A REAL Acne cure?

bret69

There are so many different products and procedures that claim to cure acne, yet it seems none actually do fully cure acne forever...

So my question is this:

Has anybody had acne for a number of years and then found a product or procedure that actually fully cured their acne like it was suppossed to?

PrivateEye

I'm 18 now, had some acne when I was 14-15 say.

My brother is using the Clearasil face wash stuff. The 'clearer skin in just 3 days' slogan is a bit of a myth, but there are fast results. After a few weeks, his acne has died down. He's 13, going 14. Acnes favourite victims :rolleyes:

Clearasil Ultra is the name of the product me thinks?

I'm convinced there's a link between fizzy drinks and acne...I know people deny this all the time, but I never touch 'em and my skin is quite clear. Saying that I'm a veggie, but I've veggie mates who sometimes get breakouts. A lot of it sadly probably has little to do with diet and the sort, but is just damn crap teenage stuff.

JIZZLORD

crap teenage stuff, nothing really works. i tried everything back in the day but as i got older it just became clearer and cleaner until now where i'm clear \o/

kitkat.3b4t

Sudocrem works. Ive used all sorts of products for years but sudocrem is the only thing that works. Its not harsh, it doesnt burn or cause peeling. Just wash your face morning and night, then apply sudocrem. You can put it on more tickly at night. Also too much alcohol and coffee etc are best avoided.

projectmayhem

i never had bad acne, but for a short period i had a few spots and used clearasil etc. but in the end the only cure i had was your daily recommended dosage of water and regular showers... worked a charm.

genegenie

Roaccutane.

If acne is really bothering you, get yourself to a doctor or ask a pharmacist. There's plenty of effective over the counter and prescription treatments out there. All this diet and detoxifying and herbal remedies malarkey is really a load of tripe. Believe me, I tried it.

At the end of the day, acne is usually down to hormonal issues. These will usually right themselves with time, but in the meanwhile a gp/dermatologist can offer you treatments to improve matters.

KnifeWRENCH

I don't know if any of the over-the-counter treatments are really effective. None worked that well for me anyway.

I am actually taking Roaccutane at the moment and so far, so good. It's made a bigger improvement than all the other stuff I've taken. However, a GP will not hand out Roaccutane - it's a final resort because of it's severity and only a consultant can prescribe it afaik.

If you want to go down the prescrition route, your GP will probably try you out on a few different treatments. If none of them work and your acne is really bad, then you might get an appointment to see a consultant.

unreggd

Go to a dermatologist

I think everyone gets different kind of acne, even though it all looks the same

brian_ire

Question

bret69 wrote: »

Has anybody had acne for a number of years and then found a product or procedure that actually fully cured their acne like it was suppossed to?

Answer

genegenie wrote:

Roaccutane

My advice, like others, is to go see a dermatologist, they will ultimately give you the best advice.

Twee.

I'm currently on Bymicin(or is it Bimycin...) and it's worked excellent for me. It's for less severe cases, mine didn't warrant Roaccutane. I just get a bit of acne on my back and it was making me self conscious and this stuff really helped me.
For a more natural approach to less severe acne try Udos oil. I took it everyday with porrige last summer and it cleared my skin up a bit, not as much as medication though, and my general health.

Sqaull20

Acne.org is a great site, some benzoyl peroxide based creams, a good cleanser and moisturiser can do wonders for moderate to mild acne, severe acne will probably need accutane.

Twee.

I used Panoxyl cream strengths five and ten and found they didn't work for me, but did wonders for my brother. I guess it's a bit of trial and error!

Clare Bear

Panoxyl cream was too harsh I found, but I found Quinoderm brilliant, it also contains Benzoyl Peroxide and dries up spots but isn't as harsh as Panoxyl, always works for me.

If you're a girl the Dianette contraception pill works wonders for most. If you're a guy and you've tried everything else then Roaccutane may be a consideration. But only in severe cases....go to a GP that you know is good for skin cases as most don't seem to know much about it. A Dermatologist would obviously be better. All those Clearasil type things are useless, I know very few people they've actually helped. A good cleansing routine is also very important. Some great advice on acne.org on how to look after your skin.

