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A Never Ending Battle

MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/03/2013 1:04 am

 

Hi all.

 

I started getting acne at 11 and am now 26. Between 16 and 23 I lived virtually acne free because of an 8 month course of Roaccutane. I had an occasional zit or maybe a big one that was obvious due to my clear skin but I still stupidly focused on the negatives, like scarring, uneven skin tone, freckles. I still worked hard at maintaining my skin as that fear lives deep inside me. There is a constant stress and worry that I will break out worse and return to my previous state. I suffer of nightmares. I usually dream that I go to the mirror and I'm looking back at 15 year old me with severe cystic acne. I am now suffering of cystic break outs again and am feeling defeated and frustrated.

I wear make up all the time. NOBODY apart from my mother can see me without make up. I don't allow it. The worst part is, make up doesn't look good on my skin anyway. It's a mask but not a good one. It helps me face the world but even then I never look people in the eyes. I feel them judging my "poor" choice in foundation. Almost every brand out there makes me break out more, so the one brand I use is not exactly matched to my skin tone and I can see it in every pore and every scar. My skin is freckled too, which I hate. Why couldn't I be born with beautiful skin? Why am I forced to battle this? I somehow knew in the back of my mind that one day the acne would return. I don't know what to do!! I feel so helpless. I have tried EVERYTHING! Nobody can help me. I don't want to do a second course of Roaccutane because I had significant hair thinning the first time around.

 

I see women without make up and their skin is stunning. I am forever jealous. I am 26 and I lost my youth to acne. I went from being a child to a monster. I never felt confident. I never enjoyed having my picture taken. I only see scars and acne when I look in the mirror. I obsess constantly. I'm always changing my towels, pillow cases, clothes cause I'm worried about bacteria transferring to my skin. Acne took away my confidence and it robbed me of going to the beach, camping, sleeping over people's house. When I travel, I carry so many face related products. I hate it. I want this baggage gone. I want to be free.

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MemberMember
2
(@reyrey)

Posted : 05/03/2013 2:33 am

I know how you feel, like I really do. About a year ago I made the worst mistake I could have made, got on birth control. I never thought twice, so I took them, not being prepared for the breakout I was in for. I broke out everywhere. Before on BC, my skin was pretty clear, I had the odd pimple usually on my forehead, nothing that concerned me or stressed me out. This year I turned 21 and it has been by far the most depressing year of my life. Here in the states 21 is the legal drinking age, so I was finally able to go out with my friends, go bar hoping, the only thing was I didn't want to. All my friends had good skin, and my skin was freaking out, I was extremely embarrassed, self conscious. Not to mention my friends are gorgeous and I just felt I no longer measured up, which made me feel a lot worse about myself. I've never had severe acne, nor moderate, I guess you can say it more mild now. My dark spots and redness make it look a lot worse than it really is, but I'm still dealing with it and I hate it.

Lately however, I've tried not to be so hard on myself and tell myself that it will go away, things will get better, life goes on and instead of sulking, crying, and feeling unhappy, I try and focus on the good of my life. My family, friends, boyfriend, etc. Anytime I start freaking out about my face I immediately breathe in and breathe out and put happy thoughts in my head. Acne is a disease and you must not let it consume you. I'm slowly learning not to let acne control my life, almost learning to accept that my skin may not be perfect but it doesn't dictate my life or me as a person. I can still cover it with makeup, but like you said it's not always flawless like one may like. You can see tiny bumps or big bumps and the texture can be bad at times, but I just keep telling myself it WILL get better. It's the only thing I can do at this point, any other negative thoughts may be contributing to the acne.

I know this may not be much, but you're not alone. Everyone is fighting a different battle, and you're not the only person with these thoughts and feelings. I feel like talking about acne is so taboo, and it's hard to talk to someone about it because no one seems to understand the pain it can cause. I feel like my friends wouldn't understand, my family doesn't, I know i'm not fighting this battle alone but it sure seems like it. Talking about it and hearing what other people have to say helps because it re-assures me that I'm not the only one going through this, and re-assures me that I'm not crazy for thinking the things I think.

Like you, I analyze everyone. Their skin in particular and think, "why can't my skin look that good?" or "They don't know how lucky they are to have such nice skin." Because you really don't know what you have until it's gone. The best advice I can offer is try to be the most gentle with your face as you can. I think we all make the mistake of freaking out our skin because we're so desperate and so in a hurry to clear everything up. But we just end up making it worse. Patience and endurance is key, know you will make it out of this, acne is only acne, and while it can dictate our life, don't let it to a point where you completely stop living your life. For a while, I refused to go out, not because my acne looked sooo bad, but because I'd rather stay home and let it heal rather than pound on makeup and suffocate it. But I've let myself go out here and there, i've gotten as far as going out for a few hours. I haven't yet gotten to the point where I spend a whole weekend somewhere with friends, over night, it's a scary thing. But I know I will get there, I hate acne, I hate the way it dictates my mood of the day, I hate that it dictates if I go out that weekend or not. It's all I think about, and it's overtaking me, and I cannot let it!

