Skin making me depressed :(

[vampwillow]

I feel youre pain.I've never broke out all over my face I am 26 now and still get the huge painful spots that take forever to disappear and normally by the time they have another onehas appeared.My issue is if I use something to combat that I get dry patches elsewhere.

 

[Girl about town]

i can really recommend kiehls blue herbal cleanser it stopped any new cystic spots forming on my face, i've hardly had one since i started using it, i laso use clinique dramatically different moisturising gel.

 

[stacylynne]

I agree w/ Tish. You really need to goto the dermalogist. Call & find out if they would have a payment plan. Explain to them, you have no health insurance. I'm sure they would make a deal with you.
Good Luck hun

 

[Frae]

My heart goes out to you. I am 40 and I still have breakouts, so don't think that it's just a teenage thing. I know a 50-year-old who still gets pimples. Like you, I also tried everything and did all kinds of horrible damage to my skin, but I still got the cystic breakouts and the pimples on the surface. Birth control pills helped, and I see you are taking some.

The only thing that has completely eliminated the cysts is good ole Retin-A. A doctor will have to prescribe it if you are in the US, but it is available outside the states without one, you just have to surf for it. Comes in many different strengths (.025%, .05%, & .10%), and it will dry out your skin and maybe even make it worse before it gets better (in approx. 6 weeks for a complete turn-around), but then your skin will be like it should have been all along - smooth and bright. Insurance might pay for the doctor visit if you had it, but it won't usually pay for the Retin-A. It's cheap anyway - about $22 for a tube that will last you 6 months. Overseas versions (tretinoin - the generic name) aren't much more, even with shipping. I'm not telling you to do that, only trying to hammer home that it's very affordable and is the only product with credited science behind it.

I've been using Retin-A for a year, and at the lowest concentration (higher concentrations are more likely to burn the skin and not necessarily reduce the breakouts so better to start low), and my scars are less, my skin is smooth, and I only get the odd tiny pimple here and there during my period.

Wishing you luck.

 

[ladyJ]

I was the same way. My face is so messed up. I have red marks and scarring like deep scarring. I spent like $200 on dermatologist vists and the meds she prescribed me. They worked but I couldn't continue to pay that because I too do not have insurance. I was using benzoyl peroxide 5% and clindmycin phosphate gel 0.1%. I found the site acne.org and ordered the benzoyl peroxide on that site for way cheaper and for more product. It is benzoyl peroxide 2.5%. It's been working well. I'm not going to say I don't ever get pimples anymore because that is not true but I have significantly less. SOme people are not able to use benzoyl peroxide and it can be a bit drying also. I use cetaphil cream in the tube to moisturize. It doesn't break me out. I shop very carefully on what foundations and powders I use on my face. I use everyday minerals and MUFE HD. I also use prescriptives flawless or matte. They are all great. I don't believe that it breaks me out crazy. I don't use a toner because I don't find it very useful. Just makes you feel like your face is uber clean. I have been trying to save some money to see a dermatologist again or even getting insurance soon to see one so I can get treatments for my scars and red marks. There are many home remedies you can try for those also. The website acne.org is very helpful. I hope this helps!

Oh yeah and don't pop your pimples! That is where I went wrong and now my face is crazy scarred up. Ortho Tri-Cylen Lo helps too. I take that also. You can also try YAZ. I heard great things about it.

 

[allthatgl1tt3rs]

I have a very similar problem. Ever since I began breaking out as a teenager, I've always had breakouts on my chin in particular. Every so often I'll get a spot on my cheek/in my hairline/in my ear (boy do they hurt there!) but my chin has always been the main area of trouble.

My Mum was the same and she's often suffered from really painful, large spots on her cheeks and chin during her lifetime. Sometimes they've been so painful and prominent she's been issued a course of medication by her GP to calm them down.

As I've got further out of my teens spots have happened a lot less and when they do happen they're much smaller and don't last as long but still annoying as they sit there, being difficult to conceal and leaving awful red marks behind. Things began to change 6 months ago when I changed 3 things to my beauty regimen:

1) I switched to Mary Kay's moisturising products and foundation because their products are non-comedogenic as well as hypo-allergenic. Not many cosmetics out there can say they're proven not to clog pores, but Mary Kay do. I thought "Here we go, whatever" as soon as I began using their stuff. But I kid you not within 3 days my skin felt calmer, within a week my skin looked less aggravated with redheads and by a month I hadn't seen a single redhead! Worth a try seriously.

