Severe adult acne breakouts

I am a 35 yr old woman who has been having the worst acne of my life and no matter what I've been using to clean my face or even oral acne meds have helped at all. I had acne when I was younger but never to the severity as now. I also have always had severly oily skin. Needless to say I have been under tremendous stress for over a year so I know that contributes to it. I have used the same acne regime for 5 yrs(epicurean)and it was the best stuff I had ever used. My skin was perfect for years. Until almost a year ago I had ordered more epicurean acne cleanser and when I received it it was in new packaging . Didn't think anything of it. After I used it for a few days my skin just seemed like it wasn't getting any clearer so I looked at the ingredients in the cleanser and noticed that there was an ingredient that wasn't ever there until then which was salicylic acid. I sent the product back and they sent me an all herbal type of cleanser by epicurean since most of the ingredients in that line of product was mostly herbal and it's what I've put on my face for 5 years and did wonderful with. I've been using an all organic type of soap called African black soap which supposed to help with acne and oily skin. Really hasn't touched my acne, but helped with the oil. Also I've been using the epicurean clarifying cleanser than replaced their medicated acne cleanser. It has Salycilic acid in it. I also alternate it with their blue tinted cleanser which is a gel and is for oily skin. And I use their benzoyl peroxide scrub. So I don't know if it's something in these cleansers. I try to alternate and use one one day and so forth to see what's cause the severity of my skin. I also take doxycycline which I've been doing since this past summer and it's not working either. My face covered in knotty bumps. I also get them under my chin on my neck , behind my ears, in the back of my hairline , on my chest, and shoulders, arms, and backs of my shoulders. I can't stand this anymore. Can someone please help me?

Courtney

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hey Courtney!

Well, I am not sure about the ingredients in the epicurean cream and would be unable to comment on it. If topical ointments such as benzoyl peroxide and oral antibiotics do not seem to work, you would probably need a change in the treatment regimen or probably consider alternative management such as systemic medications or procedures such as phototherapy, cauterization or puncture therapy etc. I would suggest consulting a dermatologist for an evaluation and suggestion of an appropriate management plan.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!

[momsbabygirl17]

Hey there, I have the same thing.. I have been to a few different Dermatologists over the years. I am now 39 never had any of this as a teen .. it started for me in my late 20's  and now getting worse .. they have put me on oral meds and lots of different cream light therapy.. I even went to the tanning bed .. I am better in the summer ???.. nothing seems to help I give them all a fair 4 months  and nothing changes . I have it worse than my teen aged girls.
It is so frustrating !!   They did hormone tests , they came back in Normal range .. WHat ever normal is LOL  then told me I have hormonal acne wtf ...
Are yours hard lumps that do not really come into a full white head?? Most of mine are like that .than they come up and go down in the same spots ( most of the time ) sometimes they come to a white head ..
You are not alone !!!

[ggiinnyy]

Sounds like my old skin. What cleared up my acne is Oil pulling. Acne is usualy caused by an underlining issue inside the body. The body is pushing out toxins thru the skin causing the breakouts. If youce tried everything and have not found success this may be your case.    Oil pulling is an ancient cleanse in wich you swish a tablespoon of sesame oil in your mouth for rougly 20 min 1st thing in the morning ( can be practiced up to 3 times a day for realy toxified bodies) you would not believe all of the benefits you achieve from this simple and effective practice. It clears up EVERYTHING. For some reason it has a huge effect on your feet (no more hard skin) and gums (become quite firm and pale pink) your whole body becomes healthy again. Google Oil pulling. You'll see and give it an honest try. Sompeople have reported acne improvement within they're 1 st 20 min pull.

[Desknplify]

Well your condition is severe. You cannot actually rely on medications. Leave all the Branded products from the market. You need a lot of Care to your Skin. Well Cleansing should not stopped but you need analysis for your Skin.
I wont recommend any products to your Skin At all.
Consult yourself to a good dermatologist

[momsbabygirl17]

This doesn't make around the mouth ( or the face) really oily ?

[momsbabygirl17]

So I tried it ..I will keep you posted ..Today is day one I will do it 3 times today..