Hello everyone,
I am 19 Years old and I have had acne for 3-4 years now. Its been tough dealing with it, but I managed to get by.
Currently I possibly had the biggest break out of my life. I broke out on both sides of my mouth and along jaw line.
I just recently had these specific changes in my life style:
- Changed from Neutrogena Bar Soap to Clearisil Face Scrub w/ Exfoliate
- Got on a Mass Gainer that also has creatine in it
I shower twice daily which is when I use my clearisil face scrub. Right after I shower, I apply Neutrogena BP Cream onto my face. I noticed that my skin is super dry after doing this. Could this possibly had caused my break out?
Now I switched from BP to Clindamycin Phosphate, hopefully this well make my skin less dry.
Rarely, people do react poorly to salicylic acid - it's termed salicylate sensitivity. However, it doesn't manifest itself as a normal acne breakout. In the product you're using, the salicylic acid is really just there for kicks; it does hardly anything because the pH is too high and the product gets washed off before it can penetrate. So I wouldn't characterize this as a "purging" breakout.
More than likely the problem is the exfoliating beads. I'd venture to say a majority of people respond very poorly to coarse exfoliating beads, though the reaction can be delayed. It cuts up your skin and is extremely irritating, which is a major trigger to a breakout. Some people (like myself) can get away with using these scrubs because our skin is very resistant, but we're a distinct minority. And it's still not a good idea. I know it feels satisfying, but there are better ways to exfoliate.
A large increase in your calorie intake (the mass gainer) will cause a surge in androgenic hormones, HGH, and both insulin and blood sugar. All of these are directly or indirectly implicated in causing breakouts in susceptible people. This will level off as time goes by, especially if you're working out to match your calorie intake. This is just part of the price of lifting for mass and strength. We use the increase in those hormones to drive anabolic growth. If the breakouts are unacceptable to you, you may have to back off of the mass gainer. But give it some time - for most people, it dies down.
You need to moisturize. Moisture is an essential part of the process by which skin cells shed.
Rarely, people do react poorly to salicylic acid - it's termed salicylate sensitivity. However, it doesn't manifest itself as a normal acne breakout. In the product you're using, the salicylic acid is really just there for kicks; it does hardly anything because the pH is too high and the product gets washed off before it can penetrate. So I wouldn't characterize this as a "purging" breakout.
More than likely the problem is the exfoliating beads. I'd venture to say a majority of people respond very poorly to coarse exfoliating beads, though the reaction can be delayed. It cuts up your skin and is extremely irritating, which is a major trigger to a breakout. Some people (like myself) can get away with using these scrubs because our skin is very resistant, but we're a distinct minority. And it's still not a good idea. I know it feels satisfying, but there are better ways to exfoliate.
A large increase in your calorie intake (the mass gainer) will cause a surge in androgenic hormones, HGH, and both insulin and blood sugar. All of these are directly or indirectly implicated in causing breakouts in susceptible people. This will level off as time goes by, especially if you're working out to match your calorie intake. This is just part of the price of lifting for mass and strength. We use the increase in those hormones to drive anabolic growth. If the breakouts are unacceptable to you, you may have to back off of the mass gainer. But give it some time - for most people, it dies down.
You need to moisturize. Moisture is an essential part of the process by which skin cells shed.
finding a proper moisturizer is challenging
I recommend that you got to the website in my signature and click on the helpful article page. The website has a video of a 100% natural mask that should help you make your face acne a lot more clearer. The worse thing that could happen is that you try it and it does not work, but if you don't try it then nothing is gained or loosed. Good luck with trying to get your skin better.
So should I got back onto my Neutrogena Facial Wash [bar], or stick with clearisil exfoliate? Maybe its because I rubbed my skin too hard when I washed?
Also Will Lubriderm Suffice for moisturizer? Also when should I use the moisturizer and when should I use my Clindamycin Phosphate Gel?
Also one more thing: Since I am taking creatine, a lot of water is being taken to my muscles, maybe what used to be normal hydration before is now underhydration for my skin. I drink 3L of water a day, I know I need to increase it. Maybe drinking more water will help me?
I have attached a picture of the Lubriderm Daily Moisturizer.
I use clindamycin phosphate gel, the way I apply it is, wash my face with a gentle cleanser first, then wait for my skin to dry completely apply the gel all over face wait 15 minutes to apply moisturizer. You can buy a good moisturizer at Walgreens. If you have oily skin i'd recommend Neautrogena oil-free with an SPF 15 or higher. Always use sunscreen. At least I try to. My skin has cleared a lot since then.
if you noticed your skin got worse after you switched to the clearacil then I think maybe you need to switch back to the nutregena soap. Acne prone skin rarely responds well to scrubbing (it feels psychologically good to punish misbehaving skin but it very rarely helps and usually makes things worse).