Some things that have helped is listening to more music, music I enjoy, and once in a while joining my old friend mary jane for some one on one time, it relaxes me, and makes me realize there's so much things I should be grateful for, acne is just a phase, you just have to have hope. It took me a long time but I think I've slowly started finding peace within myself, which couldn't hurt but only benefit my skin.

I don't know exactly what you're looking for in this post, but take comfort that you're not alone. We're all fighting this battle and we will come out of this.

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MemberMember
197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 05/03/2013 3:11 am

I'll be 20 soon and I can only think of maybe 2 or 3 months where I've had clear skin since I was about 12 or 13. And that was only when I took antibiotics. I haven't taken accutane though I agree with everything you said about makeup. I physically can't leave the house without having at least some foundation on. Only the family I live with can see me without makeup. In high school I avoided events where I'd have to stay the night at a friends place because I didn't want them to see me without makeup (and I can't leave it on - I wash it off as soon as I can) Lately we've had different tradies doing work around our house and I've been putting makeup on just in case I have to talk to them about something or be face to face with them. And I hate it. I really don't like wearing makeup and wish I didn't feel like I have to wear it. I sort of feel I'm doing everyone else a favour by wearing it because even though my skin still doesn't look good with makeup on, it's better than what it's like without it. I'm really pale skinned (and a little freckled also) and I find it really hard to find a foundation that's fair enough with good coverage. They're either good coverage and too dark or a good colour match and basically no coverage. Like you said, I can never get it to look good on my skin which is extremely frustrating to me.

Sorry for this being a sort of negatively themed response. But just know you're not alone in how you're feeling. I've been trying to focus on things other than my skin and remember that we're our own worst critics - other people probably don't see us as harshly as we view ourselves. Another thing that's really helped me is that I've stopped comparing myself to others. It's something I didn't even realise I was doing it but I was and it was severely impacting my image of myself and how I was feeling about myself. I've also been trying to keep a positive outlook on everything- and it's hard to do at times but all I can do is try...

Anyway - hang in there! Remember you're not alone in dealing with this or in feeling how you feel.

I hope things get better for all of us soon!

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MemberMember
28
(@crazyinternetman)

Posted : 05/03/2013 8:01 am

Hey, my theory so far is that acne doesn't have much to do with the outside of your skin, but more with internal inbalances of hormones and such.

Remember when you were a kid? You probably didn't wash your face and hands nearly as much as you do today, you could play outside and eat anything and NOTHING would happen to your skin.

All the companies tell us that it's because of sebum produced by hormones and bacteria and to clean our face with their "special" cleansers, but that makes no sense. When I was a kid I was dirty and playing in the dirt all the time, I probably had a lot more bacteria all over me than I do today, and I never had acne.

When you become a teenager though your body goes through a lot of changes and I think for some people like us acne facers we need to adapt to those changes with modifications in our regimen and lifestyle (for example, myself and a bunch of other guys all over the Internet and on these forums found out that stopping/reducing orgasms decreases our acne dramatically or even eliminates it, probably because of the testosterone hormone produced when we do).

ReyRey mentioned birth control affecting her acne. Once again, hormone affecting drug, not face bacteria, makes her to break out.

Sounds fucked up? Yeah it is, but it's true, and for a lot of different people there's unfortunately a lot of different unbalances which stick with them from teenage years to later life for whatever reason, just like some people go bald faster than others, lose eyesight faster than others, are born with heart conditions, liver conditions, etc. Is it unfair? I stopped thinking about it that way, since everyone has their burdens. Well, maybe not everyone, but at least I wasn't born with early baldness or required heart surgery by my 19th birthday, like one of my friends.

We live in a world filled with polution and radioactive fallout from dozens of nuclear tests and incidents and smokers and cars and whatnot. All that has an effect on our generation and our children, and we're all probably somewhat damaged by living in such a world, sometimes in ways that doctors don't even know about yet.

Try to find ways to heal yourself from the inside, through regimen, exercise and whatever else you can think that affects your acne. Try fasting for a few days and see if there's any results. Some people fast then add foods to their regimen one by one to see which one affects them or not.

I'm sorry to hear you have to use all those skin products, I've been there myself from my early high school days to early college, and they never helped me one bit. Only exterior medicine that truly helped was aloe vera gel extracted manually from the leaves and placed over acne scars to increase healing speed. It never really helped reduce acne though.

