I'm a 25yo male, had acne since I was 13, was severe during my teens. I had cancer aged 12, and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. That seriously messed up my body, which I don't think I have ever recovered from. This is why I think I struggle so hard to find something that helps. I have no idea what damage has been done. My acne has been Mild/moderate the last couple of years, but that is because i eat an extremely clean diet. Even with the diet, I still get acne, sometimes small, sometimes larger that take weeks to clear.
Due to my clean diet, I have been able to live more happily with the acne I have, but still get those dreaded days where I break out. This could be due to things such as eating a slice of bread, or going swimming etc, things that shouldn't have such an effect. Last week my skin got bad, and by bad I mean a few big spots around my mouth, which I hate. But still, I could go out and face the world with what I had, even though I felt ugly as hell.
I was doing some research in the dark days of last week, and say a lot of people were having success with sea salt and water, so I went to amazon and ordered dead sea salt and a glass spray bottle to try for myself. While I waited for delivery I used himilayan salt and water which seemed to be working, although not to the same extent that people claimed sea salt did.
So yesterday, my dead sea salt arrived, the packaging plastered with info on how good it is for your skin. Made up the mixture in the bottle, and sprayed a bit on my face as others in the reviews have done.
Then I woke up this morning. WOW. Face FULL of acne. I knew I might expect a purge initially, but this is a disgrace. I'm talking easily 100 new spots, all over my cheeks and around the mouth/chin. That is absolutely no exaggeration. Surely a purge can't be this bad can it?! The only slight hope that it is, is that a lot of them are going straight to whiteheads, although there are a lot that are just angry and red.
I'm now at the stage where I can't go out and face the world, last night my skin was pretty much cleared up. Now its the worst its been since my teens.
I honestly don't know what to do, do I keep going with the sea salt and hope it is just a purge? All I know is that my mind is not a nice place to be living at the moment.
I've had some seriously sick days in my life, yet I've never been this depressed. Is it wrong for a grown man to cry over something like this? Because today I really can't help it.
EDIT: I've uploaded a photo of one of my cheeks. My face is totally covered like that. To be honest, the picture doesn't even truly show how bad it is, because there's plenty more that haven't fully come through.
hey there! I´m so sorry this is happening to you and that you have been feeling so bad... I know exactly how you feel and the only thing I can say to you is: stay strong !
Now, about the sea salt... I really can´t tell if your skin is just purging or reacting badly ...how does your skin feel? very dry ? irritated ? normal ?
I´d say if you really want to give it a try then test it for a week or so and if during the week your face gets very irritated and you break out even more then stop it immediately.
good luck, hope It works for you 
ps: It´s totally okay for you to cry , it can really help you feel a little lighter... cry when you feel like crying , don´t be holding back your tears all the time.
It is starting to feel dry yes. Not really painful although it's getting very inflamed. I don't understand how salt could cause such a reaction, it's spreading like wildfire. I don't think I can face putting any more sea salt on my skin, it's totally unbearable. What I would give to turn back time..
I was so damn happy with my skin yesterday as well. It's never ever been as bad as it is here, seems to be getting worse by the minute!
If You don't want to continue using It and if It's causing your skin to look and feel so bad then I agree that you should not keep putting It on your face.
Let your face calm down now, before you put any other acne product on your skin.
Other than this I really cant help you much more.
If You are really struggling with acne maybe go see a dermatologist and have them recommend you some product that might be useful? I'm taking accutane and even though I'm not seeing results yet, I know a lot of people who took It and said It was the best thing that happened to them so I'm very hopeful.
Hope you feel better soon, you deserve the best.. And remember, if You ever feel the need to just vent then here you will be much welcomed and people will always try to help you the best they can.
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Well, It may be just a purge but I cant tell you for sure. Maybe anyone else can.
How is your skin feeling today? Itchy? Drier than yesterday? Do you have a burning sensation?
If your skin is feeling normal then it could be just a purge...
I saw a post of a guy who also tried the dead sea salt thing and he said that he didn't know if his skin was purging or reacting badly... It ended up being just a purge, apparrently, since he said his skin got much better.
No its not itchy or drier thankfully. No burning either, a couple are a little painful but thats to be expected I suppose. I'm trying to look on the bright side and hoping it will go quickly. My mums colleague is a doctor and hes given me a prescription for oral erythromycin and azelaic acid for the skin. Not 100% sure I want to do it though, I've read good and bad reviews..
Hey, just a quick update. I decided to use both the tablets and the cream and they worked thankfully! My skin was fully clear of active acne after 2-3 days, and now the red marks are pretty faded so you cant really notice them.
I'm going to keep going with the antibiotics for a while and try to replenish the good bacteria in my stomach with probitoics/yogurt, as the tablets will no doubt be destroying it..
Just wanted to say thanks A.C.P for the morale support, every little helps when you're in such a dark place.
All the best everyone.
Well I just keep fucking up.. My skin was clear and I've taken it for granted, thought I could get away with being 'relaxed' with my diet as the medication would handle it. How wrong I was. I haven't even eaten that bad.. but still have been punished for it.
Got a big cyst on my cheek last weekend that will neither shrink, nor come to a head. Now this morning another has appeared a couple cm below the first.
I can't handle it, I really can't. It's just the knowing that they will be there for weeks to come. I've got some big weeks ahead, moving to a new place, new job, surrounded by new people. Yet I'm stuck in this negative mind set, no matter what anybody says to me I just can't be happy with this disease on my face.
What would my life be like without acne? Fucking brilliant I would think. I've such a big personality when I'm clear, but when I'm not, my confidence is on the floor. Acne genuinely has caused me to have a split personality, I am a totally different person and I can't control it.
Apologies for ranting, but I feel this is the only place I can where people understand.
Oh boy, how I understand you... diet also affects my acne so it doesn't really matter if I always eat healthy, it takes one day of eating pizza and ice cream and my face gets two (or more) new angry friends ... It sucks because I know people who are always stuffing their faces with food like pizza and burgers and NEVER get one little pimple.
You know what's so crazy ? last summer my skin was clear, I had like one single pimple from time to time but nothing as bad as It is this summer...well, anyway, my face was clear but I ate more dairy and unhealthy foods than I do right now...HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? It is very frustrating .
Maybe it is just a phase ? ahah
I want to reduce dairy,though, not only because of acne but also because I really want to go vegan .
Sometimes when I really really crave pizza I ask myself "hey, is having pizza really important for you? Is it worth having 2 or more big , red pimples for a 15 minutes pleasure ?"... well, this doesn't work, don't try It ,I always end up buying pizza 
AND yes, feel free to vent ... I'm here to listen (well, read) to everything you have to say,I don't have a lot to do right now anyway.
ps: ALSO, good luck for those big weeks ahead 
It could be a bad reaction, or perhaps it has blocked your pores?
My skincare advice is to keep things as simple as possible. Just use a facewash. Drink water and eat pumpkin seeds. If you're still getting breakouts at 25 then give accutane a try. You can go private for about 200 then switch to the NHS.