r/acne

I am so defeated at this point. Growing up I had little acne even as a teenager. Then in my earlier or mid 20s it hit me sooo bad. Cystic acne on my jaw line, cheeks, back and some on my chest. I finally got fed up and have been seeing a dermatologist, who I don't fully trust.. Anyway, we tried spironolactone and I had to stop due to really bad side effects but it worked so well 😭 a week after stopping it all came back full force. We tried topicals, did nothing. I'm not on month 2 of accutane and I think this is my last month because I can't handle the side effects. This was my last option. I have no idea what to do.. She says it's hormonal acne based on where it's at. I plan to have my pcp run blood tests to check my hormone levels and see what's off, if anything.

How have you guys fixed your hormonal acne?? I absolutely hate myself because of it and I'm devastated that I need to stop accutane 😭 I'm going to be 30 this year, I shouldn't even be dealing with this at this point..

All the moisturisers I’ve been using are breaking me out. They contain either niacinamide, fatty alcohols & acids, caprylic/capric triglyceride, squalene, or glycols.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m really sensitive to butters/oils as well so anything without those too.

Moisturisers that have broken me out:

- Cerave Oil Control Gel

- Soon Jung 10-free moist emulsion

- The Inkey Biome Balancing Moisturiser

- La Roche Posay Toleriane Sensitive Fluid

- Hada Labo Plumping Gel

- Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser

Moisturisers that aren’t occlusive enough dehydrate my skin and worsen my closed comedones, and moisturisers that are too occlusive cause even more & make me breakout.

I don’t have it as badly as I used to, and yet I still have certain habits from back then: my boyfriend isn’t allowed to touch my face; when I’m lying on his chest, I still can’t eat certain food for fear of getting new pimples; towels, pillows...ugh, constant washing; I don’t let people look at me for a long time and make little eye contact; I’m afraid of sweat and summer.

Its been years and still...afraid of so many daily things.

The list goes on and on

But how about you guys?

The worst part for me is the intimacy issue. And this constant fear that something will touch my face. I just want to be able to rest my face and relax!

https://preview.redd.it/yuqbo4dlgewg1.jpg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3300209f1c6b3291a89070452e71bc2c2de5efb1

Hello all. I have bad acne on mt face, chest and neck it goes for a few weeks worh the wash i have been using but came right back. Is there nay suggestions on what I should do

I remember trying to have a routine but the acne care products from cerave were pretty expensive and didn’t last very long.

I’m a teenager and I don’t really know my skin type, but I’m probably more on the oily side.

I recently started using Clindoxyl for acne, (Got it from my doctor) and I’m a bit unsure if my reaction is normal.

I’ve been using it for about 4–5 days now. When I apply it, my skin stings and feels warm/itchy – it’s most intense for around 10–15 minutes, then gradually calms down over the next 15–30 minutes.

My skin has also become quite dry already, especially on my cheeks In the first few days, I had a bit of mild swelling under one eye in the morning, but that seems to have gone away now.

I’m using a soothing moisturizer (Avène Cleanance Hydra) after applying it.

Does this sound like a normal adjustment phase, or is this a sign that my skin is too irritated and I should cut back?

Rutine:

\*\*Night:\*\*

Mild cleanser

Clindoxyl gel

Avène Cleanance Hydra

\*\*Morning:\*\*

Avène Cleanance Hydra

Hi,

I'm 19 and I've never had much acne before just occasional spots but now I have loads on my face and it won't go away. I went vegan for a few months but when I came home from uni I had start eating dairy again and then I got acne. My mum claims it was going vegan that caused it and says I need to start eating Kefir yoghurt to get rid of it. I'm now thinking what if it was when I reintroduced dairy to my diet that is causing it but when I used to eat dairy I never had the problem. Should I keep eating dairy, go back to being a vegan or is this something totally unrelated? Thanks.

I’ve tried everything. Every diet. Every specialist. Every product. I’ve tried to heal the root cause but I am the exception for every proven method of healing. I don’t ever react how they say I should. Everything only gets worse. It’s been so long that the scarring is worse than the acne now. I’m tired, I don’t leave the house and don’t ever except any romantic relationships in my life now. The best years of my life were taken. Wonderful things still happened during then but I experienced them as if I were trapped in a mirrored box. I can’t eat anything I want anymore since everything inflames me even though I’ve taken out everything inflammatory. I’ve wasted so much money on advice that made me worse. I can’t even think normally anymore. 80% of my thoughts can be related back to my skin. I’m the only one I know who looks like this. Everyone around me is perfect with no effort. I must have done something seriously wrong. I used to be different. I would even dare to say I was marginally pretty before this. That’s what I envy most. I envy that everyone my age has hit their peak in beauty and fashion. But I have gotten worse. I used to care about my clothes but I don’t bother anymore. My face clashes with my nice clothes. I know people who have never gone through this severity of acne think I’m insane, dramatic and self absorbed for feeling this miserable. But they could not possibly understand the perspective I have been forced to see through because of this. I cannot just leave the house as I please like they can. They do not understand the things I have lost that they have and don’t even value. I’ve spent 6 years trying my hardest to change with no results, which I believe is nearly the definition of insanity. All I want is the psychological impact of this to lessen. I’m not looking for advice to heal myself. I’m wondering how do I accept I will be ugly forever without it crushing me. I know 99% of my value is elsewhere but no one can see it without getting to know me. And everyone around me doesn’t seem to want to. I don’t sound like it now but I don’t let people know this negativity in my real life. I try to not make people uncomfortable but they don’t offer me the same luxury. They look at me in a way they didn’t used to before acne. I try not to bother anyone with my feelings because this is “not a big deal”. And I agree it’s not the worst thing to ever happen. There are far worse problems in life. I’m so privileged it makes me sick the way I hate my situation when it’s so stupid. It’s stupid yet I can’t lift this heaviness off my chest. I never stop thinking about it. I want nothing in life but to look normal again. To not be bothered by what new thing caused more problems for my face. It hurts to cry even because I’m so inflamed. Emoting feels like a bruise. I have tried my hardest not to be a victim even though this situation could warrant it a little. I really have no conclusion to this sentiment. I just needed to get it off my chest as a go on with my life. Hopefully I can at least never judge someone by how they look ever again in my life. At least one good thing must come of this and perhaps it’s that perspective. I miss my old self and even the ignorance I had when I looked normal. I’m deeper now, but uglier much like my scars.

I’m no stranger to cystic acne. I’ve dealt with it for 30+ years and have done multiple rounds of accutane, most recently in 2018. My skin has been clear and honestly really nice since then. I got on tret for anti-aging and got into a skincare routine I enjoyed.

Then last week, my dog got seriously ill and died. It was a week of trying everything in my power to save him. There’s also some other stress in my life.

I woke up one morning to a painful, swollen nodule on my cheek. I put a panoxyl patch on it overnight, and thought it was over. Wrong. Multiple nodules, whiteheads, and inflamed bumps began sprouting up in the same localized area. It’s a nightmare. My cheek is purple, with some spots looking crusty and yellow. I’m not even picking!

I went to my derm and she put me on 100mg doxycycline twice daily, 100mg spiro, aczone topical, and gave me two cortisone injections. The injections worked, but I have two new deep cystic bumps. I didn’t even go to work today because I’m so embarrassed. wtf is going on with my skin?!