Skins Problems

[Feared]

Not sure if we have any Dermatologists here on OS but I'll go ahead and ask anyway. I'm 20 years old so you would think my Acne problems would be coming to an end... but I'm still bothered by the occasional few pimples that keep creeping up.

It's annoying because if I could get rid of a few minor pimples.. I'd have clear skin on my face but there's always a few, and when ever One goes away, another is bound to creep up in a matter of a day or two.

I'm trying to do everything I can to minimize them, I'm trying to wash my face as often as I can, eating healthy, trying to get proper rest but I'm still getting them. Another thing is when a new one pops up it's really red, and irritated... does that mean anything? ussually the redness goes away but it still somewhat worries me.

Is there anything else I can do to try and get cleared up skin?

[Splitter77]

Re: Skins Problems

I had random pimples or blemishes until I was 24. I remember the only thing that worked was getting a sunburn on my face. The next day my skin would be dry and free of all pimples. the over the counter creams rarely worked for me.

Maybe try some type of cream without oil that drys your skin?? I know I tried some noxema?? That seemed to help a little.

[FlyingFinn]

Re: Skins Problems

Some people just have oily skin. I still get pimples and I am going to be 38 this summer. There is one good thing about oily skin...no wrinkles.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Skins Problems

I had acne in high school and it started to clear up in college, but to this day I get some breakouts. I'm now 37. They may have something better now but my dermatologist at the time prescribed Retin-A. It was the most effective topical application. You just need to be disciplined in using it.

Also, washing the skin more doesn't decrease chances of a breakout. The best thing to do is to try not to "pop" them because that's where redness and scarring occur. I have two scars from shaving over acne that have never gone away. The doc refers to them as keloids.

[wsu_gb23]

Re: Skins Problems

Do you use Pro-Active solution? That is supposed to be good at clearing up pimples. Are you allergic to any foods that may cause pimples? Milk products can do that. If it's just the occasional pimple here and there I wouldn't worry too much. You're only 20. If you go to college, the stress may cause acne.

[Herky]

Re: Skins Problems

I'm 32 and still get pimples from time to time, and terrible razor burn on my neck. My skin is just really sensitive even if I use good shaving cream and aftershave.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Skins Problems

Not sure if we have any Dermatologists here on OS but I'll go ahead and ask anyway. I'm 20 years old so you would think my Acne problems would be coming to an end... but I'm still bothered by the occasional few pimples that keep creeping up.

It's annoying because if I could get rid of a few minor pimples.. I'd have clear skin on my face but there's always a few, and when ever One goes away, another is bound to creep up in a matter of a day or two.

I'm trying to do everything I can to minimize them, I'm trying to wash my face as often as I can, eating healthy, trying to get proper rest but I'm still getting them. Another thing is when a new one pops up it's really red, and irritated... does that mean anything? ussually the redness goes away but it still somewhat worries me.

Is there anything else I can do to try and get cleared up skin?

I'm in the same boat, but 28. It seems I always have a handful of pimples at any given time. Never a lot and occasionally none, but like you, when one goes away, another one pops up.

My skin is weird. I've never had acne on my back or shoudlers, just my face. I was put on accutane twice in my late teens(which at the time was the most powerful crap in the world). Both times it cleared it up, but about 8-12 months later it came back. My skin is just naturally oily.

There is a product they sell at most drug stores (Target/Walmart, etc.) called Acne Free. They make a regular and a "severe". The severe cleaned up my face within a week or so and kept it clear for about a month or two after. If I quit using the product, it would come back slowly after that.

It's very similar to ProActiv (multi step processes), only it kicks ProActiv's ***. I used ProActiv before and didn't see nearly the improvement as this stuff. It comes in an orange box with orange bottles and tubes.

It looks like this:

http://www.acnefree.com/node/86

It's a little pricey. It's $25-$30 a box, whilch lasts a month and half or two.

The one bad thing is if you don't rinse perfectly, it will bleach anything your face touches. The collars on some of my shirts have a ring around the top from touching my neck. My towels were bleached and even my pillow cases or the arm of a shirt (from wiping off sweat I guess) have bleach streaks.

I really like the product. It did wonders for my face. I would suggest you try it, but go buy some cheap white towels and pillow cases so you don't ruin any good ones you have.

The other bad thing is you run out of the soap and toner twice as fast as anything else. The tubes of cream will last several months after the soap runs out.

[duke776]

Re: Skins Problems

The one bad thing is if you don't rinse perfectly, it will bleach anything your face touches. The collars on some of my shirts have a ring around the top from touching my neck. My towels were bleached and even my pillow cases or the arm of a shirt (from wiping off sweat I guess) have bleach streaks.

I've been fairly lucky and haven't had a lot of acne, but I think my brother used what TrevyTrev11 is talking about. Some of his shirts collars got discolored around the neck area, but it worked pretty well for his skin though.

[jonpt]

Re: Skins Problems

I had acne in high school and it started to clear up in college, but to this day I get some breakouts. I'm now 37. They may have something better now but my dermatologist at the time prescribed Retin-A. It was the most effective topical application. You just need to be disciplined in using it.

Also, washing the skin more doesn't decrease chances of a breakout. The best thing to do is to try not to "pop" them because that's where redness and scarring occur. I have two scars from shaving over acne that have never gone away. The doc refers to them as keloids.

THIS...I had bad acne in high school. I used a bunch of different methods to try to get rid of this and the only thing that worked was Retin-A. You have to use it everynight for it to be effective. After about 2 weeks my acne was almost completely gone.

[mgoblue]

Re: Skins Problems

I'm 32 and still get pimples from time to time, and terrible razor burn on my neck. My skin is just really sensitive even if I use good shaving cream and aftershave.

Yeah, I'm like you...I don't get that many pimples, so it's not worth using some treatment, but I think my skin will always have this. I also get ingrown hairs regularly enough, but i just deal with them, nothing too crazy.

[NYJets]

Re: Skins Problems

I used acnefree for awhile. It worked ok I guess, it helped, but it didn't make my face totally clear. I went to the dermatologist, and they told me to buy this over the counter neutrogena face wash, and they gave me a prescription for something else that I put on my face at night. It didn't seem to work and it dried my skin out so I stopped using the prescription and just started using the face wash and that worked great. Now I just use that, for some reason for me it works better than the more aggressive treatments.
This is what I use:

http://www.neutrogena.com/econsumer/ntg/productdetail.browse?segment=men&catId=1&subCatId=3&productId=18&target=/products/face/oil-free-acne-wash.jsp

[Husker_OS]

Re: Skins Problems

My cousin is a dermatologist. I've always heard her talk about people coming in saying, "I wash my face a lot, 4-5 times a day" and she's always told me that's the biggest myth about skin problem. DON'T wash your face more than twice per day. Any more and you'll irritate your skin. She always told me to wash it once around 2 or 3 PM and then one more time about an hour prior to going to bed.