Help with Acne

I have always had issues with acne, and have just come to terms with it.  Red hair, and fair sensitive skin determined it for me.  This isn't something I was going to suffer with through my teenage years.  

I never really had severe acne.  I was on Diane 35 to help regulate my acne, and this was really successful.  I was at the point where on a good day I had clear skin, on a bad day maybe 4 or 5 pimples and some blackheads.  After getting pregnant, I obviously stopped taking birth control pills.  My skin was actually really beautiful when I was pregnant.  It's after the pregnancy that it really started acting up.

After having my first child, my skin was worse then ever before.  It is really acne, and not just pimples.  Where my pimples used to be mostly in my t zone before, they have migrated south to my jaw line and cheeks.  I have red marks to remind me of previous visitors, and on a good day have about 6 pimples.... let's not even discuss a bad day.  It's really embarrassing.  I am always conscious of it when in social situations, and find myself covering up my skin so that it looks so unnatural with makeup just so my acne doesn't show.  Honestly, I think about avoiding social situations because of it.  The worst flareups seem to be stress and hormone related.

Because of breast feeding, my medication options were limited.  I tried one cream which didn't work at all during the 3 months I tried it.  My daughter is now 1 1/2, and I've just gone back to the dr to get some help.   I am still casually breastfeeding, but feel ok with the idea that a b.c. pill may lower my milk supply.  I started taking Tri-cyclin LO about 3 weeks ago, and Stieva-A 0.01% for the past month, and have yet to see results.  My skin feels really sore in my cheek jaw area, and some of the pimples hurt.

I dream about not having to put on makeup.... but for now will settle with getting my acne under control again; I am really concerned about scarring.  Where should I start?  Is it time to visit a Dermatologist?  Should I be getting facials?  Are the medications I'm on a good choice?


Any help that can be offered would be SO much appreciated.

[philippe108]

hey, i'm 13 and i thought a lot about it, and found out by myself the causes and mesures to take.

-1st: Masturbation: Yes masturbation, because when you ejaculate, you have a burst of hormones, and hormones are part of puberty which generates acne. To slow down acne, you will unfortunately have to stop masturbating for while.

-2nd:Diet: If you constantly eat sugars, greases, and unhealthy food, it will generate sebum(an ''oil'' produced by your skin which will cause pimples). To slow down acne, don't start a very restricted diet, but eat healthy food.

-3d:Skin health: An unhealthy skin is one of the primary reason of pimple growing. It makes your skin more vulnerable to imperfections. To correct that problem, you must take a skin proof creme, whatever you call it.

4th:Contact with your head skin: What enters in contact with your head skin can affect your acne, like sand, dirt, your fingers, hair, sweat, can create sebum on your skin. So, to remove that cause, you must control yourself and keep your hands of your face the most you can, and !!IMPORTANT!!, DO NOT POP ANY OF YOUR PIMPLES' IT WILL MAKE THEM WORST!

In conclusion, to answer your question, these facts are not matter of age, but of acts, if you perform all you can to stop PART of your acne, no matter how old you are, it will become of your own will

[deeneezy]

Firstly i would just like to confirm that masturbation or any other sexual acitivity does not have an effect on acne. And for adults, having sex is actually a very healthy thing to do.

Secondly, there are no foods that cause acne or produce sebum. The story about greasy foods and chocolate is a total myth and there is no truth in it at all.

Acne is actually caused by your body producing more androgens (male hormone) than it needs or the person having a sensitivity to these hormones. This then causes an over production of sebum (oil) which will block pores, and also provide a nice little home for bacteria.

Now to you ZJL, i am sorry you have been having such a hard time with your acne. I know exactly how you feel about not going out in public without your makeup, i too dream of the day i can leave the house without it!

I have recently started using a gel from the doctors called isotrexin gel, it unblocks the skin and also contains an antibiotic, it does make my skin a little dry but it think i can definitely see that it is starting to clear my skin.

With regards to the treatment you are using, i personally havn't heard of these or tried them so i couldnt say how effective they are for you, or how they may affect your breast milk. I do know they usually reccommend 6-8 weeks to see results from acne treatments.

i'm gathering one is a tablet you take and one is a cream you apply to the face?
If you apply the cream twice a day try applying just at night before bed, especially now because you have the tablet aswell. Also maybe try a light non blocking water based moisture lotion to soothe it, i have been using one by botanics to help with my dry patches.

I would maybe keep using the treatment for another week or so and if its stil no better and stil making your face really sore, maybe go bk to see your doctor and s/he may refer you to the dermatologist.

I'm sorry i cant tell you much about the treatments you are currently using.

Good luck xx