Alright so here's my take on the situation of acne:

People always want a magic bullet solution. The one thing that fixes it. And unfortunately, they make recommendations to people that are tainted by this assumption. The reality of it is that no one product is going to work. You're going to have to combine multiple.

Here are some setups that I think have a chance of working. I am going to assume that you do not have sensitive skin because frankly if you do then you won't be able to handle the kind of routines I'm aware of that can take down acne of the level that you're describing.

Benzoyl Peroxide based routine: (least harsh, I expect you be able to do this one even if your skin isn't a tank)

AM: Cerave Salicylic Acid cleanser, Cerave AM moisturizer

PM: Cerave Salicyclic Acid cleanser, 2.5% Benzoyl peroxide of your choice, Cerave PM moisturizer

Azelaic acid based routine: (moderately harsh)

AM: Cerave Salicylic Acid cleanser, Cerave AM moisturizer

PM: Finacea Foam, Cerave PM moisturizer

Exfoliation based routine: (quite harsh, be very careful with strong chemical exfoliants)

AM: Cerave Salicylic Acid cleanser, Cerave AM moisturizer

PM: Micellar water, The Ordinary AHA + BHA peeling solution (use google, this isn't straightforward to apply), Cerave PM moisturizer

My theories:

- I've used cerave moisturizers a lot and the niacinamide's soothing effect helps my skin take harsher routines and is extremely helpful, so I just threw these in since I'm most familiar with them. If your face tends to get sweaty then apply the bare minimum of these moisturizers, don't overdo it or you'll clog your pores.

- The benzoyl peroxide routine is for if your skin just needs your pores to be cleared out so the benzoyl peroxide can kill all the crap inside them. SA + BP is a really underrated acne bacteria nuke, though sensitive skin will refuse to tolerate it.

- Azelaic acid is effectively an alternative to BP. The azelaic routine is worth trying if BP refuses to work no matter what, maybe azelaic acid will work instead.

- Exfoliation routine: It's possible that your issue isn't bacteria whatsoever. It's possible that your pores are just rude and can't evacuate themselves properly. You should be getting a lot of whiteheads and not very many under-the-skin lumps if this is the case. If it is, then some aggressive exfoliation should take care of it.

- Cerave salicylic acid cleanser's PH is too high for the salicylic acid to be extremely effective, so it ends up being gentle despite being a typically harsh ingredient. Therefore it's mostly safe to just throw this all around pretty freely IMO. How harsh it will be depends on how long you leave it on your face. 5 seconds is what I recommend in these routines.

Again, all of these routines I just suggested are very harsh. Patch test thoroughly. Be careful. If something works at first but you feel it starts getting too harsh (such as the azelaic acid or AHA + BHA peeling solution) then only use it every other day and replace it with something gentle in the off day.

If you damage your skin's moisture barrier that will just make everything even worse. And I do mean everything.

I think sadly for a lot of people, myself included, will always have acne.

All I can do is try to control it, and even when its under control I still get the occasional bad break out, or huge cyst on my face from time to time and I'm 36.

Good diet, lifestyle and habits may help a little in reducing acne, as opposed to extremely poor habits, but it is not a cure. Of course you will break out if you have huge amounts of sugar, dairy, gluten, alcohol, but eliminating them altogether will not cure your acne in my opinion. Everything in moderation.

There have been so many times I've found something that works and thought I'm cured only for my acne to return after a while. Your skin may build a tolerance to topical treatments and they will stop working. I now have bad backne which I've never had until the last 2 years. Sometimes your body can be a real piece of shit.

6 hours ago, the d said:

If you damage your skin's moisture barrier that will just make everything even worse. And I do mean everything.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your long response. Unfortunately, I do have sensitive skin and I think this is why a lot of the salicylicacid and benzyl peroxide stuff didn't work. I've carefully chosen my cleanser and moisturizer because they have pH levels that are normal for the skin, as opposed to the cetaphil stuff that's marketed everywhere that isn't pH balanced for the skin. I like your idea of exfoliation, but I shave 2-3 times a week which I believe is a fantastic exfoliation method. Thanks for your advice, but I'll have to neglect a lot of it because my skin will flare up if punished by heavy treatments.

1 hour ago, GettableGrate said:

I think sadly for a lot of people, myself included, will always have acne.

...Sometimes your body can be a real piece of shit.

Thanks for your comment. You've spoken the hard to hear truth and at this point in my "acne life", I agree with you. Nothing will get rid of it, the closest thing was Accutane had I not had a serious reaction. I just hear stories of people's acne being cleared, and my personal friends in real life as well and I am always hopeful that there has to be some way.

I've tried every treatment and none worked as well, I'm 28 now. Scrubs and crappy quality BP don't work. A similar story, tried EEVERYTHING available, SA didn't work, Proactiv didn't work, drug store BP/SA pads/SA face wash/scrub washes/diff moisturizers/drink more water/eat healthier/avoid sugar/ the list goes on and on. I have sensitive skin too so all of this stuff didn't work either it just helped a bit as a double edged sword, as it would clear some acne but be so irritating that it would also CAUSE acne so I'd never be totally clear. The only thing that's working for me is the Acne.org regimen, first time I've been completely clear in 10 years and the dark spots I've had for months and months are fading super fast. I'd say try it as you have nothing to lose but some money but sooo much to gain, it is changing my life.

