Hi all!
I've been a lurker on this site for many, many years and have tried lots of the suggestions and remedies from many of you, sadly to no avail.
I took horrendous chickenpox 38 years ago that left my face with a fair bit of pitting and at the same time, I developed acne. From then on in, my life has been blighted, with every day being a struggle. Ok, I have tried every lotion and potion in the book, tried food elimination, herbal treatments, roaccuatane, antibiotics, you name it, I have tried it. But, I have never given up searching for the solution and in 38 years have gained a deep knowledge about skin problems.
My symptoms? Well, I guess after laggering my skin with so many different chemicals over the years, the acne morphed into something else. Symptoms being - every pore in my cheeks, nose and chin were constantly blocked with sebum plugs. I'm a squeezer and would squeeze the life out of them every night, sometimes for hours, in the hope that they would clear, but as soon as they were squeezed out, they'd fill right back up again. Grrr!!! Not only that, I constantly had dry flaky patches and scaling all over my face too, with red areas that were often sore and itchy, plus my skin always looked dowdy, bumpy, lumpy, craggy and resembling the skin of an orange........a red orange. I still did battle with spots too.
Have you fallen asleep yet? I hope not, as what I am going to explain next, I only wish someone had told me this all those years ago. Would have saved me a lifetime of grief and a helluva lot of money.
Ok, after much research, I got to wonder if the problem stemmed from the Demodex mite. I then tried lots of Demodex treatments, including a pretty severe tea tree oil regime, but nothing worked. The mites (if this was the problem) have a 3 week life cycle, but they apparently lay their eggs deep in the skin.............and nothing appears to kill them. Oh, I hasten to add that I also have blepharitis and wake up with crusty eyelashes every morning. Bleph, demodex, acne, rocasea, seb derm, etc all seem to share a connection that points to the demodex mite as the suspect and potential culprit.
Oh, please don't fall asleep. Over the years I tried light therapy gizmo gadget things. After all the heartfelt effort I put in, they didn't work. Hmm, I bought a Sylvania Dermalux lamp and dedicated each night to sitting in front of it, but no luck. Imho, it should have done...................but then I wondered if having both red and blue bulbs working together was cancelling each other out, hmm, then I felt the light box was too far away to make any real difference, plus, the red light was more of a pinky light.
Soooo................I began to research those hand held gizmo's such as the Baby Quasar etc, etc. Man are they expensive and well out of my price range. But in my search, I found the answer!! I don't want to sound like an advert, so won't even mention the name, but it cost me 20. It's a photon ultrasonic beauty machine. Hand held.............it has 3 in one functions. It's LED light based but has red, blue and green lights. 20 quid wasn't a lot to lose so I bought one 3 weeks ago. I use the red lights first for about 10 mins, then flick it onto the blue lights for another 10 mins, then flick on to the green lights to finish off. WIthin a day or two, there was a vast improvement. Have used it about 5 times per week for 3 weeks now and................OMG!!!! My skin is actually CLEAR!! All the sebum plugs have gone too. To say I am overjoyed is an understatement. I am so relieved and happy to have won battle with dreaded skin problems and have gone to the trouble of writing the above in the hope that it will help others too.
One piece of advice is - stop putting crap on your skin!! More than often, the chemicals in these things can trigger other skin issues in time. Even soap contains some nasty stuff.
The only thing I use to wash my wash with is warm water and a Jane Iredale magic mitt. Expensive, but saves a fortune over time, as other products are not needed. To tone, I use cold green tea. I pop a bag in a mug at supper time, let it cool, then use it in the evening and the following morning.
As much as I am against chemicals now, it's pretty hard to avoid them when looking for a moisturiser, but have found 2 amazing ones that have an excellent effect on scaling, redness, peeling and other icky bits. Sebclair Cream and Cicalfate Repair Cream. They work to remove the initial symptoms, but don't stop them from recurring. The LED as explained above, does.
I figure that the light has now killed all the demodex mites and my blepharitis has also gone too
Please feel free to ask any questions and please keep me updated if you decide to try this LED light treatment.
Good luck.
Hi MM88girl,
I bought the light on Ebay but it was a private seller, not a shop, and she just had the one listed. I have had a quick Google to see what I could find. If you look on youtube and key in 'Home use photon and ultrasonic beauty device' you will see what it looks like. There is a link to the website from there, but for the life of me, cannot seem to find that product for sale there. It's called a 3 in 1 Photon Ultrasonic Beauty Machine and the main box that my one is in has Skincare Options printed on it.
Am madly Googling to see if I can find it. It is similar to the Truth Renew Ultrasonic & LED Anti-Aging System but not as expensive.
I reckon that because it has red, blue and green lights and it pulses the light directly and deeply into the skin.........is why it works. Many units have either red, blue or both, but these ones also have green and green light counters redness.
