Acne

Has she tried Tea Tree Oil? My roommate in college SWORE by it and though she had very clear skin when I met her, she SAID she'd had very bad acne in highschool.

I used (and still use) clearasil on my spots for emergency care, but I never really had patches of bad acne, just pimples and blackheads around my period...some really pimply areas as a teen and when I was pregnant.

When my skin started to get really bad and greasy around 14 my step mom took me to the Clinque counter to get their system (soap, toner and lotion) I rarely kept up with the system, but every time I started to get pimply I would wash with the soap and it would stop the breakout pretty much in its tracks. It even worked on pimples on other parts of my body .

I get a bar of it every time I pass through a Duty Free shop (about once every two years). I love it. Even DH uses it for his break outs.

It's a bit pricey but it lasts (One bar typically lasts me a year though I think it is meant to last six months) and it works!

Also Clinique has good quality make-up that won't clog your pores and exacerbate the problem. Again, a tad expensive but worth it, and moreover they have sales FREQUENTLY with STACKED gift bags, and they are really good about giving samples and letting you test products.

I Clinque!

The antibiotics (pills) are usually just about $10 a month depending on insurance. Creams are more expensive though.

As for more natural options...

I would try a zinc supplement as it acts like an antibiotic.

An aspirin acne mask, maybe with some raw honey added, would be great. Aspirin is really great at drying up acne, but you will want a good moisturizer.

A mild glycolic acid toner/peel (5-10%) would be good too. Rite Aid has a 10% acid toner that I use and like--it helps get rid of acne and sloughs off the aftermath of a breakout.

I've not had luck with tea tree oil, but it is supposed to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide with fewer side effects. You can make your own tea tree oil acne wash pretty easily.

As for diet, cutting sugar and refined processed foods helps too. As does drinking water.

I am looking at maybe buying a Zeno thing or an acne light.

HTH--it's all I got!

V

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Acne sucks. I am 28 and still break out hormonally but nothing like before. A few things that I have learned, about what I did wrong when I was younger. I dried my skin out when I was younger with over the counter stuff. BPeroxide works but it should be used as rarely as possible, as a spot treatment and only for a few hours. Drying skin out is bad news.

I would absolutely look into changing her shampoo and especially conditioner if she is using one that is supermarket bought. I never knew how badly conditioner was breaking out my skin and how badly regular sulfate shampoos were breaking out my skin until I stopped. When my hair is long I wash it separate from my shower , like over a sink or something. This is how sensitive I am to getting the perfume and stuff in my pores.

I use neutrogena sensitive scent free bar lathered with a small amount of sugar as a scrub a few days a week for exfoliation and it cut down my issues. Also patting the face dry with something very clean , like untouched, a paper towel or super clean towel that was washed in allergen free detergent.

Perfumes, sulfates , conditioners, hormones , certain make-up brands and over drying were all major factors for me.My best friend also had issues and a big one was the perfumes and chemicals in things like detergent and omg hair products. Revlon make-up gives me cystic acne for instance

I mean I could go on. No on e can make any promises when it comes to skin. Everyone is different and their reasons for breaking out are different but I would at least try the natural hair care approach and the careful make-up selection approach as an aide. Exfoliating with sugar is great for me because it's not as harsh as apricot scrubs etc. She should stay hydrated too.

Good luck

I know how your daughter is feeling. I have battled acne since I was around 15 years old and now it's almost ten years later and I'm still in that situation. Not anymore though. I've tried the pharmaceuticals (sp?) and proactiv but it just seemed like either I got side effects and of course the crap didn't work in the first place. I would like to suggest something to everyone that has helped me out tremendously and has almost cleared me up 100%. It's only been about 1 month on this acne treatment regime so hopefully after month 2 I will be cleared totally. It's an acne treatment that works from the inside out along with the facial washes. You take a researched herbal supplement that promotes healthy skin and pores. The stuff is called Clearpores and it's my savior. No side effects, justa clean smooth face. Check out skincleansingsystem.com where I saved money online it at the time. You can only get it online but it's well worth the wait.

One great thing is the return policy so if you get 3 months worth and it doesn't work then you simply return it for your money back.

Good luck for anyone battling this problem. I know at times it's embarassing but you will be fine!

Raw honey works wonders. You can use it as a mask or you can use it as a quick wash. I came up with a whole little system that works well for me. I use apple cider vinegar as a toner and essential oils (lavender, chamomile and tea tree) mixed with raw honey as a 10 minute mask. I normally use jojoba oil as a moisturizer, but Dh got me Mountain Rose Herbs Wild Rose facial oil (scroll down to bottom of page to see it) for Christmas and I have been using that. I made a little blog about my whole skin care regime which you can read here. . This works pretty well for me. Sadly, I have been awful about up keep for the past 4 months. I became lazy and also started giving in to some crap foods. As a result I have broken out terribly. It's pretty bad and I started my routine again, but I may see a doc about getting an Rx just to help me out a little. The only Rx that has worked well for me is Clindamycin cream. I have been on everything but accutane and this is the only thing that has made a difference when it comes to prescriptions. I hoped to never need it again, but I think my skin is beyond bad now.

I can really sympathize! I suffered from acne on and off for years, first at 12 when I hit puberty, got better around 14, but came back again when I was 17 and continued until I was in my mid twenties.
What did NOT help were antibiotics. I know so many women who got Candida issues from taking antibiotics as teens. I really would not recommend them!
Another thing that never helped was facials! I tried them for a while in my twenties. For me they were a waste of money!
What really helped the most was a Retin A cream also known sometimes as Retinol. But just a word of warning, it can sometimes make the acne worse before it gets better but for me this cream worked wonders.
A very important thing is not to pick the pimples. It is so temping but in my experience it made everything worse.
Finally diet helped, cutting sugar and eating healthy.