The Acne Thread!

[eiyela]

I thought, since I've got a minor breakout going on right now, that it would be a good idea to start a thread for the acne-prone. Share your griefs, remedies and good spirit, and I'll edit in any links in the top post if I remember to.:sweatdrop:

What I've got now are those red little bumps that look more like a rash than actual pimples. I believe these are caused by irritation, because the only thing that helps is being gentle. WO-washing or a wash cream for me, because the rubbing from OCM makes me red. Tea Tree oil is a lifesaver to bring the worst ones down, and honey+aspirin makes my skin calm down faster.

[Stephanie]

Eiyela, I moved this to the Skin Care forum. ;)

Does anything come out of the bumps? Are you absolutely sure it's acne and not an allergy?

My skin is super sensitive to anything with fragrance in it, as well as large variances in oil. My routine when my skin starts flairing up is:

Wash lightly with a castille soap (I use a goatsmilk castille) using just my hands and water - absolutely no cloth and no rubbing. Pat dry. Apply a good moisturizer. I use a simple oil serum with rose oil to balance, calm, and heal. Once my skin starts calming down, there are usually some flakes, so I apply an alpha-hydroxy acid gel after I wash, allow it to dry, and then follow with my serum. I've found the serum with rose oil to be key as the oils are healing and the rose is calming, toning, and balancing.

It always takes a few days for my skin to return to normal. Gentle is better, less is more. :)

[eiyela]

I put it in the wrong forum? Darn! Nice way to start my first thread, eh?:sweatdrop:

I am quite sure it's not an allergy, because it's just my face and I haven't been doing anything differently. It might be stress related though, since it's the week before graduation. I remember having a breakout right before I left for my work practice and when I had the last batch of exams too, now that I think about it.

[Clare-Dragonfly]

Argh, acne :pissed: I've been struggling with acne for years and years... Tips from LHC have helped, but I haven't managed to get rid of it so far. Right now my routine is a modified OCM with Chagrin Valley soaps, BenzaClin (prescription medication with benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin) in the morning, Tretinoin (another prescription, doesn't seem to help at all) in the evening, moisturize with OCM mixture. Every three days, going with my hair-washing schedule, I wipe my face with diluted ACV, which seem to make my skin very smooth and soft and I think has helped the acne--I ought to mix up some diluted ACV in a spray bottle or something to use as toner so I can start using it every day. I also dab tea tree oil on the worst spots and take a BCP, EstroStep, for the acne.

I do honey masks once in a while, which make my skin softer and seem to help a lot with cystic acne, but now that my cysts have stopped appearing (probably due to a switch in BCP) I'm not sure how much good they'll do. I've done a couple of aspirin masks in the past, but they didn't help very much, probably due to the fact that I couldn't get the aspirin to dissolve properly. Now that I have my own mortar and pestle, I plan to grind up the aspirin and add a bit of honey to it and try that sometime soon. I also plan to try a bentonite clay mask just as soon as my order from the Camden Grey GO gets here. And I have an appointment with a dermatologist sometime this month. Oh, at some point I plan to start moisturizing with vitamin E oil, since I've heard that helps, and if it doesn't I might try coconut oil.

Any ther tips would be welcome :grinhappy:

[eiyela]

I usually dissolve the aspirin in a few drops of water before putting them in the honey. I tried it without the water today, and after a while I just got tired of waiting for it to dissolve, so I scooped the aspirin up and dissolved them in water anyway!

What more, what more... Oh, lavender EO is supposed to be really good! I mix it up with some aloe gel and jojoba and use it as a moisturizer. It normally doesn't give me any pimples, and it smells lovely.:innocent: I'll have to consider rose oil too... I have to get more aloe gel on monday anyway, so I'll see if they have any at the health food store.:whoohoo:

[Stephanie]

Also, my suggestion for acne, in general, is:


Wash with gentle cleanser (J&J Head to Toe is great or even a good ol' handmade castille soap)
Chemical exfoliation (I'm normally against manual exfoliation) with AHA and BHA. AHA cleans the dead cells off the surface while the BHA cleans the pores.
Moisturize (I'm very pro oils even for oily skin to help avoid the oil loss "rebound" effect)
Get the bacteria under control (benzoyl peroxide lotion is great, but you can use something like tea tree oil)


Above all else, just be gentle. Don't use harsh products. Your skin hasn't done anything to you, you don't need to torture it. :gurn: It's just upset and needs some TLC, some balance, and some time to heal. Keep in mind the location of your outbreaks to see if the spots are possibly caused by hair products, touching a particular area more than others, or even toothpaste.

[Flaming Bunny]

I've been moisturising with coconut oil for about a week now and it's reeeeeeeeally helped with my acne. No new pop-ups and everythings going down! :geek: huzzah!

[eiyela]

I've been moisturising with coconut oil for about a week now and it's reeeeeeeeally helped with my acne. No new pop-ups and everythings going down! :geek: huzzah!
I've been meaning to ask you: Do you use refined or unrefined coconut oil? I keep hearing that coconut oil is bad for acne, though I've never actually met anyone who used it before.

[snowbear]

...and then follow with my serum. I've found the serum with rose oil to be key as the oils are healing and the rose is calming, toning, and balancing.
...do you want to tell us which serum it is? Or, must we go through life not knowing? :lafhard:

[Stephanie]

:lol: It's a product in my line of facial care. Possibly coming soon... ;)

[getoffmyskittle]

Two words: coconut oil.

I literally stopped getting zits after I started using it - and more is better. I use it lightly during the day as a moisturizer, but at night I slather it on. I'm sure it's the coconut oil that's eating the zits - it works on my back and chest too.

Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything for comedonal acne, which is what I have the most of. :purplex: But so far aspirin masks and OCM seem to be really helping to clear that up.

[Stephanie]

Have you thought about adding a drop of tea tree oil to the coconut oil for your acne? It might be worth a shot.

[golden_gal]

The thing that has helped me the most through my acne filled years is benzoyl peroxide(10%). I tried tea tree oil, triclosan, BHA, clay masks, etc but benzoyl peroxide worked the best.
However, I don't have sensitive skin and it will be a problem for those that do.
I also have acne on my back and use benzoyl peroxide with great results.

[getoffmyskittle]

Have you thought about adding a drop of tea tree oil to the coconut oil for your acne? It might be worth a shot.

Hmm, yeah, that would be worth a try. I'm just worried about drying out my skin - when it gets dry, I get these weird surface zits that don't look like much when they're actually there, but then leave really dark, nasty scars that can take over a year to go away...

[wonderlywroughte]

Hey, I get those too. They're like little flat bumps...and then the dry skin on top of them sorta peels off and it leaves a mark that never seems to go away! :boggle:

[lizzernog]

I finally got mine under control! I've had acne problems since I was ten! Cystic zits, little bums, everything. I was seriously known for having horrible skin :sob: But I used straight honey three times a week for two or three weeks. Now that it's under control I only use a little soaked cotton pad of a Bigelow toner that has witch hazel and some citrus extracts. If my skin is feeling a little oily I use a toner with tea tree oil in it.

To say the least, the honey alone did more for my bad skin than any expensive acne BP or perscription ever did. :whoohoo:

[beautiful dee]

i had acne since i was 11 :( i hated it

Hey, I get those too. They're like little flat bumps...and then the dry skin on top of them sorta peels off and it leaves a mark that never seems to go away! :boggle:

yea thats exactly what i get on my face!!! they take ages to go away

be gentle on your face

i use

-water only/honey for cleansing
-honey and yoghurt masks
-moisturise with coconut oil or olive oil(coconut oil worsk better)
-benzoyl peroxide gel(i don't recommend it fot that red bump but its generally good for acne and white heads that are begging to be popped)

[.Amanaka.]

At the moment, I'm using the Clearasil Oil Control cleanser. It's got a bit of an exfoliant in it, and it's a lot creamier than any of the other cleansers that I've used lately.

Hm... coconut oil. Works on my hair, maybe it'll work on my face. Experiment time!

[BBGrrl]

I have been batteling acne my whole adult life. I got the majority to clear up with a sensitive skin line of products. I still break out when I eat onions or use soap.

[Bonnie]

I'm bummed about this too right now, all of the sudden about 4-5 months ago I started breaking out (after a relatively normal teenage life of sporadic acne) and it's been getting worse ever since up till about a week or so ago.

I have a few thoughts which I've come to after doing some research online. I was overweight as a young teen (I've lost 20 lbs since then; ten in the past 5 years or so and 7-10 in the past 6 months) and now I'm 5'4" and about 120-123. I also started running just about 5 months ago; the more I run (and the more weight I lose/muscle I build), the worse my face seems. I haven't been running for a week now due to an injury and my face appears to just be dealing with the acne that's there, and not forming more. Some people have mentioned that it's probably because of the increased oil production/sweat/etc, but I'm wondering if losing too much weight and pushing too hard on the running has messed up my hormones. My cycle has lengthened by 5-6 days, and I keep thinking it's a sign that my hormones have changed somehow. I think from what I read, too little fat and too much fat can cause increased androgens, and somehow that increases the testonsterone level in your body and can cause acne. I haven't really found any websites directly linking running to acne (other than other people saying it happens to them) but I'm hoping that it will prove true, in which case I'd just have to live at 125lbs and maybe run my miles a little slower (or just eat more to maintain that level of bodyfat). It might sound ridiculous to some of you thin people that I could possibly be underfat at that height/weight (and it does to me too) but I can't think of anything else I've changed since I've been breaking out expect losing that weight and starting to run. I'm desperate :)

Since I do plan to start running again tomorrow if my leg/foot feel completely recovered, I'm going to write down a schedule and stick to it. I tried the acne.org regimen; my skin was leather, leather, leather! I'm using diluted facial wash (with triclosan? I guess it's an antibacterial thing, but I've got some sort of feeling hanging over me when I use it, like I'm killing any good bacteria at the same time.), and as a spot treatment (haha, more like a whole entire face treatment at this point :p ) aloe mixed with lavender EO. Skittle suggested the coconut oil to me in a thread I had started and I haven't had a chance to thank her (thank you!) but it left my skin sooo soft. I've just forgotten to use it and after being reminded in this thread, I will resume :)

I'm tired of having acne :( Everyone says "Oh, don't worry, you won't have it forever," but it doesn't make it go away, and it doesn't make it feel any better.

Bonnie

[Nastasska]

Aah acne, twenty four years now :whyme:
Lately I've been having success with the Joey Ney york Pure Pores line and Dermanews Microdermabrasion kit couldn't do without that my pores are smaller than they have been in years:happy:

[Equeena]

Bonnie,
I have heard that acne can come from toxins leaving through your skin, and toxins are stored in fat. I would have to guess that when you are losing weight, they are being released and causing the acne. I have a friend who when she started losing weight started getting psoriasis-type rashes all over her body. When she stopped losing weight, it went away!
Don't give up until you reach your goal weight....And try not to worry to much while you have it.

[idealthursday]

Something I found that really helps is washing lightly twice a day (I wash in the morning with Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser and in the evening with OCM with coconut oil) and using a facial mosturizer. For the morning I use Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Facial Lotion (with sunscreen) and in the evening I use the cheap Olay night moisturizer. When my acne is really bad I use a on the spot treatment before the moisturizer and when I have scars I use neutrogena multi-vitamin acne treatment to try to reduce that. But I think sticking to the routine really helps the most.

[Bonnie]

Bonnie,
I have heard that acne can come from toxins leaving through your skin, and toxins are stored in fat. I would have to guess that when you are losing weight, they are being released and causing the acne. I have a friend who when she started losing weight started getting psoriasis-type rashes all over her body. When she stopped losing weight, it went away!
Don't give up until you reach your goal weight....And try not to worry to much while you have it.


I've been at my goal weigh (120) for a little while now. I've heard that about the toxins and I've been trying to eat better, but since it takes so long to see results I end up cheating. I'm getting more and more desperate though, and my eating habits have definitely improved since I've started looking for the cause of this.

Bonnie

[eiyela]

How about doing a cleanse? There's a cleanse thread in the alternative health section, here: http://chatter.thebeautybottle.com/showthread.php?t=14

Stephanie reported skin improvements in the very first post, and I'm thinking of doing a cleanse myself when I get the time.

[baiken]

Hey there!:grinhappy:

eiyela:
I think I know exactly what kind of red little bumps you are refering to. I believe I have the exact same problem. I still haven't figure out just what to do.. I'm going to try Tea Tree again, now that you reminded me of having a bottle here somewhere!:ooh:

Also, Bonnie, my heart goes out to you!
I have lost some weight over the past months and noticed that my skins gotten 'upset' and answered my break outs. I was thinking that maybe it helps to de-toxify the skin now and then? Maybe making a detox mask to sit..?
Anyway, don't give up, I'm in the same boat basically and right behind you!:flower:

[LittleFlower]

Ugh, I've had acne for over half my life (both regular and cystic) and still have it so I identify with everyone here. What irks me the most is the unsolicited advice I get from strangers that oh, if I only used this or that product my skin would be fine. That only serves to remind me of how awful my skin must be :whyme: Sigh.

[lizzernog]

Littleflower, that's the same way it is for me. It's sad. But now it's under control but people still think of me as having bad skin because I did for so long and they still say "have you ever tried suchandsuch cream?"

[Sapphire'sWings]

What irks me the most is the unsolicited advice I get from strangers that oh, if I only used this or that product my skin would be fine. That only serves to remind me of how awful my skin must be :whyme: Sigh.

