Back to zits

[jayem]

I've been washing my face with Vitamin E soap, using Lush's Angels on Bare Skin, and toning with peach witch hazel and that seems to do it nicely. I still break out around my period, but it's not terrible. I have mixed skin, with a problem area t-zone.

 

[MarieAnne]

I have been at this diet now for 12 days. I have started taking vitamins, and omega-3 supplements. My skin hasn't changed. My skin was at it's best when I ate the most fruits and vegetables. I'll try focusing on eating fruits and veggies, rather than not eating refined carbs, refined sugars and saturated and trans fats. I went to the doctor yesterday and she gave me a prescription for Diane-35. The pharmacist offered Cyestra-35, it's the generic brand. It was $ 88 for 3 months (the Diane-35 was just over $100), and with my husbands insurance, we'll be able to claim most of it , yay! I can't wait. I know it took 3-6 months to work last time but I'm so excited. In the mean time, I'll try to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible.

 

[Laura Chase]

Ladies, I just found this lot of articles on blackheads, I thought they are quite informative and I know a lot of you are fighting with them too:

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/07/21/beauty-q-a-what-can-i-do-about-blackheads/

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/acnecomedones/a/comedones.htm

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/skin-care-solutions-blackheads-treatment-using-cleansers-exfoliants-accutane.aspx

A search for "blackheads" on The Beauty Brains results in many more relevant articles.

 

[rosierawhyde]

I think that that is the most annoying thing with acne products...you have to wait months, and it might not even work! I'll try to find some cream and I'll certainly let you know if it works. I have had some people suggest a peel, but I feel like that might be too harsh and make the problem worse.

I have read that lemon juice helps with dark spots. I currently have a spot that was a "under the skin" blemish that has gone away yet theres a darker spot and I was thinking of trying the juice.

After reading the whole thread, last night I went and got the Ponds cold cream. I love the way it felt and am hoping it works. I dont have really bad skin, but when I get one, its bad. You all said it, the cold cream has been around forever so, it must work!

 

[Miss 1929]

Ponds started irritating my eyelids badly, so I switched to Burt's Bees cleansing cream, very nice. I am alternating that with the Cetaphil for oily skin as the Burt's is still a bit greasy for me.

New wonderful product I have found for those giant zits that involve more than one pore - it's called Drawing Salve. It has a substance in it called icthammol, in a base of vegetable soap. It is black as tar and smells a bit like it too, but has a high concentration of sulpher in it, so you put a bit in at night and put a bandaid over it to hold it on, and in the morning you will be amazed. Not drying so you don't peel as much as you would with stuff like benzoyl peroxide (something that has never worked for me). They sell it in the first aid area of the drugstore, it is used for boils. And it really, really works!

Also it's great for blackheads - you can put a thin film on and get in the shower, and it will soak into your pores and kill stuff, and dissolve the oils, then wash it off. I am a fan.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

New wonderful product I have found for those giant zits that involve more than one pore - it's called Drawing Salve. It has a substance in it called icthammol, in a base of vegetable soap. It is black as tar and smells a bit like it too, but has a high concentration of sulpher in it, so you put a bit in at night and put a bandaid over it to hold it on, and in the morning you will be amazed. Not drying so you don't peel as much as you would with stuff like benzoyl peroxide (something that has never worked for me). They sell it in the first aid area of the drugstore, it is used for boils. And it really, really works!

Also it's great for blackheads - you can put a thin film on and get in the shower, and it will soak into your pores and kill stuff, and dissolve the oils, then wash it off. I am a fan.

That sounds really gross so you know it's gotta work! lol I will keep an eye out for it.

 

[Miss 1929]

Yes, it's like if medicine tastes bad, you know it's working... it is really nasty stuff!

 

[Lillemor]

Zits in places I never had them in puberty, age is coming on and now I've got those deep ones on my cheek that itch too and I don't know if they're regular zits, black heads or eczema or all of those things at once I've noticed that mature SE Asians are prone to them. There was a segment on the news last year about Burmese Christians in Denmark and I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know what the segment was about or what they said because all I was focusing on was how they all seemed plagued by these awful looking cheek marks which aren't quite as bad on me...yet! I tried both hormone cream for eczema and deep cleansing Neutrogena products for break outs. It keeps it down but doesn't get rid of it and I'm not really sure what's working and what it's working on.[huh]

Now that I've got this irritation of my chest I'm going to start reading this thread from one end to the other. Please do not disturb

 

[LelaViavonie]

Zits in places I never had them in puberty, age is coming on and now I've got those deep ones on my cheek that itch too and I don't know if they're regular zits, black heads or eczema or all of those things at once I've noticed that mature SE Asians are prone to them. There was a segment on the news last year about Burmese Christians in Denmark and I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know what the segment was about or what they said because all I was focusing on was how they all seemed plagued by these awful looking cheek marks which aren't quite as bad on me...yet! I tried both hormone cream for eczema and deep cleansing Neutrogena products for break outs. It keeps it down but doesn't get rid of it and I'm not really sure what's working and what it's working on.[huh]

Now that I've got this irritation of my chest I'm going to start reading this thread from one end to the other. Please do not disturb

Sounds about what I have been going through.. I have tried everything uder the moon and nothing seems to help. Im just starting to live with it and im sure it hormones and my body is going through another change. Im rootin for ya.. I hope something pokes out at you in the thread.. im searching it myself

 

[Lillemor]

Sounds about what I have been going through.. I have tried everything uder the moon and nothing seems to help. Im just starting to live with it and im sure it hormones and my body is going through another change. Im rootin for ya.. I hope something pokes out at you in the thread.. im searching it myself

We'll have to keep each other updated on any useful finds.

