Hi all. Im 23 years old and for the first time in my life i am battling really bad acne. I have never had it before, only this year when I decided to go off my BCP for cholesterol issues.
I have these tiny little forehead pimples which contain hard waxy sebum. I do the oil cleansing method with grapeseed oil to help break this down but it hasnt reduced. I added ground cinnamon to make a gentle scrub - my skin felt nice for a day but went back to its original state. I wash my hair every 2-3 days and use nizoral on my forehead/hair line. Today i was looking at my zits in a mirror and i had a very sensitive scab on my skin. It hurt really bad so i got my extraction tool and gently pressed down on the area and all of this yellow puss came out (sorry for the grossness)
Im currently at my last resort which is a liver detox. Im eating lightly and am consuming herbal teas for liver cleansing, as i thought my acne could be from toxins on the inside? Has anyone else had really bad pussy pimples?
Does anyone know what causes them?
Like i said, i gently cleanse my skin with a non foaming facewash - i add a hint of tea tree, ACV and lavendar but i still dont know whats causing the gunk. I exercise for 50 mins x 5 days a week and eat moderately healthy (i like drinking homemade natural smoothies - with leafy greens etc)
I am on Maca 500mg and also take garlic oil, omega 3s, spirulina, saw palmetto, vit B complex, vit C, pantothenic acid.... god what else!
Oh PS my doctor is useless. He thinks its external when i know the problem is internal and prescribed me a very $$$ benzoyl peroxide treatment (lets just say proactiv is way cheaper)
This won't be what you want to hear, but even after clearing my skin "internally" there were some leftovers. Internal cures basically just stop new stuff from occurring they don't really fix what's already there.
For the underground cysts, I had to get cortisone shots. Some of them needed multiple shots.
For small bumps and clogged pores kind of like you're describing, I had to do serious exfoliation + microdermabrasion every 3 days for a number of weeks + a series of chemical peels very close together + manual extraction. I mean I basically had to sand and burn and steam the crap out of my skin to get the buggers. All the "be gentle" people won't like it, but when you've had the same little bumps and clogged pores for YEARS, sometimes the harsh way is the only way that works.
Even if you have a perfect diet, it won't fix the external crap that's already there.
Also for heaven's sake stop the maca root. I don't know where people are getting the idea that it is good for acne. Maca has been used for years by bodybuilders and fitness buffs to INCREASE TESTOSTERONE and that is the opposite of what you want to do for acne.
It increases testosterone, not DHT. The Maca has actually slowed down my cystic acne by balancing my hormones, and the saw palmetto inhibits the conversion of DHT from testosterone.
I did exfoliation with find ground cinnamon and tried my proactive 3 days later, but i have sensitive skin and i feel that it thinned my skin out to the point i had to lather grapeseed oil on it or it would burn. I am now trying Vit D as its winter here.. I didnt really have pimples in summer so this could be my problem.