Krieg

I was on Bymycin (sp?). My acne actually got worse with it
Currently on Minocine (sp?), 1 month in and theres only a mild difference. Looks like ill be on roaccutane soon.

How much did the treatment cost for Roaccutane?
I hear the precrip is €60 p/m with a monthly visit to gp/dermatologist

Twee.

Krieg wrote: »

I was on Bymycin (sp?). My acne actually got worse with it

How long were you on it? I thought this too when I started but after two months of being on it I cleared up no end! I stopped taking it when I went on holidays and found it worsened again.

HELM

My advice, like others, is to go see a dermatologist, they will ultimately give you the best advice.

Can anyone recommend a good dermatologist in Dublin city or Drogheda?
I have had acne of varing degrees since I was 12/13 and I am 31 now
I would love to get a cure - that is not the pill/dianette as it just doesn't agree with me and I think seeing a dermatologist maybe a good idea at this stage!!
Many thanks.

Elli-May

pro activ is really good, but not the one ordered from england coz it has different stuff in it. the american one is brilliant

MooseJam

Time is the best cure, you just grow out of it, I wouldn't let it bother you unless it's a really bad case

Twee.

MooseJam wrote: »

Time is the best cure, you just grow out of it, I wouldn't let it bother you unless it's a really bad case

It doesn't just affect skin though, also confidence.

PrivateEye

Confidence?

But I thought kids were very sympathetic and understanding of each other when it came to things like Acne :rolleyes:

It has a huggggge impact on young peoples confidence, there's a huge stigma with acne- in reality it's something 99.9% of teens will have a negative run in with at some stage.

Terrible, I just landed my first whopper spot on god knows how long today, sudocream job tonight for sure.

Twee.

PrivateEye wrote: »

Terrible, I just landed my first whopper spot on god knows how long today, sudocream job tonight for sure.

Cure for everything, just like flat 7Up and Calpol

Krieg

Twee. wrote: »

How long were you on it? I thought this too when I started but after two months of being on it I cleared up no end! I stopped taking it when I went on holidays and found it worsened again.

I was only on it for a month. The second doc I went to told me I should have been on it for 3 months, but the previous doc only prescribed 1 month.
Im guessing sun is a major factor, I was told for both treatments to avoid heavy sun exposure.

From my previous post, Anyone know the costs involved with roaccutane?
Id like to prepare the bank balance if/when I go on it.

x in the city

teens get acne because they eat all $hit under the sun with more e numbers than in the polish language.

if you stay off fizzy drinks, sweets and msg your skin would be alot more healthy.

genegenie

x in the city wrote: »

teens get acne because they eat all $hit under the sun with more e numbers than in the polish language.

if you stay off fizzy drinks, sweets and msg your skin would be alot more healthy.

That's untrue. There's no definite link between diet and acne. Though of course getting adequate nutrition by eating healthily will certainly help matters. Acne is primarily an issue with hormones. Teens get acne because their bodies are overproducing androgens which increases their sebaceous output, not because they eat crap or they don't wash enough. Hormones will settle down given time, but in the meantime a gp or dermatologist can prescribe medication to help control acne until that happens.

PrivateEye

flat 7Up

bad memories!

never again.
"I'll get you some boiled 7up son"
Mam I'm fine now, I'll go pack the schoolbag.

FunkZ

Eating healthy is what worked for me in the end, obvious things like pizza and chocolate cause them.

But mainly milk, and I suppose all dairy products feck me up! Get a good clean diet, fresh vegetables and chicken, fish, turkey!

Twee.

x in the city wrote: »

teens get acne because they eat all $hit under the sun with more e numbers than in the polish language.

if you stay off fizzy drinks, sweets and msg your skin would be alot more healthy.

Small breakouts of spots yes, but not directly from eating sugars, more so a lack of vitamins. Acne is caused by males hormones that females have too, according to my doctor. The oils in skin block pores causing the breakout. Some of the medications work at thinning the oils to make it go away in the long run.