I hate that,especially when you're already treating your acne.They assume I'm not treating it or that I don't wash my face.I take good care of my face,but stupid acne is still there.

I just wish there was some product that would get rid of those stupid blackheads and whiteheads (those are kinda like blackheads,except they're covered by skin).The only solution is squeezing,and my mom keeps chasing me around to squeeze my acne! *EWWW!* :whyme:

[LittleFlower]

lizzernog and Sapphire'sWings :flower: :flower: It's nice to know I'm not alone! An experience I still remember happened way back in high school. I was walking down a corridor when this notoriously nosey teacher latched onto me (literally grabbed my arm and started walking alongside me) and told me how I really should do something about my face. Grrr... :pissed:

Sapphire, I really identify with the first half of your post! I guess these days it doesn't bother me as much as it did when I was younger. I've mostly gotten used to such comments though I do sometimes wish they would just stop :bored:

[Sapphire'sWings]

Littleflower,I had a teacher experience too!But this was in the first grade.I had a few blackheads and that was it.One day my teacher got really crazy and told me she wanted to pop my acne and then got close to me as if she was going to actually squeaze.

Why are people so disgusting? :evileye:

I *hate* acne.I believe it totally messed up my self esteem.Growing up with it is so not fun.You feel like the grossest kid in school.I'm okay with it now because I'm treating it and I've seen girls my age with acne too. I've had people suggest acne treatments.I had one guy do that to me this year,but I was more okay with it and we just kept talking.

[lizzernog]

LittleFlower[/n] and [b]Sapphire'sWings: ughhh yes. That's all so sadly true. Some people used to ask me if I was actually trying to get rid of it or if I was just letting all the acne sit there. It was so horrible to go through that. When I was in 4th grade I was the first person to get big cystic zits, or any for that matter. I get so happy when my skin looks good for a few days. Unfortunately for me, people in my school seem to have perfect skin, so even when I have less pimples than usual, I still feel like hiding.

[Bonnie]

Ugh, same thing here. Someone asked me the other day if I had poison ivy :whyme:

When I go out and I think about how bad it looks, I just remind myself that I'm trying to do something about it, and there's nothing I can do at the present to make it better immediately.

I refuse to wear makeup because I hate the way it looks on me. I feel bad for people who have to look at me, but if I can deal with it, then they can too.

GRRRRRRR. I'm hating acne but loving life :grinhappy:

It helps me to be less vain, because when I even THINK of comparing myself to someone else, I just think about how my face looks and it's an immediately humbler.

Has anyone else taken pictures to doccument any changes a new routine might be making? My face looks a tiny bit better than it did at the beginning of the photo taking (two months ago?), but the red marks are all still there (and some pitting, too :purplex: ). As soon as I start to think the scars are fading, I break out again and I have a whole new thing going. And today I seem to have broken out all over again. Bleah. It stinks, but hearing from y'all helps - that I'm not the only one who has to deal with this.

Bonnie

[Bonnie]

How about doing a cleanse? There's a cleanse thread in the alternative health section, here: http://chatter.thebeautybottle.com/showthread.php?t=14

Stephanie reported skin improvements in the very first post, and I'm thinking of doing a cleanse myself when I get the time.

Thanks for the link :) I've been thinking about going on some sort of drastic diet, but I haven't found out how to go about it, and I want to be well prepared before I do so I don't quit without being patient enough.

Bonnie

[Equeena]

For me, when I started taking a clove of garlic a day because of a sickness, I noticed that my skin cleared up. Garlic is anti-bacterial, bacteria causes clogged pores, etc. So I've continued taking that.
Also putting honey on my face like a masque has helped a lot. Even when I first washed it off, I noticed a lot of the redness had gone away. I got a lot of complements on my skin after I did that, too. It seems to dry out the pimples, but not my skin. Honey is anti-bacterial also!
I would have to guess an internal cleanse would help, as well, even though I haven't tried it.
I hope that helps or gives you some ideas.


(I really have poison ivy - I am so allergic to it! I don't even know where I got it, but I have it ALL over my legs. Thankfully not on my face, but at least acne doesn't itch like that!)

[LittleFlower]

Has anyone else taken pictures to doccument any changes a new routine might be making? As soon as I start to think the scars are fading, I break out again and I have a whole new thing going.


Oh yeah, some days it really looks like it's getting better then BAM back to square one :rain: I haven't taken pictures, though the idea has been suggested to me. I try to document progress in a notebook but now I'm considering using the Beauty Blog function for that.

[.Amanaka.]

I just wanted to pop in and say that since I read this thread and have started doing a heavy oiling on my fave with coconut oil before I shower and wash my face each night, my face has cleared up considerably. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but WOW. Such a simple step made such a big difference!

[physicschick]

I just wanted to pop in and say that since I read this thread and have started doing a heavy oiling on my fave with coconut oil before I shower and wash my face each night, my face has cleared up considerably. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but WOW. Such a simple step made such a big difference!
Amanaka, I'm very interested in this technique, since I don't have the patience to do OCM with hot steaming cloths. Do you let the oil soak for long before showering? Do you use soap to wash the oil off? I'm currently doing water only (WO) washing on my face and am finding it helpful, so I wouldn't want to start using soap again.

At the moment I'm experimenting with coconut oil as a moisturizer after my shower. It's too soon to decide for sure, but tentatively it seems to be making my acne a bit worse. :( WO is good, though, and tea tree oil is great for cystic acne.

--physicschick

[Clare-Dragonfly]

I took pictures of my face a few months ago, but haven't managed to get the same quality of pictures again. Maybe I need to try turning the flash off on my camera. But at least I have my Beauty Blog now for keeping track of things.

[Flaming Bunny]

I've been meaning to ask you: Do you use refined or unrefined coconut oil? I keep hearing that coconut oil is bad for acne, though I've never actually met anyone who used it before.

I don't know if it's refined/unrefined...all the bottle says is Pure Coconut Oil. I got it from a health food shop. HTH :grinhappy:

[red*dyes*back]

what type of skin does oiling work best for? and exactly how do you do it?

[eiyela]

http://www.thebeautybottle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=2

Check out the link above, red*dyes*back. It's OCM for short, and there is a thread on the forums here somewhere. There is also this HUGE thread on LHC with questions and answers for you to check out when the site is back up. I could never make OCM work on a daily basis, but I use it for deep cleansing once in a while. Makes all those clogged pores just pop open!:whoohoo:

[cichlid]

I thought, since I've got a minor breakout going on right now, that it would be a good idea to start a thread for the acne-prone. Share your griefs, remedies and good spirit, and I'll edit in any links in the top post if I remember to.:sweatdrop:

What I've got now are those red little bumps that look more like a rash than actual pimples. I believe these are caused by irritation, because the only thing that helps is being gentle. WO-washing or a wash cream for me, because the rubbing from OCM makes me red. Tea Tree oil is a lifesaver to bring the worst ones down, and honey+aspirin makes my skin calm down faster.

I have some minor acne once a month...I am sure you can guess why. :whyme: It's about that time again and I have started putting jojoba oil on my face. It clears pores and prevents certain bacteria from growing so I figure it must help! If not it's a great moisturizer! I also started putting some aloe vera gel on my face. I'll have to see how it goes...my skin is still recovering from some random pimples that came up though...but other than that it is glowing! :happy: I only started this a few days ago so...nothing has popped up yet.

Also...I have noticed acne has gotten MUCH better since starting to take flaxseed oil daily (it was for my eczema...but it helped my skin overall). I used to be on medications from the dermatologist...but since I started way back in December...I actually stopped taking the drugs and never finished them. I ended up having to just flush the pills down the toilet (I don't need them to have clear skin anymore...). I know it has helped because I used to get zits on my back and those are all gone. HAHAHAHA! :whoohoo:

Anyway...yeah.

[eiyela]

I like jojoba too, but it's a bit too oily in the summer (well, it's an oil, duh...). It slides around and makes me feel greasy. It's easier just to mix it with aloe gel.

And tsk, tsk, Cichlid. You shouldn't be flushing medication down the toilet. You should hand them in at a hospital. It's not good to have all those chemicals floating out into the water system.:innocent:

[Amber]

How much flaxseed oil did you take, Cichlid? I tried it a while ago and it didn't help me, but perhaps I wasn't taking enough (I didn't want to take more though, cos it tasted kind of gross). :D

[cichlid]

How much flaxseed oil did you take, Cichlid? I tried it a while ago and it didn't help me, but perhaps I wasn't taking enough (I didn't want to take more though, cos it tasted kind of gross). :D I didn't see improvement for anything immediately...I saw it after maybe a month. I take 1 tablespoon of the Barlean's Organic Highest Lignan Flaxseed Oil (http://www.barleans.com/products/flaxoils.html) and then a 400ui of vitamin E. I strongly suggest the vitamin E since it works as an antioxidant and your body will need that when you take the flaxseed oil.

To tell you the truth...I hate teh taste of flaxseed oil too. I mix it with quarter cup of juice to mask the taste a bit and I swallow that stuff FAST. Then I go drink some water to try to get rid of the taste. I found it is best for me to take it at night. For some reason my taste buds aren't as sensitive and the taste is not as strong. It's one of those things you really have to force yourself to take. I always think on the bright side of things to help me endure that quarter of a minute of absolute nasty taste in my mouth.

It does go rancid easily...and I have accidently taken it rancid. Never again! I gagged when I swallowed. It was so nasty and I ended up with a tummy ache. :eww: I was almost done with teh bottle and it was only a month old too!

eiyela, oops...I asked my mom what to do with them and she said flush them. It wasn't that many. It was just a handfill of Nicomide tablets though. :blush: Oh and I usually put the oil on at night and my skin honestly just sucks that oil right up so I do not have a problem with oiliness...my skin type is between oily and normal.

[Bonnie]

Oh yeah, some days it really looks like it's getting better then BAM back to square one :rain: I haven't taken pictures, though the idea has been suggested to me. I try to document progress in a notebook but now I'm considering using the Beauty Blog function for that.

UGH! Same thing here. Some "after" pictures I see no difference in than my original picture. I also notice my face looks red when I first get up. After I run or sweat a lot the red marks seem worse.

Bonnie

[Amber]

I didn't see improvement for anything immediately...I saw it after maybe a month. I take 1 tablespoon of the Barlean's Organic Highest Lignan Flaxseed Oil (http://www.barleans.com/products/flaxoils.html) and then a 400ui of vitamin E. I strongly suggest the vitamin E since it works as an antioxidant and your body will need that when you take the flaxseed oil.


Thanks, that's really interesting. What is it in the flaxseed that helps? Would fish oil have the same effect, do you think?

[cichlid]

Thanks, that's really interesting. What is it in the flaxseed that helps? Would fish oil have the same effect, do you think?
I am not sure...I just know that flaxseed oil improves skin and hair when taken internally. I don't know why...I think it has to do with something about teh essential fatty acids. Never bothered with fish oil...sounds worse than flax.

[.Amanaka.]

Amanaka, I'm very interested in this technique, since I don't have the patience to do OCM with hot steaming cloths. Do you let the oil soak for long before showering? Do you use soap to wash the oil off? I'm currently doing water only (WO) washing on my face and am finding it helpful, so I wouldn't want to start using soap again.

At the moment I'm experimenting with coconut oil as a moisturizer after my shower. It's too soon to decide for sure, but tentatively it seems to be making my acne a bit worse. :( WO is good, though, and tea tree oil is great for cystic acne.

--physicschick
I've been putting it on somewhere between 15 mins to a half an hour before I shower. I've been wiping it off with a hot steamy washcloth. I've been following it up with my facewash, but I'm sure that you don't have too - it's more of a comfort thing for me.

(When I say heavy, I mean... pretty heavy. My face looks wicked oily. I also massage it in when I put it on for about 30 seconds.)

[LittleFlower]

I also notice my face looks red when I first get up. After I run or sweat a lot the red marks seem worse.

Same here :ooh: I wonder if it has to do with all the blood rushing to the skin.

[getoffmyskittle]

Same here :ooh: I wonder if it has to do with all the blood rushing to the skin.

That's weird - mine looks worse/redder at the end of the day, when I'm tired. Like now. :evileye: But it does look darker after I've been running around, too.

[LittleFlower]

That's weird - mine looks worse/redder at the end of the day, when I'm tired. Like now. :evileye: But it does look darker after I've been running around, too.
Yes, so does mine. It's the same effect if I've been physically exerting myself for a short period of time or just walking around the mall for half the day. My Mom always comments on it :sweatdrop:

[Unnamed]

Had mine for about 15 years and nope, no signs of it going away...and haven't figured it out, yet, either. And for whatever reason, I've never been able to use a regular moisturiser without breaking out more, so I don't bother unless my skin gets dry. Right now (trying yet another cleanser :depressed: ) my face isn't quite as bad (so far...) but it's still breaking out badly every 2-3 weeks (basically once it heals...grr). :ooh:

My acne is probably one of the reasons I have zip self-esteem. Or, well, I guess I should say no friends and no chance of ever getting married. :grim: Even though I've gotten to the point where I can more or less 'ignore' it (or the scars on my back, etc.), others don't/seem to assume I'm worthless/not worth talking to as a result. :purplex: In high school, I got the 'oh, you have chicken pox' when I went to the admin desk and took several minutes of convincing otherwise...grr.

