Hello everyone,

I am new to this board, but I have skimmed through these topics and haven't found anything really related to my acne dilemma.

First a little bit about me. I am a 25 year old male. When I was a teenager, much like everyone else, I had acne. I wouldn't consider it it severe, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. Anyways, I have never REALLY been clear save a few lucky times since then. In the past, I saw one Dermatologist (a family friend, who deals with a lot of similar cases) and he prescribed me (I want to say Dioxycylin?. Anyways, whatever he prescribed I had to stop because it made my face extremely sensitive to the sun, and I worked as a camp counselor at the time. Other than that, I have avoided Dermatologists.

Fast forward to Fall of my Senior year of college. I developed a persistent rash behind me left ear, under my right ear, my scalp, and on my eye lids. The doctor tried telling me that it was Contact Dermatitis. Whatever, she prescribed didn't work. I researched what it was and found out it was Seborrheic Dermatitis. Needless to say, I was a little confused how I developed this - never having had it before. Anyways, my scalp has cleared up thanks to Head and Shoulders with Selenium Sulfide. I use a steroid cream on the outbreaks along my eyes, which have for the most part gone away, but they still occasionally flare up. Same with the ears.

So its my understanding that Sebhorric Dermatitis either 1. affects people with oily skin or 2. people with oily skin tend to develop Sebhorric Dermatitis? I have oily skin (I'm half-Scandinavian; half-middle eastern - what a mix, I know).

Recently in my 20s, my teenage acne has almost all but gone away. However, I have still been developing Cystic Acne. It's deep, it's painful, it takes forever to heal. If I try to pick or pop it, it won't. It's stubborn in a way that my teenage acne never was. I know I am not supposed to pick at it, but if I don't it stays red and painful for about two weeks. Additionally, I have noticed that I have developed a lot more bacne than I had in my teenage years, which from my understanding is another symptom of oily skin. Also, I notice that everytime I shave, I develop at least one or two cysts either away from the corner of the jaw or below that. I wet shave with gel and a Mach3 turbo. I have with the grain of the hair to not get as close, since I am not sure if this is Follicutus or Cystic Acne (help here also appreciated).

Everything I have read online about Cystic Acne says its not a cleansing issue since the acne develops so far below the skin. I know I have oily skin, so I try and cleanse it at least twice daily; however, it still doesn't seem to help.

Anyways, I was wondering if there is a connection between Oily Skin, Sebhorric Dermatitis, and Cystic Acne. If there is, what exactly can I do about it? What are my options here? I am moving into the professional world, and appearances and self-confidence are extremely important, and its hard to put my best foot forward with this problem.

I tried to include as much information as possible, but if anyone has any dietary, allergy, etc questions, I will try to answer them as promptly as possible. Thank you.