Hi,
Need some help.....I'm 28 years old and have terrible acne... I get rid of a few big ones and then more appear it's like a cycle never ending....These blemishes becoming so noticable i'm so embrasses at times...I have used these products over the years not seem to be working(noxema for almost three years, which i'm still using, neutrogena facial wash for four months made my face really dry, mary kay's makes your skin soft but doesn't get rid of the acne use it for six months, clearasil facial cleanser two months really dryed my face)......Please tell me what your using if it's working...Any advice would help thanks.........
I have pretty bad acne on my back so i decieded to go on Birth Controll and i find that it has pretty much cleared me up -its a pretty big choice so maybe try a soap called spectra jell
Hi, Retin-A is the only thing that's really helped calm down my face. I only get a few pimples now and they aren't really big and throbbing like before. I wash with Olay Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin and it doesn't dry out my face. I use Olay Complete Defense moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. I've just started using Hydrogen Peroxide 3% on my face in the morning instead of benzoyl peroxide or salcilic acid because it's supposed to be more gentle. I haven't been using it that long though. Good luck.
Stop using Noxema and go buy cetaphil I like the oily type better but get both and use oily when your oily and the other when your drier. I'd use there moist. too. Start it all buy getting a plain facial with extractions and use a low dose benz. peroxide on only pimples and daily a sal. acid to keep pores unclogged. Doc tells me to use Neutrogena anti blemish/ anti-wrinkle with retinol too but I like to use products that are bit more high end because they tend to last longer and work better for me although I do use cetaphil. Just remember the more crap you use the worse it gets and Noxema will just leave you with small clogged bumps believe me I had a situation where i was forced to use it only for two monthes so I know the comparioson. Drink lots of water and sleep well. B-5 is good too.If that doesnt work theres a lto of help a doc can do for you.
Yes stop using the Noxzema is full of waxes and pore clogging ingredients..HAve u ever gone to a dermotologist?I use Differin and klaron..prescription topicals..they have worked well in only 2 wks..hopeing to only mprove..some dryness not bad though..
Hi,
No i haven't gone to a dermatolgist...I did make apointments but never got to them due to something coming up....So this is always the last on my list...You know with kids and work your always last on your list....So i thought if it's something i could just buy over the counter that would be easier for me..
I was using all these topicals that the dermatologist recommended. I was using DUAC in the AM, Retin-A in the PM and washing my face with Cetaphil Cleanser both in the AM and PM. I also used Almay Blemish Control Makeup. Oh, my dermatologist also recommended that I use a toner with Glycolic acid. Well, that really dried out my skin. I would not recommend this routine.
This is what I do now! I use Cetaphil Cleanser in the AM and PM. Make sure that if you wear makeup, use a washcloth to help remove makeup. Cetaphil is really gentle, but it will not remove the makeup completely without a little scrubing. I have been doing this for a while and it really makes my skin soft. I cannot use a moisturizer so this also exfoliates and gets rid of the flaky skin. In the morning, I just put on Almay Blemish Control Makeup with Salicylic acid. This controls the acne for the day. In the evening, after I wash my face, I apply Retin-A Micro. This routine is working for me and it is very simple. I have realized that "less is more". Irritiating your skin makes it worse and applying all the products that the dermatologist recommends may be worse for your skin and not better.
By the way, I agree that you need to immediately stop using Noxema. My dermatologist said that is the worst cleanser to use. Hope this helps. I know it can be confusing and frustrating so always remember you are more than your skin.
A footnote, if you do start to use Retin-A Micro, at first, use every other night for approximately one month. Use every night and will dry out your skin and you probably will stop using it.
Forget Cetaphil--it contains sodium lauryl sulfate, a known skin and mouth irritant. Many other skin irritants are in personal care products, especially toothpaste. (I use SQUIGLE toothpaste. Squigle's website lists some irritants to avoid.)
The title of a recent article from Contact Dermatitis. 2004 Nov;51(5-6):259-62.
"The MOAHLFA index of irritant sodium lauryl sulfate reactions: first results of a multicentre study on routine sodium lauryl sulfate patch testing."
There are many peer-reviewed articles on sodium lauryl sulfate irritancy.
So what is one to do? You know the answer--Make another appointment to get diagnosed by a physician. (and in the meantime avoid personal care products, especially those with lauryl sulfates)
AS LOng as Sodium lauryl sulfate is NOT the main ingredient or the first or second ingridient listed you should be ok ..it's listed as the 4th ingredient in Cetaphil still making it gentle..