[Bonnie]

We don't have a little flowers emoticon here :(

It stinks sometimes, but what would stink worse is having it and not being able to talk to anyone about it, or not able to get our feelings out.

It's really great to be able to connect with others that have the same frustrations.
On the upside, today my left cheek and forehead look clearer than they have in a while. I have some bad stuff on my right cheek, but I notice that when I'm able to keep my hands off my face, it looks less red and I think it heals faster.

I heard that vinegar helps the red marks go away faster. Has anyone heard that, or know why it would be so?

Bonnie

[LittleFlower]

Do you mean ACV? I'd be very interested in finding anything that fades the red marks... apart from time :calm:

[eiyela]

Yes, some people use an ACV (or ACV+aspirin) toner with good results. I didn't have much luck with ACV (got big red hives, don't know why. I've never had a bad reaction anywhere else on my body), but there are a few threads on LHC with recipes. I believe Dvips uses ACV+aspirin? Maybe she's around here somewhere so you can ask her.

[Bonnie]

Here's one of the links I found on ACV. The info on acne is a few subjects down.
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/acne.html

Bonnie

[LittleFlower]

Bonnie, that's a great link! Thanks for posting it. It's given me lots of ideas :eureka:

[Clare-Dragonfly]

I don't know how much it helps my acne, but I wash my face with my diluted ACV when I wash my hair, and it makes my face really soft and smooth and generally healthy-feeling. I keep meaning to mix some up in a spray bottle or something and use it as a daily toner. Of course now I'm almost out of ACV so I have to wait until I can get more. :purplex:

[Bonnie]

UGH! Same thing here. Some "after" pictures I see no difference in than my original picture. I also notice my face looks red when I first get up. After I run or sweat a lot the red marks seem worse.

Bonnie

I'm sorry, I meant when I first get up my face looks LESS red. Definitely red after exercise, but definitely less red when getting up.

Sorry about that :(

Bonnie

[getoffmyskittle]

Oh! I've known this for a while, but forgot until recently. OCM helps the hyperpigmentation scars fade!

It isn't any miracle cure or anything, but I definitely think it helps them fade faster than they do on their own. I'm *hoping* that mine will be gone by the end of the summer. *crosses fingers*

Sooo... yeah. If you haven't tried that, it's something to look into.

[cichlid]

Oh! I've known this for a while, but forgot until recently. OCM helps the hyperpigmentation scars fade!

It isn't any miracle cure or anything, but I definitely think it helps them fade faster than they do on their own. I'm *hoping* that mine will be gone by the end of the summer. *crosses fingers*

Sooo... yeah. If you haven't tried that, it's something to look into.
pssst! What's OCM? :notsure:

[getoffmyskittle]

pssst! What's OCM? :notsure:

:whoohoo: The Oil Cleansing Method (http://www.thebeautybottle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=2), of course! :whoohoo:

[cichlid]

:whoohoo: The Oil Cleansing Method (http://www.thebeautybottle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=2), of course! :whoohoo: LOL! Of course! :whoohoo: Thanks. I will have to check it out. Do you think it will work for someone who has oily skin?

[Amber]

And if so, which oils are good for oily/blemish prone skin, and which should we avoid?

[Clare-Dragonfly]

LOL! Of course! :whoohoo: Thanks. I will have to check it out. Do you think it will work for someone who has oily skin?
Yes! :happy: It works for me, anyway. My skin isn't any oilier than before I used it, and it doesn't dry out my face, so it isn't as patchy as it used to be. Since I started moisturizing with oils every night, it's definitely become much more even in its oil production--no more super-dryness on the cheeks and extreme oiliness by the nostrils! :whoohoo:

ETA: For my oily, acne-prone skin, I use a mix of grapeseed oil (astringent), vitamin E oil (good for scars), castor oil (cleansing) and jojoba oil (it's just better than everything else). I encourage you to experiment, though. Also, I must note that OCM hasn't helped my acne :purplex:

[eiyela]

You could try adding a bit of tea tree or lavender oil to the mix too.

[kissme]

can OCM remove scars? if so, what proportion of oil should I mix? I got some serious scarring issue. =( the commercial whitening products doesn't seem to work on me. and retina-A proved to be too oily. :helpless:

[getoffmyskittle]

I don't really know much about OCM. :purplex: I OCM (on and off) with almond and castor oil, about 50/50, but I don't have particularly oily skin. I also don't have particularly bad scarring. I only have the flat brown hyperpigmentation marks, no indented/raised scars. It has helped to fade them.

[shelleybean]

Just thought I'd add my newest acne treatment, I've been trying the Nature's Gate acne solution kit. Unfortunately it only comes in kit form which is a nuisance if you run out of one of the items. It comes with a cleanser, toner, and lotion. It's mostly a saylic acid based system with a few other botanicals thrown in.

After about a 2 weeks I'd have to say it's helping. I've got rash like acne on my forehead and neck with some white heads & mild cystic on my chin. It took at least a week to see some progress but now in week two I'm really starting to see a change especially of the rash acne. The stuff on my chin seems to heal a bit faster now too. If I get a whitehead it tends to last about a day and then the next day it's no longer a whitehead but instead a healing red bump. So this is feeling somewhat like progress but there is still time yet for it to stop working.

Just thought I'd add this to the list of helpful suggestions.

I think I'm going to try some coconut oil this weekend. Since it seems to have helped a few folks with their acne.

-shelleybean

[kissme]

I don't really know much about OCM. :purplex: I OCM (on and off) with almond and castor oil, about 50/50, but I don't have particularly oily skin. I also don't have particularly bad scarring. I only have the flat brown hyperpigmentation marks, no indented/raised scars. It has helped to fade them.

yeay.:whoohoo: i'm quite desperate for those awful scars to fade, now there's finally a glimmer of hope. :happy: scars fade scars! *off to get some almond and castor oil. thanks! :lafhard:

[birdiefu]

You could use emu oil straight or mixed with other oils to help reduce scars.

[Bonnie]

For some reason my face has broken out with VERY little new acne. My face looks terrible because of the red spots, but it feels soo much better.

I've been eating a clove of garlic a day. My brother's hate it because they can't stand the smell, but I"m liking it, just because it *seems* to be helping. :D

Bonnie

[LittleFlower]

I've actually been pondering on whether to do the garlic thing too! How do you eat yours? I don't know if I have the nerve to eat it straight but maybe I could chop it up and mix it raw in my food.

[Bonnie]

I just take a clove and chomp on it. I eat some peanut butter afterwards and then usually eat a meal so the taste doesn't stick in my mouth too long.

Bonnie

[Godspeed]

I've had cystic acne nince I vas 13. arrgh, I have it! The worst part is not that it looks ugly, it't that it HURTS!
I have heard that when you have acne on the jaw area it's an indication it't hormonal imbalance. I only get them on my jaw/lower side of my face so I guess that's my problem.
Anyway, I have found that Silica helps. I take silica powder internally every day, and also use silica powder mixed with aloe vera gel or honey as a mask.
I also wash with aloe gel, tone with rose water and use coconut oil as moisturizer. This seems to help.

There are also some herbal teas that help with hormonal imbalance acne; "Summer Savory/Garden Savory" (Calamintha hortensis) and "Yarrow" (Achillea millefolium). I drink a cup of tea made from these two herbs every morning, and I have not had acne in a while. (Herbs must never be used countinously for long periods of time - take a herb-free week every 3 months)

[Amber]

Just wanted to say I'm trying a new acne "regime" this month.
Proactiv plus some new supplements (3ml fish oil, 2 multivitamins and 45mg of chelated zinc per day).

It seems to be working - I haven't had a single zit in the past week, whereas normally I have at least a couple all the time! :D

[Stephanie]

Garlic is great! I peel a clove, smash it with a knife, cut it in half and drop it down the hatch. Great stuff when I remember to take it...

For scars, you might want to try a mix of avocado and castor. I'm not positive it would work, but avocado is wonderful for smoothing lines. Emu has some reportedly good results with scars, though you'll probably not want to use it in OCM, but rather as a moisturizer.

[Equeena]

I just take a clove and chomp on it. I eat some peanut butter afterwards and then usually eat a meal so the taste doesn't stick in my mouth too long.

Bonnie

Wow! I cannot believe you chew it! I cut it up really small and pour honey all over it, scoop it up with a spoon and swallow it with water. You don't really taste it that way, and I've found honey helps me swallow other large pills, too. I usually brush my teeth and sometimes use mouthwash afterwards.

[getoffmyskittle]

Well, I have 3 whiteheads *right* by each other that all decided to flare up at once, creating a nice red lump about the size of a dime. And now I'm getting another zit on the other side.

Being mostly zit-free for so long was nice. I think it's because I've been a bad girl and haven't been drinking enough water. :grim:

Stupid whiteheads.

And scars.

:grim:

[.Amanaka.]

I've found a product that actually works! It's Wal-Mart's knock off of Clearasil. It's foamy, it feels nice, and it seems to clear up all of my acne, including the nasty deep zits that I get. Of course, I've only been using this for about two weeks, so it might get better, and it might not.

[Emichiee]

I stopped using toner 2 months ago and my skin got better:ooh: ..I find it surprising. What also helped me was Garnier Clearskin A face moisturizer. I started using it fall of 05. My skin cleaned up within just a few days. I stopped using it though because at my age its not good to use a drying gel moisturizer..but it might be something for the teens.

Also I am trying to limit products on my face. I had great skin with 16 when I only washed my face with water. maybe I can go back to that.

Emi

[Bonnie]

Wow! I cannot believe you chew it! I cut it up really small and pour honey all over it, scoop it up with a spoon and swallow it with water. You don't really taste it that way, and I've found honey helps me swallow other large pills, too. I usually brush my teeth and sometimes use mouthwash afterwards.

Lol, neither can my brothers. I've been slacking the past few days though, because my brothers kept remarking that I smelled and we had quite a few concerts coming up. That sounds like a good idea though, sometimes the taste gets reeeal old.


On the acne, my face has improved incredibly. The biggest changes that I think are effecting it are

1. Drinking 64 oz of water a day
2. Sleeping with my face OFF the pillow. No more sleeping on my side. It drove me nuts at first and I couldn't sleep, but I realized I would break out where my face was touching the pillow, sleep on the left side, break out on the left side. It's so worth it not to sleep on my side. I was changing my pillow case about twice a week, but it wasn't helping any.
3. Washing my face religiously every morning and night, and after every run with a gentle cleanser, using straight ACV as a toner,and putting on a mixture of 10% benzoyl peroxide, aloe vera gel (to dilute the BP, I'm guessing it's about 3% BP now), tea tree oil, and some ACV. I also use tea tree oil as a spot treatment. I actually like the smell, and it doesn't sting at all.

Someone I know came up to me today at a concert and when she leaned over to hug me she said how much better my face was looking. She said someone had remarked to her that my face "gets like that" everytime we go on a long trip. I'm not sure what exactly it is that I change when we travel in the bus, but I'm going to figure it out! Maybe eating differently, churches feed us a lot and that means a lot of fried chicken when we're in the south. I'm guessing it might also be the pillow thing, as I tend to sleep on my stomach in my bunk, but I don't at home.

I so hope my face keeps clearing up, and I hope some of this info might help some of you too.

Bonnie

[Medievalsilver]

My acene just broke out, since May my acene has terrible. I know as long as I don't put my hands on my face, I won't get acene. And I did. For me the hardest part about having acene is finding the right product!!!

[Clare-Dragonfly]

I've been putting shea butter on my face every night for a couple weeks now, and recently started using it in the morning too. It's fantastic. It's not a "zit eater" like skitts has been claiming coconut oil is (I haven't gotte around to trying that yet) but it keeps my zits from drying out, which helps them heal faster, especially since I'm less likely to pick at them if they're not dried out. It also just feels really good and not greasy--it's more like a cream than an oil, it seems to me. I have unrefined shea butter, but I don't notice the smell at all (I got it from Camden Grey). It also helps keep my skin soft and smooth.

[physicschick]

Thanks for that tip, Clare. I'm getting fewer zits thanks to my new and improved routine, but I keep picking at the ones I do get. If they're less dry and flaky, maybe I'll pick less. I'll give it a try!

Incidentally, coconut oil gave me an increase in cystic acne. :( I was very disappointed.

--physicschick

[getoffmyskittle]

Incidentally, coconut oil gave me an increase in cystic acne. :( I was very disappointed.

Sorry it didn't work for you, physicschick. :( I wasn't really sure how cystic acne would respond to it... comedonal doesn't respond to it at all, good or bad. But normal run-of-the-mill zits, OTOH...

[physicschick]

Hey, not a problem, skitts. Some dermatologist-recommended gentle cleansers give me cystic acne too. I really don't understand what causes it. :confused:

Actually, I wasn't getting enough regular zits to test whether the coconut oil was helping on them--I'm glad my skin has been better lately! :whoohoo:

[KeenKitty]

I wash with vegetol (very nice castile/lemon cleanser by Aubrey Organics) and then use Benzoyl Peroxide mixed with Rosewater on my face. It helps keep it clear AND helps fade my old scars. I use Queen Helene Clay English Clay mask mixed with honey on my face to "purify" and sugar/baking soda mixed with rose water to scrub blackheads. Works like a dream.

[kimberlily]

I'm going to chime in here, since I used to have horrible cystic acne, but it is MUCH better now. From the time I went on BCP at age 18 until I weaned my daughter, I had REALLY bad cysts. Mostly on my chin, and I'd get painful bumps that would last weeks. Usually I'd have at least 2, but frequently I'd have 4 or more.