Krieg - Ah, the damn sun exposure. I got really badly burnt when I was on it
I had to do my LC Business exam with very burnt hands!

KnifeWRENCH

I was on Bymicin for about 3 months and it never made any difference. Acne medications vary greatly - they'll work brilliantly well for some, not at all for others.
Roaccutane is effective but it won't be handed out quickly.
It's also quite expensive afaik (I have a medical card so luckily I don't have to pay for it)

x in the city wrote: »

teens get acne because they eat all $hit under the sun with more e numbers than in the polish language.

:rolleyes:
Wrong. Try again.

MooseJam wrote:

Time is the best cure, you just grow out of it, I wouldn't let it bother you unless it's a really bad case

That's not the case for a lot of acne. If it doesn't go away it can become harder to treat in later years due to scarring.

FunkZ wrote:

Eating healthy is what worked for me in the end, obvious things like pizza and chocolate cause them.

But mainly milk, and I suppose all dairy products feck me up! Get a good clean diet, fresh vegetables and chicken, fish, turkey!

A good diet obviously improves your general health and wellbeing, but it has very little effect on acne.
Eating chocolate and pizza does not cause acne - it doesn't help but it's not the cause.

PrivateEye

I can confirm after one night on two spots that came out of nowhere, sudocream is bloody amazing. Once you get beyond the fact it smells like a baby.....

http://www.acne.org/sudocrem-reviews/269/page1.html

Hundreds Dozens of Yanks agree!

sryk

yaa i dnt think this is a better remedy..it can have negative impacts afterwards...so be careful

dlofnep

I stopped drinking milk and I haven't got a spot since. Try it, you have nothing to lose. Milk can certainly cause spots/acne.

genegenie

dlofnep wrote: »

I stopped drinking milk and I haven't got a spot since. Try it, you have nothing to lose. Milk can certainly cause spots/acne.

Just wondering, what's your theory behind that?

KnifeWRENCH

dlofnep wrote: »

I stopped drinking milk and I haven't got a spot since. Try it, you have nothing to lose. Milk can certainly cause spots/acne.

A more accurate statement would be "Milk can certainly exacerbate acne" If you're not prone to acne in the first place then it's very unlikely that milk will cause it.

Drinking milk can ocassionally be bad for skin, particularly if you have eczema. Choosing goats milk over cows milk is better for eczema, but as far as acne is concerned I don't think it would make that much of a difference.

genegenie

I've often wondered about the "milk causes acne" theory. Do you think it's because of lactose intolerance? Or perhaps it's the presence of hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone, dihydrotestosterone and IGF-1 in milk that exacerbates acne?

*itches to set up a randomised controlled trial to examine this*

lubie76

square_igloo wrote: »

A more accurate statement would be "Milk can certainly exacerbate acne" If you're not prone to acne in the first place then it's very unlikely that milk will cause it..

Yes this is true. The doctor on Spa Of Embarassing Illnesses on C4 told this to a group of teens who wrongly thought that bad diet could cause acne

Pythia

The pill works well to clear acne if you are a girl.

PrivateEye

Pythia wrote: »

The pill works well to clear acne if you are a girl.

for serious?

I mean, I obviously can't try that myself :rolleyes: Truly hoping I don't pass that wisdom on to a female friend or two over pints at some stage.... "D'ya know what I heard kills the bloody pimples...."

Two days on and the sudocream appreciation goes on. Fantastic stuff.

KnifeWRENCH

PrivateEye wrote: »

for serious?

I mean, I obviously can't try that myself :rolleyes: Truly hoping I don't pass that wisdom on to a female friend or two over pints at some stage.... "D'ya know what I heard kills the bloody pimples...."

Yup the pill can be effective in treating acne. I know a girl who took it and her skin cleared a lot.
However once she stopped taking it, it all came back again. So she had to go back on it. Problem is, if a girl constantly takes it it will totally mess up her oestregen levels.

