This thread has been a long time coming, and I've finally grown the you-know-whats to make it...
I'm 21, I've had acne since the 9th or 10th grade (American high school). Throughout my history I have taken many over-the-counter products including face washes, gels and cream - etc. You get the point. I've also been through, I believe it was, three separate rounds of antibiotics. My memory fails me, but I believe two cycles were the same antibiotic and another different one as well. So, three rounds and two antibiotics. I used to have more 'severe' acne that included many jawline cysts and more enlarged, inflamed breakouts. Although, other than my acne at that point in time, my skin looked better overall. It wasn't nearly as red as it is now and my pores weren't as enlarged. Those things have happened throughout the years, which haven't been kind. I now have tiny bumps all over my skin and have amassed almost every 'type' of breakouts. Most of them being whiteheads anymore, but there are some small cystic types that happen from time to time (once a week or every other week) that never form a head and are extremely stubborn. Then I have those kinds that take awhile to form a head and actually build pressure, becoming extremely tender and sore to the touch. I also have the small bumps all over that don't form a head and are extremely small but give my skin a bumpy texture. In addition to this I have blackheads around my nose area, etc. You get the gist of it.
I'm a vegetarian other than a light diet of seafood on occasion I do try to eat healthy but sometimes I give in to things I know I shouldn't. But, that being said... on a scale of 1-10 in terms of healthy dieting, I would consider myself roughly a 7. I also drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, some days I slack, but on average... I aim for that.
As far as my skin care. I use Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree soap, twice a day (I normally rinse my skin with water once during the day as well) and then leave it be for the most part. I have extremely oily skin, but after showering it is dry and flaky for a short period of time. I don't use a moisturizer anymore... because it never did help decrease the oiliness of my skin and I find the benefits of my skin flaking and exfoliating itself after cleansing to be a good thing. Perhaps if I found a moisturizer that really suited me, I would change that. I also exfoliate with Lush's Dark Angels scrub once or twice a week, or as I feel it is needed. My skin reddens really easily, both after washing and throughout the day.
As far as supplements, right now I am taking: fish oil, vitamin b complex, vitamin a, vitamin c, vitamin e, zinc supplements and I just started (two days ago) Candex and activated charcoal supplements (seeing as I believe I may have some signs that point towards candida overgrowth, but only time will tell.
I'm going to provide some pictures below... basically, I'm looking to effectively deal with breakouts, rid my face of these tiny bumps and clear up my hyperpigmentation or whatever it is that may be causing this patchy redness (could be a mixture of several things). Most of the spots that you will see in the picture below is actually hyperpigmentation and not active breakouts, or just overall redness.
So, I'm looking for multiple ideas for multiple problems, thanks!
Also, note: The pictures have been edited, but only for the means of quality and colour correction. Because they were taken on my phone, the light settings were not 100% real world appropriate, so I edited the lighting and colouring of the pictures to further match how my skin "actually" looks in the mirror.
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If you'd like to know more, just ask and I will get back to you. I want this to be an interactive discussion because I'll be sure to be asking you questions about your ideas and recommendations before ever giving them a shot! Thanks guys!
I personally think Rosacea. You have that classic blotchy redness on your cheeks, and in the EXACT spot that Rosacea shows up on foreheads.
The area on my forehead is most definitely scarring and active breakouts that are receding. They were just there, that is fresh post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which I also think is what is on my cheeks. The pictures don't fully allow you to see, but I don't believe it is Rosacea per say. I can look into it though. If it is indeed Rosacea, what would be the best method to go about dealing with it?
I personally think Rosacea. You have that classic blotchy redness on your cheeks, and in the EXACT spot that Rosacea shows up on foreheads.
The area on my forehead is most definitely scarring and active breakouts that are receding. They were just there, that is fresh post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which I also think is what is on my cheeks. The pictures don't fully allow you to see, but I don't believe it is Rosacea per say. I can look into it though. If it is indeed Rosacea, what would be the best method to go about dealing with it?
It just looks blotchy to me, but maybe it's just the pictures. Possibly seeing a derm and see what they have to say. There are a lot of treatments for rosacea if that's what you have. I'm not gonna be the one to say you have that, but IMO it looks like it, or it could just be irritation from whatever products you have used.
Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Soap:
Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Organic Olive Oil, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol
Both are comedogenic. While I find that most acne stems from internal problems, slathering your face with comedogenic coconut and olive oil is NOT helping. By the way ALL of Dr. Bronner's "magic soaps" are just based on coconut oil.