What made the cysts go away? I went off BCP in 2004, on the advice of a naturopath. I'd been getting sick frequently, and she told me that it was probably because of BCP and the repeated use of antibiotics (for my frequent sinus infections). So, I went off BCP, did a cleanse, and took probiotics. The result was that I was sick less often, and SURPRISE the cysts went away. Completely. I haven't gone back on BCP since. I do get the occasional cyst now, but I'm nursing my 11-month-old son and I just started having my period again, so my hormones are a bit funky. He'll be weaned in the next month or so, so I expect my skin to act up a little then normalize again.

My problem now is blackheads. I have an oily T-zone, and I cannot get the blackheads to go away. My skin is pretty sensitive, so any chemicals really make me flaky. I'm doing an experiment right now with a 50/50 mix of ACV and water, with a couple of aspirin thrown in, and I use it at night as a toner. I need a good cleanser though. I can't use sulfates on my face, since I have perioral dermatitis, and they make it flare up, and it is HARD to find a good cleanser that gets the dirt off that doesn't contain some kind of sulfate.

I've tried OCM and it doesn't really do much for me. It gets my skin clean, but the blackheads aren't going away. I also exfoliate a couple times a week with baking soda, and do a kaolin mask once or twice a week, only on my T-zone, since it dries my cheeks out.

[EbbyO]

I read through all of the advice given here for acne and I'm really glad to see everyone has seen improvement from their suggestions, but there were a few things that did worry me...When I do break out I have cystic acne. It's always around my cheeks, and I know that sleeping on my tummy or side is causing a lot of that so I've been trying to sleep on my back.

Right now, my skin is great and everyone has seen improvement, but my largest problem currently is small cystic break outs and spotting. I don't have any scars, but the spots stay dark and I'm in between pale to olive skin, and I tan very easily and I know tanning is something you should highly avoid. I stay pretty pale around the winter, so I'm not worried about that, but I would love to get these spots to disappear because it feels like, 'Wow, acne is improving, but it looks like it's still there'

I'm on Proactiv, and it's honestly done a lot for me, but I'm also using a different moisturizer that works wonders and a 10% benzoyl peroxide gel that feels a little grainy.

My skin is lightly oily, and I notice more oil around my nose which I blot if I ever feel it's too much.

If there's any suggestions on my skin type, etc especially for scarring or cystic treatment I'd truly appreciate it.

[kimberlily]

EbbyO, you can use an over-the-counter fade cream on the dark spots.

[kamazon]

Hi there,

I'm new here. I'm 33, and I've had acne since I was about 13. That's 20 years, and whoa hello there am I tired of it.

I discovered the OCM recently and started trying it. I noticed an improvement in my overall skin tone and the beginning of acne scar healing almost immediately, which was very encouraging. Per some of the folks on this thread, I've been alternating this method occasionally with some very pure soap with honey in it, and moisturizing with coconut oil to which I have added a few drops of tea tree.

Problem is, while the smaller breakouts seem to have ceased, after two weeks of this, I'm still getting big pimples coming out. The good news is that they cycle through much more quickly as the castor oil draws them out. But the bad news is that they keep coming!

My acne is definitely hormone-cycle related. Any ideas?

[miralaluna]

At the moment I'm using a natural face cleasner from Aubrey Organics that has really improved the general condition of my skin. I also use a solution of tea tree oil and water to "tone" and a small amount Lush's "Dream Cream" to moisturise. I've also started using honey masks. I'm trying not to use any chemicals, if at all possible, on my skin. Since starting this routine, I have fewer dry patches of skin and my skin has more of a glow. However, nothing seems to clean out my blocked pores! Nearly every pore on my face and body is blocked. It's horrid. I'm thinking of trying the OCM. I used to moisturise and cleanse with EVOO, but it wasn't moisturising my skin properly so I gave up and didn't really look for an oil-based alternative.

[meliora]

I am going to chime in as well. I used to have more serious acne from age 12 till about 15, then my skin cleared up somewhat. Now I just have blackheads and cystic acne on my cheeks. It is like what Kimberlily described, staying under the skin as painful bumps for weeks. The rest of my face is actually pretty clean. I usually exfoliate every other day with warm water and a small facial loofah.

I have noticed an improvement in my skin condition once I started using diluted white vinegar as a toner. The cystic acne is getting smaller, but I still have quite a lot of it left. I am not sure if it will disappear completely though.

I have a question for all the wonderful people at the BB: do you have any experience with washing your face with a mix of water and tea tree oil (I mean strongly diluted)? Does that reduce acne? Does it help with black heads at all?

[Arctic]

I have acne too. It started as a teenager, maybe around 13 years old. My face never was that bad but my real proplem was body acne (back, chest, shoulders) and in a way I felt that was more embaressing than face acne, because it was hidden etc. It limited my life and made my self-esteem down.

No-one in my family had had acne and no-one understand the pain of it, nor helped me to find solutions or medical help. I was on my own and that was time before internet. I mostly used the supermarket stuff for my face and regular bodywash/ moisturizer for my body.

I always was very optimistic about the acne: That it would go away when I turn 18... when I turn 20... when I turn 23... Well I'm almost 31 and I still have acne.

Fortunately I now have realized I need to treat it, it's not something that (for me) goes away with age. I once took BCP for my acne and they helped but I am not that keen on messing with my hormones and they had other side effects, plus I wasn't in a relationship during that time. I also didn't realize they treated the symptom not the reason for acne.

But that was really good time in my life to realize I, too, can have clear skin and use shirts that reveal shoulders/ upper back.

Few years ago I found acne.org and tried benzoyl peroxide (bp) with amazing results! I have been free of body acne since then, which is wonderful and has made me feel confident and beautiful :whoohoo: Somehow the regimen discribed at the acne.org never has been such success for my face though it has made a big difference there too. (My acne has changed during the years and has affected my face more as I grew older). I have had longer periods when I have been complitely clear!

I have learned a lot about acne and my skin. One of the most important is that acne doesn't go away wit these treatments, it comes back if the treatment stops. While I never complitely stopped BP I started to apply it less and less often -- which leads to new break outs. And no matter how many doctors say chocolate doesn't cause acne, I can't eat that stuff more than just for taste, and I get horrible breakout :( I also have learned to use the same stuff I use for my face on the acne prone parts of my body. It can be costly but it's worth it.

Now at the moment I have one of the worst breakouts in my face I have had in a long time. Big, deep bumps that actually hurt. Body skin is clear fortunately. I ate chocolate few weeks ago and now I pay for it. I also had gotten more irregular with BP lately than I should. Plus I'm under a lot of stress... you know how it goes.

I decided I will not eat chocolate ever again. Not that I would be "chocoholic" and I have been avoiding it years, but sometimes when my skin looks good I forget to be careful and eat some.

I also started the regular BP treatment again (outlined at acne.org).

Last autumn I had scalp breakouts and I think they were from conditioner only-washing I was trying out. My hair loved it but scalp didn't. Now I'm back in to using shampoo with every wash (CWC method) and scalp has healed. Most of the zits I have now are at the hairline, however, so I wonder if they are hair care related... I must observe a bit more. I also have started oiling my hair ends with virgin coconut oil and am on the lookout if this will cause any pore clogging. I don't use it on scalp or skin.

Latest addition in my skin care arsenal is Salicylic acid (SA). It has helped with my blackheads at least.

Funny how I only found/ tried these BP and SA when I was at this age: after all they are classics in the acne treatments... I guess the explanation is, that I always waited it to go away soon and I didn't want to use chemicals/ topical treatments. Now I wish I would have found BP when a teen, it would have helped my so much!

Oh one more thing: I tend to pick my face and more so when I'm under stress. That's bad news... I must find a way to stop that! I was able to reduce it recently, but now that I have this latest breakout seems like I can't keep my hands off my face! I must be more mindful. :grim:

Good luck everybody, it has helped me so much to be able to share with other people who know what it's like to have acne. Finding acne.org few years ago was a lifesaver for me! (not literally, lol).

Arctic :flower: (also from LHC)

[meliora]

Arctic, I am going to check out acne.org! Thanks for posting it, I wasn't aware of this website before. I hope I find some good information there. I have never tried BP, and I am going to look into it more.

I am glad that you feel so much better about your skin now! :flower: Acne can really affect self-confidence, I completely understand. My worst acne is on my back (cystic, blackheads, regular breakouts), and I never wear tank tops and open shoulders/open back tops because of that. It's always T-shirts and blouses for me. Even when I wear a fancy dress, I wear something on top, like a cute jacket or a scarf.

My prom dress 3 years ago was an open back, and I decided to go for it, just once in my life, to finally wear a dress I loved. I ended up asking my mom to help me put foundation and powder on my back and shoulders, along with concealer to cover up the worst spots. I still felt self-conscious all evening, and I don't want to go through that again.

My "backne" got better with age, but now at 20 I still can't wear sleeveless and open-back shirts when I want to dress up.

I can honestly say that my face acne is not as bad as on my back, and it is easier to fight with.

Arctic, thank you! Your post gave me courage to post about my own personal issue.

[Arctic]

Meliora: Hopefully you will find help! Backne can be really embaressing for a person, maybe even more for us females. I understand about your clothes choises and the prom dress 100%!

I realized I sounded like an advertisement in my post, lol, sorry about that! At least two years ago that was a really nice place and as far as I know it still is. But finding out about benzoyl peroxide really changed my life :)

There are some things that are not so nice, like applying it everyday, it can bleach towels, clothes and sheets, etc. I personally found those cons tolerable. I have noticed some colours (green and blue and pastels) seem more easily bleached than others (red) but there are exeptions too. I have started to wear more white and bought nice white towels and sheets. And also if you let it absorb complitely before getting dressed/ going to sleep etc it wont affect the colours.

I personally found the BP cleared my body acne very fast, and also in time the red marks faded.

I wish you all the best and lots of luck and positive energies to you! :flower: :flower: :flower:

Arctic

[meliora]

Arctic: don't worry! Your post did not sound like an advertisement, and I found out something new and hopefully useful from it! I spent quite a while today reading acne.org, and now I am even more interested in trying BP. I will pick some up tomorrow or this weekend hopefully, and then I will try it out. I really hope it works for my back!

Thanks for warning me about the bleaching, I will try to be careful about using it in that sense. I already have white sheets and towels (I just like them for some reason), but my nice satin pillow cases happen to be pastel green :lafhard: And I am willing to put up with using it every day, if it helps.

Thank you for wishing me the best! It really means a lot :flower: Your post really made me realize that I am not alone with this problem, and that there is something I can do about it. I have never told anyone what the real reason for my clothing choices was (although I am sure my mother knows, because she helped me), or why I am reluctant about going to the beach. Again, I sincerely thank you!!! :flower:

[Arctic]

Hello Meliora!

I'm glad, too, that I posted about my body acne: There are propably many out there who read this thread and realize they are not alone even though they never post. And it feel liberating to be able to talk about it. Keeping a secret like that is very hard.

So have you found/bought benzoyl peroxide already?

I have a bit dry face at the moment as I tripled the amounth of BP I use and apply it twice a day now, opposed to once a day. My face break out has started to heal and I know from previous times that the dryness will go away in few days. I haven't got any new active acne either, which is great!

It's interesting that I have used BP all this time and my skin was not dry at all, one would think my skin would have gotten complitely used to that stuff, but it did get dry right after I started to use more of the benzoyl peroxide again.

And other interesting thing is, when I temporarily stopped using salicylic acid (SA) on my blackhead prone parts as I have found out it helps with blackheads, but I thought it would be too irritating now that I use large amounth of BP, that the black heads are creeping back :boggle:

Well my action plan is to use this heavy BP treatment for as long as it takes to get my face clear again and then start to use it a little less, but only little as I don't want to make the mistake again that I would use it too little to actually prevent my acne breakouts. When I get to that point I will reintroduce the salicylic acid and attack the black head problem then. For now I let them be.

Why does the benzoyl peroxide not affect the blackheads on me, I don't know :purplex: I will keep updating my progress here as well as in my beauty journal (link in my siggy). :grinhappy:


Good luck for all who struckle with acne, do know you are not alone and there is help and people who understand around. :grinhappy: :grinhappy:


Eta: grammar and typos

[meliora]

Hello, Arctic!!!! :whoohoo: :happy: :flower:

I picked up some benzoyl peroxide yesterday. I only found 10% in the store, so I was careful with applying it yesterday night. I applied it this morning again. So far my skin is not dry; it is normally very oily and doesn't dry out, ever. Maybe later my face/back will be dryer with BP later? Or maybe when I "upgrade" to more frequent applications like you.

Maybe with BP it depends on how often you apply vs. how long? I guess I will find out!

That's interesting about BP, salicylic acid, and blackheads! I do aspirin masks occasionally, and they help with blackheads too. They are unfortunately a big problem on my nose and around it. While shopping for BP, I picked up a moisturizer with 0.5% salicylic acid, so maybe that will help with blackheads.

So far I am going to apply BP morning and night. I was trying out WO for my face for about 3 weeks, and it does get my face clean and works wonders for some people (but my face gets oily almost right away, and I am not that happy with the results, because it doesn't affect acne and the blackheads are increasing), but with BP I will start using a mild cleanser again and a moisturizer just in case afterwards.