I would say way from cetaphil. A 5% concentration of Sodium lauryl sulfate is enough to make you breakout. This information is available on the web. Cetaphil has more then that. So it is not as gentle as you think.
hi, i used to agree with the people who posted that sodium laureth and lauryl sulfates makes you break out and is bad for the skin. but i have been using aquanil cleanser and the regular cetaphil and my skin hasnt broken out in a while. i used to like using natural organic cleansers but they didnt really help my skin, so my derm recommended aquanil and now its my favorite cleanser, even though it does have S.L.S in it, its not the main ingredient. it is really gentle, contains no fragrance and doesnt dry me out. My skin looks so much better and healthier, so i would have to recommend these cleansers even though they have S.L.S in them. I am also using paula's choice 1% bha lotion which helps keep my skin smooth and helps prevent pimples and put a small amount of zoderm 4% ben. peroxide on areas where i usually break out. off the topic of cleansers, i would also suggest drinking green tea because it has a high antioxident property, which is good for your health and skin.
hi all. i would say that the very best thing you could do would probably be to see the dermatologist. as we get older our hormones change, just like everything else, which is why you may have had pretty good skin as a kid and then find yourself breaking out suddenly in your 20's and 30's, especially those of us women who have had children. what's truly good for you is good for the kids too, so make sure to take care of yourself, just as you would make sure to take care of your family. it took me a few years to get that thru, now i am on my way. it's not an easier road, and it's definately been inconvenient, but (hopefully!) the end result will be nothing but satisfaction all around. i've tried all the otc stuff, the nice dept. store stuff and the online/infomercial stuff-- seriously, ALL of it-- and nothing beats doxicycline and cleocin! or whatever. the point is, they keep all the stuff that really works locked up tight behind the counter at the pharmacy and your derm is the gate keeper. just make sure that you get a good one, who respects you and cares about getting you the result that you're looking for. best of luck!
oh, and this might sound cliche, but diet and exercise are really beneficial as well. i've cut out coffee (swapped it for tea) and most dairy (soy and rice milk, not the same, i know) and started working out a little and i can really see a difference in my skin. black tea, as well as green, has antioxidant properties, and a little caffine but with some other compounds too that take the 'edge' off and give a little bit of calm. exercise produces endorphins and make you breathe which reduces stress which is the #1 factor in the aggravating effects of acne (according to my nutrition teacher and the textbook for that class). and the dairy, i dunno, but my 1st derm told me to cut out coffee, dairy and chocolate (caffine), from which i also abstain, but for some people that is like asking them to cut off a limb so i daren't even suggest! the dairy has been the hardest for me, but the results are waaaay worth the lack of cheese and haagen dasz! good luck again! sorry these are so looong!
I took my 15 yo son to a derm and they want him to use Cetaphil. He's been using it, plus antibiotics (twice a day), and a topical cream (can't remember the name offhand). He skin looks better and it's just been two weeks. Does dairy really cause a breakout? Then how about chocolate? I've even read on this board that oranges may break you out.
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If you open the door even a little bit - the devil will fling it open. Keep it closed with prayer.
sawbuck- the best thing i ever got from proactive was a little booklet that had a very valuable piece of advice in it. they suggested that if you notice breakouts after eating certain foods then perhaps the offending food should be avoided. sounds simple and we're always being told that food doesn't affect acne, but that's not always the case. food affects certain hormones, one of which is the androgens, which are hugely involved in the acne. sugar, especially refined (white) sugar, and stress can lead the pituitary gland (i think) to produce more androgens, hence, more acne.
i don't know if this is a widely held belief among doctors, i wouldn't think that it is, but we must try to remember that western medicine is young and those guys with their little white coats and their nice cars don't know everything! there is something to be said for taking control of one's own health, i.e., paying attention to what works and what doesn't.
oh, and apparently iodine can trigger breakouts too, as can shellfish, like shrimp, which contain it. fascinating topic, acne, isn't it? nobody knows how to make it go away! i did have great success with the doxycycline and cleocin though, and i've heard that people do really well with some of the other new topicals too, like the retina micro and differin gel. there's loads of stuff out there, that's for sure! best of luck to you and your son. he's lucky to have a parent like you, who cares and takes the acne seriously.
i think that the dairy thing is the lactic acid... it's been about ten years, hard to remember anything that long! lactic acid is the same thing that makes your muscles sore after you work out, and the same substance that can make you bloaty after eating dairy products. and i guess there are some other compounds in there that are not so beneficial either. have to brush up. but i would never suggest to anyone to cut calcium from their diet!!! rice milk is fortified with it, as is soy milk, and many juices nowadays. rice milk doesn't have the hormone issues that soy has either, btw.