In conclusion, fuck people. If your good looking skin friends suddenly had a breakout of acne they'd suddenly understand what it's like. And you wouldn't judge them, because you would understand their predicament. In that alone, you're a better person than them, so pursue your dreams and aspirations while trying to control your acne from the inside and remember, not everyone out there judges you if you have acne. If it wasn't that, they'd judge you for something else, many people are just like that.

Quote
MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/03/2013 9:26 am

I know how you feel, like I really do. About a year ago I made the worst mistake I could have made, got on birth control. I never thought twice, so I took them, not being prepared for the breakout I was in for. I broke out everywhere. Before on BC, my skin was pretty clear, I had the odd pimple usually on my forehead, nothing that concerned me or stressed me out. This year I turned 21 and it has been by far the most depressing year of my life. Here in the states 21 is the legal drinking age, so I was finally able to go out with my friends, go bar hoping, the only thing was I didn't want to. All my friends had good skin, and my skin was freaking out, I was extremely embarrassed, self conscious. Not to mention my friends are gorgeous and I just felt I no longer measured up, which made me feel a lot worse about myself. I've never had severe acne, nor moderate, I guess you can say it more mild now. My dark spots and redness make it look a lot worse than it really is, but I'm still dealing with it and I hate it.

Lately however, I've tried not to be so hard on myself and tell myself that it will go away, things will get better, life goes on and instead of sulking, crying, and feeling unhappy, I try and focus on the good of my life. My family, friends, boyfriend, etc. Anytime I start freaking out about my face I immediately breathe in and breathe out and put happy thoughts in my head. Acne is a disease and you must not let it consume you. I'm slowly learning not to let acne control my life, almost learning to accept that my skin may not be perfect but it doesn't dictate my life or me as a person. I can still cover it with makeup, but like you said it's not always flawless like one may like. You can see tiny bumps or big bumps and the texture can be bad at times, but I just keep telling myself it WILL get better. It's the only thing I can do at this point, any other negative thoughts may be contributing to the acne.

I know this may not be much, but you're not alone. Everyone is fighting a different battle, and you're not the only person with these thoughts and feelings. I feel like talking about acne is so taboo, and it's hard to talk to someone about it because no one seems to understand the pain it can cause. I feel like my friends wouldn't understand, my family doesn't, I know i'm not fighting this battle alone but it sure seems like it. Talking about it and hearing what other people have to say helps because it re-assures me that I'm not the only one going through this, and re-assures me that I'm not crazy for thinking the things I think.

Like you, I analyze everyone. Their skin in particular and think, "why can't my skin look that good?" or "They don't know how lucky they are to have such nice skin." Because you really don't know what you have until it's gone. The best advice I can offer is try to be the most gentle with your face as you can. I think we all make the mistake of freaking out our skin because we're so desperate and so in a hurry to clear everything up. But we just end up making it worse. Patience and endurance is key, know you will make it out of this, acne is only acne, and while it can dictate our life, don't let it to a point where you completely stop living your life. For a while, I refused to go out, not because my acne looked sooo bad, but because I'd rather stay home and let it heal rather than pound on makeup and suffocate it. But I've let myself go out here and there, i've gotten as far as going out for a few hours. I haven't yet gotten to the point where I spend a whole weekend somewhere with friends, over night, it's a scary thing. But I know I will get there, I hate acne, I hate the way it dictates my mood of the day, I hate that it dictates if I go out that weekend or not. It's all I think about, and it's overtaking me, and I cannot let it!

Some things that have helped is listening to more music, music I enjoy, and once in a while joining my old friend mary jane for some one on one time, it relaxes me, and makes me realize there's so much things I should be grateful for, acne is just a phase, you just have to have hope. It took me a long time but I think I've slowly started finding peace within myself, which couldn't hurt but only benefit my skin.

I don't know exactly what you're looking for in this post, but take comfort that you're not alone. We're all fighting this battle and we will come out of this.

Thank you for the kind words. I guess in some way it does help to know other people out there are going through what I'm going through. I do have to admit I have some lovely friends who love me no matter what. I just think it's so hard to face strangers, when buying something from the store, walking down the street and making eye contact with a stranger or trying to speak to people in a job interview. But you're right, it is hard but when I make peace with it, I will truly feel better.