I hope your skin will get adjusted to more BP applications soon! I will also keep this and the beauty blog updated (I just created one today :grinhappy: ) with BP progress, because I hope it will clear up my "backne". You are right, it is liberating to talk about it! I have kept this a secret for a long time, too embarassed to admit it.

Again, best of luck to you! I hope your skin feels better soon! :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower:

ETA: I read your beauty journal, and we are both minoring in Gender Studies!!! What an awesome coincidence! :geek:

[Ethereal]

I just wanted to chip in in this thread and say I inherited some very deep, difficult-to-treat cystic acne from my father and rosacea from my mother. Neither of them seem to have sensitive skin, but mine is pretty sensitive... easily irritated (kisses when my fiance has stubble = OW!), dry + oily, flakey. Most prescription medications and treatments don't work at all for my dad, but Proactiv's system seems to be working fairly well for me. I still get the occasional whitehead or very deep cyst, but they're uncommon. Unfortunately, it's done nothing for the acne on my back, and I'll still get the rare one on my chest as well. My back is pretty scarred at this point, and I wonder if I will ever have the confidence to wear backless dresses, even if I did manage to stop the acne.

My other concern is that Proactiv may be harsh on my skin. Most of my face is okay a lot of the time, but there are a lot of scaly dry patches despite using 2 moisturizers (Proactiv's SPF 15 one plus a really thick, rich one that isn't made by Proactiv) - if I don't put on what little makeup I use immediately after moisturizing, they will highlight the flakes. It's REALLY bad around my hairline, and constantly flaking there.

I'm a little scared to stop using Proactiv and try something more natural and gentle, because I'm so sure it won't work for me, but I cancelled my bi-monthly shipments of Proactiv so in a few months, when I run out, I will try to force myself to try something new. Honey to cleanse and coconut oil to moisturize, perhaps? I hope it can work on my skin...

[Medievalsilver]

Lately I haven't been washing my face at all, just drinking
around 6 glasses of water a day becase I was sick.
The OC Method, didn't work all that well.
I now have some cleasening grains from mountain rose herbs to try.
And I have some rose gerinum water, too.

[Arctic]

Hello everybody!

My update: Ok it was a mistake to ramp up the BP so fast, it dried the surface of my face. It's not terrible, a bit tight and if I don't put enough moisturizer it flakes. I have now started to use it less and work up the dosage as my skin adjusts.

The pimples from my last break out are healing and fading, and I have but one new pimple.

I also decided to use the salicylic acid gel on my nose rather than benzoyl peroxide, because I don't get pimples in my nose, just blackheads and SA helps with them.

Question: Have any of you experienced, that sometimes the acne lesion doesn't seem to heal complitely, but it leaves a small bump under the skin that is not infected nor painful. It lingers there and one day - boom- it reintroduces itself and becomes active acne again?

Well this one new pimple I have now is one of those. I hope it will heal complitely this time!

meliora: Wow great to hear you're also minoring Gender Studies! I love that subject and it has given me so much to think about and has changed the way I view the world! It's also a great minor for literature! Indeed, what a coincidence! :whoohoo:

I'm glad you found BP and that it feels like it's working! (I have been reading your journal too :nosey: ) I'm worried thought that the 10% might be too strong for your face? I'm sure the skin in the back can take it with no problems, but do keep an eye on your face skin so it wont dry out too much and/or get irritated. They say at Acne.org that 2,5% is proven to be as effective as 10% and less irritating and drying. Anyways, good thing you started to use moisturizer right from the beginning :grinhappy:

The one I use (I'm in Finland) is Brevoxyl 4%, we don't have 2,5% available here. I also have very oily skin, normally it's never dry but this stuff can make it so, fortunately it's only temporary (the back skin is different story, nothing makes it too dry!). Ofcourse your skin is ten years younger than mine and propably can take more than mine can :innocent: Oh I must say here, that good thing about very oily skin is that I haven't got wrinkles yet, not even around my eyes! woohoo! :whoohoo:

Ethereal: Welcome :grinhappy: My skin is not normally dry so I can't give any tips unfortunately... I've read that all acne skins are sensitive; Mine doesn't seem to be extremely sensitive except for my scalp and arm pits, thought I know the kissing and stubble, lol!

I'm not familiar with Proactive, exept I know it's very well marketed in America. I think the active ingredient is also benzoyl peroxide (BP) ?

Are you, by the way, familiar with acne.org (http://www.acne.org)? They have lots of information and also message boards divided by acne problems, for example body acne and acne scarring have their own subforums.

I think you CAN wear open back tops, after you get the acne under control, the scars fade, and no-one will be looking that closely anyway. Gentle but regular exfoliating propably will help with the scars. (Very very gentle exfoliating might help with the face flakes too but don't overdo it since your skin is sensitive.)

The thing I'm very grateful of, is that two years ago I decided I have had enough of acne, and I decided to seek help. I had been waiting to grow out of it but that never happened to me. That can ofcourse be personal and many do grow out of acne. The point is, that whether one does or does not grow out of it, not to wait and suffer but act :)

Good luck for you and hopefully you will find better regimen than the Proactive. I would personally be scared to use coconut oil on my face as it's comedogenic, though I have read some people with acne skin were successful with it. There are some oils that are not comedogenic out there like jojoba. Maybe if you still want to try coconut, try a patch test first?

Medievalsilver: Hello :) Hopefully you get better soon! Hopefully your new products will work for you! :grinhappy:

[Arctic]

Here is a link to a chart of non-comedogenic/ comedogenic oils:
http://www.soapnuts.com/noncomo.html

[Nastasska]

Well I finally caved in and decided to give a dermatologist another go but I've got to wait till late Aptil for an appointment:grim:

[squiggyflop]

my body acne is really bad on my back and shoulders. i never wear tank tops no matter how hot it is and im afraid to be seen in a bathing suit. i have many acne scars on my back too. my face doesnt really have too much in the way of acne. BP and other meds dont workon me and i even tried antibiotic pills but they didnt work either.

[Arctic]

Well I finally caved in and decided to give a dermatologist another go but I've got to wait till late Aptil for an appointment:grim:

I'm glad you're seeking help but too bad it takes so long to get an appointment... Hopefully you and your doctor can find some solution that works for you! Good luck! :flower: :flower:


my body acne is really bad on my back and shoulders. i never wear tank tops no matter how hot it is and im afraid to be seen in a bathing suit. i have many acne scars on my back too. my face doesnt really have too much in the way of acne. BP and other meds dont workon me and i even tried antibiotic pills but they didnt work either.

So sorry to hear that, squiggyflop, if it makes you feel better, I know exactly how it feels not to feel comfortable in your own skin, literally. How do you treat your backne now?

My best non-medicine tips for backne are frequent exfoliating with fine sea salt and using products made for acne skin on your acne prone body parts. I mostly use same things I use on my face. I never use regular soaps or body lotions on my back/chest/shoulders, I use what ever I clean my face with. The moisturizer I use can even be some cheaper brand and I use better quality moisturizer on my face. Also apple cider vinegar rinses after shower might be helpful.

[getoffmyskittle]

I have been debating posting this for a while. I asked blendedchaitea if I should and her reaction cinched my decision.

Benzoyl peroxide is pretty toxic and not at all good for skin. It causes slowed wound healing, increased scarring, and premature aging of the skin, and some studies suggest that it is linked to an increased risk for skin cancer. This is because of the way it kills acne bacteria - through oxidation. (You know all those ANTIoxidant creams and serums that are so popular..? Yeah.) It creates free radicals in the skin - in fact, the effects are similar to sun damage. The FDA has classified it as "Category III," or "safety unknown."

On top of that, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence all over the web - many, many people experience breakouts worse than ever before when they try to quit BP, it irritates skin and causes drying and redness, people have noted that their acne scars more when they are on BP and the red marks left over take longer to go away.

I was put on BP once by a dermatologist. Using it was stressing me out so much that I had to quit. :grim: I have always refused to go on benzoyl peroxide; I'd really rather have acne.

I'm not telling anyone what to do. Like anything, this is a decision you have to make - whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits. I just want to make sure you're aware of what you're putting on your face. (I told BCT, without knowing she uses it regularly, and she is now going to try to go off it.)

Good luck!

[Arctic]

Thanks getoffmyskittle for posting and for being concerned :flower:.

I personally have done my homework and I hope others have too. And I personally take BP any day rather than acne. After suffering from it 15 years and after trying all kinds of natural remedies, BP and BCP have been the only ones that have helped my acne. BP cleared my body acne and I have had clear body for almost two years thanks to it: It changed my life!

I love all things natural and chemicals certainly were not my first choise of treatment.

It is true that one can get acne back after (any) treatment stops, that's because there is not cure for acne, we can only treat the symptoms.

Again thanks for taking time to share your knowledge!

[squiggyflop]

So sorry to hear that, squiggyflop, if it makes you feel better, I know exactly how it feels not to feel comfortable in your own skin, literally. How do you treat your backne now?

My best non-medicine tips for backne are frequent exfoliating with fine sea salt and using products made for acne skin on your acne prone body parts. I mostly use same things I use on my face. I never use regular soaps or body lotions on my back/chest/shoulders, I use what ever I clean my face with. The moisturizer I use can even be some cheaper brand and I use better quality moisturizer on my face. Also apple cider vinegar rinses after shower might be helpful.
i use clean and clear body acne wash gel and it does nothing.. i exfoliate often ive tried some of the heavyest duty stuff out there and nothing even puts a dent in it. i sometimes do ACV rinses for my hair and it burns when it hits the acne... i never put lotion on anything... the last time i used lotion i got pimples on my legs and arms.. i dont use a moisturizer on my face because my face is greasy enough already. i hardly ever wear makeup just out of sheer lazyness.

[Medievalsilver]

I did use the cleasening grains today, and my face feels
smoother, soft and less irated. I will be trying the toner when I go to bed.

[Isilme]

I don't have acne, more like pimples on my cheeks before I get my period and maybe some other times too. During my teens, well that's another story, huge pimples and horrible acne, it has since calmed down a lot. But my skin has never looked so good as now, about a year ago I stoped using any kind of soap or product. I only wash my face with lukewarm water and carefully rub with a towel, then I put some oil on my damp face. I started with jojoba oil and it has done wonders, but I have found an oil that is even better. Sea buckthorn seed oil. A really wonderful reddish oil with a nutty scent. I have never been so happy with my skin as since I stopped using all those products!:)
Oh, and yesterday I put some honey on my face and left it there a couple of minutes, I did the same this morning and my skin looks better already. I think that in some cases (not all cases!) less is more.

[.Amanaka.]

Each time I think that my skin is getting clearer, it becomes crappy again. I know that I need to stick to my routine, but it just annoys me when the one time that I don't do it, I break out and then they won't go away.

My skin isn't horrible, but right now I have bumps on my cheeks and chin, and it's just... argh. I'm most annoyed by the painful bump on my chin that won't come to a head.

[manderly]

Ok, I'm putting this out there for some help.

I've got a spot on my left cheek that has been around for at least a month now. When I squeezed it (I know, bad!) I didn't get all of the plug out, but it still kind of healed up and just was a red mark on my face, like a pimple scar that needs to fade. The other week I decided it wasn't healing fast enough so I tried my luck at it again, this time with a pair of my "surgery" needle tweezers as well. Once in a blue moon I'll have one of these pimples that I don't get all of the plug out and they just linger forever.

Any tips for getting rid of it? I don't think I've managed to get it all out still, and there are a couple little bumps growing around it from the irritation. I've been using BHA and BP and witch hazel and neosporin on it. I WO on my face.

Does anyone else get these? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

[getoffmyskittle]

Ok, I'm putting this out there for some help.

I've got a spot on my left cheek that has been around for at least a month now. When I squeezed it (I know, bad!) I didn't get all of the plug out, but it still kind of healed up and just was a red mark on my face, like a pimple scar that needs to fade. The other week I decided it wasn't healing fast enough so I tried my luck at it again, this time with a pair of my "surgery" needle tweezers as well. Once in a blue moon I'll have one of these pimples that I don't get all of the plug out and they just linger forever.

Any tips for getting rid of it? I don't think I've managed to get it all out still, and there are a couple little bumps growing around it from the irritation. I've been using BHA and BP and witch hazel and neosporin on it. I WO on my face.

Does anyone else get these? Please tell me I'm not the only one.
Try an AHA cream or ACV on a Q-tip dabbed on it as often as you'd like. I managed to bring a zit to a head today by dabbing ACV on it on the hour for three hours. I've also managed to get rid of small whiteheads by AHAing them.

Small whine: I'm trying to quit my products and am getting small bumps... :bored: I hate putting this crap on my face every day but looks like my skin doesn't want me to stop. Well, the good news is that I popped a pimple today without completely tearing up the skin around it, so I guess that's progress. WO sounds more and more appealing to me. I WO my body and get some small clogged pores now and then on my chest and back that go away on their own, and once in a great while I get a zit on my back. A couple summers ago I got a couple zits on my back at one time (I think it was from my conditioner) and so I kind of freaked and started treating it and my back started breaking out more and more. Then, when fall/winter came, I kind of gave up/stopped caring and it all cleared up and hasn't been back since. Also, my parents never had acne. I bet I have cosmetic acne. If only I could bite the bullet and go through the horrendous transition period that's sure to happen... :evileye:

Okay, yeah, that was definitely a ramble. Need... LHC... journal...

