A lot of the redness looks like pigmentation marks. How much of that is active?

Also, what have you tried so far...what topicals, pills birth control etc? Accutane should be last on everyones list only after trying everything else out there. Most acne is hormonal in cause so if you balance out your hormones usually the acne will subside.

A lot of the redness looks like pigmentation marks. How much of that is active?

Also, what have you tried so far...what topicals, pills birth control etc? Accutane should be last on everyones list only after trying everything else out there. Most acne is hormonal in cause so if you balance out your hormones usually the acne will subside.

Topicals:

Oil-free acne wash

Oil free acne cleanser

Acne stress control power cream wash

Proactiv

Clean and clear

AcneFree

Home remedies:

Ice

Honey masks

Tea tree oil

Olive oil

Toothpaste

Prescribed:

Differin

Retin-a

Oh and, what are pigmentation marks and how can I get rid of them? Thanks for replying!! xx

how long wher yu on differin? and yur acne isn't bad at all

Thank you, and I used differin for about 6-7 weeks but I developed a rash that was extremely painful and i discontinued the use.

Your acne looks like mild to moderate to be honest. By 90% of what is on your face looks like hyperpigmentation rather than active acne. Some photos don't do a good job at showing what is active and what isb't but from what I can tell you have a lot of hyperpigmentation that just needs to fade away. You could use something like AHA or something like retin a or lemon juice or ACV all up to you and which you are more comfortable with. But your complexion looks good actaully you just need to clear up the red marks left behind.

Ty for the kind words

I looked a bit closer and I can confirm that most of it are acne marks. I will talk to my dermatologist. Thanks everyone!! xx

bummpp?

i would recommend talking to your doctor about accutane. you don't have to live with acne! good luck.

JB

Pigmentation are the red or brown spots left over after a pimple is gone, they mostly fade by themselves and if you want to speed things up, they make fading products (proactive and clinique have them) or you can use AHA.With me I know too much sugar and alcohol cause an increase in small pimples but anything cystic is hormonal imo.

Accutane isnt the answer for most people, the acne generally comes back, even you had a second course...would you do a thrid, fourth etc? When is enough enough?

i would recommend talking to your doctor about accutane. you don't have to live with acne! good luck.

JB

Pigmentation are the red or brown spots left over after a pimple is gone, they mostly fade by themselves and if you want to speed things up, they make fading products (proactive and clinique have them) or you can use AHA.With me I know too much sugar and alcohol cause an increase in small pimples but anything cystic is hormonal imo.

 

Accutane isnt the answer for most people, the acne generally comes back, even you had a second course...would you do a thrid, fourth etc? When is enough enough?

i would recommend talking to your doctor about accutane. you don't have to live with acne! good luck.

JB

How is Accutane not the answer for most people? Are there not multiple studies that suggest it's the answer in over 80 percent of cases? I am not claiming that it shouldn't be a last resort, but it's certainly proven to be very effective. You can ask any dermatologist and they will tell you that most people have great results after a course. In a lot of the cases, Accutane results in long-term remission of acne. Though my facial acne is now basically down to mild, I have considered Accutane on numerous occasions because I just absolutely hate acne and the marks it leaves behind. I understand that the documented side-effects are quite scary and even the common ones can be very difficult to live with (initial breakout, dry skin/eyes/lips). For people who are truly at their wits' end in dealing with acne, Accutane is certainly an option. Your acne doesn't have to be severe. One thing I've always wondered is, does Accutane HAVE to make things worse before it gets better? Are the chances of an initial breakout dramatically decreased if you have been on an oral antibiotic for months before starting a course? Having said all this, in response to the topic, your skin just has a lot of pigmentation - not a lot of visible actives. So no, your acne isn't bad. Start using an AHA cream to fade the marks. Getting a tan also helps a decent amount. This is something I'm currently looking into since it's summer.

Getting a tan will actually make your marks worse to the above poster... Since the skin on your face is brown or red from the pigmentation all getting a tan will do is bring the rest of your skin to a closer tone so you won't see the marks as well. But the sun will also make those already dark marks on your face darker. Not to mention the other risks of spending to much time in the sun.. your best opition is to do a aha or a Hydroquinone cream or lemon or acv or Clinique any fading cream really. Wear sun screen on your face when you are having exposure to the sun to avoid those dark marks getting darker. Because when your summer tan fades away like it always does you are still left with all those marks,

Also to the original poster. Does your acne warrant accutane? Probably, depending on the derm. I did a 7 month course and 3 months later bam I was hit with acne again. So augerriesofinnocence is correct. It's not for everyone it's a difficult medication to be on its no fun and augerriesofinnocence herself has experienced what the small percent of people on accutane consider the bad not so normal side effects, they are real and the chances of getting them are real. Some people are lucky like me where I have only joint issues and perm dry eyes from the medication but what's the pay off? I have acne again. Accutane wasn't the answer for me or a lot of other people who are on their 3rd or 4 th or 5th course.

Have you tried birth control or spiro or saw palmetto?

First of all, dont believe the statistics THEY give you.. "80% cure rate"... yeah thats why so many people are on their second or third course of accutane on this site--if it works so well, why doesnt it work the first time?

