Acne Advice Thread

JordanDC

I have been using a thing called Tropical Traditions Moisturizing cream and its the best thing ive ever used to help my acne. All of the ingredients are natural and most of them organic. It lasts for ever and my skin feels soo good after using it. (This is just my personal opinion, im not saying its going to cure anything) If anyone is looking for it the distributer can be found here

Epic Tissue

Feck Clearasil. Burns like a mother ****er. Went to a dermotologist when I was younger and got antibiotics and cleared it up.

Heard some scary stuff about Roaccutane though

Groe

I would say anything with those gritty sand pieces in them are the best to clear out pores etc then put some tea tree face wash on it to actually fight the spots

Pi^2

Soap and Water.

Tar soap is great.

And cheap.

victoriaa

square_igloo wrote: »

I've been on Roaccutane since June (I think) and I'm due to finish my treatment in a few days. It hasn't cured me 100% but it has made a big big improvement.
I had tried plenty of antibiotics and even tried alternative, natural therapies before I was prescribed Roaccutane.
I had most of the more common side-effects - dry lips, dry skin, occassional nosebleeds and tiredness. My cholesterol has also gone up. But overall I felt it was worth it.

These are just my experiences of it btw so nobody should interpret this as medical advice. If you have severe acne, make sure you visit your GP.

Since June?! I have a month since I have been taking Roaccutane and I don't see any improvements.. Do you remember how was your acnee at the beginning of the treatment? I really hope I will not have to take it for another 3 months.. My liver will be a wreck.

SW81

Quinoderm is really good, worked wonders for me.

donmeister

SW81 wrote: »

Quinoderm is really good, worked wonders for me.

I used that for a while,its burn's the **** out of your skin then it feels numb? Is that odd?

SW81

donmeister wrote: »

I used that for a while,its burn's the **** out of your skin then it feels numb? Is that odd?

Are you sure you didn't put on too much of it? Just a little bit and rub it in well. I found it great, I'd tried all the other Benzoyl Peroxide creams before that and they were really way too extreme, burnt my skin. So maybe Quinoderm doesn't suit everyone but I thought it was mild enough for my skin but not so mild that it didn't work.

donmeister

SW81 wrote: »

Are you sure you didn't put on too much of it? Just a little bit and rub it in well. I found it great, I'd tried all the other Benzoyl Peroxide creams before that and they were really way too extreme, burnt my skin. So maybe Quinoderm doesn't suit everyone but I thought it was mild enough for my skin but not so mild that it didn't work.

Mhh,on retrospect I probably put on too much :rolleyes: Might consider it again,on another you should try Panoxyl 5%(BP) It's pretty gentle in comparison to some acne creams out there

JC 2K3

Apparently, it's debatable whether BP creams with over 5% concentration have any greater effect than 5% creams, and anything over 10% is generally regarded as pointless. I've read that 2.5% is considered by many to be the optimum concentration, particularly on www.acne.org

donmeister

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Apparently, it's debatable whether BP creams with over 5% concentration have any greater effect than 5% creams, and anything over 10% is generally regarded as pointless. I've read that 2.5% is considered by many to be the optimum concentration, particularly on www.acne.org

Yeah that is true,if you use a good amount of 2.5% it's better than a small amount of 10%,as it doesnt dry/burn your skin as harshly

2.5% BP Cream is hard to find in the chemists thought,its generally 5%'s...:rolleyes:

JC 2K3

Sudocreme is about 1% AFAIK. But yeah, 2.5% stuff is hard to come by.

ciano1

donmeister wrote: »

Mhh,on retrospect I probably put on too much :rolleyes: Might consider it again,on another you should try Panoxyl 5%(BP) It's pretty gentle in comparison to some acne creams out there

Been using that stuff for ages now...I gave it a fair chance but it did absolutely nothing :rolleyes:

Iv been trying a 10% BP For the last few days,Stings like F**k and rips the face off you if its left on overnight but seems to be fading the spots after 2 days:D

Hopefully it wont Be like all other treatments i tried that works for a few days and then starts making the spots bad again

sock puppet

This may seem a silly question but how much sudocream would you guys recommend applying? Just use it like any other acne cream?

edit: Also I'm a competitive swimmer and this can dry out my skin quite a bit. Would I be better off just going with a moisturiser then?

donmeister

sock puppet wrote: »

This may seem a silly question but how much sudocream would you guys recommend applying? Just use it like any other acne cream?

edit: Also I'm a competitive swimmer and this can dry out my skin quite a bit. Would I be better off just going with a moisturiser then?

