-rooted than just being skin deep. He then referred me to an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) - as he suspected that I may have PCOS (polycystic ovaries). The endocrinologist had a look at my face, we had a good chat, and he sent me for blood tests. When these came back, he then referred me to get an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, they discovered that I did in fact have PCOS (harmless cysts on your ovaries, which increase your Androgen levels - male hormones i.e. Testosterone). Some women have a few cysts on each, but if you have 12 or more on each side, you are considered to have PCOS (I had about 18 on each!). The symptoms of this - as well as a number of other things - are oily skin and acne. On communicating with one other, and myself, my Dermatologist and Endocrinologist then decided that the best thing going forward would be to start me off on Spironolactone (to balance the hormones), and Roaccutune a month later - once I'd returned from a holiday in the sun (your skin becomes photosensitive on this drug, so it's not ideal to take it before a holiday) to double whammy it, and sort out the infections in my skin.
I have been taking the Spiro since Saturday, and plan to start the Roaccutane as soon as I return home at the end of this month. I feel as though my skin has slightly improved already - which I know can't be down to the drug this fast - however, I think because I finally see light at the end of the tunnel, I am a lot more relaxed about the situation, and I know that after 10 long years, I have finally discovered what has been wrong with me.
I am writing this, because I know for a fact that I will not be the only one in this situation, and I just wish that I had read something like this many years ago, so that I didn't spend the first half of my twenties going through emotional turmoil because of my skin. It's effected so many more parts of my life then I have ever realised - relationships, sporting activities, holidays, work, friendships - and to know that I am finally on the right path, has been a huge weight off my shoulders.
Good luck.
No, I would definitely not get a skin peel. Microdermabrasion can be extremely harsh on the skin aswell and break you out. How did you find your skin was after these though?
What current regimen are using for your skin? Cleanser etc. And how's your diet?
My skin is totally like yours, completely with the congested skin and stuff. So I know mentally how you are feeling, have a look at my most recent pictures. Make-up is a no go for me when these buggers come out to play as it makes it ten times worse appearance wise. Just a few weeks ago I felt DESPERATE for Acuutane or Roaccutane as its called in the UK. Seriously I still feel that way and was thinking a LOW dose, but like what has been said I feel dermatologists would be ever so dubious to hand this out to people with mild non-inflammatory acne. I have recently been trying a lot of things to help with it. I have strated a new skin care thing which is actually helping it a lot. My skin is different in the Winter than it is in Summer, in Summer all HELL breaks loose with this but in Winter is better, its good to change your skin regimen though to suit the environment which I have come to discover recently.
Hang in there and try not to focus so much, it'll be fine