Skin nightmare - acne central.

akylen

My entire life I've always had bad acne, mostly on my chin and upper back. I've never been able to have it under control, despite trying many different types of washes (including proactive and homemade remedie) and creams. In fact, when I switch to any new facial wash, the acne gets exceptionally worse.

Does anyone have any advice for my skin nightmare?

MyWedding13

Have you seen a dermatologist? Have you tried Salicylic acid treatments? What about benzoyl peroxide? Have you considered accutane? What ever you do, don't pick! That will only make things worse!!

npeacecorps

Your chin acne is most likely hormonal.  I use the following products and love them.

Burts bees carrot facial complexin soap x  twice daily - whole foods
St Ives blemish control Apricot scrub x Mon, Weds, Fri- anywhere
5% glycolic acid cream by revia x every night- Ulta

I also use a toner every night plus night cream.  and serum, plus hyaurolic acid day cream.

Another good product is called Acanya- but it is a rx from a dermatologist and costs a LOT!.

I think the scrub and glycolic acid do the trick.  Invest in the good products, everyone always compliments me on how young my skin looks even though I have had acne my whole life.  Also drink lots of water.  

I don't have recommendations for back acne.  Good luck! 

rbehm521

i went on accutane and it helped a lot. it isn't without its risks though. 

LadyArkham

Accutane was a miracle for me-  I would definitely get in to see a dermatologist ASAP.

kristinanddan

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_skin-nightmare-acne-central?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:a35ae162-d568-44d5-b8d1-202c35aa5af6Post:630fb322-f792-4ad9-9b3f-4ed12105fdf6">Re: Skin nightmare - acne central.</a>:
[QUOTE]Accutane was a miracle for me-  I would definitely get in to see a dermatologist ASAP.
Posted by LadyArkham[/QUOTE]

Me too. I had horrible acne from 5th - 11th grades or so, then went on accutane and haven't had any major issues since. I break out a little from time to time now, but nothing that can't be controlled.

J&K10910

Accutane was the worst experience of my life (seriously.  I got off it 5 years ago and some of the side effects never went away).  It's an incredibly powerful drug, and I think recommending it to someone when it sounds like the person hasn't even seen a derm is silly.  Any good doctor will NOT put you on Accutane until you've tried pretty much everything else.

booboo1978

I had the same acne issues, and I've never been on Accutane. My dermatologist tried antibiotics to see if that would help but they didn't. The birth control pill/ring did help however, and I've been under control since I started using it at 20 years old.  13 years later, and my acne is well managed.  I do get hormonal/stress breakouts on my chin, those aren't going anywhere, but they're signifcantly smaller and less painful. 
Back acne is a different issue for me.  Yes, it's well managed with the ring, but I flare when I sweat doing cardio.  I change my clothes immediately after, and jump in the shower. Letting the sweat sit on my skin makes me break out really badly. 
I use the Simone France line of skin care and it's helped quite a bit.  Murad scrub on my back helps a lot, as does one of the coal soaps from Lush. 
This is just what works for me....I'd definitely get in to see a dermatologist if you can.  They can help quite a bit, and really get to the bottom of things.

NMH2011

Birth control is the only thing that worked for me. 

arwo

Birth control also controlled my acne for about 7 years--but when I went off it, things were CRAZY. I went off of hormonal birth control about 4 months ago, and although my skin finally seems to be settling down, things got bad for a while. For some people, I've heard it takes more than 6 months for everything to renormalize. Ick.

ETA: Woah, my husband looks headless in my new sig pic!

booboo1978

@ Arwo--oh jeez...it took that long? NOT looking forward to coming off the ring for many reasons (ovarian cysts being one of them) but the acne is so crazy when I'm not on birth control. NOT looking forward to it at all!!!!
And yeah, he kinda does look like he's headless

kinmir30

Dermatologists never really helped me very much...

I recommend seeing an Esthetician. I recently started seeing one and she has done wonders on my skin. I also started using a product that she recommends and it is miracle stuff. Seriously. Like you, I have tried everything....even antibiotics and one of them put me in the hospital for 7 days because I was one out of like 16million people who were allergic to it.

The product is PCA skin. You can actually buy it online and you can find coupon codes too. I totally reccomend it. The product that I use isn't even a specific acne gel and it still completely clears up my acne when I use it on a regular basis. It's called the Hydrating Serum...........warning though that these products are pretty pricey...that why I recommend looking for coupon codes. And see an esthetician. HTH!  

bananafanafofashley

I used to get cystic acne on my chin, and it hurt!! I had always had tons of blackheads as well. I went to the dermatologist and she put me on tetracycline (antibiotic) for a few months (can possibly stain your teeth, but most happens in young children). She also gave me a sulfer based face wash to use. It stinks, but holy cow it works. It doesn't get sudsy so initially I felt like I was wasting my time but it REALLY works. She also put me on differin gel. At first this would make em flushed if I was out in the sun too long or if the room was too hot but eventually I got used to it. I've been on this regimen for a little over a year. I don't keep up with it as much as I used to, and my skin is under control. I definitely recommend seeing a dermatologist. If that is too expensive your primary can also help you with this.

As one other girl said accutane is a very serious drug. It can cause severe birth defects. You have to be on 2 forms of birth control to be on this medication. That's not to say it isn't what you need, I'm not a phsycian.

desertsun

These websites break it down better than I could. Please take a look! Notice that there are actual scientific journals cited.

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/acne-and-acne-treatment.aspx

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/best-acne-fighting-products.aspx

gettingmarried412

I agree w/ many PP's, go see a dermatologist! They will probably try antibiotics plus expensive creams. I always had moderate acne on my face, and pretty bad acne on my upper back. Honestly, I was more insecure about my back than my face.
After 5 years of trying different medications. creams, and birth controls, my derm put me on amnesteem, which is like accutane but some claim it's "a little bit" safer. It certainly has it's risks. I didn't drink any alcohol, worked out regularly, ate VERY healthily, didn't spend much time at all in the sun, put lotion on 4 times a day, and washed my face twice a day, religiously. I had a great experience, no issues what-so-ever. My monthly blood tests were always normal and it cleared up my skin! Like PP said though, a good derm will not put you on it unless you've tried everything else, and for good reason.

Through the whole experience, I picked up good habits and advice from my derm
-Shower as soon as done working out like PP said
-Wash my face 2x's a day, not with a fancy wash, I just use cetaphil
-Even though I have oily skin, moisturizing is still so very important. Every morning & every night
-Sunscreen is a must. Every day. Makes such a difference
-The right make up can make a difference
-Making sure that my shirts/bras are VERY clean make a difference on my back. I don't use any fancy detergents w/ scents as they tend to make my bacne worse
-I was told not to use any exfoliaters w/ beads because they make little tears in your skin that you can't see. Ever since I switched to a "sand" exfoliator, I have seen a difference

In the end, although your habits can make a difference, acne is often times coming from the inside (not from dirt, etc.) so seeing a derm is really the best bet.

Good luck!

wawasees

things that have worked for me:

drinking lots of water

tanning bed

proactiv

glycolic acid peels

hope this helps!