For Sudocream apply loads! Seriously,its 1% so it wont dry your skin that much,and if it does then use some Elave/E45 Moisturiser as you see fit

JC 2K3

^What he said.

Although be careful at first. If you get dry skin then use moisturiser also. Try to find a routine that works for you. Maybe apply moisturiser in the morning and sudocreme (or other BP product) at night.

Also, one thing my doctor told me was to wet a face cloth with water as hot as you can bear and press it against your face during your morning shower. I did this for a while, but then began to just turn the shower heat up a small bit and put my face in front of the water, works the same way. The idea is to heat up your skin, which apparently speeds up spots coming to a head, and ultimately makes them go away faster. I find it's good to do before shaving, also.

sock puppet

donmeister wrote: »

For Sudocream apply loads! Seriously,its 1% so it wont dry your skin that much,and if it does then use some Elave/E45 Moisturiser as you see fit

JC 2K3 wrote: »

^What he said.

Although be careful at first. If you get dry skin then use moisturiser also. Try to find a routine that works for you. Maybe apply moisturiser in the morning and sudocreme (or other BP product) at night.

Also, one thing my doctor told me was to wet a face cloth with water as hot as you can bear and press it against your face during your morning shower. I did this for a while, but then began to just turn the shower heat up a small bit and put my face in front of the water, works the same way. The idea is to heat up your skin, which apparently speeds up spots coming to a head, and ultimately makes them go away faster. I find it's good to do before shaving, also.

Thanks for the help. I'll start tonight and see how I get on.

michael_23

I found that, using Panoxyl 5 benzyl peroxide gel, in conjunction with taking cod liver oil tabs(good source of Vit A) and using a good moisturizer after a shower worked best.

iamahumbleman

Anyone think of suggesting diet? I know it's a clearasil topic but most of the replies are based on acne suggestions...I think diet is the most powerful. BP does work on certain types if acne though and this has been clinically shown, apparently increasing the strenght has very little effect (in tests it was found very little to no differnece in using anything higher than a 5% formulation). Sudocream can be great in patricular with healing dead spots but it can also aid in spreading infection as the cream is spread inadvertantly during sleeping etc.

Avoiding refined sugar, dairy and coffee is almost universally recommened by nutrionists...cheap white bread is full of bad carbs and refined sugar and should be avoided aslo..as should poor fruit juice and cereals which can dramatically rasie blood sugar. Aloe vera gel (w/tea tree) is good for men after shaving. Tea tree is a good natural antiseptic. <snip>
Proper cleansing of your intestinal tract will greatly help reduce your acne it has been found. Intestinal tract disorders lead to all kind of problems including astma and eczema. Taking high levels of 'good bacteria' is highly recommended as well eating raw vegetables. Increaing the absorption of nutrients and minearls is essential so overall gut cleansing is a must otherwsie vitamins from foods will not absorbed.

Okra is a great food food for the gut. Loads of water, fresh fruit raw vegetabels, use tea tree oil and sudo (sparesly to avoid spreading infection) on dead spots. It is essential not to use creams on oily uncleaned skin. Wash skin gently, an antibacterial soap like dettol is recommneded but use it gently it is very drying. Avoid cheap shampoos and cosmetics (use one with coconut or other natural oils like lemon). Only wear cotton clothes and change your pillowcase regularly.

Good luck.

TM

moogester

Apple cider vinegar is supposed to be good. Do a search as there are loads of links out there.

Am going to get some for my daughter. It needs to be the cloudy stuff though so organic is probably best. Relatively cheap too when you consider how long a bottle will last.

JC 2K3

iamahumbleman wrote: »

Anyone think of suggesting diet? I know it's a clearasil topic but most of the replies are based on acne suggestions...I think diet is the most powerful.

IIRC, there's no proof that acne is in any way linked with diet, although there is some anecdotal evidence suggesting that it does.

