Acne Creams And Gels Make My Acne Worse? Help

[IHATEacne17 0]

So whenever I'm about to go to bed, I wash my face well and after drying it, I apply some

benyzol peroxide on the areas where I have whiteheads. the next morning, the whitehead has noticeably

grown. I thought this was strange but I applied some more benyzol peroxide after washing my

face in the morning. I do not go outside into the sun often and every time I apply it, my white heads

get bigger until it pops while I'm washing my face. So I thought that it might be the cream I was

using so I started using a salycic acid gel and it did the same thing but I kept at it for a couple months to no

avail. Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on? Also, if it matters, I live in a tropical

environment.

[cvd 118]

Both products help your pores to open up so the whiteheads expand (it is getting expelled from the pore) and then drain. This is a good thing. Much better than if you had lesions that don't come to a head easily like nodules or cysts. Keep at it. It takes time to get the skin to where it is not plugging up anymore...sometimes months and months to a year. And then you must keep on using a topical after you are clear. BP works best for this because it also kills the acne bacteria. Salicylic acid opens the pores but does not kill the bacteria. Sounds like you have mild acne so using BP should do the trick. It just takes time. Plus as you get older your hormones will stabilize and you could outgrow this. A humid environment can add to skin problems. You may need to swim in cool water during the day or even wash 3x/day so the excess sweat is removed. It can be part of the pore plugging process.

[Cherryx 10]

Maybe if you put too much of it, your pores get clogged. Personally, I noticed benzoil peroxide makes my pimples worse. Different people have different reactions. Just because bp is a popular product, doesn't mean it helps everyone.

[PatrickParker 0]

I had to learn the hard way that while BP does help dry out zits at first it also makes your skin more sensitive and easily irritated with prolonged use. So I stopped using it along with acne cleansers and my problem skin is now looking amazing.

[IHATEacne17 0]

Both products help your pores to open up so the whiteheads expand (it is getting expelled from the pore) and then drain. This is a good thing. Much better than if you had lesions that don't come to a head easily like nodules or cysts. Keep at it. It takes time to get the skin to where it is not plugging up anymore...sometimes months and months to a year. And then you must keep on using a topical after you are clear. BP works best for this because it also kills the acne bacteria. Salicylic acid opens the pores but does not kill the bacteria. Sounds like you have mild acne so using BP should do the trick. It just takes time. Plus as you get older your hormones will stabilize and you could outgrow this. A humid environment can add to skin problems. You may need to swim in cool water during the day or even wash 3x/day so the excess sweat is removed. It can be part of the pore plugging process.

yes but the thing is, it gets bigger and bigger until it pops on its own. Is this normal? And I live in an EXTREMELY humid environment (88%+!) so in my case should I wash 3x a day?

[lightersUP 24]

Stop using benzoyl peroxide but keep using salicylic acid. SA is much more effective in the long run because it cleans out your pores over time, when all that BP does is kill bacteria and age your skin. SA cleanses pores, BP is a strong antibacterial disinfectant.

Since you live in a humid area, look into adding a sea salt water toner (sea salt + water). Use this after you wash your face with the salicylic acid and trust me you'll see an improvement in your skin. The toner also kills bacteria but in a much more natural way than BP. Bacteria cannot survive in a salt solution so use the toner throughout the day if you feel oily. If dryness occurs, simply rinse off the salt residue or use a little moisturizer. GOOD LUCK!

[Cherryx 10]

I think you should just decide for yourself. Stop using it for a month or so and see the difference. If you acne is less noticable and heals faster without BP, then stop using it.

I'm sure lots of people on this forum wold agree that BP is useless, but some say it helps them.