I've battled adult acne for almost 12 yrs. Nothing makes it go away. Sometimes I feel like it is HORRIBLE. Sometimes it is more manageable. But always it makes me miserable. I'm scared of the side effects of both accutane and spiro. I use Retin-A and I does OK (better than anything else) but as you can see in my pics, I'm not clear. I also take b5 (1gm), NAC, ALA, b complex, saw palmetto (640 mg), vit A (10,000) and vit D (800). These help a little...maybe? I've just lost all perspective on how awful (or not) my acne is. Take a look and tell me what you think. Sorry for the overall no makeup hideousness. No one in real life EVER sees me like this. It's hard to get really good pics...I feel like these don't do justice to how bad it is.
How long have you been using the retin-a? I think you are doing everything you can at the moment especially with the supplements and stuff. Have you been on this regimen long?
I know exactly what you mean! Its my texture that kills me, makes me self conscious the most. I don't have too many inflamed pimples, maybe about 4 but the rest is these small flesh coloured clogged pores. I am using a glycolic acid face wash every second night and it seems to be somewhat helping, initially though I believe it did break me out.
Your skin is pretty much like mine and I don't consider it bad. I'm the same with oiliness, but in a way I'm kind of grateful for that because I'm in my mid 40s and not one line or wrinkle!
I started Retin A because I wanted to improve the texture of my skin. My acne, which I consider mild, doesn't bother me except if there's a painful one. Years of picking and squeezing has left me with some pick axe scarring which bothers me more. The Retin A's been great for the spots and after three months I'm already finding that there are patches of skin where there's a definite improvement. It's kind of like the skin's plumped up and enlarged pores are really shrinking well.
My friend told me I might benefit from a sunscreen with zinc, or a zinc supplement to aid healing but I haven't tried that yet.
I honestly wouldn't see you and even give your skin a second thought. I'd think how amazing your eyes and lips are.
I wish I'd started a photo log of my skin's progress because, like you, sometimes I'm unsure if the cream is working but then I remember odd things like how long a spot lingered or how some pores really were enlarged.