Hi all,
I know a lot of people have this problem, whether it be mild or cystic; acne has affected the majority of our lives, and some of us still have it going into internships/full-time. I myself had it going into my full-time IBD position, and it really took a toll on both my confidence and my social skills.
There really is no magic cure, and sometimes ProActiv doesn't work. I have sensitive skin, so I tried a bunch of different products from St. Ives to Retinol - none of them worked.
I ended up curing everything by using Dan's Regimen on Acne.org.
My regimen:
-Morning: Right when I wake up, wash my face w/ cleanser, apply treatment, then moisturize
-Before bedtime: Wash face w/ cleanser, apply treatment, then moisturize
-Every 3 or 4 days, I'd use their AHA solution in place of the moisturizer at night to exfoliate.
I think this works for me because my skin is sensitive, and thus washing twice a day is the most efficient (any more and my face will have the red scrubbed look). Plus, all the products work together pretty well, and they're really delicate on the skin.
This worked for me, and I went from getting pimples every other day to MAYBE one or two a month. Not advertising at all, but something I think everyone should try - it's by no means a miracle cure and it will take a few weeks for the effects to show, but stick with it and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
Thoughts? Tips?
As an FYI, my diet is pretty good as well, and I try and eat 5 small meals a day w/ a focus on getting my macros in. I also work out 3 times a week for ~1 hr, and drink a decent amount of water (but by no means a lot).
Basic Tips From Below
1. Consistent regimen
2. Clean pillowcase/towel
3. Eliminate dairy products (ESPECIALLY MILK)
4. Drink lots of water!
5. Diet/exercise
6. Use baby shampoo/keep shampoo away from face
I'm putting an absurdly strong word in for Accutane (isotretinoin). I wish I had never wasted time on that topical shit.
4-5 months of this and your skin will look better than ever. And better than that of a lot of people who never had acne.
Accutane messed with my liver and I had to stop taking it midway through. It worked wonders though.
Agreed. Accutane really saved my skin.
I used to do 5-10mg per day for 6 months, and then lowered to 2.5mg per day. I had a moderate severity of acne and it's all but gone now.
Took 2.5mg for a total of two years.
Accutane works for the medium-to-severe type acne, but it's tough because it may be more expensive and you need a prescription (if I remember correctly). It is definitely works though.
Accutane doesn't work well for everyone, just a heads-up. Never tried it, but out of several of my friends that have, one had a bad experience.
My routine:
1) EAT LESS SUGAR 2) DRINK MORE WATER / drink less alcohol 3) DO NOT use any skin care products with a fragrance 4) regime (should do it twice per day, sometimes only do it once):
--Cleanser (if I haven't showered, if I have I used the soap below on my face), then rinse thoroughly and gently pat dry with clean towel (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ET76EY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i04?…)
--Toner, wait ~1-2 minutes to dry (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GCQ04C/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i05?…)
--Moisturizer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ET73D8/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i03?…)
5) I use a mask probably once per month. Mostly because it feels great, but also does wonders for your skin (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014272VI/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i02?…)
6) For guys, check out Dove Men+ Care Body/Face bar. It's the least obnoxious soap I've ever used, doesn't completely destroy my skin.
7) Get a loufa. If you don't have one or have never used one, you need to get one now. You will understand when you do, and you're welcome (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CTQMIC/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?…)
EDIT: I got the regimen from this reddit post: http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/ton7l/alternative_sk…
There's another reddit post on skin care, but the one above worked well for me: http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/t0yzd/a_guide_to_tak…
Really? No one has quoted American Psycho yet?
It was the 1st thing I thought of when I saw the title of this thread. But I was too lazy.
The dermatologist damn near forced the script on me. I had it within 6 minutes of meeting him. And the nurse told me to go ahead and skip the online informational thing you have to do before you can pick up the Rx; that they'll do it for me and that I can go pick it up whenever. $10 a month with mommy's insurance
How do you figure it messed with your liver? Did you start turning yellow? That happened to me back during my opiate days. I drank moderately on Accutane (80mg/day was my highest dose) and felt fine.