I'll be 20 soon and I can only think of maybe 2 or 3 months where I've had clear skin since I was about 12 or 13. And that was only when I took antibiotics. I haven't taken accutane though I agree with everything you said about makeup. I physically can't leave the house without having at least some foundation on. Only the family I live with can see me without makeup. In high school I avoided events where I'd have to stay the night at a friends place because I didn't want them to see me without makeup (and I can't leave it on - I wash it off as soon as I can) Lately we've had different tradies doing work around our house and I've been putting makeup on just in case I have to talk to them about something or be face to face with them. And I hate it. I really don't like wearing makeup and wish I didn't feel like I have to wear it. I sort of feel I'm doing everyone else a favour by wearing it because even though my skin still doesn't look good with makeup on, it's better than what it's like without it. I'm really pale skinned (and a little freckled also) and I find it really hard to find a foundation that's fair enough with good coverage. They're either good coverage and too dark or a good colour match and basically no coverage. Like you said, I can never get it to look good on my skin which is extremely frustrating to me.

Sorry for this being a sort of negatively themed response. But just know you're not alone in how you're feeling. I've been trying to focus on things other than my skin and remember that we're our own worst critics - other people probably don't see us as harshly as we view ourselves. Another thing that's really helped me is that I've stopped comparing myself to others. It's something I didn't even realise I was doing it but I was and it was severely impacting my image of myself and how I was feeling about myself. I've also been trying to keep a positive outlook on everything- and it's hard to do at times but all I can do is try...

Anyway - hang in there! Remember you're not alone in dealing with this or in feeling how you feel.

I hope things get better for all of us soon!

You sound so much like me! I'm fair skinned too, no oil free make up has ever been good for my face. They all turn orange after a while and just look terrible. A while back we had some tradesmen come to the house and I woke up before they arrived and applied my make up just in case they would see me in the house or need to speak with me. I couldn't bare the thought of someone judging *me*. If they judge my poor make up, at least they have this idea of "well, she may look more attractive without it". If I'm bare skinned, then I'm just plain ugly.

I also don't leave my make up on, that's the main reason I didn't spend nights at my friends' houses because I refuse to sleep with make up but I refuse to be seen without it. There are days when I feel ok, kind of like, "yeah I have acne, who cares? Fuck it." Then I have days like these, where I scroll through instagram and facebook and see my beautiful friends with their perfect skin, gorgeous make up applied to accentuate their beauty and I end up wallowing.

Maybe one day I'll be make up free or I will just accept how I look and feel better.

Hey, my theory so far is that acne doesn't have much to do with the outside of your skin, but more with internal inbalances of hormones and such.

Remember when you were a kid? You probably didn't wash your face and hands nearly as much as you do today, you could play outside and eat anything and NOTHING would happen to your skin.

All the companies tell us that it's because of sebum produced by hormones and bacteria and to clean our face with their "special" cleansers, but that makes no sense. When I was a kid I was dirty and playing in the dirt all the time, I probably had a lot more bacteria all over me than I do today, and I never had acne.

When you become a teenager though your body goes through a lot of changes and I think for some people like us acne facers we need to adapt to those changes with modifications in our regimen and lifestyle (for example, myself and a bunch of other guys all over the Internet and on these forums found out that stopping/reducing orgasms decreases our acne dramatically or even eliminates it, probably because of the testosterone hormone produced when we do).

ReyRey mentioned birth control affecting her acne. Once again, hormone affecting drug, not face bacteria, makes her to break out.

Sounds fucked up? Yeah it is, but it's true, and for a lot of different people there's unfortunately a lot of different unbalances which stick with them from teenage years to later life for whatever reason, just like some people go bald faster than others, lose eyesight faster than others, are born with heart conditions, liver conditions, etc. Is it unfair? I stopped thinking about it that way, since everyone has their burdens. Well, maybe not everyone, but at least I wasn't born with early baldness or required heart surgery by my 19th birthday, like one of my friends.

We live in a world filled with polution and radioactive fallout from dozens of nuclear tests and incidents and smokers and cars and whatnot. All that has an effect on our generation and our children, and we're all probably somewhat damaged by living in such a world, sometimes in ways that doctors don't even know about yet.

Try to find ways to heal yourself from the inside, through regimen, exercise and whatever else you can think that affects your acne. Try fasting for a few days and see if there's any results. Some people fast then add foods to their regimen one by one to see which one affects them or not.

I'm sorry to hear you have to use all those skin products, I've been there myself from my early high school days to early college, and they never helped me one bit. Only exterior medicine that truly helped was aloe vera gel extracted manually from the leaves and placed over acne scars to increase healing speed. It never really helped reduce acne though.

In conclusion, fuck people. If your good looking skin friends suddenly had a breakout of acne they'd suddenly understand what it's like. And you wouldn't judge them, because you would understand their predicament. In that alone, you're a better person than them, so pursue your dreams and aspirations while trying to control your acne from the inside and remember, not everyone out there judges you if you have acne. If it wasn't that, they'd judge you for something else, many people are just like that.

