Hey guys,

I am a 29 year old female and am desperate for some feedback about how to treat my acne.

Basically, I've had acne since puberty. It has never gone away, although there have been times where it's gotten better.

I've been using a benzyol peroxide wash (10%,) Retin-A (.05) and glycolic acid for over three months, and am dead serious when I say this has done nothing for my acne. The last month and a half I have also incorporated in Clidamycin, with no improvement.

I have cystic, inflamed acne, mostly around my chin/jaw, that is seemingly hormonal (gets worse around the time of the month, but appears even at other times,) but I also have "regular" acne - bumps that are not inflamed. Maybe these are just what you guys refer to as "whiteheads," I'm not sure.

I probably have 1 cyst to every 6-8 "whiteheads." I almost feel like the whiteheads have been even less responsive to treatment than the cystic acne. They seem to just never go away. Do I need to get them extracted or something?

My question is, what would you recommend for me? I know there are topicals that are thought to be better for cystic acne, and some that are better for "regular" acne. So what would you suggest for a person who has a combination of both?

I started the birth control pill Yaz a little over a month ago (actually the generic,) and also started Spironolactone at around the same time.

My dermatologist just put me on a 30 day course of Keflex.

What topical would you recommend for me?