Breakouts

[Ash]

:hair: Ok, I'm so sick of breakouts. I've tried various things to get rid of them and nothing seems to work. It's frustrating, since I work in the public, and embarrassing. I need help and suggestions. Please! I've tried keeping my hands/hair off my face, I've started drinking more water and less sugary drinks (which has seemed to only increase the severity of my breakouts), I've tried different OTC products... Nothing seems to work. I don't wear make up.. It's a never ending vicious cycle I need help stopping, or at least controlling. Any and most all suggestions are welcome.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

My best friend's 3 children have all suffered with the usual teen acne. Maggie is currently 16 and starting to have trouble.

All 3 of them have used Proactive successfully. I, too, have used several of the Proactive products to deal with my adult acne when it rears its ugly head.

Last week I had complimented Maggie about how clear her face was getting since she was using the Proactive. When I saw her on Sunday night, she had flared up again pretty badly.

She told me that in the information that came with it, the advice was given to avoid regular milk and use ONLY organic milk, because the hormones that the cows are given can add to OUR levels of hormones. I had never heard of this, but when she said that they ran out of organic milk and that she was drinking "regular" milk again, and that had caused her to flare up, I thought hmmmmm, I better try this organic milk, because I LOVE and drink LOTS of skim milk every day.

Just something to think about...

 

[Ash]

I honestly rarely drink milk (I know, bad me!) so I doubt that's anything to do with it. I'd love to try ProActive to see if it would work for me, but I don't have the extra money a month to pay for it.... Keith and I are trying to save money towards a place.

 

[Diamond Dreams]

I've had bad skin since I hit puberty way back when... The only thing that ever really helped me was being pregnant with my son. My skin was AMAZING and then the baby came out and it went back to crap.

To me that says it is a hormonal imbalance and rubbing whatever on your face everyday is only masking, not fixing the problem. Find a supplement store (with knowledgeable staff), they can probably point you in the right direction of what to take and not to take to help your skin.

 

[Luci]

ash, about proactive....

i know its expensive especially with the shipping and handling. and wow, 40 bucks a month just for the products. i dont use that much product to buy something new once a month lol.

but my sister loves it and has been using it since she was in high school (shes 30 now). i had asked her about it and she said if you want to avoid all those crazy prices, buy them at the kiosks in the mall. just this weekend, i was at the mall and they had a Proactive kiosk. its worth a try. you dont have to buy any of those "free trial products" and you dont have to pay for shipping.

another thing, i had heard that working out clears up your skin. and do you use facial masks or biore? i use those once a week (mask on sunday, biore on wednesday). i like them. oh and a friend told me to put antibiotic on the pimples. i did that for a while in the summer and any blemishes would clear up.

try those things!!!

 

[AZChins]

The only thing that worked for me was to go with a better face wash. You only want to wash your face twice a day and when you do you do not want to remove all the oil...just the dirt. A lot of people overwash their faces and actually make their oil glands go into the overdrive. The move oil you remove, the more your skin wants to replenish it...it starts up a nasty cycle. More productive oil glands mean that there is a much greater likelihood that there will be clogs in the pores and that will result in acne. NEVER scrub with your cleanser...just gently work it in. Trust me about that...you don't want to dry your face out because that will make those oil glands go crazy.

Other than that... treating acne should be very cheap. I'd never use the expensive stuff...it isn't worth it. It's better to go right to the main reasons why there is acne...mostly overactive oil glands. If you do get a pimple, colorless iodine is awesome at killing the bacteria and getting everything back to where it should be. Just a little dab on the pimple is good. (You can buy decolorized iodine at almost any pharmacy, although you may need to have them order it for you.

Seriously...next time you wash your face. Use only a drop or two of your cleanser in the palm of your hand and add a little water to get a nice foam...and then gently rub that across your face in small circular motions. Then rinse, of course. You shouldn't have your face feel completely dried out when you wash it...

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I totally agree with Luci -- don't buy it on the internet or from a late-night infomercial -- they are automatically signing you up for delivery of the complete system every single month. You can buy from the mall kiosks and buy only the products that you like, when you need them.

For example, I buy a tube of the "Advanced Blemish Treatment" and it lasts me almost a year. Maggie likes the face wash and the ABT that I use, but doesn't like the moisturizer so she uses Cetaphil lotion (cheap and available at any Walgreen's or Walmart) that my dermatologist recommended.

I have a feeling that starting out with the trial size of the complete system that you can get at the mall will not cost you as much as TV and that it will certainly last longer than a month. Then you can decide if it has worked for you and what products you like the best.

Good luck, and remember (although I remember at your age thinking that it WAS the end of the world to have breakouts) -- just because you have a blemish on your face doesn't mean that you aren't a wonderful, positive person. Don't let others define and judge you based on the condition of your skin on any given day. Trust me -- it doesn't get any easier to have a giant Mt. Saint Helen sized blemish on your face as you get older. I'm 58 and sometimes even I have to grin and bear it!!!

 

[Melissa]

I would like to add to what Susan said. Whether your skin is oily or not you NEED a moisturizer. And there are different kinds for different skin types.

