Hi guys. New here but I have been browsing for a while now. Im a 21 year old male and have suffered from acne for years now. Mainly all my acne has been on my back and neck, a few pimples on the face over the years but its pretty clear now. Anyway a couple of years ago I developed cystic acne on the back of my neck. Not really painful (except to the touch) they were still rather large and embarrassing. After trying so many different alternatives and antibiotics to getting rid of them, about ten days ago I decided to cut dairy from my diet, as i heard cystic acne is more to do with an imbalance of hormones or something along those lines? After about a week my current cysts had lessened in size and by day ten they had gone and no new ones had appeared.
Im not sure if this is due to cutting the dairy out or not but I'm going to continue for a few weeks to see if my neck stays clear.
Anyway my problem is I have always had these dark purple marks on the back of my neck from where the cysts were. (Trapped blood I have heard?) and I'm just fed up of them now. I have heard they go in time but I'm past waiting now. Im that embarrassed and paranoid that people can see them I go to the extremes of always wearing a jacket or hoodie even in the summer and if theres a situation where I'm not allowed to wear one i.e. work or a social occasion I have to cover it up with makeup! which I'm sure is not the best thing for bad skin. I can't even get my haircut thats how embarrassed I am.
Anyway I'm wanting any advice, tips, pointers you guys can throw at me that worked for yourself or you know of that might work.
Might be jumping the gun but now the cysts are gone I want to focus on the marks they have left (probably due to squeezing, which i don't do anymore) and then move on to my blackheads on my back, but along as the visible part of my skin is clear (my neck) then i will be happy with that for now.
So how can I get rid or lessen these horrible purple marks??
Any help appreciated.
Thanks guys
I have some of those on my back. I don't know why pimples localized in the back are x2 bigger than the ones on the face.
Unfortunately,these brown/purple are hyper pigmentation. They will take some time to fade. Use sunscreen since sunlight can darken them and they will last more. There is not much you can do,because time is the prime solution.
Don't be ashamed of them bro,is not really that bad and your face is clean !!. You can try cover them up with non comedogenic make up,but meh,is not that bad.
I have some of those on my back. I don't know why pimples localized in the back are x2 bigger than the ones on the face.
Unfortunately,these brown/purple are hyper pigmentation. They will take some time to fade. Use sunscreen since sunlight can darken them and they will last more. There is not much you can do,because time is the prime solution.
Don't be ashamed of them bro,is not really that bad and your face is clean !!. You can try cover them up with non comedogenic make up,but meh,is not that bad.
Ahhh well that sucks. Loosing such an ongoing battle with this stuff.
Thanks for the heads up about the suncream though. Looks like I will just have to cover them up till they fade. Do you know roughly how long they take to fade away?
I wish it was as easy as saying I'm not ashamed of it and its not that bad but it kills my confidence.
I have some of those on my back. I don't know why pimples localized in the back are x2 bigger than the ones on the face.
Unfortunately,these brown/purple are hyper pigmentation. They will take some time to fade. Use sunscreen since sunlight can darken them and they will last more. There is not much you can do,because time is the prime solution.
Don't be ashamed of them bro,is not really that bad and your face is clean !!. You can try cover them up with non comedogenic make up,but meh,is not that bad.
Ahhh well that sucks. Loosing such an ongoing battle with this stuff.
Thanks for the heads up about the suncream though. Looks like I will just have to cover them up till they fade. Do you know roughly how long they take to fade away?
I wish it was as easy as saying I'm not ashamed of it and its not that bad but it kills my confidence.
Actually you are winning the fight bro . No new acne = no more marks.
Of course they look like shit,i have most of them on my face. But they do completely fade away.
Their "fade time" depends on the pimple size that was there,your skin color and your skin healing times (this varies on every person).
Cysts marks take more time obviously. Normal sized zits marks,statistically,fade away in 2/3 months (with the proper care). The ones you had in your back looks like they were cysts or pretty big pimples,so it will take a couple of months more.
Personally,since i'm on accutane , my marks take way longer to fade. I'm on month 3 and marks are a BIT faded,but they still look like crap lol.
Just take proper care of them,and i can guarantee you that in 4/5 months they will be a lot better. Use non comedogenic make up if u fell too (i use) and apply a good amount of sunscreen when needed.