[Medievalsilver]

Ok I used the Rose water toner with great results and my skin loves it. Now I need help finding a moisturzier.

[meliora]

Hello everyone! :hi:

An interesting topic came up about the toxicity of BP. I believe that it is probably not the safest chemical out there, and I also like and am interested in natural remedies, but I think that if you follow all the precautions and are careful with it, it is at least worth trying for a serious acne problem :grinhappy: Many people believe in the harm of sulfates, for example, and others use them just fine. So IMHO it also depends on the person. Thank you for posting your concern! :flower:

Hello, Arctic! I am glad that your face is getting over the dryness! And to answer your question about the "resurrecting" pimple, I get those too. I get some regular pimples, but most of miy acneis cystic: white heads underneath the skin getting inflamed, even though I keep my face clean.

Off-topic: I enjoy Gender Studies classes as well! They changed some of my outlooks on the world and the society too, because you learn about different ideas and different outlooks. I also enjoy learning about women's history, and how traditional gender roles affected women throughout history.

On-topic again :grinhappy: : since you tried using salicylic acid on your scalp, I wonder if it helped? How is the progress? I have tried Neutrogena T/Sal shampoo before (I don't know if you can get it in Finland though :ooh: ), and it has salicylic acid in it as well. It helped me at first with scalp build-up and breakouts, but I think I became "immune" to it, which often happens with me and a certain product. The breakouts were gone, but the gunk problem came back. Another thing I do for the scalp problems is applying a mix of burdock oil (but I think you can substitute something like jojoba or coconut) and tea tree oil. I found this helps a lot.

Thank you for your concern with 10% BP! I think it works great for my back, which is now even clearer! I had some itchiness on my face though, and I posted about it in my beauty journal 2 days ago, but yesterday it was done, so I think it was something dog or food related, having something to do with allergies. I don't think it was BP. One concern I have with BP is that where I applied it, my skin is not as soft as it normally is. It is somewhat rougher to the touch, but it doesn't feel irritated, so I don't know if it's something that is temporary or something that I should be alarmed about?

I saw your pictures in the beauty journal, and you have very shiny, beautiful hair! Mine shrinks too when it dries :lafhard: When wet, I am definitely at APL, but dry I am still about an inch above. And your back looks very clear! :whoohoo: :flower: :flower: :flower:

[meliora]

my body acne is really bad on my back and shoulders. i never wear tank tops no matter how hot it is and im afraid to be seen in a bathing suit. i have many acne scars on my back too. my face doesnt really have too much in the way of acne. BP and other meds dont workon me and i even tried antibiotic pills but they didnt work either.

Hi squiggyflop! I understand what you're going through, because I have the same problem. My face is not that bad, but my back has always been a problem. You can read about my experience with backne in an earlier post in this thread. Either way, I am glad that we're not alone with this problem and that we can find understanding here, because talking about this has helped me a lot.

I am still experimenting with BP, but maybe you can find another way of applying it or a different schedule? Maybe you can try WO with gentle scrubbing, because it really helps some people.

Best of luck to you! I know how frustrating this can be :depressed:

[Arctic]

I don't have acne, more like pimples on my cheeks before I get my period and maybe some other times too. During my teens, well that's another story, huge pimples and horrible acne, it has since calmed down a lot. <snip>
I have found an oil that is even better. Sea buckthorn seed oil. A really wonderful reddish oil with a nutty scent. I have never been so happy with my skin as since I stopped using all those products


I'm glad you've gotten rid of most of your acne, Isilme! :whoohoo: I'm curious about sea buckthorn seed oil, I have used it internally in the past. Does it stain alot as it's so deep colour? I searched a little with Google and it indeed seems to be very good for acne skin! I'm glad you brought that up!




Each time I think that my skin is getting clearer, it becomes crappy again. I know that I need to stick to my routine, but it just annoys me when the one time that I don't do it, I break out and then they won't go away. <snip>





.Amanaka.,I know what you meen, it's irritating sometimes to be so bound in routines, especially if one likes to experiment with methods, products etc or life just happens. I like to think about skincare (and this applies to many more things too) like I would be trying to stay balanced at the golden mean. And that the balance is not a stagnant state but constantly needs adjustments and mindfulness to stay that way.



I've got a spot on my left cheek that has been around for at least a month now. When I squeezed it (I know, bad!)
<snip>
Any tips for getting rid of it? I don't think I've managed to get it all out still, and there are a couple little bumps growing around it from the irritation. I've been using BHA and BP and witch hazel and neosporin on it. I WO on my face.

Does anyone else get these? Please tell me I'm not the only one



Hi Manderly! I don't have any help, I'm sorry, but I wanted to say that you're not the only one who gets those. Try not to squeeze it again (until it is "ready"), it may cause the walls of the follicle to rupture :grim: Getofmyskittle gave good advice and if it were me, I propably would continue BP and salicylic acid and would exfoliate often. Some people use tooth paste over night but I didn't like it the couple of times I tried it when I was teenager: It was drying all right but I felt it caused scarring.


getofmyskittle: It might very well be cosmetic acne. I've read many people experience shampoos and/or conditioners they use in the shower to blog pores. WO (and OCM) sound down right scary to me personally, but good luck if you choose to try it!


Meliora, I will get back to your post later, maybe tomorrow :grinhappy:

[meliora]

Hmmm... sea buckthorn oil does seem interesting. I don't know where to get it though *sigh* There is so much I want to try! :lafhard:

Isilme, how do you use it? As a cleanser, in the OCM, or just as a topical treatment/moisturizer?

.Amanaka., I also have hard time sticking to just one routine, I love to experiment :happy: My skin also goes through cycles of being very bad or relatively clear.

[Isilme]

I use the oil as a moisturizer after I have washed my face with water. I apply it on damp skin. Right now I have a huge zit on my chin, I suspect it has something to do with too much high fat milk products and running out of my oil...must...get...more....oil...
About staining, I never had it stain anything, not even my face.

[cutastrophe]

My skin is a mess right now. :purplex: I'm going to do WO with my new skinvac + emu oil. And soon I'm going to start a grain-free diet and do that for 4-6 weeks to see if it helps.

[Unnamed]

I posted a long time ago in here, and let's just say no change, and I think my back is getting worse (scaring wise, especially). I just don't know what to do about that anymore, and am about ready to give up (acne in general...I gave up on the back a long time ago, as I just don't know what to do about it).

Over the last year and a half I messed with Proactiv again for a while (which gave me dry patches...amongst oily skin...gah), and right now/last month or two I've been trying the acnefree stuff, sorta, but I'm not sure about it, either.

[meliora]

Isilme, thanks for the info! So you actually do WO and then oiling as your routine, I was curious :happy: I am always afraid to get more clogged pores with WO, unfortunately, so I never gave it a real chance (I tried it before here and there).

Cutastrophe, good luck with the new routine! I hope it works for you!

Unnamed, I am sorry that nothing really worked so far. There are people that struggle with acne all their life, try different things, and still no relief. I know at least two people like that in real life. Even though I am experimenting with benzoyl peroxide right now, my skin is not exactly clear either, although it does help to get rid of some cystic acne that I had for a while. I have a couple of dry/flaky patches on my chin right now, and I am trying to determine whether they are BP related. I also went through phases where I have given up on the acne, especially on my back, which resulted in not wearing anything with an open back or even open shoulders in years.

[Arctic]

Hello, Arctic! I am glad that your face is getting over the dryness! And to answer your question about the "resurrecting" pimple, I get those too. I get some regular pimples, but most of miy acneis cystic: white heads underneath the skin getting inflamed, even though I keep my face clean.


Hello Meliora!!! :hi: I'm sorry I didn't have time to answer you yesterday. I'm glad this thread has become active again, though ofcourse, I'm saddened to see how many of us suffer from this condition.

I'm not complitely clear (pun intended :drool: ) about the difference of nodules and cysts but I get these larger, under the skin bumps on my face too and they take forever to heal. I also get blackheads and whiteheads, and papules and pustules. The ones from my last bad break-out from when I posted in this thread, were mostly those big ones.

Now that I have started to follow again the acne.org regimen, I have noticed that the new acne I have got are smaller and heal quickly. I hope in a month or two my face will be complitely clear again. I hope the same for you too!!!


Off-topic: I enjoy Gender Studies classes as well! They changed some of my outlooks on the world and the society too, because you learn about different ideas and different outlooks. I also enjoy learning about women's history, and how traditional gender roles affected women throughout history.

The things I'm most interested in are how we "plant" the gender roles into children, how gender roles differ around the world, and stereotypes. Also different sexualities are interesting, as they naturally break and bend the gender roles based on heterosexual world view and stereotypes :geek:


On-topic again: since you tried using salicylic acid on your scalp, I wonder if it helped? How is the progress? I have tried Neutrogena T/Sal shampoo before (I don't know if you can get it in Finland though), and it has salicylic acid in it as well. It helped me at first with scalp build-up and breakouts, but I think I became "immune" to it, which often happens with me and a certain product. The breakouts were gone, but the gunk problem came back. Another thing I do for the scalp problems is applying a mix of burdock oil (but I think you can substitute something like jojoba or coconut) and tea tree oil. I found this helps a lot.

Oh, I'm the worst person you can ask scalp questions, as mine is really mysterious one that I haven't figured out yet.

I typically don't have acne on my scalp but have always got dandruff easily from new shampoos. Sometimes along the years dandruff was so bad I needed to use Nizoral shampoo. Dandruff problem has gotten better but I get attacks occasionally and have found strong ACV helps. Both rinses and prewash. Frequent milder ACV rinses help to keep the scalp healthy. I have also found brown sugar scalp scrubs are an excellent way to get rid of scalp gunk if I feel I have any. ETA: I also have used teatree oil in scalp for itchiness and sometimes (very rarely) I apply acne moisturizer up there night before washing.

I joined LHC last july and tried too many different things and my scalp got angry and I got acne or similar bumps there too. Lot's of them and painful too. I gave up one by one the new hair care things and got back to more simpler routine and that was also when I had an idea and I added the SA gel into my shampoo every now and then.

Well now my scalp has calmed, no bumps, feels good and normal, sometimes itches a bit. I can't say if it was the SA that helped or changing my routine back to simpler one that helped.

Here's some things I did: Gave up CO washing (now I CWC), stopped trying to wash hair less often (I wash every other day), no conditioner in scalp, no deep oilings (I oil wet ends after wash now), started to wash my comb often...

I did notice the first times I used SA in shampoo that the surface of the scalp shedded away (looked like dandruff but was SA doing it's job). I have read that it's often the case with SA, the first time you use it, the results can be dramatic and later not so much. That's supposed to be normal with SA. It's main function is to go inside the pores and help the skin cells there to shed more normally preventing clogs as well as helping purge the existing sebum/bacteria from pores.

I love to change my beauty products every now and then, maybe one reason for that is not to get chance for your skin/hair to get "immune" to it. The shampoo you used, maybe it gave you build-up? While the SA kept working the shampoo itself might not have been good for your scalp?


Thank you for your concern with 10% BP! I think it works great for my back, which is now even clearer! I had some itchiness on my face though, and I posted about it in my beauty journal 2 days ago, but yesterday it was done, so I think it was something dog or food related, having something to do with allergies. I don't think it was BP. One concern I have with BP is that where I applied it, my skin is not as soft as it normally is. It is somewhat rougher to the touch, but it doesn't feel irritated, so I don't know if it's something that is temporary or something that I should be alarmed about?

I'm REALLy happy for your back getting better and hope your face will also improve soon. It's normal with BP to get dry and peeling skin at the beginning. It will get better, in a week or so.

Also what comes to my mind is, that before this routine, you used loofah on your skin daily, yes? As your skin has gotten used to daily exfoliating stopping it suddenly might have something to do with the roughness you're experiencing.

The good thing, by the way, about BP is that germs can't develop resistence to it, so if it works once it will always work. That's reassuring thought in my books :)


I saw your pictures in the beauty journal, and you have very shiny, beautiful hair! Mine shrinks too when it dries :lafhard: When wet, I am definitely at APL, but dry I am still about an inch above. And your back looks very clear! :whoohoo: :flower: :flower: :flower:

Thank you! I also answered your comment in my journal :grinhappy: Hey we have lot's in common, our hairs are about same length too!


All the best to you!

Arctic

[Arctic]

HUGs and lots of positive energy to all who have written in this thread, especially to Unnamed (Yes I care!).

I want to send message of HOPE in my posts, please people, never give up! There will be something that works for your acne.


We are all smart and beautiful individuals (you too Unnamed!!! Look at those eyes and your updo skills are terrific!) with or without acne.

[Unnamed]

meliora -- I might be in the 'life-long' group. If it'd go down to just what mom's got, I'd be happy, BUT she never had acne like mine. Right now it seems worse, but I can't decide *why* it's worse. Either trying to fix health issues (and in the process detoxing some things and/or just the restul of a faster metabolism for a tad), or changing what I'm using.

I actually used to wear tank tops/etc. in high school. I had no friends, and the acne on my face I couldn't hide, so it was kind of a, "what's the point in hiding that?" But lately I can't (UV light sensitivity, so even if there's a basic florescent light around, I have to have long sleeves on), and so that's just sort of made it to where I have no idea what to do with that. I have a hard enough problem thinking about what acne one can see on my shoulders/face/upper chest, forget what's on the rest of me! Compared to my face, the rest is generally worse, too. :ooh:

Arctic -- Thank you, although I'm really not sure about the finding something. Done the doctor/precription route up through Accutane, and while that last *did* put a dent in the acne, right now it's just as bad as before it. My skin's oily, but I get dry flaky patches really, really easy, so I seem to have to walk around with flaky skin, or oily skin. I don't do anything on my back as A) once something's 'there', there's nothing left to do, and B) putting BP on everything (face, all of back, chest) just plain takes too long and uses to much up.