You're right, fuck people! If people I don't know judge me, then I'm glad I don't know them. As for my friends, they're understanding. They can't relate at all since none have any zits, not even minor ones but they know my journey and battle and try and build my self esteem by telling me I'm pretty despite the acne. Like I said to another poster, I do have days where I think, "yeah fuck it, who cares if I have acne?" and I think, "things could be worse, I could have cancer, I could have a serious disfigurement".

Maybe I'm just still too young. Too caught up in this disease. I do hope some day I just accept it and move on and I'll feel happier. Thanks for your words, you are right!

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MemberMember
0
(@megelizab)

Posted : 05/03/2013 4:37 pm

I can't believe how much I can relate to you ladies. I have probably spent countless amounts of money on make-up that I honestly think makes my skin look like shit, but I just won't be seen without it. I'm constantly trying new brands, and I've probably racked-up a million points on my Sephora card. I wear it swimming, to the beach, even while doing dirty work with horses and livestock where I just sweat it off anyway. It's a joke, but anything is better than my natural complexion. I absolutely despise being in photos and try to get of them whenever I can without people getting angry at me. I hate constantly comparing my skin to other people's but I just can't stop. I completely feel your pain and it's really comforting to know that other people are going through what I'm going through. I'm 24 years old, and I haven't met a soul around me with skin like mine.

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MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/04/2013 2:28 am

I can't believe how much I can relate to you ladies. I have probably spent countless amounts of money on make-up that I honestly think makes my skin look like shit, but I just won't be seen without it. I'm constantly trying new brands, and I've probably racked-up a million points on my Sephora card. I wear it swimming, to the beach, even while doing dirty work with horses and livestock where I just sweat it off anyway. It's a joke, but anything is better than my natural complexion. I absolutely despise being in photos and try to get of them whenever I can without people getting angry at me. I hate constantly comparing my skin to other people's but I just can't stop. I completely feel your pain and it's really comforting to know that other people are going through what I'm going through. I'm 24 years old, and I haven't met a soul around me with skin like mine.

I've blown so much money on make up from overseas that doesn't exist in Australia, only to make my breakouts worse or to realise that "fair" is too orange or dark for me and it sucks :( Just like you, I don't know anyone with skin like mine. When I was in high school there was one guy who had severe acne (he did 3 courses of Roaccutane in the span of 2 years) and I tried to approach him but he refused to speak to me about it. Apart from that, all my friends and family have never had any form of acne. I used to have friends in high school or at university who would get one pimple at 'that time of the month' and say "omg, I'm so hideous, this is the worst thing that could ever happen" and I'd be thinking, "if you're hideous then what am I?" I always wished to know someone like me. Someone who I could share acne/make up tips with. Someone whose house I could stay at and we'd both brave taking our make up off at the same time and not feeling judged but feeling comforted that we are alike and we understand each other. I guess I can't have that but this site still helps. If you feel like getting anything off your chest, please feel free to message me :)

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MemberMember
28
(@crazyinternetman)

Posted : 05/04/2013 8:02 am

Back in high school I couldn't skip classes cause they'd call home the same day to inform my parents, but in my first year of college or so I missed entire weeks of school because of the constant red dots I had from acne scarring. I generally had to pop pimples instead of letting them fade but I won't get into that since it's pretty gross, so let's just say it was a necessity for me to do.

After 2 semesters I had decent grades cause I can learn by myself but I had missed out on a lot of stuff at school like activities and teacher-only tidbits and just talking to people. Even though I don't really care what people think of me as far as judging is concerned, it's just damn depressing to talk to someone and see their eyes constantly dart back and forth all over your face while you're trying to maintain eye contact like a respectful human being, as if you're some freak of nature.

Anyway, one day while I was looking like shit (which was every other day) I just went to school cause it was the first warm spring day of the year and I love warmth, and turning this corridor I just made eye contact with a girl. Neither of us looked away and while we passed each other we both smiled, hers a shy smile and me with my automatic genuine grin whenever someone smiles at me.

I never saw her again after but from that day forward I just never felt as troubled of going outside with my scars. I don't use guy makeup or anything like that so when it was bad it showed pretty bad. In these last years after college my acne is a lot more controlled so it's nice to talk to people and not feel like my face is being scrutinized, still, the new scar every now and then that appears on my face still seems to draw fascination from onlookers, and I learned to live with it, because they look ridiculous when they talk to me, it's as if they have visual A.D.D.

I think you should try going everywhere for a week or two with little or no makeup Vituperative, you might end up feeling greatly liberated. Keep your eyes lost on the horizon and your head high, you will be an inspiration for other women like you.

