last ditch skincare before roaccutane/laser therapy - suggestions?

miss no stars

k so I'm now 21 and my skin has not cleared up at all. I've tried taking anti-boitics but they're not a long term solution and my skin breaks out as soon as I come off them.

At the moment I'm just using an antibacterial foam wash twice a day along with an oil free moisturiser which I massage in twice a day. I have naturally very dry and sensitive skin so a lot of exfoliating scrubs are just too harsh for it but at the same time I get a lot of flaky dry patches if I don't exfoliate. If I use a very heavy moisturiser it just sits on my skin and my pores get clogged.

Does anyone have any recommendations for my oh so problem skin? I was in boots eyeing up the neutrogena wave but the comments on here all seem to point to it making skin even drier. Has anyone with naturally dry or dry-combination skin used one?

Pythia

Before you go on Roacc, ask your GP if one of the brands of pill would work for you. Lots of girls take them for skin problems, generally clears it up.

idunnoutellme

hi have you asked your GP about the pill - I'm on Dianette now the only thing that has cleared up my skin - sorry not the only skin before this I was using Zynerit which is a topical anti-biotic and it was great too - took few month to work. You should try those 2 before taking things further.

I looked into the blue light therapy and the laser therapy - my doctor told me that the blue light is a load of balonni and he would sent me to a trusted dermatologist if I wanted some laser skin clearing procedures - they cost alot though and only fade marks that you have presently - as new marks appear you will need to go back and get it done again.
As for blue light - apparently you need alot of sessions of this - I tried 3 I think at 50 euro a pop - wasted my money.

Harris

Have you been to a dermatologist already? A friend of mine had skin probs her whole life and eventually went on roaccutane in her 40's. It's a very very harsh drug with lots of side effects but it did the trick and she never had a recurrence.
TBH I would go down the specialist road with GP referral at this stage, rather than using off the shelf washes etc.
best of luck with it!

winking weber

Are the breakouts just on your face?

The only thing I think I would try again is a low GI diet. i.e no sugar and no refined carbs. There could be a link between insulin/blood sugar/hormones and excess sebum production.

I'm on roaccutane now after being on dianette or yasmin since the age of 18. Dianette cleared it up but the acne came back when I came off it. I wasnt bad but had some spots on scalp, neck, chest and back as well as my face. the roaccutane isnt the most pleasant thing in the world but I can live with it. Its not too bad at all.

McCABE1

Have to agree with the previous poster, I got zineryt recently and its the best thing I've used. Cleared up my skin in a matter of weeks for me, not even months. Its an antibiotic that you apply topically and in also contains zinc, the funny thing is I took that antibiotic orally and it did nothing for me. Then when the gp perscribed it and I saw what was in it I was severly dissapointed, didnt expect it to work but it did. I've heard roccutane is a terrible drug, try other avenues before you go down that route. Buy a cleanser with salycillic acid too, one of the pharmacies on Grafton st sell "Acnegel", it has 2% salycillic acid and I think its quite good. Best of luck.

ComfortablyNum

Hi 'Miss No Stars',

Couldn't remember my login, so had to sign up all over again. If it helps you or anyone else reading this post, if it saves you all time (and more importantly MONEY), forget the 8 Billion a year cosmetic industry that does nothing for us long term.

I never suffered (luckily) with any form of spots or acne right through my teenage years and my 20's. Believe it or not, I got to the wonderful age of 30 before my face and back/chest suddenly exploded with 30 years pent up acne frustration (how wonderful.) I didn't quite have 500 spots on my face or anything, but I got loads of these horrific cysts or boils that never came to a head. Just a dirty big red lump under my skin (on my forehead, nose, chin, cheeks, chest and back) that would sit there for about two weeks at a time. As soon as one would die off, another would take it's place.

I tried everything (practically purchased half of Boots over the last few years), I went for advanced Allergy testing, went to my GP a hundred times, was on Minocin and several other antibiotics (which only surpressed the issue and as soon as I came off them - guess what...) I went to a dietician, I had every lotion and potion known to mankind - so finally........at the grand old age of 33.5 years today, I'm just back from my consultant dermatologist and I've got my prescription for Roaccutane. Yes I've researched the web (at length) and I've read the horror stories from all walks of life, but to be honest - I've had enough of being embarrassed everywhere I go and I'm depressed enough about my appearance as it is. Everything has a side effect and God knows the yanks are more susceptible to depression and mental illness that we Irish are to a wet summer! As for the IBS stuff and all other bowel concerns - again (and no direct offence here) but the American diet wouldn't exactly be the best (have you seen supersizeme or fast food nation? I lived there for two years and trust me, some don't know what 'Salad' is!) We're not great here either as a lot of our nation lives on processed crap, but a healthy and varied diet, together with lots of water and tonnes of lip balm when taking Roaccutane - and hopefully I'll be a different person in a few months. (You also have bloods taken regularly to monitor what the Roaccutane is doing in your body you know.)

The drug itself may be expensive, but considering three years of spending hard earned cash in Boots on a temp. or non existant 'fix' (Oooo how many creams and cleansers did I buy?), allergy tests, GP and dieticians.......the drugs and the derma fee's will be worth it. Save yourself a lot of time and cash and just kill the issue before it embarrasses the life out of you or gets even worse.

Sorry if I cut this short, I thought I had rambled on long enough. And P.S., stay a mile away from Allergy testing and holistic methods. I know the nutters out there swear by it, but believe Dara 'Briain (Comedian) when he say's they tell you a whole load of crap and sell you the most expensive bottled 'water' you've ever paid for! It's not a proven science, there's no concrete evidence behind it - I tried it in a desperate attempt to find a cure and collectively I paid 400 Euro (fee's and potions) for nothing.

Hope this help you or anyone else.
Take care,
SL

jdivision

look at your diet closely to see if there's triggers

Seonad

There are some pretty good suggestions in here
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055440970
that you might want to try first.
I finished up a 6 month course of roaccutane about a year ago now and there has been a bit of a reoccurence.
I'm trying a 5% Benzoyl Peroxide at the moment which seems to be doing a good job. It highly recommended on the http://acne.org website.(another place you may want to look for advice).
Best of luck and remember roaccutane isn't the be all and the end all but can prove highly effective if you've exhausted all the other options