Well I had severe acne and did everything possible. I believe in accutane, it's the only thing that fix my face. Now I wear make up to cover up scars, so I'm planning for laser cosmetic or laser or peel. Depends which is best.

To all people with mild acne: instead of scrubs, try scrubbing with sea salt or salt with the size of scrubs...maybe a bit bigger grains. My dermatologist gave me medication that sucks the water out of the body, dries the face and makes pimples better....I believe accutane makes your face and everything else very dry too.

So I tried sea salt on my face, a gentle scrub will do, since people tell you not to eat a lot of salty foods because you'll retain water.

Anyway, after it, a mild moisturizer, keep the routine up for a week, once a day. It works for me. Don't over do it, because you can irritate your face.

It sound to me that you might be using too many products or perhaps going a bit overboard in the quest for acne free face.

My very best advise is Go see dermatologist or at the very least an aesthetician, try a medispa. Retin-A and Accutane are not for everyone, they actually might make things worse. This is your skin and a quick fix will not do, especially if you are in your teens.

You sound like you might have eczema either way here are some tips

Things you might want get:
1. Gentle facial cleanser, try eczema products. I use Aquopher it’s worth every penny.
2. Moisturizer for YOUR skin type w/ SPF, I always use a water base moisturizer
3. non alcohol based toner, I use Witch Hazel
4. Facial streamer, they about $20.
5. 1 type of drug store acne treatment.
6. Zeno
7. a facial mask for YOUR skin type,
8. facial bolting sheet
9. hand sanitizer

Tips.

1. DO NOT pick at your face
2. in the morning, ONLY wash and moisturizer
3. during day, do not touch you face unless your hands are clean
4. bolt your face a couple time during day
5. drink water
6. stay away from shellfish or anything with high levels of sodium ( just say no to SALT)
7. at night, wash, tone, moisturizer, after they moisturizer has seeped completely into your skin, apply acne treatment only on the acne.
8. steam your face at least once a week, but if it’s dry outside Steam as needed (Hint: if your lips are dry, steam your face…and put some lip balm)
9. ONCE a week, use the facial must ( JUST ONCE A WEEK) and then only wash and moisturizer
10. if you see a new pimple use the Zeno, or steam it and put dab on extra cream, no more then 2 times a day.
11. Get facials once a month
12. DON’T Drink, Smoke do drugs, DO NOT pick at your face
13. RELAX, drink water, exercise, get plenty of sleep

“ONCE a week, use the facial must (JUST ONCE A WEEK) and then only wash and moisturizer”
I am sorry I meant to say Facial Mask

Todd,
When posted my advice to you I didn’t realize this post was 6 pages long! I want to tell you something very important; just because some products are expensive, hard to find, exotic sounding or work for someone else it doesn’t mean they will work for you. Never use alcohol-based or oil-based products they are bad your skin. End of story.

In all honesty I believe you have eczema. Do you have allergies or asthma or both? Maybe someone in your immediate family? If so the chances that you have atopic dramatis is very high. I know I because I have all three, and my skin gets really bad if I don’t care for the eczema properly when the seasons begin to change.

Eczema doesn’t always look like scaly red rash or hives! On your face it looks just like acne.

quote:

Originally posted by todd:
I can't get rid of them...<br />I've tried differin gel, clearasil, pills (Clindamycin), a lot of water, cetaphil soap, cetaphil moisterizing cream, cream that dries up my face and causes the acne to disintegrate off.<br />I see my dermatologist frequently. <br /><br />Can anyone recommend a regimen for me with specific products? I'll try anything at this point.

I understand the problem.

I had acne so badly in my teen years that they called me, "The Clearasil Kid."

First off, you did the right thing by consulting a doctor, first. It's important for everyone to know that there are many different types of acne (skin breakouts). They are all based on different causes and everyone has different types of skin, that's why NO SINGLE ACNE PREPARATION OR SKIN CARE SYSTEM CAN POSSIBLY WORK FOR EVERYBODY.

The only medical treatment I would never use under any circumstances, however, would be the use of Accutane or antibiotics (Tetracyline). They all have side effects so awful that any good they may do are wiped out by the potential health implications. In fact, I would stay away from all internal medications, period.

My skin was so oily that only one thing ever really worked. I found that simply keeping my skin clean was the absolute best program for me. I would wash my face at least 3x daily with plain soap, then, get this-- take a handful of straight rubbing alcohol and rub it all over my face. Pretty hardcore, but it worked better than anything else I was using to curb the excessive oil that my skin was producing daily.

In the end, you may find (as I did) that the only real "cure" for acne is simply growing older. Most skin eruptions and breakouts are caused by raging hormones, so only when mine slowed down did my skin improve. Now, it's darned near perfect.

this sounds so nuts, but it's worked wonders for me for the last 6 months...

olive oil.

seriously. it moisturizes, duh, but it also cleans your skin and flushes out the junk in your pores.

at the end of the day i remove my makeup, if i'm wearing any, with a makeup wipe, then use a cotton ball with some olive oil on it and swab it around my face, then take a hot shower, use a washcloth to give your skin just a little exfoliation and get the excess oil off.

i know it sounds crazy to be rubbing oil on your skin but it actually works. you can do a search and read all kinds of stuff about why it doesn't clog your pores for some reason. i thought it was crazy too, but i have a friend who's italian... of course... and she swears by it. she said her grandma used it and always looked 15 years younger than her age, so i decided to try it and i was amazed. it's been 6 months or so now. i used to have really really bad skin, and my skin has improved sooooo much! you just have to give it a chance to work.

Add some basalmic vinegar and garlic to that and... umm-m-m-m-m!!

haha moviequeen, i know... but i swear my face doesn't smell like salad all the time. or if it does, i dont smell it.

I get acne upon eating oily or fried foods.

Hey anyone heard about Frutels, the vitamin chocolate for acne? Claims to work from the inside out. Anyone try it? (www.frutels.com)Sounds easy, but I'd appreciate knowing about anyone's experience. Would really love to be able to clear my skin! Thanks!

Did anyone try any sulfur based creams and washes (prescription)? They might work....

also, I forgot the name, but I was reading the cranky actress blog and she mentioned some top notch dermatologist doctor to the stars, check out her blog, there's a name, Google him...and if you have the money, try him out.

There are dermatologists, and there are the ones that specialize specifically in cosmetic dermatology. Make sure you don't have just a regular dermo.

aquajules has a really good point. I've heard of using oil to cleanse your face from a few model friends and everyone I know who uses it swears by it. I remember learning something in chemistry about oil dissolving oil, I can't quite remember the specifics but I know olive oil DOES NOT cause you to break out. eating oily food is completely different. using harsh soaps on your face dries your face out. your skin needs oil to repair itself, and perform other vital cell functions, if you use harsh abrasive soaps that strip all the oil from your face your skin will be dry, and thus produce MORE oil to replenish the oil you just stripped away. If this doesn't make sense google it. Also gentle cleansers like cetaphil and purpose are good, they clean quite well without drying. you can buy them at any drugstore/ supermarket.

I've had bad acne for my entire adult life (I'm 29 now) and I've tried literally everything that has been listed up until this point on this thread. Anyone know of any dietary changes I could make that might decrease the oil in my skin?

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but I have heard amazing things about the clinique 3 step skin care system. If you want to know more about it check out a video on youtube by juicystar07 and she talks about how to use it and what it does.