Yes, you have to move it around your face. I do 10 mins on each colour, starting with red, then blue and ending with green. The manual shows detailed instructions of how to move the machine on your face.
Is this it? http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Therapy-Beauty-Machine-Lightening/dp/B00HAE1LO8 or I also found this one:
[Edited link out]
Sorry for the late reply Wicky. Haven't quite worked the settings so as to notify me to any replies.
Yes, your top link kinda looks like the one I've been using. I did manage to find them on ebay from other sellers too. This is like my one -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261342942811?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I have read a lot of your posts in the past and we seem to share similar skin problems. Please keep in touch with me. I'm interested in how this works out for you if you decide to try it.
This is really interesting and deserves a bump. I'm ordering one too.
Sounds really scifi, I think this is horseshyt, but you can prove me wrong viking man..
Ye, it's part of me that don't believe it either. Honestly though, if the op has found something which works for a cheap price, I'm willing to pay that. It's not a total waste anyway if it don't work for what I want it to.
http://www.acne.org/light-acne.html
Most people buying this exact brand is very happy with it, and those who are not are complaining about the instructions that follow with it only.
I have a light that combines shallow and deep blue light, red light, and infrared light.
I used to use it regularly before I cleared up my acne with hormonal treatment. It did help. The light I got said I only needed to use it for 3-5 minutes daily, but I found that 10 minutes daily was more effective.
I have a light that combines shallow and deep blue light, red light, and infrared light.
I used to use it regularly before I cleared up my acne with hormonal treatment. It did help. The light I got said I only needed to use it for 3-5 minutes daily, but I found that 10 minutes daily was more effective.
Hi Green Gables and thank you for your input,
I'm glad you found some success with your light. The one I used was in direct contact with the skin and has red light to stimulate collagen, blue light to kill acne bacteria and green light to counter redness.
Spironolactone I shall return to..............
I tried betaine HCL in the past with no success. I avoid silicones wherever possible.
Now, sprironolactone is, as you say, an anti-androgen drug. The name is very familiar and if memory serves me correct, I have also tried this with no success. I have passed through the menopause, but am still afflicted by acne. I even tried Dianette/Diane 35 in the past, with no luck.
I have spent 38 years researching acne and looking for answers. All I realise is, it is an extremely complex thing. I have learned that topicals cause more damage than cure and probably every, if not almost every topical, has had an averse reaction over time and led to other problems, such as seb derm.
Ok, ok................at 50 and past the menopause, with severely wrecked skin............I found relief with the LED light gizmo, utilizing red/blue/green light.........and then added Kerium DS into the regime and voila, great success, though not perfect as time and chemicals have left their ugly marks and reminders...........as well as the scarring from both chickenpox and acne.
I went through a brutal erbium yag laser treatment almost a week ago to try to improve the scarring. This has meant I have been unable to use my LED gizmo, nor the Kerium DS for over a week and will have to refrain for at least another week because I am deeply burned, red, weeping and sore. Along with the er:yag laser, I had stem cells and fat injected and have remained hopeful.
But................and here's the thing. Within a day of the laser treatment, my skin, in fact every pore, has grown back in with white sebum plugs. I could cry my heart out . 6 days on and they are thicker and whiter and I am itching to squeeze them out but I daren't, for fear of scarring myself more. I'm still red, blotchy, a bit weepy, shiny, swollen, peeling and tender and all I want to do is squeeze this crap out, but can't right now.
My only hope is, allowing this laser mess to fully heal, then return to the LED and Kerium DS treatment to clear everything up again. And then hide behind layers of camo makeup................that just makes everything look heaps worse as my pores and skin have been destroyed for many years. It's strange how a mask can become like a security blanket even though the result doesn't look any better. I have now gone 6, almost 7 days, without wearing camo makeup and am living like a recluse until it heals.
I dunno...................maybe it will heal and in time, the stem cell and fat grafting treatment will kick in and after a good squeeze and a few days of LED'ing and Kerium DS'ing, things won't be quite so bad.
I have also suffered with HSV1 since I was 21. That is the herpes simplex virus, otherwise known as cold sores. Except, unlike the lucky people who get them on their lips, mine's always present themselves on my cheeks. They look like giant cigarette burns and swell up real bad so I look like a hamster. Prior to the laser, I had to take a course of aciclovir tablets, but it didn't stop and outbreak and now have a breakout on my left cheek . Luckily, I know the remedy for that, being Fenestil cream........not prescribed by docs in the UK, but is a godsend and the only thing that works on HSV1.
I presume that you have no skin issues whatsoever through using spironolactone and betaine HCL. If so, you are very fortunate to have been able to find your cure.
When I broke out at the age of 12, I cried and cried and asked how long I would have to suffer this pain. I was told that once I had past the puberty thing and matured at 18, I should be clear. It didn't happen. Didn't happen in my teens, nor 20's, nor 30's, nor 40's and into my 50's and I am still suffering and grieving.