 

[Miss Golightly]

One thing that I would really recommend (and my friend recommends it too!) is Stymicin - you get it on prescription - it's a topical antibiotic and it's brilliant! I was getting some bad spots on my chin so got a prescription for Stymicin and having used it twice a day the spots cleared up in a few days. I don't use it every day - only when I feel a few spots are on their way!

 

[*martini*time*]

I was a big acne sufferer. My sister ended up on Accutane and since she was on it, i have tried my very hardest to not have to go that route. I've tried it all, from cetaphil to proactive and so far i am in LOVE with the clinique acne solutions line. It's relatively cheap and works great. it's less harsh then proactive but is basically the same thing. Even though they say the 3rd step is a moisturizer, it has salicylic acid and just dries you out, so i use their dramatically differnt moisturizer, and it works great! my skin is the best it's been in my whole life! I loved the way proactive made my skin look super glowy, but it bleached my towel and actually ate the paint off the wall behind my sink in my bathroom. So if it's doing that to PAINT, whats it doing to your face!

 

[JupitersDarling]

So if it's doing that to PAINT, whats it doing to your face!

EXACTLY!! I ended up with hair several shades lighter around my face and lots of stained pyjama tops

I've been on a sugar, dairy, gluten, yeast free diet since January, and the terrible acne that came back a year ago has mostly receded. I still break out around the period and odd times, but the difference is SO great. I can get away with just face wash, spot treatment, and moisturizer now, no need for the big guns of antibiotics, which never worked as well as the diet.

 

[SweetieStarr]

I have had mild acne all my life and still do (I'm 26). Cold cream never worked for me. I've now removed all cleansers that have sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate (typically that means natural or organic cleansers) and am using the 2% benzoyl peroxide on my entire face once a day. My skin has cleared dramatically, even during my period.

However, fir adult (post-25) acne that's serious, see a dermatologist. Acutane is always an option, even though it's SERIOUS STUFF, it works.

Which natural cleanser are you using?

 

[pigeon toe]

I'm about to lose my mind. It's been almost a year since I've been off the pill and my zits just keep getting worse. I KNOW it's hormonal, but I refuse to go back on the pill. I'm seeing my gyno next week and I'm praying she'll be able to give me something for this. I know there are a few medications that can help regulate your hormones that aren't the pill.

The pill gave me way too many side effects when I was on it, and the fact that it's still messing with me now that I'm OFF it just makes me angry. If my doctor had been upfront with me about all the side effects when I was 16 (!!!) I never would have gone on it. I'm trying not to be bitter, but I'm really pissed off.

 

[ShrinkingViolet]

PT, I'm having the same problems ... but are you sure it's due to a hormone imbalance, and not just the way it is?
I always assumed that the faux oestrogene in pills suppresses the natural testosterone, killing your sebum production as well as your libido, which was one of the reasons I got off the pill (for over a year ago, like you). I'm by no means an expert in these matters, though. I've sort of resigned and traded in lovely skin for a libido, but there may be other ways to go about it? [huh]

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

If it's any consolation, I had exactly the same problem, am back on it now (since 3 months ago), and my skin hasn't really improved at all. In fact I have a second head growing on my jaw line right now . On the plus side, this particular one hasn't made my libido disappear again... yet.

 

[Lillemor]

I've had it! I've booked an appt. with my gp (also to look at moles nevi/melanoma or what the hell they are) and I'm hoping I'm going to get a referral to a dermatologist. However, if she suggests trying to pill I'm reluctant and want to have some good arguments to use against any such suggestion. My husband doesn't trust those pills either and without going into details, we don't need it for that reason so I have no experience with preventive pills.

I feel like tossing all my old cosmetics that are over a year old. Learn to love the nude look and just use oil free sun screen this summer. No make-up's going to make my face look good this way, anyway.

 

[dolly]

3L of water a day
Neostrata Smoothing Lotion
Regular Facials
Tea tree oil on pimples
Mario Badescu Silver Powder
Lots of exercise
Take all makeup off with makeup remover before cleansing - I like Biotherm Biocils
Vitamin C & Zinc tablets

 

[LelaViavonie]

I dit it!!! I finally DID IT!!!
My skin is healing and no more pimples!!! OH WOOOHOOO!!!

Trial and error with countless washes, toners, lotions, creams.. scrubs.. masks.. ehhhhhh...
But I got it!

Its really an odd combo.. but my skin loves is and is healing more and more every day.

I use Neutrogena Cleansing bar- Acne prone skin formula
then I use a sprits of Thayers Witch Hazel
then.. (the lifesaver)
Dessert Essence Moisturizer that has Jajoba and Aloe Vera..
This has been healing my skin and balancing it out... YAY!!!

At night I still use a mix of Jajoba and Grapeseed oil and cleanse with damp skin.. and then every other night use the Dessert Essence Jajoba gentle stimulating face scrub.

I am soo happy that my skin is finally healing.. after the months and months of products and crazy acne all over my cheeks, forhead and chin.

PT- I did the same thing as you.. I have been off my BC for about 4 months because my hormonal acne was horrrible.. and I think I became allergic to my brand of pills.
I will be seeing my Gyno this month and hopefully she can find me something that wont upset my face again