I am so sick of acne. I've had it since I was very young (never severely cystic, thank god, though I have had two cysts and have a bad scar from one) and have tried EVERYTHING. I was on Accutane for 6 months when I was 16, and it cleared up my face SO well... for about 6 months. Then I started breaking out again. It's nothing nearly as bad as it was, but it still just drives me insane. My nose constantly has clogged pores no matter what I do, I'm still using differin and duac (even though I really don't think they're doing anything anymore) and I'm on spironolactone so I don't get more follicular cysts due to oil production. STILL I break out all the time. The sides of my face and my jaw are scarred and I hate them, and I feel like I would be so much more confident about my appearance if my acne were under control.

I don't want to go back on accutane--I hated the mood swings, constantly dry, uncomfortable, thin skin (someone cut my arm with the corner of a paperback text book when I was on it and I still have a scar--all they did was walk by me in the hall), the sore dry joints which still have not gotten better, and the increased sensitivity to temperatures (my hands get burnt so easily and I can't hold warm things other people can easily pick up).

I've just been dealing with this since high school, accepting it as part of my life, but I absolutely hate it. I'm going abroad next semester for a rainforest studies program and I want so badly to not have to wear foundation, but I am SO self conscious without it. It makes my life so much more stressful, which probably makes the acne worse anyway.

I use Cetaphil's dermacontrol cleanser because I'm convinced that a simpler approach works better for me than something like proactive (total crap), but I still break out. I've tried not wearing foundation when I'm home for a few days in a row, but my face just seems to feel oilier and I break out more easily--I don't know if my foundation absorbs oil well or what, but when I wear it I at least break out less.

So, besides me venting my frustration and lack of confidence due to acne and all it's little red marks that have been left behind, I want to know if anyone has a good, simple regimen to follow. Has anyone had luck with the products available on this site? I hate being on prescriptions for this and I would love to have an OTC regimen that actually works on its own.

I hate looking at girls with gorgeous, even, blemish-free skin and knowing mine will never be that way.