Try giving the new clindamycin a chance to work without using the clearacil (I have never met anyone with real acne that clearacil worked on)
This will take some time for your hormones etc to adjust to the new lifestyle (gainer ... I assume you are working out more?)
Also if you are working out more this can increase testosterone and sweat make sure you shower after you do physical activity, put on fresh clothes afterwards and always use fresh towels and workout clothes.
also I found this on wikipedia (I know but you can look up the sitation if you are interested)
"Combination therapy in acne
Multiple studies have shown the use of clindamycin in conjunction with benzoyl peroxide, which is available both through prescription or over-the-counter, to be more effective in the treatment of acne than the use of either product by itself.[7][8][9] A single-blind study comparing this combination to adapalene, a retinoid, also found it to work faster and be significantly better tolerated than adapalene, as well as more effective.[10]"
so once your skin has gotten used to the new treatment, if it isnt working the way you want you could use BP aswell ... apparently (ask a doctor first obviously and look into it before you try it)
wow thanks! Yea i am on my neutrogena bar soap and clindamycin atm, my skin has gotten better since yesterday.
Also one more thing that really screwed me over was that I ate like 10 Hersheys Kisses (The small pointy ones). I believe my skin is really sensitive to chocolate. And it wasnt recovering any faster because I was butchering my skin with clearisil exfoliate.
Now Im gonna be a bit more careful and also im gonna get a moisterizer.
You have a lot of active acne so I'd stay away from scrubs right now that could just aggravate your skin.
Have you tried just a simple Salicylic Acid wash? It's more gentle than a scrub and still can exfoliate over time.
For a simple but very effective moisturizer, look into oils. I know it might sound crazy to some, but certain oils are excellent moisturizers, cheap, and great for acne. Start with Olive Oil, Castor Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and you can explore from there.
I've never had bad problems with cetaphil. Although, salicylic acid really irritated my skin. I used to use clearasil and neutrogena spot treatments, face washes etc and my face just became more red and red and red. Finally, I decided to switch to bp and my skin is getting there. I still suffer from acne, but I'm getting there eventually. I also began to use tea tree oil and it worked but, now when I use it to treat my acne my skin just gets really irritated. Instead, I just use benzac ac 5%.
Hello everyone,
I am 19 Years old and I have had acne for 3-4 years now. Its been tough dealing with it, but I managed to get by.
Currently I possibly had the biggest break out of my life. I broke out on both sides of my mouth and along jaw line.
I just recently had these specific changes in my life style:
- Changed from Neutrogena Bar Soap to Clearisil Face Scrub w/ Exfoliate
- Got on a Mass Gainer that also has creatine in it
I shower twice daily which is when I use my clearisil face scrub. Right after I shower, I apply Neutrogena BP Cream onto my face. I noticed that my skin is super dry after doing this. Could this possibly had caused my break out?
Now I switched from BP to Clindamycin Phosphate, hopefully this well make my skin less dry.
hey bro im sorry that you had a bad break out recently i used to love SA spot treatment by clean and clear i noticed that it would help with the pimples but it always left redmarks very bright brighter then they would have been without the spot treatment. so i stopped using it and my pimples go away just as fast as when i used the spot treatment and the redmarks only stay for days you def should go with a more gently soap look for soaps that have a ph balance on them of around 5.5 i wouldnt go higher. and i have cetiphil moisutrizer and i never use it now. my oil in my skin naturally moisturizes the dryness for me. as for the one thing that i dont think any one els mentioned unless i just red over it.. the mass gainer you need to get off that stuff bro i used to use protein and creatine both broke me out and ive read alot of people on bodybulding.com also break out badly from creatine reason being because creatine messes with your hormones and wacks them out of balance. unfortunately if you want clear skin you cant use muscle supplements ): i lost alot of muscle when i got acne is sucks man but im on my way to clear skin again and ill use creatine again when my face is clear and no longer acne prone. i suggest you do the same.
Ive tried salicylic acid on and off over the years and always with the same results. It always makes my skin worse, what startsas just a small clogged pore with no swelling will turninto a much bigger swollen cyst type painful nightmare, which is not the usual problemwith my skin.My dermatologist said that ithappens to some people.Personallyit just doesnt work for me, Im sure it works for a lot of peoplesince they keep selling tons of treatments with SA, but for a certainpeople... not so much.