I have successfully used proactive for a while but like with ANYTHING you use, your body becomes immune to it. You might need to switch products every 6 months or so.

Also, how long are you using something before you give up on it. Remember a pimple today was started about 2-3 weeks ago in your skin. So what ever product you use is going to take about 3weeks to a month before you notice if its working FOR SURE. Not just drying you out for the time being.

Also if you wanted to try Proactive, its only 19.95 right now and you get free shipping. It will last about 1-2 months if used properly. That should work out to about the same if not cheaper than products you would get in the store.

I currently use Cetaphil which is not cheap but my mom gets samples like crazy since she works for a dermatologist. Its the number one recommended cleanser right now with dermatologists... in this area anyways. I used that every day. There is no foam or lather and i actually use the hand moisturizer for my face rather than the actual face moisturizer because it reminds me of suntan lotion. And once a week I use a cheapy brand soap just so my skin doesnt get used to the Cetaphil. I have good skin for the most part.


ETA: Lynn..I must have been typing before you replied. Where do you guys find Cetaphil cheap because here I get a regular sized bottle of cleanser for $14 AT WALMART or Publix when I dont get the samples through my mom.

 

[cmor1031]

No, I tried proactiv when I had my acne at its worst, and it did not help at all for me, so if you get proactiv, don't expect 100% that its going to work for you.

Tea tree oil products are very good, even just tea tree oil itself, also, really good exfoliators help, like St.Ives apricot scrub (LOVE that stuff!)

Another thing that really helped was using Retin-a Micro, but I think you need a prescription for that...if you dont go to the dermatologist, look for products with retinol in them, that helped clear up my skin and the scars from past breakouts...

 

[Melissa]

I know we cant have tea tree oil around hedgehogs.. Does anyone know how it affects chins?

 

[threewingedfury]

Have you considered seeing a dermatologist? I saw one for a few years and I was put on Triaz cleanser and Differin gel. Both worked but really dried out my skin. I was forgetful as far as using it properly, so I would have flareups sometimes. I've never been able to get OTC products to work for me and I'm now using the Oscion cleanser which was a generic for the Triaz. They're only $4 at Wal-Mart under the script program and it really cleans your face.

 

[Nancy]

I know we cant have tea tree oil around hedgehogs.. Does anyone know how it affects chins?

You can't use Tea tree oil or anything tea tree on hedgehogs but it's fine to use on yourself as long as the hedgehog doesn't lick the area it's used on and you wash your hands well after use.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

Go see a dermatologist, he/she will be able to determine what is best for your skin (possibly prescription) and you won't waste your money buying products that don't work for you.

 

[Harleychin]

Do you use probiotics?If you have to much yeast in your system it can cause break outs and a good probiotic will help.It takes about six weeks to kick in though.

 

[Ash]

Thanks, guys. I'd love to go to a dermatologist but I don't have insurance, and really don't have the money to pay out of pocket for one. I usually use a product through a whole bottle, which is about a month or so, and things will start clearing up and it'll seem like the product is working and then I'll get a sudden flare up again. I'll take a look around and different things suggested, and I just started a new bc pill so I'm hoping maybe that will help also.

 

[Luci]

GAG birth control!!! lol sorry...

but i totally didnt even think about the dermatologist. my sis had to take pills for her acne. it got worse before it got better. and tea tree oil is amazing. i used to buy my face wash at the organic food store, granted its a bit expensive (meaning 7 bucks), but it really feels nice and it works. and im gonna have to go ahead and say keeping a regular sleeping/eating schedule will keep your overall body healthy and minimize stress.

but i know you go to sleep early anyways...well, earlier than me lol.

 

[CerLynn]

I've used Proactiv for at least 8 years now, and although it usually keeps things in check, I definitely have my flare-ups (likely stress-related) - so as mentioned, if you do try something like that, it may not be 100% effective. Different pills can have different effects, so that's something to keep in mind as well (if I recall, higher androgen levels may be more likely to increase acne, rather than decrease).

 

[Spoof]

My family has this lovely genetic acne. I get it everywhere, never could control it. A few weeks ago I picked up some tea tree oil and it really does work on stopping the pain of them. It doesn't seem to prevent anything, they still show up, but go away within 24 hours and I am pain free.

My chins have not reacted to it, I figured they would object to the extremely strong smell but at most seem curious.

 

[Nancy]

My acne was and is food related and of course worse at period time. I see the same pattern in my daughters but of course I can't convince them of that.

Chocolate is guaranteed to make me break out even now and how bad a break out corresponds directly to how much chocolate I ate. Two days after, I have pimples. Certain candy will do the same thing only not as bad.

 

[Ash]

Thanks again guys. I picked up some St Ives stuff yesterday at work, but this flair of breakouts seems to be waning, thank God. And Spoof, I know how you feel! I get breakouts on my back and shoulders, too, along with my chest and the odd breakout on other parts of my body (I've found a pimple on my knee before). It's definitely no fun...

Nancy, I've never even thought if it was food related. I rarely eat candy, and can't even remember the last time I did to see if this was food-related, but it's something I'll try to pay attention to next time.