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Hello all.
im a long time lurker first time poster so I hope I™m posting this in the correct place -
Okay so I never had bad acne until I had a kid, now it™s insane and won™t go away. I also used to always wear makeup (primer, foundation, full face of makeup 7 days a week) I loved makeup, as a mom I don™t have time for it so I never use makeup anymore. Which adds to why I find it odd I have acne at the age of 27 now.
I am allergic to salicylic acid/salicylates which rules out a lot of acne fighting cleansers.
I feel like I™ve sunk so much $ into expensive devices (clairisonic, pmb Beauty microdermabrasion device, another clairisonic) and expensive skincare. I™ve tried the organic way and Lush skincare, I™ve tried d.i.y™s, I™ve gone to a derm who prescribed me benzoyl peroxide gel and clindamycin wipes.
I wash my face everyday-morning and night. I think everyone knows that acne doesn™t have to do with being dirty / unhygienic however it makes me feel like I am 🙁
i know next to nothing about skincare, so if you see what type of acne I have or what I may NOT be doing right (exfoliating, etc.) please let me know.
Even posting the photos is making me so embarrassed.
Any help/ recommendations are welcomed! (Also I have state insurance so any prescriptions/derm visits would be through that.)
Could be out of balance hormones or it could be Rosacea without much redness.A doctor should be able to test for a potential hormone imbalance. They can also test for Rosacea Subtype 2 with a test for too many demodex skin mites.
A poster on one of the rosacea forums had a very similar experience.Skin was fine until she had a baby.Turned out it was Rosacea Subtype 2 with papules and pustules not acne.The surface damage is caused by an overpopulation of demodex skin mites.Everyone has a few demodex.A normal healthy immune system keeps the demodex population under control.
Most of the human immune system is in the gut.Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and/or Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO)can cause Rosacea Subtype 2 by allowing the demodex skin mite population to get out of control.SIBO and SIFO can occurseparately or together.There is a screening breath test for SIBO that measures the output of gas produced by bacteria.The better test, the gold standard is the Endoscope test which collects a small sample of intestinal fluid.The fluid is then cultured to determine the specific type of bacteria and/or fungus causing the SIBO and/or SIFO.The specific bacteria or fungus can then be treated with the best antibiotic or antifungal to clear the cause. Treatment typically takes 1 to 3 weeks.
Here are 2 medical study papers to show your doctor if they are not familiar with SIBO and the very strong link to Rosacea.The first paper uses an inexpensive, generic treatment with Oral Ivermectin and Oral Metronidazole.The 2 weekly doses (by body weight) of Oral Ivermectin kill the demodex overpopulation.Oral Metronidazole has been used since the 1980's but doctors didn't know why it worked.The Oral Metronidazole is highly effective against at least 2 different bacteria known to cause SIBO.The second paper confirmed that the patients had both Rosacea and SIBO.These patients were treated with the very expensive antibiotic Rifaximin.Rifaximin is highly effective against E Coli bacteria which is a known cause of SIBO.
1st Study: Patients all had tested with demodex overpopulation - SIBO not tested for. Patients in the 2 drug combined treatment had a much higher rate of successful treatment than those treated with Oral Ivermectin alone.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197121201315X
2nd Study: Patients confirmed to have both Rosacea and SIBO.
https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(12)02330-4/fulltext
A healthy well balanced diet high in fiber and low in sugar along with probiotics can help keep your gut and immune system healthy. Sugar makes your skin oilier and also feeds the bad bacteria and fungus. Some people prefer to go the natural route to clear the SIBO/SIFO condition. That can work but generally takes longer.
Definitely keep washing your skin at least twice daily with a gentle cleanser.No need to overdry the skin with harsh cleansers but it does need to stay clean and lightly moisturized.Demodex skin mites eat skin oil.Bacteria and fungus also thrive on skin oil.