If you read the posts in my sig, I strongly recommend hormonal solutions. High androgens and low progesterone are problems that affect men and women, especially those with acne. I had severe cystic acne for ten years and cleared 100% in 6 months from hormonal medication.
I personally think Rosacea. You have that classic blotchy redness on your cheeks, and in the EXACT spot that Rosacea shows up on foreheads.
The area on my forehead is most definitely scarring and active breakouts that are receding. They were just there, that is fresh post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which I also think is what is on my cheeks. The pictures don't fully allow you to see, but I don't believe it is Rosacea per say. I can look into it though. If it is indeed Rosacea, what would be the best method to go about dealing with it?
It just looks blotchy to me, but maybe it's just the pictures. Possibly seeing a derm and see what they have to say. There are a lot of treatments for rosacea if that's what you have. I'm not gonna be the one to say you have that, but IMO it looks like it, or it could just be irritation from whatever products you have used.
I'm strongly against going to a dermatologist for several reasons. One being that I've been to three in the area, none have effectively given me solutions. Just standard pills that only act in the short term. The second being that I don't have health coverage, that would be a pricey visit. Thanks though!
Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Soap:
Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Organic Olive Oil, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol
Both are comedogenic. While I find that most acne stems from internal problems, slathering your face with comedogenic coconut and olive oil is NOT helping. By the way ALL of Dr. Bronner's "magic soaps" are just based on coconut oil.
If you read the posts in my sig, I strongly recommend hormonal solutions. High androgens and low progesterone are problems that affect men and women, especially those with acne. I had severe cystic acne for ten years and cleared 100% in 6 months from hormonal medication.
While I do see the concern in using certain oils, I assure you that I have used a variety of facial cleansers in the past and the cleanser I'm using now hasn't contributed to my acne, so I feel safe using it. While you're correct, the oils are comedogenic, they don't seem to be clogging my pores or breaking me out. But, I'm going to look for a new cleanser anyways... but it needs to be all natural and it will take me to find one worth trying. For now, I will continue to use the soap that has seemingly worked for my for quite some time now.
As far as your statements on hormones, I will do some reading on the subject... because I'm having trouble finding much valuable information related to hormones being a cause of male acne. Not to say that it isn't, I'm sure it is. It just doesn't seem to be a widely discussed topic! So hopefully your threads provide me with some valuable information, thank you! Right now I'm looking into candida as the root cause of my skin problems (or at least some of them) so, I'm going to give this some time to work before trying to treat it from a hormone stance, but I will look into it 
Quick question for those who have 'cured' your acne, or improved it by treating candida with Candex and activated charcoal. Did you notice that it decreased oil production and dried out your face? I've only been taking the supplements for several days, but I've noticed that my skin is drying up (this is a good thing, as I have extremely oily skin). Not to an extreme extent, but definitely noticeable. Especially directly after washing. Just trying to gain a feeling of whether or not there is positive improvement, since there appears to be already! I hope so!
Thanks in advance guys!
Quick question for those who have 'cured' your acne, or improved it by treating candida with Candex and activated charcoal. Did you notice that it decreased oil production and dried out your face? I've only been taking the supplements for several days, but I've noticed that my skin is drying up (this is a good thing, as I have extremely oily skin). Not to an extreme extent, but definitely noticeable. Especially directly after washing. Just trying to gain a feeling of whether or not there is positive improvement, since there appears to be already! I hope so!
Thanks in advance guys!
Yes. I've been taking candex for almost 2 months or so now, and yes, my skin is dry, possibly due to it. I mean, even washing my face with warm water, it's dry afterwords. Like you, my skin used to be an oil slick. I have 0 oil on my face now, but my skin is almost too dry now. I don't know what's worse. Dry, tight skin, or oily acne prone skin?
Quick question for those who have 'cured' your acne, or improved it by treating candida with Candex and activated charcoal. Did you notice that it decreased oil production and dried out your face? I've only been taking the supplements for several days, but I've noticed that my skin is drying up (this is a good thing, as I have extremely oily skin). Not to an extreme extent, but definitely noticeable. Especially directly after washing. Just trying to gain a feeling of whether or not there is positive improvement, since there appears to be already! I hope so!
Thanks in advance guys!
Yes. I've been taking candex for almost 2 months or so now, and yes, my skin is dry, possibly due to it. I mean, even washing my face with warm water, it's dry afterwords. Like you, my skin used to be an oil slick. I have 0 oil on my face now, but my skin is almost too dry now. I don't know what's worse. Dry, tight skin, or oily acne prone skin?
I would have to say dry, it can easily be combated with a good moisturizer. Oily skin on the other hand seems harder to take care of, at least personally.