There is apparently a male contraceptive pill in developmental stage. This may be a possible cure for acne in the future (though I don't know how far this has advanced)

genegenie

square_igloo wrote: »

Yup the pill can be effective in treating acne. I know a girl who took it and her skin cleared a lot.
However once she stopped taking it, it all came back again. So she had to go back on it. Problem is, if a girl constantly takes it it will totally mess up her oestregen levels.

There is apparently a male contraceptive pill in developmental stage. This may be a possible cure for acne in the future (though I don't know how far this has advanced)

There's a couple of oral contraceptives in particular that are actually designed to treat acne. They contain anti-androgens, which act against the hormones that increase sebaceous output causing acne. Dianette, Yasmin and Yasminelle (lower dose version of Yasmin) are the only three that come to mind at present, though I'm sure there are others.

Actually, if you're concerned about "messing up" your estrogen levels, Yasminelle has a lower dose of estrogen than other pills, 20mg versus 30-50mg. It's just as effective as a contraceptive and an acne treatment, but since it contains less estrogen the possibility/severity of common pill side effects (weight gain, bloating etc.) is reduced.

KnifeWRENCH

genegenie wrote: »

Actually, if you're concerned about "messing up" your estrogen levels, Yasminelle has a lower dose of estrogen than other pills, 20mg versus 30-50mg.

Eh, I'm a guy so I'm not too worried about estrogen levels! But thanks anyway! I just know about the pill from a girl I know who's taken it.

genegenie

square_igloo wrote: »

Eh, I'm a guy so I'm not too worried about estrogen levels! But thanks anyway! I just know about the pill from a girl I know who's taken it.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was addressing my post to you square_igloo, I meant "you" plural as I was addressing no-one in particular. I was addressing "the audience" I suppose. I should prolly have said, "Actually, if one is concerned about 'messing up'..." instead. Sorry for the misunderstanding! *facepalms*

Clare Bear

I actually saw a doctor on TV discussing bad skin with teenagers say that dairy products were a trigger for acne. I was surprised too. He said chocloate and junk food did nothing but milk in particular caused outbreaks.

Anyway +1 for Dianette if you're a girl, life saver!

delighted.

Clare Bear wrote: »

Anyway +1 for Dianette if you're a girl, life saver!

Another +1


My moderate acne is down to 2 active spots after 7 months. It's wonderful! Now all that's left is those stubborn red marks :mad:

kitkat.3b4t

PrivateEye wrote: »

for serious?

I mean, I obviously can't try that myself :rolleyes: Truly hoping I don't pass that wisdom on to a female friend or two over pints at some stage.... "D'ya know what I heard kills the bloody pimples...."

Two days on and the sudocream appreciation goes on. Fantastic stuff.

Glad to see that someone has taken the sudocrem advice. I started using it inadvertently after developing a rash from one of the acne product. I thought that the greasy consistency would make matters worse, but to my supprise the acne and redness ect cleared up. I've been using it for months now and no more acne or redness. I can also use moisturizers and cosmetics which would always cause spots before. I think it's a miracle cure and don't know why more people dont try it.

PrivateEye

^ Ha ha, funny that was just coming here to say the Sudocream greatness goes on. All cleared up. I find Sudocream best because it takes the redness away too.

Rare I get even the odd spot, feel terrible for folks who have to do battle with the things proper. Absolute pain.

artnotort

its not every type of pill that is good for clearing acne.
as far as i know its just the one right?

Pythia

Dianette and Yasmin are the main ones afaik.

mondeo

I have mild acne, however it will errupt if I eat sugar, oily foods and generally anything you would define as crap. I had been using quinoderm cream for years, maybe 8 years now and that kept them away nicely. Although my skin became resistant to it so my doc prescribed tetracycline last week so I'm on that now..Hope it rids them.

LookingFor

To answer the OP - yes, I have.

I had moderate to mild acne up until 23. At this stage I was getting sick of it - having acne at 23 just seemed wrong, and it was becoming an impediment socially.

So I looked around a lot online, and found acne.org. There's a regimen there which I decided to follow to the letter, and surprisingly, it worked.