I have sensitive skin like you so those scrubs just made my acne worse and the acne.org regimen is much much gentler, it does make my skin very dry but pick up some Jojoba oil on Amazon or Walmart or whatever and mix some in with the moisturizer if you start getting too dry.

I was feeling the same way, 28 years old still always having a few spots when acne is supposed to clear up as a teen, that TOTALLY destroy my confidence whenever I have one or especially multiple I don't even want to go outside. But I've been completely clear since trying this and hoping it will stay that way if I keep using it.

You say your acne is mild, maybe yours is like mine, I get cystic spots and whiteheads but only around my mouth, mostly at the edge of my lip and straight down in that chin area, and sometimes around the bottom of my nose and above my lip in the moustache area. But I hardly ever have spots anywhere else. Is it the same for you?

7 hours ago, Oxalis said:

I've tried every treatment and none worked as well, I'm 28 now. Scrubs and crappy quality BP don't work. A similar story, tried EEVERYTHING available, SA didn't work, Proactiv didn't work, drug store BP/SA pads/SA face wash/scrub washes/diff moisturizers/drink more water/eat healthier/avoid sugar/ the list goes on and on. I have sensitive skin too so all of this stuff didn't work either it just helped a bit as a double edged sword, as it would clear some acne but be so irritating that it would also CAUSE acne so I'd never be totally clear. The only thing that's working for me is the Acne.org regimen, first time I've been completely clear in 10 years and the dark spots I've had for months and months are fading super fast. I'd say try it as you have nothing to lose but some money but sooo much to gain, it is changing my life.

 

I have sensitive skin like you so those scrubs just made my acne worse and the acne.org regimen is much much gentler, it does make my skin very dry but pick up some Jojoba oil on Amazon or Walmart or whatever and mix some in with the moisturizer if you start getting too dry.

I was feeling the same way, 28 years old still always having a few spots when acne is supposed to clear up as a teen, that TOTALLY destroy my confidence whenever I have one or especially multiple I don't even want to go outside. But I've been completely clear since trying this and hoping it will stay that way if I keep using it.

You say your acne is mild, maybe yours is like mine, I get cystic spots and whiteheads but only around my mouth, mostly at the edge of my lip and straight down in that chin area, and sometimes around the bottom of my nose and above my lip in the moustache area. But I hardly ever have spots anywhere else. Is it the same for you?

Thanks for your comment. I get spots around my mouth, like sometimes on the corners of my lips, sometimes on my chin, sometimes where mustaches grow in, and then I get acne around my eyebrows and temple area.I also sometimes get acne on my jawline. I've had acne on my cheeks but most of that has seemed to stop, but I still have some remaining scars that need to fade. What makes the acne.org regimen anything different than what I've tried in the past? I've tried a lot as you can see in the thread, and I'm a college student with a limited budget so I can't exactly just drop money to try something new as that's been the case all the time and it's just been investments that are sunken holes with no return.

13 hours ago, screwAcne! said:

Thanks for your comment. I get spots around my mouth, like sometimes on the corners of my lips, sometimes on my chin, sometimes where mustaches grow in, and then I get acne around my eyebrows and temple area.I also sometimes get acne on my jawline. I've had acne on my cheeks but most of that has seemed to stop, but I still have some remaining scars that need to fade. What makes the acne.org regimen anything different than what I've tried in the past? I've tried a lot as you can see in the thread, and I'm a college student with a limited budget so I can't exactly just drop money to try something new as that's been the case all the time and it's just been investments that are sunken holes with no return.

Yeah your acne sounds similar to mine. I can't tell you why it's different, but it is. I thought Proactiv was the end all be all (marketing works clearly, and having a high price for low quality junk)and I've probably spent over $500 the past few years which was the 3 step and the sulfur mud mask.

I've tried every single BP treatment I could buy, cleansers, alternatives like DIM, clearzine, different kind of salicylic acid, salicylic acid pads, moisturizers, tea tree oil, different shampoos, applying more or less product, using it once a day, twice a day, once every 2 days, with each product;eating healthier, drinking more water. Man I've spent THOUSANDS of dollars on my skin and I couldn't get clear. But since I've been on Acne.org regimen I haven't had a single spot and my skin just feels cleaner and healthier (only downside is my skin feels dry but that's supposed to pass) and honestly with the amount of product you get it is actually cheap compared to other stuff I've bought. The problem with the cheaper products is they claim to be non-comedogenic or micronized or finely milled BP and that's just a big lie, it's cheap garbage that just DOESN'T work. I'm going on 7 days now completely clear after using itwhich has not happened to me since I started getting acne. I'm crazy impressed. Read up on people's reviews and youtube videos of it changing their life it works for lots of people.

Turn tricks in a back alley if you have to to raise the funds lol. It's worth a shot, I was ready to give up too after trying everything. I almost find it hard to believe it's actually happening after so long!