Just turned 41 and have been battling acne all adulthood and have not tried everything...but certainly lots of things. One thing I never did was use a moisturizer. I figured my face was too oily and actually had 2 dermatologists tell me not to bother with it.

After a very uncessful attempt at Tazorac (going 14 weeks) I went to an esthetician for a facial and advice. She got me to buy some fancy skin care line (Eminence) and explained how important moisturizing is. Without the proper moisture my skin was freaking out after I was making it dry (washing and BP) then producing too much oil which was leading to the breakouts. Makes sense I guess.

I wash, then use BP then apply the moisturizer. My skin feels slightly less dry than normal...and still gets a little oily by the end of the day, but it must be doing something because I am not getting the breakouts. I am now kicking myself for not trying moisturizer earlier (even though lots of people on this site swear by it).

So this is a note to myself 10+ years ago (or a guy reading this who still hasn't tried it). Start moisturizing. Now. I don't think it is the miracle cure...but it certainly seems to be making a difference for me.