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MemberMember
0
(@megelizab)

Posted : 05/04/2013 10:51 pm

I can't believe how much I can relate to you ladies. I have probably spent countless amounts of money on make-up that I honestly think makes my skin look like shit, but I just won't be seen without it. I'm constantly trying new brands, and I've probably racked-up a million points on my Sephora card. I wear it swimming, to the beach, even while doing dirty work with horses and livestock where I just sweat it off anyway. It's a joke, but anything is better than my natural complexion. I absolutely despise being in photos and try to get of them whenever I can without people getting angry at me. I hate constantly comparing my skin to other people's but I just can't stop. I completely feel your pain and it's really comforting to know that other people are going through what I'm going through. I'm 24 years old, and I haven't met a soul around me with skin like mine.

I've blown so much money on make up from overseas that doesn't exist in Australia, only to make my breakouts worse or to realise that "fair" is too orange or dark for me and it sucks sad.png Just like you, I don't know anyone with skin like mine. When I was in high school there was one guy who had severe acne (he did 3 courses of Roaccutane in the span of 2 years) and I tried to approach him but he refused to speak to me about it. Apart from that, all my friends and family have never had any form of acne. I used to have friends in high school or at university who would get one pimple at 'that time of the month' and say "omg, I'm so hideous, this is the worst thing that could ever happen" and I'd be thinking, "if you're hideous then what am I?" I always wished to know someone like me. Someone who I could share acne/make up tips with. Someone whose house I could stay at and we'd both brave taking our make up off at the same time and not feeling judged but feeling comforted that we are alike and we understand each other. I guess I can't have that but this site still helps. If you feel like getting anything off your chest, please feel free to message me smile.png

You're sweet! I already feel really fortunate to have found this forum as I've literally never met or even seen anyone my age with severe acne/scars. It's strange, I actually went a whole summer a couple years ago without wearing make-up because I actually wanted to see if not wearing make-up would improve my acne (it didn't). I've told myself again and again that I don't care anymore and I'll stop wearing make-up, but I haven't been able to muster up the courage to do it again. *Sigh* hopefully someday. And oh my god I HATE when my friends freak out about having one or two little pimples! I'm always like ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Try living with that shit 24 hours a day all over your face and then come talk to me.

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MemberMember
89
(@lll3)

Posted : 05/06/2013 1:30 pm

hey all! I'll go with the title of this thread and say that the experience of life itself is the ultimate battle, acne is just a personal means to understand and overcome it. what? you don't think you can understand it? Well there lies your problem, friends LOL. If you don't think you can do something, then you can't. simple as that. but you may be surprised. this life is full of surprises so remind yourself to lighten up when things get too...heavy LOL. There's this saying. suttin like: "at times laugh at your problems, cause everyone else does."

To the original poster: No one can give you advice nearly as effective as what you yourself realize and know to be true. That's ultimately what will make a difference in your life. It is a struggle indeed. You are not alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

much lov

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MemberMember
0
(@ryu87)

Posted : 05/06/2013 5:42 pm

Hi all.

I started getting acne at 11 and am now 26. Between 16 and 23 I lived virtually acne free because of an 8 month course of Roaccutane. I had an occasional zit or maybe a big one that was obvious due to my clear skin but I still stupidly focused on the negatives, like scarring, uneven skin tone, freckles. I still worked hard at maintaining my skin as that fear lives deep inside me. There is a constant stress and worry that I will break out worse and return to my previous state. I suffer of nightmares. I usually dream that I go to the mirror and I'm looking back at 15 year old me with severe cystic acne. I am now suffering of cystic break outs again and am feeling defeated and frustrated.

I know it's tough, it seems like acne will never end for me too... neutral.gif I'm 26 (acne since 18).

Did you try Zinc? It's keeping my acne under control with just 20mg per day.

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MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/07/2013 10:30 am

Hi all.

I started getting acne at 11 and am now 26. Between 16 and 23 I lived virtually acne free because of an 8 month course of Roaccutane. I had an occasional zit or maybe a big one that was obvious due to my clear skin but I still stupidly focused on the negatives, like scarring, uneven skin tone, freckles. I still worked hard at maintaining my skin as that fear lives deep inside me. There is a constant stress and worry that I will break out worse and return to my previous state. I suffer of nightmares. I usually dream that I go to the mirror and I'm looking back at 15 year old me with severe cystic acne. I am now suffering of cystic break outs again and am feeling defeated and frustrated.

I know it's tough, it seems like acne will never end for me too... neutral.gif I'm 26 (acne since 18).

Did you try Zinc? It's keeping my acne under control with just 20mg per day.

