I wouldn't be posting this if my problem wasn't that serious so please guys just write anything that comes to your mind that can be of a help to me.. Thank you.
My acne sterted when I was 15 years old, I am 22 now and in this point I have tried everything. From topical treatments by the most famous brands that claim to help acne such as La Roche, Bioderma, Avene.. Nothing really helped. Went to 3 dermatologists and cosmetitians, they have done various treatments to my skin like extractions, pillings, chemical pillings and nothing helped again.
Then I stoped and thought what if my problem is coming from inside? I went to a gynecologist and made various tests, checked my hormones, ovaries, thyroid, everything was fine but the gynecologist prescribed me with birth control pills either way just because of my acne. I took 3 doses of the birth control called Diane 35 and had no results. A friend of mine recomended me the Yaz birth control pills for helping her a lot and I went to get a prescribtion for them, so now I am going to start with them instead of Diane.
I went to a dentist and fixed all my tooth decay thinking that maybe that is the cause of my acne, there were no changes on my skin. I started a diet with no dairy, chocolate, sugar (mainly junk food) and instead started eathing healthier food like vegetables and fruits, I don't eat meat either. Ocasionaly I eat eggs and fish. Still no change in my acne situation. My higyene is on maximum level, I change my pillowcases and face towel once or twice a week, I wash my hair four times a week so it won't be dirty if it touches my face although the most of time I wear it tied up. I wash my hair with my head down so the shampoo win't get to my face and maybe cause more acne.
I wash my face once or two times a day, I have dry skin so I don't use any face cleansers cause they dry out my skin and I can't put moisturizer after cause it does break me out. My skincare routine is:
I cleance my face with micellar water,
wash it with water
and then I apply tea trea oil.
I use moisturizer cream with cotton extract before I apply makeup.
I find this combo a little calming my redness and drying out the pimples but it is not helping to stop them appearing again. I never touch my face unless is when I apply my skincare or foundation and I always wash my hands. I use only dermatology tested foundations with no parabens, or ingredients that I know are breaking me out. I always check the products ingredients in cosdna to know if there is something irritant in it. I wear foundation 1-2 times a week and I always wash my beauty sponge and brushes before using them.
I drink a lot of water and teas, no juices or sugary drinks. I started taking vitamins A,C,D, Magnesium and Zinc cause I heard that they help acne - but for me they too haven't done anything.
I mean who does all this stuff? This is paranoid and crazy, and yet nothing helps. I know people that practicaly don't wash their face and go to sleep with makeup, eat junk food and have the most clear skin in the world. There were times back in my teens when I didn't do any of this stuff and my face was waaaaay clearer.
What on earth am i doing wrong? 
Hi dear,
It was so sad hearing your story. You did have try everything, i know literally everything but it just doesn't work. I deeply understand the fact that there're lots of pp out there, as you said, staying up late, eating junk food, going to sleep without makeup and still have clear skin. I feel you! I really envy those people, i always believe that they are the happinest people in the world. But my dear, we are living our lives, they are living theirs so even if we got jealous, it just makes us feel worse about ourself.
I just want to give you a big big hug so you can know that you're not alone in this. You're really strong and brave, did you know that? i really envy you because of that. i know you dont give up, i can see that through your story, so please keep it up, we may not know each other but i promise you i will always be here for you, to hear to story and encourge you xoxo.
yeah we all understand that, those people are just blessed with good genes, they could jump in a pool full of the most comedogenic oil in the world and yet not get a single bump on their skin,lol. Have you looked into isotretinoin though? as you said that nothing else has worked, that might be the option for you
@JoeyPThank you for your kind words but it isn't so easy to stay positive with problem like this. I have acne for 7 years now, came to the point of trying everything and anything and still no progress. I am depressed and sad for not being able to enjoy things because of my acne, I have no self confidence, I stay at home all day everyday because I am too embarassed for people to see my face, I can't even go to the local store without foundtion cause the workers there ask me what's wrong with my face and why am I not searching for help. Anyone that I meet tells me to go see a doctor and start washing my face as if I am dumb and I don't know that.
I have never had a boyfriend and the last time I went on a date with a boy was 3 years ago so theres that..
This is more than a problem for me and I can't do anything to fix it. Looks like I am cursed to have acne forever.
5 minutes ago, eternalrocket said:yeah we all understand that, those people are just blessed with good genes, they could jump in a pool full of the most comedogenic oil in the world and yet not get a single bump on their skin,lol. Have you looked into isotretinoin though? as you said that nothing else has worked, that might be the option for you
Do you mean accutane?
No, I haven't tried it yet and looks like that will be the last stop for me at this point. I am going to try with the Yaz pills now and if they don't help me , accutane it is.
4 hours ago, Persephona said:...and then I apply tea trea oil
1) First, tea tree oil should NEVER be used alone. Rather, should be mixed with a carrier oil like jojoba oil, coconut oil or even olive oil. The ratio should be 1 part tea tree to 3 parts carrier oil.
4 hours ago, Persephona said:I wouldn't be posting this if my problem wasn't that serious so please guys just write anything that comes to your mind that can be of a help to me.. Thank you.
I'm crossing my finger but you might be suffering from fungal acne. To find out whether you do, I suggest you wash your face with dandruff shampoo like Selsun Blue. If that calms down the acne, then you know it's due to yeast (same thing as fungus) infection. The key ingredient in combating yeast is SULFUR.