Any drug (this isn't a drug technically but some crazy provitamin shit) has side effects and you can look at a histogram of the percentage of poeol effected by each one. Luckily, my only side effect was dry skin and lips. And the results were amazing.
There is acne that is a result of bad hygeine and there is acne that is an internal problem requiring an internal solution. I did all of that shit for years. Slept with a clean pillowcase every night, used all of that topical shit, whatever. I didn't try Accutane for a long time because of all of the poeole saying how it ruined their lives and raped their wives.
You obviously need to use discretion, but I'd hate to see somebody continue to suffer while avoiding Accutane because they see a slew of other options like you've listed. If you have insurance, go see a dermatologist. There really isn't a reason not to. Accutane usually isn't their first choice for people.
Edit: Would someone please tell me how to quote multiple posts at once?
Oh I completely agree.
And the one thing I forgot to mention: if it isn't an internal problem, the clean pillowcase thing works. Another great idea is to put a clean towel over your pillow every night before you go to bed. Most people have more towels in their place than pillow cases lying around
I had blood work done on a monthly basis while taking it.
I rinse my face with water every morning, or use a Tatcha rice cleanser if needed or just use toner. Then I apply prescription benzaclin to problem areas. Add SPF and moisturiser. At night I make sure to remove all eye makeup, then face makeup. I alternate between cleansers depending on the season/climate. (Like indoor heating really dries out my skin so I have to be careful). Once or twice a week I exfoliate using my clarisonic or a gentle scrub. Then I apply tretinoin (I just upgraded to the .1% strength) pretty much everywhere. Moisturise face/eyes. Done. My routine and products change based on what I feel my skin needs. I've never had more than moderate acne, and now usually it's just the occasional spot. Last week my dermatologist finally commented on how great my skin has been so I guess I've finally found some weird balance to keep stuff in check.
A few other tips...ALWAYS wash your face, chest, and back after working out. Change your pillowcase often. Use antibacterial wipes on your phone. And as mentioned by Scandal, diet is really important. Eat healthy and drink a ton of water. Maybe avoid a lot of dairy products...
Edit: For the Accutane debate going on... if you can avoid using such strong drugs do it. But if you have severe acne that is ruining your self-esteem and possibly scarring your face then really look in to it. I had a friend in school who wasted two years fighting acne with creams. One month on accutane and her skin was almost perfect. I agree that seeing a dermatologist is the best option for anyone.
AHHHHH
Forgot about the Dairy part. I cut all the milk out of my diet, which helped immensely. Something about the hormones in milk makes you break out...
Excellent catch, getting dairy out definitely helped w/ breakouts.
Take accutane, just order it from a research chemicals company and you don't have to worry about dealing with insurance, doctors, bloodwork etc. It's what I did and it worked wonders and I was perfectly fine and still am perfectly fine after running it three different times for 6 months, and 2x 3 months all at 20mg everytime. Going over 40mg is useless and just does damage to your body. You would be better off following the correct timing of 6 months on, 3 months off, 3 months on at the lower dose. I also drank during it and never had liver issues. Its not the drug itself thats dangerous, its a high dose of the drug. I've heard doctors prescripe 80-100mg which is beyond stupid and unnecessary. Their goal is to make money and get you looking clear in 3 months. Do the timing like I said and you will be cured.
I thought that whole bit was just an excuse for the nurse to flirt with me.
Monthly blood work is necessary. It checks your liver enzyme levels to make sure your liver isnt getting damaged by the accutane.
I am also a former accutane user and it worked wonders for me throughout high school. However, my skin has just recently been becoming worse, not quite sure why. Anyways, maybe accutane is good in the short to medium term but may not be the ultimate "cure", if you will whereas a consistent treatment (as mentioned a few times above) may be best. Also, I don't believe accutane is on the market anymore.