No, I haven't but thank you for the tip. When I finish taking Doryx I will definitely try taking zinc and vitamin 3d (as others have suggested also) to see if that helps :)

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(@ryu87)

Posted : 05/07/2013 5:09 pm

Hi all.

I started getting acne at 11 and am now 26. Between 16 and 23 I lived virtually acne free because of an 8 month course of Roaccutane. I had an occasional zit or maybe a big one that was obvious due to my clear skin but I still stupidly focused on the negatives, like scarring, uneven skin tone, freckles. I still worked hard at maintaining my skin as that fear lives deep inside me. There is a constant stress and worry that I will break out worse and return to my previous state. I suffer of nightmares. I usually dream that I go to the mirror and I'm looking back at 15 year old me with severe cystic acne. I am now suffering of cystic break outs again and am feeling defeated and frustrated.

I know it's tough, it seems like acne will never end for me too... neutral.gif I'm 26 (acne since 18).

Did you try Zinc? It's keeping my acne under control with just 20mg per day.

No, I haven't but thank you for the tip. When I finish taking Doryx I will definitely try taking zinc and vitamin 3d (as others have suggested also) to see if that helps smile.png

I tried vitamin d3 too... I've stopped taking it because I guess Zinc is doing all the job, but it's subjective.

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(@orlock)

Posted : 05/12/2013 6:26 am

Hola Vituperative! Man, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. It's tough - mentally. I have had moderate acne when I was a teen and I constantly ruminated over it - it consumed me. I did overcome the acne due to accutane from my dermatologist but later I was to face many hurdles including losing a lot of my hair to alopecia ereata and it sucked so much but I can only imagine how it feels for you. I recently have acne on my shoulders and some on the upper arms possibly due to taking some jacked3d legal muscle building compound though I can't say it is the cause with complete certainty. I know that if I had to go what you are going through right now quality of life would be low. I just hope for you and all others in this world that are suffering to the extent that you are that one point in time the tide turns and the darkness and despair fades away along with the affliction akin to a leaf in the breeze that blows away in the wind. Well, based on your profile you are super duper beautiful-la-sonic as so don't ever forget that. I recall seeing a girl previously in a time of times passed, afflicted with severe extreme acne on her face though she was super duper beautiful-la-sonic just like you and I thought wow! Too cool! She looked sad and down - soooo unhappy but had she ever asked me to go out for a coffee (with two sugars of course - gota be sweet he he he) - Platonically only then heck yeah I want that coffee, preferably flat white. The point is you are young, you are nice, you are beautiful but you have to believe that. Besides, whoever judges you aren't your friends - they don't matter. Don't worry about the stranger in the beat street or the shop keeper on 5th ave coz they aint your friends gal. Familia is numero uno, not some judgemental narrow-minded misguided stranger that you don't know. Let em all judge and let em walk on by but please just don't care - have no fear. Hey! It's too cool that you shared your personal affliction with us. I feel for ya gal - Take care gal - peace out - my prayers go out to ya :)

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(@cassiie)

Posted : 05/14/2013 6:06 pm

girlsi know how you feel 100%!! i didnt even want to have a boyfriend because im like oh god im gonna have to sleep with layers of makeup on to cover my acne and scars..but i found a cure that works for me(and a ton of others) and its ALL NATURAL BABY;) and very cheap!!! you girls are GORGEOUS and should not be having to worry about that! try coconut oil!! about 4 weeks ago i came across reviews for coconut oil to cure acne! so i did a lot of reserach and saw people saying that theyve been suffering from terrible cystic acne for years and even tried accutane and it came back!! and when they tried coconut oil it cleared up! so i decided to give it a try..because like you and everyone else who suffers from acne..we get really desperate! I had nothing to lose because my skin was already bad! So i started using it 3 weeks ago and my skin has cleared right up! Mind you i still have scars but it also lightens scars too!!! you coud try it?? its cheap! and has a ton of other uses. theres like 101 uses lol!! I use the Nutiva brand. Its the best one in my opinion! i rinse my face with hot water, massage the coconut oil in as a cleanser for a few minutes and then i rinse it off. Gently dry my skin and then apply a bit more as a moisturizer and go to bed. I wake up and repeat! i know its iffy to put oil on your face lmao but read up on it! its antifungal and all this other stuff. trust me i did not think it was going to work but im SOOOOO glad i tried it because i was so depressed looking in the mirror!! and its so cheap and healthy. I even put it in my tea because they say it can help if you ingest it too...but anyways give it a try if you are desperate ad if it doesnt work at least you tried right? But you may be very surprised=) but MAKE SURE its ORGANIC, EXTRA VIRGIN, UNREFINED lol i cant stress that enough because i saw people saying oh it made my skin worse blah blah blah...well obviously they must have been using refined or something. try and get the Nutiva brand if you can! if you wanna talk more you can private message me on here if thats possible or you can add me to facebook! i think this link may work?? [Removed]