How do you use the tea tree oil? I used to apply it all over my face and it made me break out. Even when i applied it on my problem spots daily i found that i kept getting acne in those same exact spots. Try to limit ur use of tea tree oil cause that could be the problem. Or you could dilute it with something because tea tree oil is known to burn the skin on its own.
@queenaynay
I used it all over my face. I used to dilute it with water but it didn't do anything to my skin. I can't use jojoba or coconut oils cause they are known to be comedogenic and can cause more acne.
Currently the tea tree oil is the only thing that calms my skin and acne a little, I don't know what else to try.
@Sirius Lee
Can I try some other dandruff shampoo instead? Maybe Head&Shoulders?
So if the dandruff shampoo calms my skin and acne it means that the acne is fungal and not from hormones or food? What if makes it worse? 
1 hour ago, Persephona said:Can I try some other dandruff shampoo instead? Maybe Head&Shoulders?
Yes, H&S has Zinc, which is also antifungal.
1 hour ago, Persephona said:So if the dandruff shampoo calms my skin and acne it means that the acne is fungal and not from hormones or food? What if makes it worse?
If it does in fact calm or clear your acne, then it is due to yeast. In that case, it would be wise to cut down on all things that could cause a yeast flareup. If the anti-dandruff makes acne worse, then you just need to stop using it. Simple as that.
1 hour ago, Persephona said:I can't use jojoba or coconut oils cause they are known to be comedogenic and can cause more acne.
While coconut oil is comedogenic, jojoba oil is not. Also you mentioned that you have dry skin, so comedogenicity should not be an issue.
@Sirius Lee
Comedogenic products do make me break out terribly, and also ingredients like alcohol denat, talc, dimeticone..
I was using a vitamin C face serum and it had jojoba oil in it and it caused small tiny piples all over my forehead and t zone where I normaly never break out..
I am willing to try aloe vera plant, could it be helpful?
@MrBakery
I wash it 1-2-3 per day depending if I am wearing makeup.
On the days when I wear makeup first I rinse my face with water, clean it with micellar water the Bioderna Sensibio one and apply a day cream with cotton extract before I put makeup on.
I take off my makeup with water wet towel, then clean it with micellar water, and rinse it with water.
Before I go to sleep I rinse it with water again and apply tea tree oil.
This happens once or twice a week because most of the time I don't wear any makeup.
On the other days I just wash my face only before I go to sleep, clean it with micellar water and apply tea tree oil. So once a day.
54 minutes ago, Persephona said:@MrBakery
I wash it 1-2-3 per day depending if I am wearing makeup.
On the days when I wear makeup first I rinse my face with water, clean it with micellar water the Bioderna Sensibio one and apply a day cream with cotton extract before I put makeup on.
I take off my makeup with water wet towel, then clean it with micellar water, and rinse it with water.
Before I go to sleep I rinse it with water again and apply tea tree oil.
This happens once or twice a week because most of the time I don't wear any makeup.On the other days I just wash my face only before I go to sleep, clean it with micellar water and apply tea tree oil. So once a day.
You can try a keto diet. There is evidence that societies that eat no dairy, no sugar and no wheat at all don't have acne. Also I read about good results with phototherapy / lasertherapy (narrowband uvb light, excimer laser and others) you can search google and youtube for more info.
I wish you all the best!
@draci Yes I am currently on that kind of diet also with no meat and there are no results..
I tried laser treatments last year, I went to 7 or 8 and there was no change except in my bank account
Since your skin is quite dry, maybe you could seek a cream cleanser instead of just using Micellar water. I have heard that some people wash their face with Manuka Honey since it can be quite hydrating and is also antibacterial. You could also use Manuka Honey as a face mask to help with hydration. Did you say you were or werent using a moisturiser?
Theres no harm in trying aloe Vera to see if that would help calm the inflammation. Maybe you could start using a toner like witch hazel or making your own with natural sea salt or epsom salt, leave it on for a bit and wash it off shortly after. Do you know what the quality of your tap water is like? Im asking because it might be too hard and causing your skins ph to go out of whack.
Have you tried the regimen? I had a similar situation to yours; super healthy, vegetarian diet, drinking a ton of water, taking supplements, exercising a ton, only wearing very high quality makeup, etc, but I still had severe acne. The only thing that has worked for me so far is the regimen & after 3 months on it I am completely clear. My skin is also super sensitive & was extremely dry before (literally flaking off of my face dry). I really think you should be using moisturizer at least- dry skin is irritated skin, & irritated skin causes acne.
@Persephona If you decide to take accutane please find a dermatologist who does low-dose or ultra low-dose treatments. There are some studies that show low dose treatments being as effective, especially for mild to moderate acne. That way you reduce the likelihood of suffering severe and/or long term side effects.
If I could go back in time I would go on a retreat in nature somewhere and live 100% naturally, without stress and chemicals. For example in an eco village. i will actually visit one in april for a few months. Not because of acne, but in the hopes of fully recovering from the long term side effects of accutane.
On 25/11/2017 at 6:34 AM, draci said:@Persephona If you decide to take accutane please find a dermatologist who does low-dose or ultra low-dose treatments. There are some studies that show low dose treatments being as effective, especially for mild to moderate acne. That way you reduce the likelihood of suffering severe and/or long term side effects.
If I could go back in time I would go on a retreat in nature somewhere and live 100% naturally, without stress and chemicals. For example in an eco village. i will actually visit one in april for a few months. Not because of acne, but in the hopes of fully recovering from the long term side effects of accutane.
I just started accutane low dosage of (10mg a day). Because Im on such a low dose I will be taking the medication for a year or possibly longer. Not sure how I feel about taking it for that long though.
