I've decided to share my acne story on here because I finally do not feel alone. There are so many other people going through the same thing and I want to get this off my chest. Being a teenager in Highschool and having acne is not exciting. People judge you on every single flaw and your confidence goes down. The way you look at yourself is different. I've suffered from acne for a year now and I want to say that everyday is a struggle. I have mild to moderate acne ALL over my face ( not exaggerating) and very red cheeks. My face is extremely sensitive and oily in t-zones. I've tried many cleansers and masks. I've tried gels and creams. I've even tried drinking Chinese herbs which apparently gets rid of all your toxins. I've tried changing my pillow sheets everyday and not picking at my skin. I've tried cutting out ALL junk food. The last thing I've tried is antibiotics, Minocycline. Minocycline has helped me a lot in some ways. My acne was not flaring up for those 4 months and my confidence was boosted. I felt so great about myself but when I found out that antibiotics were not very good for the body, I stopped the pills completely and I'm currently breaking out frequently with whiteheads. All my big pimples are gone, however. Everyday I look at my flawless friends and admire their acne-free skin. I'm scared. I don't like it when people get too close to my face because they can see all my little bumps. I don't like bright lighting. My self-esteem is very low right now. I'm trying to find a hobby to get my mind off my acne but i cannot. I tend to always look in the mirror and start picking at my skin. i can't stop. I cry constantly in my room but no one knows. i don't know what to do because I feel so helpless. when people stare at me, i automatically think they are staring at my skin. i also do NOT like tieing up my hair because i have acne and scars on my cheeks. i always blame my acne for my failures. I'm never happy anymore and i really don't know what to do...it's embarssing. it really is. my parents say it's puberty but i can't deal with this any longer. i'm scared that my first impression to people will be that i am disgusting and i'm dirty because of my acne. acne really hurts me....and affects me completely. i'm tired of hearing people say "it's going to go away" because it's not. a year of this is so hard. imagine another year.. i can't. i just want to bury my face and hide from everyone. i also use bb cream to hide up my redness. i don't want to wear foundation because apparently it clogs your pores. I can't see myself as beautiful because all i see in the mirror is my skin full of redness, bumps, disgusting, grossness, and i feel like puking. I feel so torn apart. if anyone has ANY tips for acne, please tell me.
I know exactly how you feel, only us acne suffers are able to comprehend the emotional pain that acne causes. When my acne was severe I didn't care about living any more, I know the effect it can have mentally and physically. I wish I could give you a hug cause I truly feel your pain. It took me awhile to figure out what worked for me. Everybody is different so it's up to you to pay attention how your body reacts to different things. All I can say is that if I could get clear anybody can there is hope out there. I had mineral imbalance after taking certain supplements I started to see results and after using Bp for a couple years my skin was damaged I quit using it and started using sulfur instead, foam cleanser, toner, moisturizer. My skin is clear.
Hey dear, I first started suffering from acne in the last year high school too. It was bad because I was under tremendous emotional stress (boy problems) and was preparing for major exams at the same time. i completely ignored my skin (only used water to wash) and by the end of the year, my face was completely covered in terrible bumps, huge red pimples and whiteheads, mainly concentrated around my forehead. I was so depressed and I also remember crying a lot. I was 17 then. When I was 18, I also went through a series of trials and errors in a desperate attempt to get rid of the acne - like going for facials with harsh extraction methods, exfoliating washes, toners, masks and I also picked at my skin - all huge mistakes that destroyed my skin even more. I finally went to a trustworthy derm when I was 19 Ishe's still my derm now) - she told me to stop all the facials, exfoliating scrubs, toners and masks. She also gave me tretinoin cream (Retin-A). Ever since that day, I have not gone to a single facial, touched any scrubs, or used and toners and masks - I threw them all away and stuck to my derm's instructions faithfully. I stopped picking and treated my face gently and kindly - instead of slathering chemical-laden foundations and concealers all over my acned skin and being so ashamed of my appearance that I had to wear a mask, I decided to take care of my body and stopped using face paints as a way to disguise the ugliness. I let my skin breathe.
There were periods of time when I got complacent and stopped using the retinoids, and my acne came back. The key to medications is consistency, gentleness and patient endurance. Never ever use extra chemicals or acids in conjunction with the medication, or go for multiple treatments in a desperate attempt to fix the problem. Concurrent acne treatments may not be better - it can destroy your skin permanently. Just stick to one regime and be patient. For me, I avoid using BP or salicylic acid or any other acids because I use tretinoin.
I always tend to breakout under periods of extreme stress - like last semester when I was graduating, I broke out terribly (also because I had quit the tretinoin for about 6-9 months) because I was so stressed and was also complacent about my skin regimen. But after going back to it for the last 8 months, my skin is looking better than ever, and I really hope it stays that way. Now people always comment about how smooth my skin looks, and always think I'm younger than my age. I'm 23 years old now and I've just graduated from university and going to be admitted to the bar in my country as a lawyer next year. Don't let acne get you down in this life, keep fighting - there is always hope and a solution to your problem. There are days when I feel completely ugly and worthless - but this is a lie, and never ever let these thoughts get you down.
The best part about acne is that you will know who really loves you. Go out and make friends with people who love you for who you are, through the acne, through the depression. You will notice that when you are clear, these friends hardly notice - they still hang out with you and accept you and love you for who you are.
Remember that you are not alone in this battle!
I'm trying to not let it get to me. I have a lot of friends telling me 'it's alright. no big deal, just skin. it's puberty, i understand you'. i'm really tired of hearing those comments because they have never been in my position. so how could they possible understand my situation! irritates me when my friends are so stressed over ONE pimple. they will never understand how it feels to have a billion pimples.. one time my friend was complaining bout her one pimple, and my other friend pointed at me and said 'look at her skin' and then everyone was silent.. i felt so hurt at that time and i cannot get that comment out of my head. and another time when a guy randomly brought up 'you have so many pimples'.. i couldn't help but cry silently in class when it happened at lunch. i should forget about what people say about me and i should not care. but i care what people think about me.. it's just hard.
i will try to apply my cream less.. because i always think 'the more, the better'. i'll see if that will help. thanks guys! i'm still on the search of the perfect regimen. i guess i'll need some patience.
i honestly do not feel so alone anymore 
when i saw the replies, i instantly smiled. so many people on this site can relate and i'm glad i found this wonderful site.