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(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/15/2013 8:13 am

On 5/12/2013 at 5:26 PM, orlock said:

Hola Vituperative! Man, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. It's tough - mentally. I have had moderate acne when I was a teen and I constantly ruminated over it - it consumed me. I did overcome the acne due to accutane from my dermatologist but later I was to face many hurdles including losing a lot of my hair to alopecia ereata and it sucked so much but I can only imagine how it feels for you. I recently have acne on my shoulders and some on the upper arms possibly due to taking some jacked3d legal muscle building compound though I can't say it is the cause with complete certainty. I know that if I had to go what you are going through right now quality of life would be low. I just hope for you and all others in this world that are suffering to the extent that you are that one point in time the tide turns and the darkness and despair fades away along with the affliction akin to a leaf in the breeze that blows away in the wind. Well, based on your profile you are super duper beautiful-la-sonic as so don't ever forget that. I recall seeing a girl previously in a time of times passed, afflicted with severe extreme acne on her face though she was super duper beautiful-la-sonic just like you and I thought wow! Too cool! She looked sad and down - soooo unhappy but had she ever asked me to go out for a coffee (with two sugars of course - gota be sweet he he he) - Platonically only then heck yeah I want that coffee, preferably flat white. The point is you are young, you are nice, you are beautiful but you have to believe that. Besides, whoever judges you aren't your friends - they don't matter. Don't worry about the stranger in the beat street or the shop keeper on 5th ave coz they aint your friends gal. Familia is numero uno, not some judgemental narrow-minded misguided stranger that you don't know. Let em all judge and let em walk on by but please just don't care - have no fear. Hey! It's too cool that you shared your personal affliction with us. I feel for ya gal - Take care gal - peace out - my prayers go out to ya smile.png

Well aren't you sweet nod.gif Thanks for the kind words. Many people these days are kind, they don't say anything about my acne (unlike high school). It's just my own issues I need to get over. Accepting that this is who I am and maybe somehow acne shaped me to be a better and more understanding person. All the best to you, too and good luck with finding something that works :)

On 5/15/2013 at 5:06 AM, Cassiie said:

girlsi know how you feel 100%!! i didnt even want to have a boyfriend because im like oh god im gonna have to sleep with layers of makeup on to cover my acne and scars..but i found a cure that works for me(and a ton of others) and its ALL NATURAL BABY;) and very cheap!!! you girls are GORGEOUS and should not be having to worry about that! try coconut oil!! about 4 weeks ago i came across reviews for coconut oil to cure acne! so i did a lot of reserach and saw people saying that theyve been suffering from terrible cystic acne for years and even tried accutane and it came back!! and when they tried coconut oil it cleared up! so i decided to give it a try..because like you and everyone else who suffers from acne..we get really desperate! I had nothing to lose because my skin was already bad! So i started using it 3 weeks ago and my skin has cleared right up! Mind you i still have scars but it also lightens scars too!!! you coud try it?? its cheap! and has a ton of other uses. theres like 101 uses lol!! I use the Nutiva brand. Its the best one in my opinion! i rinse my face with hot water, massage the coconut oil in as a cleanser for a few minutes and then i rinse it off. Gently dry my skin and then apply a bit more as a moisturizer and go to bed. I wake up and repeat! i know its iffy to put oil on your face lmao but read up on it! its antifungal and all this other stuff. trust me i did not think it was going to work but im SOOOOO glad i tried it because i was so depressed looking in the mirror!! and its so cheap and healthy. I even put it in my tea because they say it can help if you ingest it too...but anyways give it a try if you are desperate ad if it doesnt work at least you tried right? But you may be very surprised=) but MAKE SURE its ORGANIC, EXTRA VIRGIN, UNREFINED lol i cant stress that enough because i saw people saying oh it made my skin worse blah blah blah...well obviously they must have been using refined or something. try and get the Nutiva brand if you can! if you wanna talk more you can private message me on here if thats possible or you can add me to facebook! i think this link may work?? [Removed]

I have not heard of this before but I will definitely read up on it! Thank you for the suggestion, I am always looking for new remedies and solutions :)))

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(@mrnegative)

Posted : 05/20/2013 2:15 pm

Looking the way you do, you really shouldn't be worrying about acne. I'm just saying. There's certain things acne can't take away - natural beauty is one of them. Stunning facial features, a nice body, etc. will more than make up for blemishes. You look like the type of person that could get away with having some minor flaws ;)

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