I've made two other posts with no responses (probably cause I went on a rant), so I'll try to keep this short and sweet. I started breaking out sophomore year of high school but didn't notice any scars until the end of junior year. Senior year was relatively acne free besides a few mishaps, but then the summer before college, I was very sexually active. Sex makes me breakout, I know it. Some people don't believe it, but it makes me break out with bad nodules. So going into college, I had a really really bad breakout and got a bad sunburn. I was going to take accutane but got scared about the possible side effects. It is currently December, and I have got my acne under control for the past two months about. I have leftover red marks (mostly due to the bad sunburn in August when I had bad acne) and some scarring (noticing some hypertrophic scarring too which is scaring me). Did I f**k up by not taking accutane? I'm seeing my derm in a few weeks, should I take it anyways and get it over with so I don't have to risk this again? How bad are my scars, and what would you recommend I do? I feel awful, like the life has been drained out of me. It's hard to talk to new people since this happened because I feel insecure, and I normally like meeting new people. Thanks for the help guys, I just want to have a good life!!
P.S. don't bash the stache!!
@PCT14I mostly have it under control, I just have a minor breakouts every now and then. I currently use epiduo at night, garnier moisturizer in the morning and night, and I take sulfamethoxazole by mouth twice a day. I use sunscreen, but when I first came to college, I put on the wrong moisturizer (without sunscreen) and I thought I had the one with sunscreen on. Well, I didn't so I got a bad burn. I do have a lot of red marks still.
Are the minor breakouts causing more scarringand/or long term redness?
Next time you talk with your derm, see if he thinks lasers, chemical peels, or retinoids will be beneficial to you. These treatments can be effective vs hyperpigmentation among other thingsandareaffordable in the right circumstances.
As mentionedabove, at home chemical peels can be very effectiveand also good for your skin as long as you educate yourself a bit. Just dont buy one and a whim and apply it, you can damage your skin this way.
@Mr.Robert97thank you for the reply and advice, I'll definitely look into it!!
@PCT14the minor breakouts aren't causing scarring in the literal sense. Some do cause more redness and hyperpigmentation, but most of that stuff goes away. I'm talking the collagen type of scarring like ice-pick, boxcar, rolling, hypertrophic, etc. No, those aren't causing scarring to that severity. And I may be mistaken, but I thought Epiduo contained some sort of retinoid? Don't quote me on that though. I recently switched derms, so I haven't discussed lasers with this one. The old one told me that he would recommend multiple laser treatmentsfor my skin, but he shortly went out of business for malpractice so I don't know how much I can trust what he told me. Before all of this, I rarely moisturized, but ever since I have moisturized and it helps my skin feel good, but it does feel a bit different from before and the redness has lasted a while due to the burn. I'm seeing my derm on the 29th, so I will ask her about possible options. Thank you!!
As long as youare not scarring and most of the recent acne goes away without redness, I see no reason for accutane.I dont know muchabout epiduo but it seems you are correct that it is a blend of aretinoid and bp. As far as lasers go, you are right to be a bit skeptical. I think the best advice I can give you is to get your doctors recommendation and then do your own research before actually getting the treatment.
Just keep up with your moisturizer and sunscreen, which is even more important when you are using epiduo.
If you do decide to do some home peels like lactic acid orglycolic acid, I think general consensus is to stop retinoid 2 days prior anddont start again until 5 days after the peel.
@Mr.Robert97I dont think I havecome across any valid reason not to moisturize after a peel, especially so if onaccutane. The skin is going to shed after a peelregardless ofmoisturizing, seems to me that it would just prevent the layers of skin not affected by the peel from being moisturized.
@PCT14sounds good, appreciate the help man!
@Mr.Robert97I see your point about the moistrurizer, but the one I'm using is apparently a dark spot corrector. Not sure if it lives up to its claims, I've only been using it for a few weeks, but I've also heard moisturizing your skin helps it heal better, and since it's winter, my skin would be so dry without it. So I would rather be safe than sorry. But when my derm gave me accutane, she said that it is essential to moisturize, so since you are taking it I would recommend moisturizing. I ended up not taking it, how is it going for you so far?