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Here are things that I've tried (I also have pretty sensitive skin that will break out to anything and anything remotely harsh will irritate the crap out of it). You should look into these options and keep in mind how my skin reacted to these products may be completely different to how it reacts with your skin.
Medication route (gave each of these a solid, consistent 4 mo use before deeming them useless)
- sulfur face wash - really drying, didn't do much
- BP, BP+Abx, SA, Retin A, Differin, something else I'm not remembering - all really irritated my skin
- Antibiotics - GI issues, once I stopped acne came back, I'm already allergic to 2 classes of abx, abx resistence >.<
- Birth control pills - obviously not doing so much for me
- Going to start Accutane in a month - while waiting for it to start I was prescribed....
- Aczone - mildly drying, great at reducing inflammation and healing time (for me, it limits how painfully big my cysts get and kind of nudges to it start healing and it heals tad faster because it never got as big). Doesn't prevent new acne though. Pricey but affordable if you use their coupons online/coordinate that with what your doctor prescribes you.
Natural Route
- Green tea - After washing my face and patting it dry, I used to splash green tea onto my face and let it air dry before I go to sleep. Kind of became impractical with the whole bacne/chest thing.
- Tea tree oil - wash face, pump face lotion, mix 2-3 drops of tea tree oil, apply (be careful with this. It's very strong so I wouldn't suggest applying tea tree oil directly onto your skin or putting in lots into your lotion). This worked for me for about a month but I guess the bacteria got used to it...
- Freeman avocado/oatmeal clay mask - would limit my break outs, take down inflammation, and reduce healing time. Doens't work for me anymore though.
- Various masks made at home using foods like oatmeal, honey, avo, eggwhites, etc.
Lifestyle/diet
- Reduce stress whenever possible
- Get plenty of sleep
- Drink lots of water (I drink ~3L a day, more if I work out)
- During summer, I would soak cotton pads with toner and carry it in a bag with me so that if I got really sweaty or oily I'd wipe it off/"clean" my skin and reapply sunscreen
- Use gentle everything - Cetaphil cleanser, AHA instead of abrasive exfoliation, gentle pat to dry skin, etc.
- Change pillow cases every night, have face towels just for face
- Do not for the love of god pick your face! It's hard but it's a habit you will have to get over. It'll only increase the risk of spreading the bacteria into adjacent pores and possibly systemic infection. Plus scars. And your face will look a lot angrier than it should for a longer time.
- Dairy, refined carbs, sweet foods (minus fruits), fatty things, salty things - I avoid because they aggrevate my acne
- Get some exercise in - it'll reduce stress and get good for you hormones circulating around while helping your body get rid of toxins.
- I know a bunch of people on here take supplements - I personally haven't tried any so can't comment on that.
I'm obviously still struggling with acne...but these are just a list of things that you might want to try out. What works for one person may not work for another so just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you. Good luck ~