Here's what I did, twice a day (evening and night). Cleanse with Purpose liquid soap, GENTLY. Pat dry your skin (I use paper towel so it's always clean), do NOT rub dry. Then apply Neutrogena On The Spot cream (again, GENTLY), then Cetaphil daily moisturiser with spf. All of these products are non-comadagenic. Don't put anything else on your skin (may be difficult for those who wear make-up..but short term pain for long term gain).

Also, be sure your pillow cases are always clean, and avoid touching your skin etc. Any existing spots or scars - JUST LEAVE THEM BE! They will go in time.

I made no changes to diet, at all. Not sure I really believe links to diet.

This worked for me. But there's one more ingredient : TIME. It took about 6 months before my skin really got in good shape. You have to be patient!! And persistent!! It's worth it in the end. For a time in the early months it seemed like my skin was getting worse on occasion, but on acne.org they reassured that this was quite possible, and just to stay the course, which I did.

There is one other problem - all the products above I had to import from the states. Which was expensive. HOWEVER, I have recently found what to me are acceptable subsitutes locally. They are:

Johnson & Johnson Top-to-Toe Baby Wash - Do not be alarmed. This is practically the EXACT same formulation as Purpose liquid soap (compare the ingredients, they are the same barring one or two things). Made by the same company too, and MUCH cheaper than Purpose (even forgetting shipping costs). Lots of companies do this - use the same formulation across different products, and price them according to the target market. This also quite often comes in a 2-for-1 offer in Dunnes etc.

Quinoderm Acne Cream - didn't see this in boots, but found it in a local pharmacy. It comes in a 5 or 10% concentration (of benzoyl peroxide - careful! this can bleach clothes/hair, so avoid eyebrows etc.). This is strong compared to Neutrogena (2.5%) so it may be harsh on skin that didn't have a long run-in, like I did with the neutrogena. Use a little.

Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion - I use this instead of the specific Aveeno facial moisturiser cos you get a lot more for a lot less and it seems to work just as well for me. I toyed around with different moisturisers to try and find a replacement, like eucerin too, but this was the cheapest one that seems to work. I gravitated towards it because it's fragrance free and from J&J again.

I actually wound up modifying the acne.org regimen - because of my laziness I ended up combining the two steps of using the acne cream and moisturiser, by mixing the two in my hands and putting them on together. Seems to work fine for me. Use a lot of moisturiser, and a LITTLE acne cream (pea sized amount). Vary depending on any reaction you get to the acne cream (initially some reddening is normal..your skin should get used to it).

This worked for me. Like I say, though, it took time. But now I rarely ever get any new spots, and I quite frequently get complimented on my skin. The one thing I learned a lot about my skin is, though, that it's REALLY sensitive. I would get spots just from any reasonably non-gentle contact with my skin. I think a lot of irish people are like this and they just don't realise it.

Any questions, just ask me!

Gauge

I've had acne for the best part of ten years now... started with one pimple when I was 12 which developed straight away into full blown acne. Luckily I don't have any severe scarring, but at 22 it's a little bit tiresome to have skin like a 14 year old (though it's not as bad as it used to be, thank god). The pill keeps it in check and I've enough experience now that I can cover it up with makeup, but no creams or lotions prescribed or otherwise have ever done a damn thing (no doctor will prescribe roaccutane because I have a history of depression, too). I've tried mild cleansers and harsh cleansers and everything in between, given up chocolate and oily food for periods of time and all that, so I've pretty much decided to just live with it and hope it'll be gone by the time I'm 30!

Had my first major 'eruption' in a while this year while travelling, all the suncreams and strange foods just wreaked havoc. I picked up some of Clinique's acne solutions range in a duty free for cheap so I'm going to give that a try... I'm not looking for a cure at this stage, but a little improvement would be nice!

IceICEbaby

PrivateEye wrote: »

bad memories!

never again.
"I'll get you some boiled 7up son"
Mam I'm fine now, I'll go pack the schoolbag.

hahahha
why did they do that to us???....it was the most horrible remedy ever

Im so gonna do that to my future kids.....in spite god dammit