Adam

JC 2K3 wrote: »

IIRC, there's no proof that acne is in any way linked with diet, although there is some anecdotal evidence suggesting that it does.

it's a difficult thing to prove though, as it's causes can be so varied. it's not like they can take a test subject, give them a specific diet for 6 months and at the end of 6 months expect to say 'look what we did! it's all gone!', you know?

i would say it is related though, in terms of vitamin intake, apparently a lot of people dnot reach their RDA of vitamin D, which is very good for the skin, and i find it does help for me anyway. you can take cod liver oil capsules for this.

iamahumbleman

JC 2K3 wrote: »

IIRC, there's no proof that acne is in any way linked with diet, although there is some anecdotal evidence suggesting that it does.

Both myself and my husband are doctors..I can tell you that nearly all adult acne (over the age of 18 years) is heavily realted to diet and constitution, bacterial etc) - where did you hear that diet is not related? Things like cheap greasy chips and bad chocolate have been made common scapegoats in the past but this is not what I am talking about. I tihnk you would need to read as heavily as I have on subject to understand, aslo you should realise that providing scientific eveidence of direct casue is next to impossible. The ususal protocol is to look at overlying sysmtoms and side effects then work backwards. This usually provides the best evidence.

Sarah

JC 2K3

Having had moderate to bad acne from about 14 til about 17, I read a lot on the subject. The advice on diet was always the same: there's no evidence linking diet and acne, but some people find changing to a healthier diet can help.

iamahumbleman

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Having had moderate to bad acne from about 14 til about 17, I read a lot on the subject. The advice on diet was always the same: there's no evidence linking diet and acne, but some people find changing to a healthier diet can help.

There is tonnes of evidence; particularly relating to blood sugar levels and how the liver gets rid of hormones...accumulating hormones in the body is a major problem and as you'll probably know teenage acne is heavily related to hormonal imbalance which is casued by a malfunctioning liver which is casued by diet.
I suggest you haven't read in the right areas at all. There is certainly a lot bacterial understadning of acne growth within pores, when pores become blocked the bateria involved tend to over accumulate casusing the 'spot'..but the difficulty for scientits has been to isolate why the problem is far worse for certain people, certainly the best theory to date to account for this is 'immune system health'. While it is true that some people can eat a lot of poor food and not develop any acne buy this point is easily accounted for; their bodily processes are still functioning in a way that hasn't lead to acne, they may well be developing numerous other health probelms or, in rare case have fantsasically good liver and kidney function but of course this is not finite particulalry when ones diet is poor.
On a side note scrubbing the skin is particulalry good for late stage acne, removing those outer layers of skins that tend to become exacerbated by follicule and bacterial clogging.

Sarah

JC 2K3

iamahumbleman wrote: »

I suggest you haven't read in the right areas at all.

Perhaps not, but then again, I was a teenager with acne with the internet and information leaflets, not a dermatologist. Google "acne" and you'll see loads of sources which say diet has no impact, or that it is unclear what role exactly diet has to play. It's either not commonly accepted in medicine or the majority of internet sites on the subject are lying.

Your advice on diet is perfectly valid and changing what one eats works for some people. I'm just stating what I've read.

Cian92

I also want to add, that its not just the internet which says diet has no link, but just last year when i did Junior Cert science we were told diet has no link to acne either.

handsomecake

www.acne.org
go to the store section and buy one of his kits. youll have hollywood skin in no time. conversation ended. i swear by it

you can thank me later

Teutorix

Cian92 wrote: »

I also want to add, that its not just the internet which says diet has no link, but just last year when i did Junior Cert science we were told diet has no link to acne either.

No link to "acne" i stress acne because acne is a condition AFAIK, diet on the other hand does have an effect on spots in general because when you eat oily food your body tends to excrete more oils through your pores which leads to the solidifying of sebum into your white (or yellow ewww) spotty stuff

JC 2K3

"Acne" and "spots in general" are synonymous. If you have just one spot, you have acne, i.e. there's nothing special about "acne" as opposed to having a few spots, some people just get more spots than others.

Diet may be a factor in causing oily skin, but it's definitely not as simply as oily food causes oily skin. The old wives' tales which say that cutting down on greasy food is beneficial to acne are unfounded.