Acne, what helps what doesnt?

[graycie]

my dermatologist put me on Minocyclene(sp)capsules, good lord they were like horse pills but they worked, you just have to take them for i think it was 5 weeks. he also prescribed Plexion, its a medicated clay based mask used a couple times a week that you leave on for about 5 min then wash off, that was good for oil control.

Proactiv was so so, cleanser, and toner good but the other stuff didn't impress me.

i even tried toothpaste once on a friends suggestion, man was that abrasive as heck.

I guess your daily washing routine is a big factor too, you shouldn't over exfoliate because it over stimulates your skin and can cause over production of oil which leads to acne. use an astringent toner, but not one that total dries out your skin. then some kind of acne control product before a moisturizer. moisturizer should be light but still emolient(sp) enough to hydrate your skin and if its got SPF even better.

[beam]

wash your hair before you go to sleep and get rid of your feather pillow if you have one.

sometimes it can be an allergic reaction to the down in feather pillows.

[hAppy]

let me tell you guys from experience

that junk they sell over the counter dont work for ****, i hear oxypads work but ONLY those, so if you do get anything only get those

other face whipe junk dont work, theyre money scams, you get more pimples you buy more BOOM they rake in money

acutaine, thats last resort for severe cases ONLY, doctors say that it makes people depressed, i told this story over and over, remember the guy that crashed a plane into a building (not the 9/11 attacks)? well investigators believed his mind was messed up from acutaine

i went through pills after pills and face cremes after face cremes, nothing worked out very well, just helped or kinda suppressed my acne

i heard that toothpaste (not the gel stuff) will take out the redness out of your acne over night. i havent tried it cus it sounds really really weird

vitamin e, these little gel capsles work really well, you can buy em at a drug store, you just pop open the capsule w/ a needle or so, and than you put it over your acne, this stuff works pretty good!

so in short...
good
-toothpaste
-oxy pads
-vitamin e

useless/bad
-acutaine
-anything thats not oxypad
-pills
-cremes

[Konigballer]

screw the over the counter crap, if its real bad, ask your dermatologist about Acutane. I had acne real bad and I got put on that stuff for almost a whole year. Due to the way it works, sophmore year was the worst year of highschool for me. However, when junior year came around I was completley clear. I never got pimples or anything ever. I only started getting the occasional pimple after I got real into weight lifting in college 'cause I was sweating so much, but it was insignificant compared to anything I ever got in highschool. Acutane will get the job done plain and simple but it aint fun durring the first two or three months.

Acutane really powerfull stuff so some people cant take it cause of that. You will actually break out even more durring the first month or more because its literally forcing all that crap outa your skin, but once thats done your basically completley clear. Your skin will get real dry and your lips will get very chapped but I think it was definetly worth it. Realistically, I would look at getting clear skin by using acutane as a long term present. Its going to suck being you for a little while but then your done, pretty much forever.

[Link]

Agreeing with quite a few people, Acutane is only for extreme cases. I too was put on it. Well, it did work. However, it apparently was wreaking havoc on a kidney so I had to get off of it. No other perscripitons worked for me so eventually I ordered some ProActive. I've been on it for about a year and it works pretty well. It's the only thing other than acutane that has worked on me, however, if I even miss even 1 usage I break out like mad. It's not perfect but it's definitely helping. So, if nothing else works you might give it a try. I think it's like $40 a month.

*oh, and when on acutane I had to go get blood taken once a month and you can't spend very much time in the sun. it sucked.

*oh again, that sea breeze stuff. That was the first thing I used way back when. It burnt like a mofo but if it's working for you then

[Fred]

Whoever came up with the theory that clearing your face up makes people depressed is... smoking something... come on... that kid who crashed the plane was a coincidence.

Accutane is a pill, you load, then back off to a regular dose.

you have to go to the doc for regular blood tests to make sure its not doing damage to your kidneys or liver as well...

my bro and sis took it as well, and we're all happily clear skinned now.

I swam in HS too, the chlorine didn't help, but i had to back off my accutane dosage to keep my skin from cracking too much... it REALLY dries you out...

---Fred

[Link]

No no. Actutane can do something chemically to make you depressed. My doc also warned me about that though I never experienced it. No idea if that plane guy story is true, but it could happen.

[zyklon69]

I took accutaine, my skin looks great now, didn't have any side effects. Girls were begging to lick my face afterwards :P

[Archangel Kid]

Originally posted by nouseforaname

Archangel Kid - those triaz pads, I had them but when I took them out of the package they were all dry. Is this normal or did I just get an old batch because they didnt seem to have any medication on them

If you had them a while ago I don't think they were Triaz pads cause these things are brand new, meaning just brought out to the market. My dads a derm. thats how I got em

Oh and also be careful if you go with Accutane because for somepeople it will work and others it wont, and no sometimes it doesn't clear up for good.

[Dubstar112]

Actually, I knew somone who did commit suicide, and was on acne medication. Thats what they said made him depressed, I think there was more to it than just acne med. though....

Im willing to look past that. Id rather try somthing that works.

So how do they determine severe?

[hAppy]

Originally posted by Fred
Whoever came up with the theory that clearing your face up makes people depressed is... smoking something... come on... that kid who crashed the plane was a coincidence.

Accutane is a pill, you load, then back off to a regular dose.

you have to go to the doc for regular blood tests to make sure its not doing damage to your kidneys or liver as well...

my bro and sis took it as well, and we're all happily clear skinned now.

I swam in HS too, the chlorine didn't help, but i had to back off my accutane dosage to keep my skin from cracking too much... it REALLY dries you out...

---Fred

come on man you gotta read the posts

the plane crash w/ the guy was a theory, not a conclusion, i agree

and for dubstar, severe is when your face looks like its boiling up and has little pimples all over the place, like your face is acne country, haha im just messin w/ you, but thats how doctors determine severe, if you have a few here and there, thats not severe

[Kevmaster]

Originally posted by Link
No no. Actutane can do something chemically to make you depressed. My doc also warned me about that though I never experienced it. No idea if that plane guy story is true, but it could happen.

in VERY RARE cases, accutain CAN cause depression. I read the little book with it. It was publicized heavily because the teen who crashed the plane and a senator's son were on accutane (among other medicines) when they commited suicide. This is by no means conclusive evidence

you also do get monthly blood checks to make sure you arnt damaging your kindey. no long term damage can be done in the one month period where you dont get tested

it can cause slight joint pain for most people

however...overall, when nothing else seems to be doing much, accutane is a VERY EFFECTIVE method of curing it. It took a 4 month dose for me, and I may be going back for a second dose. it has a 95% success rate with two runs. (75% with just one run).

[cphilip]

Good stuff if you need it. Do not listen to all the scare stories. Did wonders for my kid. He had his thearapy rounds of it and has been off it a year now with no recurrance. Carefull monitoring and all its safe. And the only thing that works for Acne Vulgaris. Thats not your "just pimples". You won't cure that with much else.

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

I use Tazorax. I still have acne, but it is mostly in part that I don't use it when I should. My Doc, said I could have acutane but I was like screw that give me a cream and some pills. It makes a noticeable differnce when I put it on and when I get up in the morning. Only bad side is my skin gets stuff on it after useing it for about a week straight. The best time I ever didn't have it bad was the week as was at the beach and for some reason it just went away.

[Daroy99]

Mines not bad at all if i use my plexion and triaz creme(benzol peroxide) and i dont wipe my face with my hands alot.