I swear that the amount of time in my life I have wasted on the internet and reading my my mothers medical books for the answer to my now moderate-severe acne has left me with the knowledge equivalent to dermatology degree. Yet for 5 years now (i'm 18) my acne is progressively getting worse. To the point now I feel I am depressed and which is not helped by my ongoing health issues of IBS, suspected endometriosis and now almost constant chest pain. Anyways, not trying to evoke a pity party, this is a list of everything I have tried over the past 5 years (granted I did not obviously give three months for each, but reading the list of things I have tried you could probably not imagine doing any of these for three months):
EXTERNAL
Coffee masks
Baking soda
Benzoyl peroxide 5%
Sulphur soap
Mild cleansers - simple, trilogy, antipodes, skinfood nz, sukin.
Radioactive cleansers - eg clearasil foaming acne wash (you may as well put undiluted hcl on your face for the lols at this point)
ACV diulted
Yogurt masks
Turmericmasks
Garlic
Honey
Cinnamon paste
Betadine
Lemon juice
Biore
Urine therapy (my absolute lowest point)
Nutrogena
Retin a and differin
Potato (my second lowest point)
Both kaolin and bentonite Clay/mud mask
Salicylic acid
Egg mask
Egg white pore strips diy that sh*t
Walnut scrub
Clearasil complete kit
Clindamycin liquid
Duac
Fresh aloe vera gel
Toothpaste
Oil cleansing method
Clove oil
Neroli oil
Rose hip oil
Peppermint oil
Neem oil
Tea tree oil
Lavender oil
Zinc oxide
Sea salt soaks
Himalayan salt soaks
The sun
Epsom salts
Bactroban
Foban (thought it was staph)
Ketoconazole &
Athletes foot cream and oregano oil (thought it was fungus)
Hydrocortisone
Permethrin cream 5% (thought it was demodex)
INTERNAL
Minocycline
Dieting & food elimination so excessive I lost 5kgs/10pounds
Birth control - diane 35 for 6 months
Evening primrose oil
Turmeric capsules
Multivitamin
Consuming large quantities of - raw garlic, lemon water, ACV in water, liver cleansing teas (the teas do help a little!)
Attempting to water fast
Gluten free
100% dairy free
Zinc tablets
Stopped drinking alcohol at parties despite I do not experience breakouts from it
Probiotic liquid supplement
Collecting rain water
Usingfluoridefree toothpaste
The caveman regimen
Taking bentonite clay internally
WHAT I HAVE REFUSED TO TOUCH
Accutane - my doctor offered it to me when my acne was at its moderate stage
The only thing that ever worked to clear 90% of my acne was the sulphur soap, that was June this year, for a month i had fabulous skin and then it stopped working!!!
Currently out out of desperation I went and bought a neutrogena glycolic acid and salicylic acid cleanser because my water onlyregimenfor two months was not doing sh*t. I use this cleanser with rose hip oil and spot treat with some bp.
ANY IDEAS ON WHAT COULD ACTUALLY HELP MY FACE.
can I ask why not accutane?
"Astudy in the American Journal of Psychiatryused PET and MRI scans to measure brain activity of patients using Accutane. The results were startling. There was an average 21 percent decrease in orbitofrontal cortex activity. The orbitofrontal cortex is involved in decision-making and cognitive processing. In other words, the area of your brain where your personality lives does not function efficiently."
Way too freaky for me, and besides it seems as if most people suffer a relapse as close to a year after finishing. I just don't think it's worth it eh.
Maybe try the caveman regimen? I'm surprised none of those worked for you! If you still can't find a cure, pick one of the treatments that worked best and stick with it. Don't overdo or overuse any skin product. Just try to eat healthy, drink lots of water and have a basic, pretty effective routine. It should help keep your acne in control. Or go to an aesthetician they can help you analyze your skin to find what your solution is. Hope this helps!!!! GOOD LUCK!! 