Hi,

Im brand new here but joined in hopes to have some of my questions answered. I'm a 18 year old female turning 19 in a couple months. I first started getting acne when I was grade 6 like most normal kids however mine seemed to keep escalating over the years. When I was 13/14 my acne turned more severe and left me even more insecure about myself. I had used everything in hopes to get rid of my acne. I used benzoyl peroxide, every brand under the sun of face washes and even Tanda, a blue light system. Nothing seemed to work so I went on acutane which by some miracle cleared my skin. I got the odd acne here and there but it was pretty much gone. Then a year later my acne came back. It was not as severe as before just mild to sometime moderate but enough to make my self conscious about my appearance again. This year I've tried an antibiotic (I can't remember the name) that did not work and gave me some side affects like chest pain. Now Im on Alesse 28, an oral contraceptive which helps in acne. Im now on my second cycle and I haven't noticed any improvements. I'm going to stay on it a while longer in hopes that it will kick in and help me. I guess this long rant boils down to the fact that I can't stand having acne on my face any longer. All my friend have outgrown their acne but I can't seem the shake mine. Im often insecure about myself and hate to go out in public when I get a flare up of acne because I can't help but think people are looking/judging my acne even though they are not and it's all in my head. I hate when I have to resort to a powder to cover up my acne because it's a big flag waving above my head telling the whole world that i'm insecure with my self. I don't think im unattractive but sometimes its hard to appreciate yourself when you're hidden behind an ugly mask that is acne. So I guess what I'm trying to say is do you think my acne will go away soon? Im afraid to be the odd percentage of people who still have acne in there 20s and 30s. Any helpful suggestions will be gratefully appreciated. And thanks for those who took the time to read this