Acne.org Products
There are topical pain relief products available in the US, but they're mixed with a load of other crap. For example "Ibuprofen Gel Plus". I don't know how well they would work for sticking on your face though, they may or may not smell or be unreasonably greasy or something.
Ibuprofen does seem to be allowed OTC in America, it's just that nobody is marketing it as just a gel. Actually it's looking like it might be quite easy to make, something like medical alcohol, ibuprofen and some water and some binding agent like carageenan (aka vegetarian 'gelatine'). You'd have to get the ibuprofen from somewhere, but probably not that difficult.
Another similar thing you could try is calendula tincture if you can get hold of it.
Just checked your before and after pics, Titch, and it looks like there was definite improvement.I have hardly any acne at the minute - just a few red marks, but I did find something on my cheek this morning which felt a little painful. I decided to take some oral ibuprofren and that took the pain and redness away of the spot. I topped up with some oral ibuprofren in the afternoon to keep it down. However, I'm not a fan of popping pills excessively, so I'm going to try and treat the spot with some ibuprofen gel. I'll let you know how I get on.
DO IT! seriously, this thread is one of the best things Ive ever stumbled across! I felt a little painful lump in my cheek last night, zapped it with ibu-gel and this morning? NOTHING there! Ive also been using olive oil on all my red marks, I really would encourage you to try it, I have no idea how it works, I just know that it does for me lol
Good luck, let me know how you go 🙂
I actually had some topical ibuprofel gel in the medicine cupboard (since I'm prone to hurting myself on a regular basis) so I thought I'd try this out. I put a little on a few angry spots, one by my nose that was really sore and only just coming up, and a cluster of them on my cheekbone that are made of what I'm sure is pure, unadulterated hatred and fury. I didn't really have the highest hopes, just shrugged and thought that if it works, it works. If it doesn't, well, I won't die.
The spot by my nose is gone. Like, there is absolutely no trace of it. I was pretty shocked since it was seriously one of those ones you take a look at and go "Oh man, that's gonna be ugly tomorrow." But nope, somehow it has been banished. My lil' nose is safe for now.
The ones on my cheekbone have shrunk to probably a quarter of the size and they don't hurt anymore. I think by tomorrow they'll be totally flat. 
I'm really happy. The beautiful thing is that topical ibuprofen gel is really, really cheap (like $7 here for a tube that will last me forever, provided I have one seperate for when I hurt myself).
So yeah, if you're looking to give it a try, just try it. It's not expensive, and if it works, it works. If it doesn't, then there's no harm done. 
What brands do you guys use?
I am allergic to any oral medicines containing ibuprofen. My face will swell in about 30 seconds particularly on the cheeks and eye area last for a week. Does this mean I get the same effect on topical ibuprofen gel?
Not just me. All of my sibblings are allergic to ibuprofen. Hereditary from my Dad.
One thing i have noticed with topical ibuprofen is you need one that has decent levels of alcohol in. Without it, the ibuprofen doesn't penetrate as well...
I've noticed that too.
Radian B is far better than a cheaper variety I bought recently in Superdrug. It's called Mentholatum Ibuprofen Gel and in a red tube - it's pretty 'sticky' and doen't absorb well.
i did wonder though if anyone thats had success with this had previously tried Dans regimen?
My skin was much too sensitive for covering my face in BP and then remoisturising with what is essentially eczema cream. My skin turned to pink leather and swelled! That soon got ditched after a month!
I probably am using too much then. Thanks for the advice.
The manufacturers seem to size the tube so that if you applied the whole thing in one sitting you probably wouldn't die from ibuprofen overdose, quite.
Just follow the instructions, but if it says 0.5 - 1.5 inches of gel- that's not PER SPOT!!!!!!!! That's TOTAL!!! :doh:
That's really important! 😉
Just the thinnest layer. The entire tube should last you about a month. And this treatment isn't suitable for treating really large areas, you would absorb too much ibuprofen.
If you use a lot more than that it increases the chances of side-effects.
I live in America but I'm looking into this- Obviously it's not really available here, so I was going to try and order some online. What should I be looking for exactly? Someone mentioned that a lot of the gels have stuff in it that's not good for your skin. Does anyone here have a brand that can be bought online from america?
This hasn't got ibuprofen in it, but it has calendula which has a similar effect, as well as 5% tea tree oil. You could try this, it looks fairly inexpensive as well:
http://www.herbalremedies.com/tea-tree-cream.html
I've never used it myself, but it sounds promising.
Im currently struggling with mild to moderate acne, and have a regular amount of yellow heads coming to the fore. Ive been told this has a lot to do with clogged pores.
Temp, do you think this could work for me? I have pimples randomly all over my cheeks and jawline, how would i spread the ibuprofen? Can you recommend a decent moisturiser and TTO?
I would really appreciate it!! thanks
Sounds like it should work fine. Just apply the ibuprofen in a thin layer.
The trouble is, different people do best with different moisturisers.
I use SkinTherapy day cream you can get from Sainsbury's:
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-...Cream_50ml.html
It's good quality and currently pretty cheap at A2.92. It lasts me about a month or so.
I just pour half a bottle of a 10ml pure tea tree essential oil like this, (it's A3.91, but Boots do 3 for 2, so I suggest you get 3 bottles and note that it seems to go off after a few months once opened, so having three bottles isn't such a bad idea):
http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...productId=10723
Holland and Barrett also do it, (some Sainsbury's also, but it seems relatively expensive).
Stir it in CAREFULLY with a clean knife. It will look like it's never going to go, but after a few minutes of patiently cutting and gentle folding it will completely merge in and there will be none left on top. Once you've done it, it's perfectly stable, but don't leave the top off the cream otherwise it will evaporate.
When you put it on just use the thinnest layer that covers your skin; you'll probably look like an oilslick for about 10 minutes, and then it will soak in and evaporate. It might tingle or go mildly red for a few minutes; that's fine. If it still shows irritation after half an hour then you're probably allergic to the TTO. I find it's better to put the ibuprofen on first.
Note that this will not completely avoid you getting any spots at all, but the few you get will stay flat and disappear in a few days. You can cover up the red marks with a coverup stick (yeah, makeup, even for guys). The red marks are usually gone in a week or two though; super fast disappearance.
And note it will take about 3 months- it takes that long for your skin to sort itself out. If you have breakouts before 3 months, that's to be expected, but they should get progressively rarer and less troublesome. You need to have complete faith, and do it religiously twice a day, when you get up, and when you go to bed; your skin is unlikely to be special enough for it not to work. You should normally start to notice significant improvements in 1-2 months (about 50% improvement), and about 80-95% improvement by 3 months.