Second of all, accutane simply kills your oil glands for a time (sometimes they are tenacious enough to come back, but sometimes not) and also kills a lot of good things in your body too. Accutane isnt a health potion--its a serious drug which often causes permanant side effects. I took a very low dose for one month and became suicidal. I was never suicidal im my life, I wasnt depressed over acne, accutane messed with my serotonin levels. THEY tell you only 1 % of people get suicidal thoughts but if you judge by the people on this site alone, its much higher than that.

If you aree considering accutane, Id advise you to try absolutely everything before you pop that pill. because youre playing Russian roulette with your health for the possibility--not guarantee--of clear skin,

 

Pigmentation are the red or brown spots left over after a pimple is gone, they mostly fade by themselves and if you want to speed things up, they make fading products (proactive and clinique have them) or you can use AHA.With me I know too much sugar and alcohol cause an increase in small pimples but anything cystic is hormonal imo.

 

 

Accutane isnt the answer for most people, the acne generally comes back, even you had a second course...would you do a thrid, fourth etc? When is enough enough?

i would recommend talking to your doctor about accutane. you don't have to live with acne! good luck.

JB

Thanks everyone!! I've decided that I will not take up the offer of Accutane. Too many side effects, and like you guys said, most of my spots are actually just pigmentation marks and not actually acne. So thank you everyone for being so helpful and kind!! I was reluctant at first to put my pictures up because I thought I was so ugly but you guys have made me feel so much better.

I'm going to research and look into the AHA and other fading techniques Ty good luck for everyone <3

Honestly, although this site is a refuge for people who are emotionally affected by acne (otherwise, this site wouldn't exist or it would feature very, very few members who actually post), it mostly highlights the people who have had numerous negative experiences with treatment. No one turns to online sources like this one unless they're struggling with treatment or have had traumatic experiences because of acne. Having said that, it really wouldn't be different with the case of Accutane (in fact, the most potent treatment there is for acne vulgaris). Yes, the side-effects are very, very real. Some of them are also very, very serious. There is no denying the facts. The amount of bullshit people say about Accutane overwhelms the claimed "fudging" of statistics by pharmaceutical companies and dermatologists.

I would say moderate as well. I would love to see your eyes though, I bet you are very beautiful. I find girls with acne to be attractive. Hard to explain really, but I think it stems form the fact that people with acne understand the troubles and hardships that can be associated with something like troubled skin. You don't take stuff like that for granted and tend to be much more down to earth.

I'm not bad mouthing accutane at all. To be honest accutane did clear me up. I went from being on the edge of moderate to severe acne to having clear skin. Something that no other medication had done to me before. It was like a god send. Three months later on the other hand my acne had started to come back. Due to the side effects I had the first course I am not willing to do a second course. Just my opinion. My joints haven't started to feel better yet and it's been 8 months since my course ended. So can I blame accutane I don't know or was it just a coincidence? Who knows I'm just not willing to take the risk again. That's all

To me it appears moderate, and also the hyper pigmentation, similar to what my face has been before. I also have/had a lot of painful cystic acne on other parts of my body which were severe. I am on Accutane now. Do you have any cysts? I don't ever want to diminish the risks or other peoples experiences with accutane, but it is a decision only you can make. It is a serious drug, but you shouldn't be forced into it by any doctors, or scared out of it by people on the internet who obviously had the severe, rare side effects (which are awful - I'm not trying to make light of them). Do your research, get a second opinion from a highly recommend derm (who primarily deals with acne- you can look them up online and find reviews) and discuss your concerns and maybe other options. If your female the birth control may be helpful, or spiro. They can also recommend some fading creams or treatments. People who suffered from the worst of Accutane or if it comes back for them, are going to be the ones who find an outlet like the internet to tell their story, while the successful majority generally don't see a need to. To me it just seems like you are really discouraged and self conscious (by the words you chose). Its not fair that we have to deal with acne and I feel ya. In any case, most people can look past the acne and accept you for being an awesome person inside, but I do know how it feels to look in mirror and to see only the acne Good luck with everything!

to all the haters, yes i went on accutane twice and yes it cleared up my skin twice. accutane is not a cure, but a highly effective treatment. nothing else has done for me what accutane did. i'll say it again , it isn't a cure, it is a treatment. its effective for most people, truly clears their skin and gives them back their face. i don't regret my decisions. if you have an underlying issue (like a hormonal imbalance) your acne will still return in some capacity unless you address that with treatment (BCP pills, spiro etc.) this is my issue so i know what i have to do, but i'm not blaming accutane. and as for the side effects, they didn't last. the only issue i've had is light sensitivity, but then again i've done low dose two courses in a two year period.

if you want your acne gone for certain, in 6 months, go on accutane.

the end.

JB

I'm on Accutane right now, and so far it isn't nearly as bad as people make it seem! Anti-biotics work really well for most people, so maybe you should give that a try first (:

It's hard to tell from the pic if you have spots or just scars/hyperpigmentation from old acne. Maybe you should give Accutane a try to prevent further break-outs/scarring in the future.