2) Exfoliating - every day. Not once a week, or 2-3 times a week - once a day in your evening shower or whatever. Just gently and it smoothes down the skin keeping all the dead skin cells which can harbour bacteria away from your face.

3) I investigated in some Manuka Oil & Honey cream products for my dermatitis. I've noticed that on the rare occassion when I do get a spot, if I rub the oil on my spot before I go to bed (go spare with it, it's strong and you don't need very much - literally a tiny, tiny dab!) I find it dries it out and speeds up the healing process.

I began to use the Honey cream on my chin under my Mary Kay moisturiser and that keeps the spots at bay. Just before Christmas I suffered 2-4 spots round my mouth instead (it's almost as if because they couldn't surface on my chin they went there instead) so I rub a little Manuka Honey cream on my skin around my chin and mouth in the morning and the oil before bed.

I still get red blemishy bits on my chin but the frequency and number of these and spots has diminished significantly for me.

HTH and GOOD LUCK! x

 

[LoveMU]

I've had acne too for years. The only thing that helped was using a retin-a cream from the dermatologist. You can order it online, it's hard to find, but I got a website:

Discount Retin-A (Tretinoin) Online Pharmacy, Buy Retin-A (Tretinoin) Online For Only 14.47$ Per Pill, Retin-A (Tretinoin) Side Effects, Best Price For Retin-A (Tretinoin), Order No Prescription, Purchase Retin-A (Tretinoin) Low Cost Sales Without a

I definitely would give it a shot, it is one of the most commonly prescribed by dermatologists. At first, it made my skin flaky like hell, the acne was worse, but after a month my skin was clear. I actually have very smooth skin now and no breakouts, it's extremely rare. I am telling you, this is the only thing that really works and the dermatologists always prescribe it!

 

[Cutetoughgirl]

It sounds to me like you are putting too much on your skin. When you go into overload and put all that anti oily skin stuff on your skin then mass produces oil to make up for everything you wiped off. You need some of those oils they protect your skin and keep it hydrated to prevent future damage aka..wrinkles. If you are constantly drying your skin out it is going to fight back. Try using oily skin products during the day to keep the shine etc down and use something lighter and less harsh at night. I read the other day of people who swear by Burt's Bees Garden Tomato complexion soap. It is apparently really good for your type of skin and natural.
Garden Tomato Complexion Soap♥-♥Burt's Bees

I was out yesterday on the search for this stuff because it looks like it could be good!!!

Also have you tried a zeno?? It breaks up the bacteria under the skins surface with heat and is supposed to make acne go away without a breakout. This is supposed to be especially good for ''cystic'' acne. They are expensive but my friend used one and she was happy with the results.

Zeno Acne Treatment Device | The original hand-held acne treatment device

Let your skin calm down try to minimize what harsh stuff you put on it!! If you do get whiteheads and feel the burning desire to pop them wait until they are white and ready to pop and take an extractor or a sterilized sharp object (pin) and poke it on the side not directly on top. This will minimize scarring. It is also a little known fact that pimples should not be ''squeezed'' together but rather ''pulled apart'' so perhaps if you feel the onset coming on start stretching your skin. I have tried this I don't know that is works but hey, we will try anything. Hopefully some of this helped you and you are able to get your skin under control.

 

[kdemers1221]

I tried pro active as well and i also started birth control around the same time i thought the proactive was working but realized the birth control cleared up my acne because when i stopped taking it proactive did nothing to clear up my skin.
now im using acne free severe! its amazing and completely inexpensive the whole kit was $23 at target and it came with a free full size spot treatment. the kit is 10% benzoyl peroxide the highest percentage you can get without a perscription. the best part of this product is the retinol treatment. ive been using it for 3 weeks. the pimples i had are gone and it was just that time of month and i got 2 pimples because of it. thats a major decrease from the full face breakout i would have gotten normally.
make sure if you try it you get acne free SEVERE there is a regular formula but thats not the same kit. hope this helps ladies!

 

[MissMochaXOXO]

acne and makeup can be a horrible combo.

u really need to find a company that works 4 u and u need to wash every last ounce of it off b4 bed! u cant let that stuff sit in ur pores all night.

 

[AmandDUR]

so i kinda just skimmed all the other posts... but someone hit on it.

you may be doing too much to your skin. for skin to be healthy it needs a balance of oils and water. some people with oily skin find their skin normalized by stripping it less and actually add IN oils that work for your skin.