My experience with acne is very similiar. However, I am 23 now and didn't exactly follow through educating myself at an earlier age. So the fact that you are doing so, and stopped picking, like Francopld said "You are winning the fight". I only registered to this site now just to mention that the air flow your clothing allows has a huge effect on your skin, which can lead to clogged pores, prickly skin, and more breakouts. I'm stuck wearing polo's and dress shirts, until fall, where I can wear heavier clothing that doesn't heat up the body to a point of clogging pores. It seems to work for me. Nonetheless, nothing would feel better than feeling confident/comfortable wearing a t-shirt, or not wearing a shirt at all. Is what it is.
My experience with acne is very similiar. However, I am 23 now and didn't exactly follow through educating myself at an earlier age. So the fact that you are doing so, and stopped picking, like Francopld said "You are winning the fight". I only registered to this site now just to mention that the air flow your clothing allows has a huge effect on your skin, which can lead to clogged pores, prickly skin, and more breakouts. I'm stuck wearing polo's and dress shirts, until fall, where I can wear heavier clothing that doesn't heat up the body to a point of clogging pores. It seems to work for me. Nonetheless, nothing would feel better than feeling confident/comfortable wearing a t-shirt, or not wearing a shirt at all. Is what it is.
Hey man, appreciate you registering just to inform me of this. Heard it around a bit but never thought it would really make much of a difference. It makes sense though because my back gets quite sweaty compared to the rest of my body, this is why I hate summer I guess. Will give it a go and see if I can invest in some baggier tshirts.
Thank You
The hyperpigmentation on your back is going to take awhile to fade. You can help this process along though. After I got off Accutane I was left with no acne but had lots and lots of red spots and discoloring. I had heard on this site that a lot of people were having success with acne.orgs AHA+
I ordered it and haven't looked back. It really did help fade away my marks, even more so than Hydroquinone, which is supposed to be the gold standard for fading creams. I saw results pretty quickly as well. Within a few weeks I could feel my skin texture returning back to normal. Sooner after that probably a month in I started noticing my marks fading. Other people would mentioned that my face was looking more even too! So I was pleasantly suprised by the results and how quickly I was getting them. I would say that within 3 months my skin was even and clear of the red marks.
I would seriously look into it. It's also used as a spot treatment so it will help treat any new acne, if you are still breaking out. I am going on 2 years using AHA and I use it every night, feels good on my skin, goes on nice and smooth. Plus you get a lot of it so using it on your back the bottle would still go a long way. If you are interested in it. Just scroll up to the top of the page and hit store and you will find the product there. Also since your main issue is your back, they offer something called a body buddy which helps you apply products to your back. If you don't have someone who can help you apply it I would consider getting something like that.
The hyperpigmentation on your back is going to take awhile to fade. You can help this process along though. After I got off Accutane I was left with no acne but had lots and lots of red spots and discoloring. I had heard on this site that a lot of people were having success with acne.orgs AHA+
I ordered it and haven't looked back. It really did help fade away my marks, even more so than Hydroquinone, which is supposed to be the gold standard for fading creams. I saw results pretty quickly as well. Within a few weeks I could feel my skin texture returning back to normal. Sooner after that probably a month in I started noticing my marks fading. Other people would mentioned that my face was looking more even too! So I was pleasantly suprised by the results and how quickly I was getting them. I would say that within 3 months my skin was even and clear of the red marks.
I would seriously look into it. It's also used as a spot treatment so it will help treat any new acne, if you are still breaking out. I am going on 2 years using AHA and I use it every night, feels good on my skin, goes on nice and smooth. Plus you get a lot of it so using it on your back the bottle would still go a long way. If you are interested in it. Just scroll up to the top of the page and hit store and you will find the product there. Also since your main issue is your back, they offer something called a body buddy which helps you apply products to your back. If you don't have someone who can help you apply it I would consider getting something like that.
wow awesome that's great thanks I will take a look. Sorry for asking basic question havnt been able to fully look around the site yet. May I ask how you applied it ??
I mostly used it on my face, just using my fingers. I also applied it to my upper back, right below my neck like with ease, also using my fingers. I have used it on my upper arms too. My sister uses it on her back and chest too. I really think it's a great product. You can get aha products at nearly every drug store. I choose to buy from acne.org because the ingredients are quality and you get a lot of product, for a good price. Paula's choice offers aha and you get 4oz for the same price I get for 16oz. Plus Acne.orgs aha doesn't have a whole bunch of ingredients added to it! I tend to stay away from store bought aha because scent is added into a lot of them and scents equal breakouts if used on my skin.