Are you a dermatologist? Because the guy who told me to do 80mg is a dermatologist. And when I asked him to up the dose from 40mg to 80mg after the second month because I was starting to adapt to it, he told me to wait another month.
I broke out (horribly) in my freshman year - couldnt figure out why. Then I read somewhere that dairy products pumps up your hormone/secretion and can cause bad acne. I stopped eating all dairy products (milk, cheese, even yogurt) and now I'm 99% acne-free.
Simply by switching to organic dairy products, all the acne around my jawline went buybye
Dairy does not cause acne. I used to consume copious quantities of all forms of dairy, and I had no acne whatsoever. Now that I gained 90+ pounds my acne is much worse than when I was in middle school, and I'm consuming no dairy other than whey protein. I'm 100% certain that maintaining a BMI below 17 is the CURE for acne.
Excess body fat is a major factor in causing acne. Which goes back to what I mentioned before: Nutrition.
Just because it wasn't an issue for you doesn't mean it won't be for other people. The sole change to my diet that got rid of the shit around my jawline was switching from regular milk to organic. What's the explanation for that? And yes, I control my diet so I know that was the only change.
If you really want, you can get a DNA test done. I used 23andme. They tell you all kinds of shit about yourself, including your dairy tolerance.
And yes, Accutane the brand isn't on the market anymore. Isotretinoin is sold generically. But it's a brand name that stuck. Kleenex type shyeet
My friend always screams on any wine and cheese venture, "CHEESE IS THE ENEMY!" for that very reason... Gets a lot of weird stares but it's nice to see someone so passionate about skincare.
Really? I don't drink much milk (about a glass a day). Will I see a noticeable difference if I cut this consumption out?
I was around 1 glass a day too - went off of it, it definitely is a contributing factor.
Either cut consumption or switch to organic (and make sure it's actual organic milk, not just something that says organic). It has something to do with the hormones in non-organic milk. Either will work. You also have to take into account the amount of cheese/other dairy you put into your body.
Milk in general isn't bad for you, but it does have negative effects on your body. If you have allergies, dairy intake may be the cause. There are superior alternatives.
Yeah I will definitely look into alternatives. I have yogurt daily as well so that's something I'll need to cut or substitute for as well. Thanks!
Dang. I'm definitely going to give this a try. I really hope this is the missing piece I've been missing as far as treatment goes. Really glad I read this thread haha. Thanks!
No problem - just remember to keep at it and never give up - took me years before I found a steady regimen that worked!
Dettol. No joke. If you don't know what it is, basically a household strength disinfectant. Dries your skin out to fuck and is probably destroying some important cells but it works.
I just gulp down as much water as I can drink in a day...
I think that the Regimen works pretty well, but I have needed to add a few prescription treatments to it. Also it is helpful to take 3 showers a day and apply nonalcoholic witch-hazel after each shower. Some people claim that abstinence works. Whether it's true or they are just trolling I do not know. I have not been able to muster enough self-discipline to do so.
Isn't adult acne (like people 20+) basically limited to pregnant women?
No, gears cause acne.
The easiest way to get rid of all Acne is to stop following a Western Diet. Applies to unwanted body fat as well by the way.
That's probably like... the hardest way. Taking a pill orsomeshit is much easier. How do you even define a "Western diet?"
It really isn't. The Western Diet is a lot of processed food at least 3 times a day, because people think they will otherwise "starve" and yet probably never felt physical hunger in their life, only psychological hunger.
As for acne/bodyfat, you can easily google Intermittent Fasting for example and find plenty of studies that show how this helps for example. You can also google around for relationships between Acne breakout in young men and processed foods/grains/etc. and find studies that show correlations there.
Don't touch your face. It's also a genetics thing as well depending on your pore size.
Not all things work equally for everyone - there's often one thing that's the major source, and several smaller things tht supplement it. A lot of my friends got off dairy and they saw a lot of their acne go away; others ate a lot better and switched their eating habits, and that helped as well.
