teenage skin...I'm 22

LegacyUser

I am absolutely sick of my skin. I'm a 22 year old girl and i always get break outs. I'm thin, I don't eat unhealthy food/chocolate sweets very often (once a week) and I'm so so sick of it.

It gets me so down, I get about three new massive white heads a day and then they dont go away for about 5 days but once theyre gone, new ones come.

I have the bar in my arm, as a form of contraceptive. im worried this is the reason i keep breaking out non stop.
Having bad skin is extremely looked down on in my profession which i do not wish to talk about.

I've tried everything. all the creams, all the lotions, and NOTHING works.
someone...PLEASE HELP ME im sick of having teenage ache at 22 its just ridiculous and im so depressed about it

Ickle Magoo

When you say you've tried everything and all lotions and creams, I take it you've tried the GP and dermatologist route?

Morgase

Have you spoken to your GP about your problem?

I had terrible acne which mostly disappeared when I went on the Pill. The acne returned when I came off it, and my doctor suggested Benzoyl Peroxide.

It's cheap, and works well on acne vulgaris. Check with your doctor first to be sure that it will be ok to use with your type of acne.

A good web resource for you is www.acne.org.

One last thing I'll say is don't feel too bad about your diet. It's unlikely that diet is affecting your acne (see acne.org for more on this), so please don't feel guilty about having the odd bit of chocolate.

Back Prince

one piece of help I have which wont get complete rid of your acne but it helps alot and it is never EVER touch your skin dont pick dont scratch dont rub try to avoid touching your face at all

badskin

badskin wrote: »

I am absolutely sick of my skin. I'm a 22 year old girl and i always get break outs. I'm thin, I don't eat unhealthy food/chocolate sweets very often (once a week) and I'm so so sick of it.

It gets me so down, I get about three new massive white heads a day and then they dont go away for about 5 days but once theyre gone, new ones come.

I have the bar in my arm, as a form of contraceptive. im worried this is the reason i keep breaking out non stop.
Having bad skin is extremely looked down on in my profession which i do not wish to talk about.

I've tried everything. all the creams, all the lotions, and NOTHING works.
someone...PLEASE HELP ME im sick of having teenage ache at 22 its just ridiculous and im so depressed about it

i'd say it might be if they're around your jawline or chin. talk to doc about options and about the implant?
maybe some evening primrose oil & starflower oil might help

Firetrap

Seeing as you have this implant in your arm and you reckon it's at the root of your problems, perhaps you should talk to your GP?

@rti-shm@rti

OP - I totally understand where you're coming from. There is nothing worse, you wear it on your face everyday and even though it really is most likely more noticeable to you, you feel like everyone is gawping at you.

The only thing that worked for me was roaccutane. Combined with Isotrex topical gel. My skin was in an AWFUL state prior to getting the medication, moderate acne I think the doctor classed it as. Unfortunately you have to prepare yourself for it to get a whole lot worse when you go on the medication first and it took a few months to sort out but I'm acne free these days.

The doctor could tell I was at my wits end by the time I went to her. I'd tried everything - topical agents prescribed by the doctor, changing to all sorts of cleansers, the pill etc etc. Really acne is a hormonal issue and if it's severe enough topical gels etc won't really do the job.

If you haven't been to the doctor/dermatologist go. Honestly I put it off thinking I couldn't afford it while in the meantime I spent quadruple the amount on all sorts of 'cheaper' fixer uppers which had no effect!

Overheal

Back Prince wrote: »

one piece of help I have which wont get complete rid of your acne but it helps alot and it is never EVER touch your skin dont pick dont scratch dont rub try to avoid touching your face at all

1) But it's fun

2) It's only bad if you don't wash the area afterwards. Some kids just pop one and 'wipe it' and that just smears it along their forehead. Ick. Resulting in more blocked pores, and spots.

3) OP if you're still breaking out badly at 22 speak to a GP and possibly get referred to a dermatologist. Your skin will naturally get the odd spot but if you're having large breakouts it's likely for a reason.

Overheal

Overheal wrote: »

2) It's only bad if you don't wash the area afterwards. Some kids just pop one and 'wipe it' and that just smears it along their forehead. Ick. Resulting in more blocked pores, and spots.

I've got to disagree with you there. Spots are like icebergs, the obvious bit is never the entirety of it. There is a lot of sebum in under the visible bit and the location of it is not just straight into the skin, it's in the surrounding area. When you pick, you press on the sebum, irritating the skin and pushing it farther into the skin, meaning the spot will last a lot longer and will reoccur. It's also why when you pick spots very often your next spot is very close to it. There's also the possibility of bleeding which will lead to a scab. Picking also GREATLY increases the possibility of scarring. While acne can be treated at any time, scarring may be permanent.

OP, go to your doctor. I suffered with acne starting from spots at the age of 9, had proper acne by 13, until finally getting rid of it at 19 when I finally went to the doctor. The acne itself was completely gone after a month, and the scars fortunately cleared up too, after the 3 month mark I was completely clear skinned, with the exception of a few tiny blackheads on my nose.