My eyes are the only thing I've ever gotten compliments on (but only if the acne's not bad...), so I figured it was appropriate being a beauty forum! I can't figure out eye-makeup, though. :calm: And if you're talking about what's in my avatar, that was attempt to do something other than a basic basic bun, as I learned a while back that long, thin hair means leftover hair for updos (and wrapping the ends aroung gets real old...arg....I need the laughing smilie :rolleyes: ).


And, so sorry. I've actually tried replying to this thing two other times, but deleted it because of length, and...again, too long.

[NyxWave]

Uhm, I heard somewhere that washing your face with a mix of baking soda and water helps get rid of acne. Is this true?

I just went off my clindymicin (raped that word) prescription and I'm trying to find ways to keep my acne at bay without it. It's only been three days and I'm brekaing out already.

[meliora]

Hello again, Arctic! We do seem to have a lot in common, from hair length to skin to minor in the university, and I think that's pretty awesome! And don't worry about delaying the answer, please take your time!

How is your skin? I hope it's still getting better and clearer! How is dryness, is it gone yet?

I tried to do some more research, and as I understood it, cystic acne in general is a broader term for the condition. It is also called nodulocystic acne, and includes both cysts and nodules, which can become cysts. A nodule is not as severely inflamed then a cyst and is rather the stage before forming a cyst. I hope this is right :ooh: I mostly have cysts, nodules and papules, and not too many pustules as active acne and blackheads and whiteheads as non-inflammatory. I hope this makes sense, and please feel free to correct me!

My skin is getting over the dryness quickly (feels normal now, actually), and I will resume BP tomorrow night (I think I will skip tonight to give it a little more time to recover), but I am still planning to apply it to places that are not irritated. I got worried for about a day, but it healed very fast. I am going to resume the loofah, since it doesn't scrub hard and I think that my skin likes it, since it reduced my blackheads. The whiteheads are the ones that are hard to get! I decided to elimite SA for now and to use a different moisturizer.
I get immune to products easily, or so I think, because most products seem to work well at first. You are most likely right about the "miracle" period though, when everything works marvellously and then stops. But I believe that there are some things that always work, such as exfoliating with a loofah :lafhard:

About the shampoo and scalp: I know what you went through! I did the same routine changes when I first found LHC, my hair was short-somewhere around chin length, but before then I grew from a pixie cut, so I was anxious to try new things to help my hair grow. CO was also not cleansing enough for my scalp. I was a daily washer then, but with an oily and picky skin like mine it was not easy to stretch out washings. I got the scalp sores when I tried to stretch out washing, but after a while it adjusted fine to every other day; it took forever, of course :drool: T/Sal was good for build-up and had olefin sulfonate as a cleanser. Again, once I got to about the middle of the bottle, it stopped working! Oh well. I also found that simpler things work better. I posted my routine in my blog :happy: Now I just wash with a sodium laureth sulfate shampoo, because the harsher ones cause itching and more build-up (skin is getting more irritated with a harsher cleanser, I guess), while with this I have minimal build-up, and my scalp is clean.

Off-topic: I agree about the gender roles that children are taught. It is also interesting what the children are taught about the other sex and how it is often shameful to be called the opposite sex as a name. Children also get different messages through toys and children's books. I did a fun project on that last semester and looked at different action figures of female characters marketed to boys, to determine what messages they are getting about women and women's bodies. I also like the topic of how men and women are portrayed in modern pop culture, such as comic books and films. Sexualities are interesting too, because society has such a strong definition of "the norm". In other words... it's all interesting!

Long post again! :lafhard:

Best of luck to you with everything!!! :flower:
-Meliora

[getoffmyskittle]

Uhm, I heard somewhere that washing your face with a mix of baking soda and water helps get rid of acne. Is this true?

I just went off my clindymicin (raped that word) prescription and I'm trying to find ways to keep my acne at bay without it. It's only been three days and I'm brekaing out already.
Baking soda and water irritates the living daylights out of my face, which leads to more zits. It works for some people, but YMMV and I would not recommend it because baking soda is alkaline and your skin's pH should be acidic. Destroying acid mantle --> more zits. If you decide to do it, I'd use an ACV toner afterwards to re-acidify yourself. But um, a lot of people find that an ACV + aspirin toner does well to get rid of zits without ever going through the whole messing up your skin's pH thang, so you may want to try that alone.

ETA: Clindamycin is a topical antibiotic, right? I don't know what else it may or may not do (dissolve layers of skin, etc) but for that you may want to try tea tree oil in its place. TTO kills the germies. (And I understand why - if I had a to-scale amount of TTO dumped on me, I'd die from the smell alone...)

[NyxWave]

Baking soda and water irritates the living daylights out of my face, which leads to more zits. It works for some people, but YMMV and I would not recommend it because baking soda is alkaline and your skin's pH should be acidic. Destroying acid mantle --> more zits. If you decide to do it, I'd use an ACV toner afterwards to re-acidify yourself. But um, a lot of people find that an ACV + aspirin toner does well to get rid of zits without ever going through the whole messing up your skin's pH thang, so you may want to try that alone.

ETA: Clindamycin is a topical antibiotic, right? I don't know what else it may or may not do (dissolve layers of skin, etc) but for that you may want to try tea tree oil in its place. TTO kills the germies. (And I understand why - if I had a to-scale amount of TTO dumped on me, I'd die from the smell alone...)

e-e I knewI should've got some when I ordered a bunch of oil. I'll check into getting some later.

[meliora]

meliora -- I might be in the 'life-long' group. If it'd go down to just what mom's got, I'd be happy, BUT she never had acne like mine. Right now it seems worse, but I can't decide *why* it's worse. Either trying to fix health issues (and in the process detoxing some things and/or just the restul of a faster metabolism for a tad), or changing what I'm using.

I actually used to wear tank tops/etc. in high school. I had no friends, and the acne on my face I couldn't hide, so it was kind of a, "what's the point in hiding that?" But lately I can't (UV light sensitivity, so even if there's a basic florescent light around, I have to have long sleeves on), and so that's just sort of made it to where I have no idea what to do with that. I have a hard enough problem thinking about what acne one can see on my shoulders/face/upper chest, forget what's on the rest of me! Compared to my face, the rest is generally worse, too. :ooh:

And, so sorry. I've actually tried replying to this thing two other times, but deleted it because of length, and...again, too long.

Unnamed, don't worry about your posts being too long! Just look at some of ours :happy: If you have a lot to say, say it!
Acne can flare up for no apparent reason for some people, including myself, even when the diet is good and stress is minimal. Maybe it's some internal processes in the body, I am not sure. There are different causes of acne, hormonal, cosmetic, etc. (can't remember any more right now :sweatdrop: ), but there is also unexplained acne that just appears.
My acne is also way worse on my back and especially shoulder area, compared to my face.
I am really sorry to hear about your high school experience ((((hugs)))), and I really hope that something will work for you! This is a bit random, but have you tried aspirin soaks? They can be quite successful. Just a suggestion :flower:

[meliora]

e-e I knewI should've got some when I ordered a bunch of oil. I'll check into getting some later.

You can buy it at Wal-mart, if you have one near you :grinhappy: It's where the vitamins and supplements are.

[getoffmyskittle]

e-e I knewI should've got some when I ordered a bunch of oil. I'll check into getting some later.

You can get it at places like Wal-Mart, Target, Trader Joe's, health food stores, etc...

[Arctic]

Hello again, Arctic! We do seem to have a lot in common, from hair length to skin to minor in the university, and I think that's pretty awesome! And don't worry about delaying the answer, please take your time!

How is your skin? I hope it's still getting better and clearer! How is dryness, is it gone yet?

I tried to do some more research, and as I understood it, cystic acne in general is a broader term for the condition. It is also called nodulocystic acne, and includes both cysts and nodules, which can become cysts. A nodule is not as severely inflamed then a cyst and is rather the stage before forming a cyst. I hope this is right :ooh: I mostly have cysts, nodules and papules, and not too many pustules as active acne and blackheads and whiteheads as non-inflammatory. I hope this makes sense, and please feel free to correct me!

My skin is getting over the dryness quickly (feels normal now, actually), and I will resume BP tomorrow night (I think I will skip tonight to give it a little more time to recover), but I am still planning to apply it to places that are not irritated. I got worried for about a day, but it healed very fast. I am going to resume the loofah, since it doesn't scrub hard and I think that my skin likes it, since it reduced my blackheads. The whiteheads are the ones that are hard to get! I decided to elimite SA for now and to use a different moisturizer.
I get immune to products easily, or so I think, because most products seem to work well at first. You are most likely right about the "miracle" period though, when everything works marvellously and then stops. But I believe that there are some things that always work, such as exfoliating with a loofah :lafhard:

About the shampoo and scalp: I know what you went through! I did the same routine changes when I first found LHC, my hair was short-somewhere around chin length, but before then I grew from a pixie cut, so I was anxious to try new things to help my hair grow. CO was also not cleansing enough for my scalp. I was a daily washer then, but with an oily and picky skin like mine it was not easy to stretch out washings. I got the scalp sores when I tried to stretch out washing, but after a while it adjusted fine to every other day; it took forever, of course :drool: T/Sal was good for build-up and had olefin sulfonate as a cleanser. Again, once I got to about the middle of the bottle, it stopped working! Oh well. I also found that simpler things work better. I posted my routine in my blog :happy: Now I just wash with a sodium laureth sulfate shampoo, because the harsher ones cause itching and more build-up (skin is getting more irritated with a harsher cleanser, I guess), while with this I have minimal build-up, and my scalp is clean.

Off-topic: I agree about the gender roles that children are taught. It is also interesting what the children are taught about the other sex and how it is often shameful to be called the opposite sex as a name. Children also get different messages through toys and children's books. I did a fun project on that last semester and looked at different action figures of female characters marketed to boys, to determine what messages they are getting about women and women's bodies. I also like the topic of how men and women are portrayed in modern pop culture, such as comic books and films. Sexualities are interesting too, because society has such a strong definition of "the norm". In other words... it's all interesting!

Long post again! :lafhard:

Best of luck to you with everything!!! :flower:
-Meliora



Hello Meliora and hopefully you are having a great weekend!

Indeed it's quite awesome and very interesting to notice so many common things between us, latest being the picky, hard-to-please scalp! :lafhard:
Reminds me of Dalai Lama's way of thinking that we should not look into differencies between people but similarities, this way we will always find a way to relate to a person no matter what his/her culture, religion, ethnicity, age, etc, are :grinhappy:


Thanks for asking about my skin! It's definitely improved, I can see it is clearer and clearer every day! Even my forehead that was the worst place looks so much better now!

The initial dryness went away and skin seems to be back to normal sebum production though I do have occasionally some dryness around my mouth. I guess I could help that by applying lip balm and moisturizer on and around lips before I apply BP. At least that trick works for the around eyes area (where instead of lip balm I use -naturally- eye creme, lol!).

My whole face is still little irritated and looks a bit red/pink few hours after BP treatment, this irritation should become less and less all the time. I'm afraid I haven't followed my own advice closely enough and have been playing around with SA too much too, which adds up.

I have NO new pimples, yay!!!!

I do have red spots where the lesions are healing and couple of them look like they might not have healed all the way and might come back later (hopefully not!), but no new pimples is wonderful news!!!
The occasional SA on nose keeps the blackheads somewhat at bay too though I try not to concentrate too much on blackheads now, I rather get the inflamed acne under control first.

Couple of days ago I got scared, there looked like I would have 3 huge new pimples on forehead but thanks to treating them the never really "bloomed" but went away before the even surfaced. *relief*
I have been pretty good about not picking my face, which is a bad habit of mine. I have taken few risks and squeeshed couple zits that were "ready" and it seemed to help them start healing.


Well, so much about me, how is your skin? Have you found milder BP? Continued the 10% on face? Hopefully your skin has stayed resilliet to irritation and dryness and has continued to heal and get clear! :whoohoo:


I also did some googling and nodules and cysts seem to be somewhat interchangeable, and often different websites used a bit different terms, which makes it a bit confusing. I even went to look some dermatologist's website's photogalleries, but even they were confusing: some cases that were said to be for example papules, looked more big and serious than some cases that was said to be cystic acne...

Anyway I think I don't have cysts per se, but more like nodules. Or according to some websites they even might be large papules or pustules (I read from few places that nodule/cyst is more than 5 mm in diameter).

My typical acne lesions however are not these big under the skin bumps (that I call nodules according to the best of my understanding) but more on the surface though I typically do have rather largeish papules.

This last serious breakout I had, I got these nodule-kinds mostly on the hairline at the forehead, so I am assuming they may have something to do with my haircare, oiling or even scalp massages? I have stopped massaging scalp for now or do it quickly in the shower when shampooing (CWC).


Hehe, long post for me too, again! Thanks for best wishes, I think they have been helping! Positive energies to your way too!


Arctic


PS. I agree with what you say about Genderstudy: It's all interesting! Your project sounds like fun and informative too! The latest thing I set my eyes on were the Meezes (meez.com) that are also very gender divided.