Agree on excess body fat; I think it has something to do with blood flow and pore size, not sure about the specifics.
Guys. Use snail cream. Morning and night.
That's because when you're in middle school and are a male, odds are you hadn't hit puberty yet. i.e. do not get acne till about high school anyways.
When I was comparing it to middle school, I meant that gaining weight like being middle school age causes atrocious acne. Just as a word of warning I'm certainly not recommending that you drop below 17.
Anyone have to deal with a couple of scars left by acne?
they have laser treatment that gets rid of your scars (about 75% effective) typically costing you around $2K for 6 sessions.
@Planetbeing - AHA works well, as does aloe vera. I've also heard that lemon juice (diluted of course) helps lighten scarring.
What you shouldn't be doing is staying in the sun too long - scarring is hyperpigmentation, so try and avoid that/use sunscreen.
If by scarring you mean actual indents and not red marks, then you should use AHA - basically something that exfoliates. It'll take a while, but scars in general are very difficult to get rid of. You could also use retinol.
BMI is really not a good measure of how lean/fit someone is. According to BMI, most athletes are severely overweight.
I was not suggesting it as a measure of heath. Quite to the contrary, a very low BMI indicates a lack of health and hormones. Whilst going from a very low BMI to a high one will cause hormones to skyrocket; thus acne will appear especially in men who are genetically predisposed to high levels of 5-AR activity.
Seriously, how did that ever become a thing? Why do people love indexes so fucking much? Is the concept of body fat percentage not more intuitive?
Apparently if you have abs as a woman, it's actually detrimental to your health. We all need a certain amount of body fat, for women it's higher because otherwise it upsets their cycles or something. For men, we just look like Christian Bale in the Machinist and that's never good.
@Matrick Agreed, BMI is atrocious for anything. It says I'm overweight yet my actual BF tested by calipers is 11%, BMI does not factor in muscle mass at all.
@Scandal What makes us look like Christian Bale in the machinist? Having abs and low body fat? I hope you aren't serious....
@yeahright
If you're extremely skinny and extremely cut, it's a bit weird - you'll be a fit twig.
I've struggled with poor skin my whole life. None of the products I used throughout my life helped, only dried out my already sensitive skin. My regimen is as follows: ~Water and watching what I eat. ~Daily Multi + Vit E ~Build up a sweat everyday ( Hit the gym, go for a run ) ~ I use BioOil (PurCellin Oil) everyday, It helps with the acne scars as well. ~ Get as much sun as possible. ( I was against it at first, but after talking with my Derm, Hitting the tanning salon twice or three times a months helped clear up my skin a lot. People have different skins types so do your due diligence before doing this. And do it safely, my risk/reward paid off here because it boosted my self confidence.)
Try Dan's regimen on acne.org. Like I've said, I've tried everything and that's the only thing that works for me.
@yeahright yeah that's what I meant, BF% is a bad indicator especially if you're skinny because it can be extremely dangerous if you have both low body weight as well as BF%.
The BP is works well for most people. However, the AHA contains Licorice which could theoretically make acne worse given that it is a Xenoestrogen, and it could course fat gain and water retention.
your derm recommended using a tanning salon?!?! what?
@Scandal I suppose extreme, yes. Just didn't read that way, using BF % and ab definition as indicators is not correct. If you weigh 130 lbs. and then say you have abs and are ripped, then yeah you should go eat a burger.
But apparently not with any cheese since Dairy is the plague in this thread.
And I guess dairy-wise I only avoid milk, I still eat cheese.
BMI was created as an easy-to-referance and measure single indicator of the healthiness of your physique. Body fat percentage does a better job at that than BMI on all fronts.
If you want to describe a person's body broadly, you can say: Male, 6', 185lb, 11% BF That gives you a pretty good idea of where they're at physically.
AHA is topical...not sure how that could cause fat gain/water retention since it's not ingested. It's also an exfoliant - just use the 2% version, should be okay.
i would suggest doxycycline
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