Change your pillowcase every 2 days, and for those two nights use a different side each night. Don't touch your face, don't put anything on your face, and use a good facewash, (in my case I use Effaclar by la roche-posay, only ~€13 a bottle and lasts a year, it reaches the use-by date before it runs out, it is also suitable for using in conjunction with medication). Reduce any face-touching behaviour such as leaning your face on your hands, biting your nails or chewing on pens. If possible reduce your use of foundation, and if you must wear it, try to find a relatively acne-friendly product. When washing your hair try not to get shampoo or conditioner on your face, and always rinse well when using facewash. Hope this helps.

Bob the Builder

I'm 19, had the same problem until about a year ago. Four fairly minor changes I think solved my problem:

• Drink water and plenty of it
• Don't touch your face. Touching your face causes irritation and buildup of bacteria
• A thin layer of toothpaste twice per week added to each pimple, wart, spot, acne, etc
• A thin layer of a Honey and Cinnamon paste, applied all over the face. (three teaspoons of toothpaste, just a dab of cinnamon mixed in...) Apply three times per week in the evenings, and wash off before bed.

It worked for me and it has worked for everyone I have recommended it to without exception. If right is right, you'll see results within a week.

Oh, and another bit of advice - Clearisil - Don't buy that crap. It doesn't work. And when it does work, it's only very temporary.

Diet has very little to do with acne on your face, but greasy foods don't help. If you are around greasy foods being cooked (chips, rashers, etc.), grease can build up around your mouth, chin and jaw, causing bacteria, and greasy foods prevent your body from exfoliating bacteria through your skin.

jameshealy19

I was in the same position.

What helps is Quinoderm 5% Benxoyl Peroxide as opposed to 10% which is too harsh. Don't over-use.
I also used a cleanser from Vichy Normaderm for acneprone skin, its green in colour, 13quid from the chemist.


Things bad for your skin:
- Lack of sleep
- Certain medication - I took a nasal spray with a small dose of steroids in it, gave me plenty of spots
- Refined sugar
- Not showering immediately after exercise
- Having very hot showers
- Cheap beef - need to get beef at least 95% or just eat fish or chicken instead
- Stress - learn how to relax!

Things good for your skin
- A natural diet - plenty of water, lots of veg, seeds, potatoes etc. Stay away from foods with lots of chemicals, refined sugar. It won't be good for any part of your body
- Fiber - have some All-Bran, Bran Flakes etc
- Multivitamins, Vitamin E and a Zinc supplement
- Freezing yourself with cold water for 60secs at the end of your shower, it will close your pores

jameshealy19

I felt Quinoderm 5% Benxoyl Peroxide worked better than other brands. I found Acnegel with contained alcohol to be extremely rough which was counter productive for your skin.

I get my quinoderm 5% off the internet, mainly from the UK, its cheaper there

born2bwild

Just go to the Doc and get antibiotics. Simples.

Firetrap

The problem with acne is that different things work for different people. There's not one magic bullet. Really, the best thing to do is go see your GP. I know, having taken it for a while, that there are contraceptive pills that have the added benefit of clearing your skin. So honestly, you should get yourself to the doctor and go from there.

LegacyUser

I'm 25 and I've had similar problems with the skin department and I've tried EVERYTHING! My acne was never bad enough to be classed as severe but no matter what I tried my skin just would not clear. I went to my GP about 5 years ago to be told it was entirely diet-related (despite the fact that I had probably one of the healthiest diets you could eat) and that I should cut out bread, cereals, cakes, biscuits, anything remotely interesting and that I should eat more yoghurts and milk. It probably helped a bit given how I ate practically nothing but I went to a homeopath about 2 years ago who diagnosed me with a gut-related allergy to dairy and advised me to drink nettle tea to soothe the digestive tract. Soon as I cut those out things improved again and I still drink nettle tea to this day as I rather like the taste! Recently though, I attended a dermatologist for an unrelated matter and he brought up the topic while I was there and suggested that I try some medication for a few months to try clear up the problem. His theory was that acne is caused by one of two things - too much oil at the bottom of the pore, or too much skin at the top. Both of these are hormone related so was prescribed Minosil as an antibiotic and it's working well so far! I'd guess you problem is contraceptive related so I'd suggest you go to your GP but if he/she is anything like mine don't be afraid to look elsewhere.

Sundew

OP: You really need to go back to your GP and get things checked out if you have bad acne at 22!

I was recently diagnosed with PCOS and I had suffered with adult acne for a long time. It's one of the symptoms of PCOS.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001408/

Not saying this is the case with you but there could be lots of different reasons why your acne is so bad.
Good Luck!

Alopex

this is my experience.

got acne in late teens pretty bad

proscribed minocin. worked shot term. stopped working but doc said to stay on them. digestion suffered and became occasionally depressed (not sure that was linked to antibiotics but I am suspicious it was)

eventually proscribed roaccutane and this worked very well. no side affects other than dry skin and lips. this was easily counteracted by moisteriser and lip balm.

acne didn't come back.