[Arctic]

Unnamed, don't worry about your posts being too long! Just look at some of ours :happy: If you have a lot to say, say it!



I agree warm heartedly! This is our opportunity to purge the acne from our minds too, acne can blog "mind pores" as well as skin pores :happy:

[Arctic]

I use the oil as a moisturizer after I have washed my face with water. I apply it on damp skin. Right now I have a huge zit on my chin, I suspect it has something to do with too much high fat milk products and running out of my oil...must...get...more....oil...
About staining, I never had it stain anything, not even my face.


Thanks for getting back Isilme! Have you tried that oil in your hair? If so, is it good? I think I'm not brave enough yet to try oiling my face but I am looking for hair oil that is acnefriendly. I use coconut oil now and my hair loves it but it's highly comedogenic :(

[Arctic]

Arctic -- Thank you, although I'm really not sure about the finding something. Done the doctor/precription route up through Accutane, and while that last *did* put a dent in the acne, right now it's just as bad as before it. My skin's oily, but I get dry flaky patches really, really easy, so I seem to have to walk around with flaky skin, or oily skin. I don't do anything on my back as A) once something's 'there', there's nothing left to do, and B) putting BP on everything (face, all of back, chest) just plain takes too long and uses to much up.

My eyes are the only thing I've ever gotten compliments on (but only if the acne's not bad...), so I figured it was appropriate being a beauty forum! I can't figure out eye-makeup, though. :calm: And if you're talking about what's in my avatar, that was attempt to do something other than a basic basic bun, as I learned a while back that long, thin hair means leftover hair for updos (and wrapping the ends aroung gets real old...arg....I need the laughing smilie :rolleyes: ).


Hello Unnamed!

I prefere thinking people as whole rather that random body parts, but you DO have beautiful eyes! :grinhappy: Your avatar updo is marvelous and I've also visited your photo journal at LHC (though never left messages :nosey: ) many times and you're very skilled with your updos!

I'm sorry you've had not much success with acne treatments, but don't give up! The BP application doesn't really take so much time, once it's became a routine. When I started the acne.org regimen, at the beginning I took quick shower twice daily and applied BP on body and face. After I got clear I started to shower once a day (+BP) and then got back to my normal every other day (+BP). This every other day is enough to keep my body clear and I think the time investment for me is worth the the clear body skin.
ETA: I always wash my face twice aday though :)

I feel I love my skin (and myself) so much that I want to treat it and I want it to become healthy. My skin deserves the love, the pampering, the time and the monetary investments. I know this propably sounds funny to some but I don't need the negative energies and so I will try not to concentrate on the negative (skin disorder) but concetrate on positive and to love myself.

I still need to figure out what is the regularity/ amounth of BP that would be enough for my face to keep it clear: It needs more treatment than my body for some reason, but I'm really motivated to find out the balance.

Anyways the treatment, what ever kind one chooses, is beneficial for numerous reasons, not only does it help excisting acne it also prevents future breakouts. And helps heal the "mental acne scars" too :)

Good luck for you!

ETA2: You might find some other moisturizer would be better in preventing flakes. There are huge differencies, in my experience, between moisturizers, especially when we are not teenagers anymore. ;)

[Isilme]

Thanks for getting back Isilme! Have you tried that oil in your hair? If so, is it good? I think I'm not brave enough yet to try oiling my face but I am looking for hair oil that is acnefriendly. I use coconut oil now and my hair loves it but it's highly comedogenic :(

Yes, it seems to work ok with hair, but my hair has never been very fond of any oils except the nape hairs.
ETA, have you tried jojoba? It is supposed to be good for acne.

[Arctic]

Yes, it seems to work ok with hair, but my hair has never been very fond of any oils except the nape hairs.
ETA, have you tried jojoba? It is supposed to be good for acne.


Good to know, thank you :flower:

I haven't tried jojoba yet, I have heared it's good for oily/acne prone skin and am interested to try it, but I have also heared it doesn't absorb into the hairshaft like for example coconut oil does.

I'm rather an oil novise, I have only tried externally EVOO and virgin coconut oils :)

[Unnamed]

So sorry his took a bit...really not good at posting, as I don't seem to be very useful here.

meliora -- Mine's...weird. I think it *might* be high testosterone, though, so I might not ever get rid of it! Accutane barely put a dent in it. :ooh:

And don't worry about the 'no friends' thing: it's not from the acne, although the acne pretty much gave a 0% chance of that changing. I've never had friends (not even now...a lot is anxiety/that I don't know how to talk to or even around people (or even post in threads, or now not know how...) and then being the 'kid to tease/start rumours about' even before the acne started up)--so it was more of a statement of 'no friends, so no reason to care' if that makes sense?

Hmm, I had tried aspirin soaks a few times back...er...late 2004, I think. I couldn't find aspirin that was the right kind for it, though (looked, but I only found the coated stuff :sweatdrop:), and haven't tried it again because of not having the aspirin for it, although I have been thinking about it again lately.


Arctic -- Again, thank you! Really, my eyes are the only thing that's ever gotten complements. Or, well, I did when my hair was black. I don't really any more, as like my ashy/cool/no-named hair colour, my eyes are grey. Add that to pale, and I usually get asked, "Do you feel okay?" And, honestly, most of the pics in my photo journal (including the thing in my avatar) were one-time things, as I don't have anywhere to go. :rain:

Part of the problem with the BP thing is I'm not always the best with routines; partially because I got sick of 'em through the prescription stuff, and also that my skin rebels when messed with too much. :ooh: I've yet to have something I could do more than once a day. I also can't wake up in the mornings (sort of a health issue...it's not simply 'not getting up') and so doing much to my face in the morning is 'out' anyway, unless I wait till about 1pm 'cause I'm just sooo tired. Although I'd love to try what I'm currently trying (which I haven't used for almost a week due to stress...ugg) twice a day, as it seems like my skin might be able to tolerate this stuff, but the acnefree BP also seems to make my skin make more oil, so...yeah. I wish I had extra BP to use on my back and stuff, but I've yet to really find it cheap enough for that.

I have to be very careful with what I use to wash my face, etc., because of the dryness: Moisturisers don't help it, and generally make the acne worse. I have recently (last couple of years...) found that oil (emu oil, anyway) will help those dry, itchy patches. I think it's actually psoriasis or something along those lines, and not just basic 'dry' skin, as it starts out just 'flaky', but ends up more scaly and a bit red (and itchy and painful) if I don't catch it right away! It pops up with water online or OCM, too (really, really bad with those...:sweatdrop:). My skin is also still as oily now as it's ever been (which causes problems on it's own), and I probably still look like a teenager age-wise, especially adding in the acne.

On the positivity/negativity thing: For the most part, I more just ignore the acne/other stuff...ie, try not to think about it. It doesn't work too well, though, because it's one of the things that adds to the 'too many things wrong with me to ever get to do 'normal' things' list. I try not to label it as 'negative' (instead, it's more just a fact :purplex:) although really, it is. :ooh: I just don't have anything positive to focus on, as all my life there's just been so much wrong with me/things I can't do that others can (in just about any way). Or, I'm the freak that can do something (usually in regard to computers, math, music), which has never been a 'good' thing.

[meliora]

Hello Arctic! :flower: I hope you are having a good week too! :happy:

I like the Dalai Lama way of thinking, and I am glad to find someone so similar to me, even though we live so far apart!

I am continuing with the 10% BP, because I have realized that the new Noxzema cleanser I was using was too harsh for my skin (the ingredients seemed ok, but it was for combination/oily skin, and I bought it to try something new). My face is now looking pretty good, but there is a large new breakout on my chin, which was easily covered up with concealer though. It can be dealt with, because that’s the only one, no new cysts, yay! I still cannot find the 2.5% BP, I saw it on drugstore.com, but I cannot find it in any actual store! I don’t know what’s up with that :ooh:

Right now I am contemplating getting a gentler cleanser, maybe another variation of Noxzema, the cream, or using just loofah and warm water to cleanse my skin. I did the latter for some time once, and it was pretty nice and got my skin clean. What kind of cleanser do you use?

I am very glad that your skin is clearing up! The area around the mouth is usually very sensitive. Have you tried any oils as a moisturizer there? I am a little curious how oils would work for facial skin, since I never tried that. It’s also nice when new pimples just disappear before even starting, and BP is great for that kind of treatment. It’s a good feeling when skin starts clearing up, and I really hope that your temporary irritation will get better too once your skin gets used to BP again!

I know what you mean when you say that you love to experiment! I also have a hard time following a particular routine and like to try new things too much! I am not really into products, but I enjoy mixing things from common ingredients or trying new methods of washing like loofah and water, followed with a vinegar toner :grinhappy: But I haven’t tried OCM yet :lafhard:

About the scalp, it took me forever to figure out my own, but then I realized that it doesn’t like harsh detergents (nothing harsher than strongly diluted sodium laureth sulfate), but it needs to stay clean. I use baby shampoo now and have good results with it, but some people on LHC had exactly the opposite results. It’s something worth trying though.

I have been living without Internet for a few days (technical problems), so now I am using a university computer once in a while, thus a delayed response L I will try to be faster next time!

Again, best wishes to you! Good luck with everything!!! :flower:

[Unnamed]

Ack, I forgot to ask this in my last post, but for those with body acne:

Do you use an acne-geared cleanser in acne prone areas? If so, any favourite ingredients/products? I both have and haven't, and it's something I'm considering again (if I can manage to get my hair up and out of the way while being washed, anyway!).

Also (and I've always wanted to ask this question...honestly no clue if others have a problem with this, but...), what do you do about blackheads/plugged pores in more sensitive areas? Basically anywhere one might get stretch marks/thin skin areas (TMI, but like breats, upper thighs, abomen, etc).

[meliora]

Hello, Unnamed!
I don't know if I will be much help with the cleanser suggestion, but I found that special acne cleansers are too harsh for my skin. They tend to have stronger detergents from what I've seen, but on the other hand, some cleansers that are not specially for acne can be harsh too. I am looking for a good gentle cleanser myself.

I would suggest a gentle soap instead of a cleanser. I think that's what I will end up doing too, since my skin doesn't like detergents much. Of course, you can experiment :grinhappy:

I used to buy "special acne cleansers" before and my skin became a worse mess, oilier and dryer at the same time (hard to imagine, but every time I washed my skin felt very dry right afterwards and in 5 minutes would become very oily).

About your other question: it happens, yes. I used to get breakouts and clogged pores on my thighs, but once I stopped shaving there, they decreased dramatically, although they continued for a few months after I stopped shaving. I used to be paranoid about shaving there, but the hair is nearly invisible anyway. I still shave my lower legs, and those get clogged pores more often, especially under my knees or on the outer side of the calf :depressed: It might sound funny, but a couple of times when I went out in knee-long shorts, which I really like, I ended up putting some concealer on my leg :purplex: I get clogged pores on my upper chest, but exfoliating every other day is great for that, but they used to be a problem when I used "bath poofs" instead of a loofah, because they don't really have any scrubbing power and just create lather. I still get clogged pores on my stomach, but there is no pattern there, sometimes there are more, and sometimes only one or two. Sometimes they would become more serious breakouts, but BP or tea tree oil helps.

[manderly]

For those looking for 2.5% BP, I got mine from daniel kern, cheapest stuff around in a large enough size to use.

2.5% is so weak you can use it on just about your whole face, instead of just spot treating trouble areas. The whole face treatment helps prevent future breakouts, just like Proactiv and others claim.

http://www.danielkern.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=22

[meliora]

Thanks for posting the link, Manderly! :grinhappy: I will look into it, because I had (and still am having) trouble finding 2.5% BP.

[kettle]

Purely on the off-chance that there is anyone out there: where do those who live in the UK find their aspirin for aspirin masks? Assuming that any of you do? A boots search is only giving me Anadin Extra, which contains aspirin, but I'm not convinced this would be okay. Not that I know the first thing about it!!
I'm very intrigued by the aspirin mask; I just don't recall ever seeing aspirin on sale here!
:flower:

[Aninha]

I don't know if this has been posted already but I'll throw in my routine for break-outs. I just started using it on a major break-out I had a few days ago and so far it's working like a miracle.

Just take a cotton ball and wet it with some rosewater. Then put a drop of tea tree oil on it. Dab it on the problem spots and then swipe it over the rest of your face as a pre-emptive measure. I usually do this before bed and each day I've been waking up with less and less redness, inflammation, and pain. Hope it helps!

[violetflower]

Purely on the off-chance that there is anyone out there: where do those who live in the UK find their aspirin for aspirin masks? Assuming that any of you do? A boots search is only giving me Anadin Extra, which contains aspirin, but I'm not convinced this would be okay. Not that I know the first thing about it!!
I'm very intrigued by the aspirin mask; I just don't recall ever seeing aspirin on sale here!
:flower:

Sainsbury do them. A pack of 16 for 15p! They are in a blister pack. I hope this helps! :flower:

[kettle]

violetflower, thank you! :flower: I could do with doing a shop tomorrow too, so Sainsbury's it is :whoohoo:

[Medievalsilver]

I picked up some palmers cocoa butter to try as a moisturizer.

[morningstar]

I just got back from the dermatologist. I am now taking an antibiotic, and resuming aldactone, and differin cream. I will add Clyacin antibiotic cream also. My face had a bad flair up with cystic acne probably due to hormones. My face actually hurt. He also injected me right there in the office with something.