The laser is another testing time for me. I am remaining hopeful. Hope is all we have................right?? I will keep updating my entries as time manifests for better or for worse.
Yours humbly
Lughna x
Are you sure it isn't the lack of products that you are using on your face that is improving your skin, Lughna? It sounds like you serious cut back on a lot of things. I tried washing my face with just water but I could only do it for so long. The mitt is a good idea though. I'd like to get that instead of using the Clarisonic.
Hi all!
I've been a lurker on this site for many, many years and have tried lots of the suggestions and remedies from many of you, sadly to no avail.
I took horrendous chickenpox 38 years ago that left my face with a fair bit of pitting and at the same time, I developed acne. From then on in, my life has been blighted, with every day being a struggle. Ok, I have tried every lotion and potion in the book, tried food elimination, herbal treatments, roaccuatane, antibiotics, you name it, I have tried it. But, I have never given up searching for the solution and in 38 years have gained a deep knowledge about skin problems.
My symptoms? Well, I guess after laggering my skin with so many different chemicals over the years, the acne morphed into something else. Symptoms being - every pore in my cheeks, nose and chin were constantly blocked with sebum plugs. I'm a squeezer and would squeeze the life out of them every night, sometimes for hours, in the hope that they would clear, but as soon as they were squeezed out, they'd fill right back up again. Grrr!!! Not only that, I constantly had dry flaky patches and scaling all over my face too, with red areas that were often sore and itchy, plus my skin always looked dowdy, bumpy, lumpy, craggy and resembling the skin of an orange........a red orange. I still did battle with spots too.
Have you fallen asleep yet? I hope not, as what I am going to explain next, I only wish someone had told me this all those years ago. Would have saved me a lifetime of grief and a helluva lot of money.
Ok, after much research, I got to wonder if the problem stemmed from the Demodex mite. I then tried lots of Demodex treatments, including a pretty severe tea tree oil regime, but nothing worked. The mites (if this was the problem) have a 3 week life cycle, but they apparently lay their eggs deep in the skin.............and nothing appears to kill them. Oh, I hasten to add that I also have blepharitis and wake up with crusty eyelashes every morning. Bleph, demodex, acne, rocasea, seb derm, etc all seem to share a connection that points to the demodex mite as the suspect and potential culprit.
Oh, please don't fall asleep.Over the years I tried light therapy gizmo gadget things. After all the heartfelt effort I put in, they didn't work. Hmm, I bought a Sylvania Dermalux lamp and dedicated each night to sitting in front of it, but no luck.Imho, it should have done...................but then I wondered if having both red and blue bulbs working together was cancelling each other out, hmm, then I felt the light box was too far away to make any real difference, plus, the red light was more of a pinky light.
Soooo................I began to research those hand held gizmo's such as the Baby Quasar etc, etc. Man are they expensiveand well out of my price range. But in my search, I found the answer!! I don't want to sound like an advert, so won't even mention the name, but it cost me 20. It's a photon ultrasonic beauty machine. Hand held.............it has 3 in one functions. It's LED light based but has red, blue and green lights. 20 quid wasn't a lot to lose so I bought one 3 weeks ago. I use the red lights first for about 10 mins, then flick it onto the blue lights for another 10 mins, then flick on to the green lights to finish off. WIthin a day or two, there was a vast improvement. Have used it about 5 times per week for 3 weeks now and................OMG!!!! My skin is actually CLEAR!! All the sebum plugs have gone too. To say I am overjoyed is an understatement. I am so relieved and happy to have won battle with dreaded skin problems and have gone to the trouble of writing the above in the hope that it will help others too.
One piece of advice is - stop putting crap on your skin!! More than often, the chemicals in these things can trigger other skin issues in time. Even soap contains some nasty stuff.
The only thing I use to wash my wash with is warm water and a Jane Iredale magic mitt. Expensive, but saves a fortune over time, as other products are not needed. To tone, I use cold green tea. I pop a bag in a mug at supper time, let it cool, then use it in the evening and the following morning.
As much as I am against chemicals now, it's pretty hard to avoid them when looking for a moisturiser, but have found 2 amazing ones that have an excellent effect on scaling, redness, peeling and other icky bits. Sebclair Cream and Cicalfate Repair Cream. They work to remove the initial symptoms, but don't stop them from recurring. The LED as explained above, does.
I figure that the light has now killed all the demodex mitesand my blepharitis has also gone too
Please feel free to ask any questions and please keep me updated if you decide to try this LED light treatment.
Good luck.
i had sAme problem. Its like an allergy on cheeks and forehead an opened my pores like orange. I tried it all jUst name it accutane finacea avar antibios fOr pilori. TetraTetracicline. SPend thousands. And i cured with a bAr of sulfur sOap and blemish sTick with tea tree oil. For ten dollars. Years oF not knowing. Now im hAppy. FOr me wAs the mites. Pretty sure. ThankS God
