Acne, what helps what doesnt?

[Sooky]

God, this thread brings back bad memories... I used to have really bad acne. "Holy pimples Batman! How many chocolate bars do you eat a day?!"

I tried over the counter and on the shelf cremes, eating right, washing right, avoiding junk food, but nothing worked. Basically, you got to fight it internally and externally.

I went to my doctor, and ended up taking Tetracycline for a couple a years. It worked awesome, and has few side effects - you can't take it if your pregnant, on BC pills, or if your very young (it can discolour your teath if your still growing).

I also had some creme to apply nightly, but it didn't seem to work that well. But what I found to work best was sunlight. Hot, blaring sunlight. Go to the beach, and occasionally jump in the river. Within a week you'll be all cleared up. If your pale or got lots of moles it might not be a good choice, but I'm dark skinned and its nearly impossible for me to burn.

Edit: I just remembered that Tetracycline is supposed to make you more sensitive to the sun. I don't know how accurate that is, as I spent every day in the summer at the beach from 11-6 before I got a job....

[Fred]

I also took tetracycline for a little while... worked for a time... but gradually lost its effectiveness as i got older.

and yes, you have to stay out of the sun when taking it...

[hAppy]

Originally posted by Rather
Anyone ever try using baking soda before? you know the stuff that whitens teeth and is in cakes? Has anyone ever tried that before with some sort of results? Cause i've jsut started doign that. If its edible and makes your teeth white, shouldnt be all that bad for your skin should it?

lol didnt know it was edible, probably wouldnt eat it either haha

i went swimming alot over summer, i kinda noticed my acne decreased from that, but than it came back up... im not sure if chlorine kills acne... kinda weird ya know

[Matt_mg]

Acutune owns... I had bad acne it only that worked...

Problem is, in Canada, I had to get blood test each month to know if I was ok. Dunno if you US guys got those (probably isn't critical, never heard about the friggin results anyway) but it's still annoying to go to the clinic.

[Link]

Originally posted by Matt_mg
Acutune owns... I had bad acne it only that worked...

Problem is, in Canada, I had to get blood test each month to know if I was ok. Dunno if you US guys got those (probably isn't critical, never heard about the friggin results anyway) but it's still annoying to go to the clinic.

I too had to get a weekly blood test and I'm in the US. I'm sure glad they make you do that because it was tearing up my liver.

[nippinout]

One of my friends had particularly severe acne. His mom bought him some ProActiv from an infomercial. That stuff rocked! Cleared up his face super good. Watch the informercial sometime. They have Vivica A Fox and Stephanie Seymour in it. (Stephanie Seymour = hot)

I had pretty bad acne in high school. I did the OTC stuff. Didn't see a dermatologist ever. Probably should have. I guess I didn't care much, or maybe I thought it was 'gay' maybe?

See what a dermatologist says.

But that ProActiv stuff rocked for my buddy.

You are not alone my friend.

[painball]

Originally posted by Link


I too had to get a weekly blood test and I'm in the US. I'm sure glad they make you do that because it was tearing up my liver.

same here. I forgot what it was but something in my blood was really high like 4x as much as there should be.

[hAppy]

just some off topic info

you know if you wear rental masks you ll break out like CRAZY the next day?

happened to a bunch of my newbie friends, poor guys

[Dubstar112]

I dunno... anyone try any thing new... Im gonna try to get to the doctors to get some stuff for my face again. Accutane it shall be!

[dyst0pia]

i dunno man, accutane is crazy strength. I would try stuff that isn't going to rip you a new one before you go hardcore style. For instance, I had/have acne, and I have tried a ton of different stuff. Right now I am taking Cephalexin (a pill) and using Brevoxyl. Brevoxyl is an amazing wash, I would recommend that for anyone. The Cephalexin is sub-par though, it seems to dry my skin out more than anything else I have ever used. However, doxycyclin was amazing. The only reason I stopped was the aphysxia, the throat thing. If you don't tale doxycyclin with enough water/food, it causes troubles...painful trouble.

Also, proactive worked pretty well for me before I went and saw a dermatologist.

[trevorjk]

but you also got to know what kind of acne you have... i have heriditary cystic acne wich means i get huge red lumps before i see the actual pimple and i really cant do anything about getting rid of it... but you can slow it down and make it less comman i personally am way to damn poor for accutane but i have used just regular soap and a facial wash by i think nivea or something like that maybe neutrogina(sp) but i wash my face about 5 times a day to keep oil and bacteria off my face and although im still not happy with the results its a hell of alot better then what it use to be

so basically the best thing to do is keep your face clean wash 3-4 times a day and change your pillow case that helps alot to... other then that take some sort of pill accutane being the best at the moment but its pricey

[cphilip]

Acutane is a pill...

... its just you have to have regular blood work throughout the therapy sessions to make sure you liver and kidney functions stay normal. A small percentage see some reactions there and they will pull you off if they elevate too high. So you get that done like once a month. And the normal session is for 6 months. Then mostly your done for good. Occasionaly one person ends up going through two sessions of it. But most only require one.

[cphilip]

Originally posted by dyst0pia
i dunno man, accutane is crazy strength. I would try stuff that isn't going to rip you a new one before you go hardcore style.

Dude... talk about something you know something about. His Dermatologist will not put him on it unless it's full Acne Vulgaris and nessicary. And he will be closely monitored as well. They don't lightly perscribe this stuff.

[WillyWonka]

I was on accutane off and on for like 3-4 months. It worked great, was quick and easy, and for me didn't have any bad side effects. It's different for different people and the dosage makes a difference. It's up to you, your parents, and your Doc if you wanna try it, but i'd say there's a 100% chance it'll help.

[hAppy]

i went to a dermatologist 3 times already, each time she gave me something that seemed to be USELESS or it made it worse over night?! is it normal to be seeing a dermatologist this many times and not having ANYTHING help?! cus im gettin impatient w/ her. shes giving me pills (not sure if they work) and some junk face stuff and that junk seems to be making it worse...