Cystic Acne - Advice?

BTW - I never clean my brushes....I will so be doing this when I get home.

As for the cortizone shots - stay far away from them. That's all I need is for you to get one and flip out and I'm the one that told you to do it...lol.

JaimeLynne - Do you eat a lot of dairy? It has a tendency to worsen cystic acne and other skin problems in some people...I had a friend who had bad cystic acne and stopped eating dairy - her skin cleared up right away. Couldn't hurt to try...

That facial you had sounds painful! I would recommend finding a good medical esthetician, not just an esthetician at a spa. They'll be able to help you the best with more serious skin problems. I'll see my friend, who is a med esth, tonight and will ask her if she recommends anything specific for cystic acne.

Hi Jamie! I have been battling with acne my whole life! It was so bad that I was even put on Accutane, which is a very strong medication that while taking you can not give blood and blood test are required frequently while on the medication, when I was a teenager. While I wouldn't recommend this for you currently it did work.

I currently treat my acne with the skin medica brand acne care kit. I have tried everything from prescription creams, antibiotics, and OT products and nothing has ever worked as well as the skin medica brand! Also I receive microderm treatments at least every 3 months. This also has helped a lot!! I have tried a chemical peel but I did not get the desirable effect.

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

The thing that works best for me is a perscription acne gel called "Clindoxyl". It's really great at preventing pimples, but not so great at making them go away once you get them. So the key is to use it on all acne areas (for me that's forehead, nose, chin) every night. As long as I do it every night than the rest of my skin care routine doesn't matter (well, I still wash my face twice a day, but I can use pretty much any face wash, I don't find any of them make a difference).

It costs about 30$ a tube and lasts me a about 3 months. Luckily I don't pay as I have insurance for perscriptions.

jaime,

i had cystic acne right before my wedding and it was horrible...they left such horrible scars. i never had acne as a teen then all of a sudden got it and it was such a blow to my ego.

i started on an obagi and IPL program and in 3 months had perfect skin for my wedding...i didn't even have to wear foundation or anything for my wedding.

I also use to get reactions to Dairy products. I had cystic Acne in high school. It was sooo much better when I would stay away from Dairy and Caffiene. Try staying away from milk,yogurt,cheese and coffee for a while and see if you see a difference. I know it sounds stupid but I went to the doctor and told him I thought it was making it worse and he said he heard that a lot. Sorry I am not much help. I am on a prescription face wash from the Derm I go to one in FT worth. I am completely clear now. I feel your pain though! Sucks!

I have had acne since 3rd grade, so for about 27 years. And for the past year I've finally gotten it under control. I use MDSkincare's correct and perfect spot treatment when one does pop up. I put a big glob on it and let it harden overnite and hope that it doesn't get on my pillow..lol. I tried Mario Badescus and I think the line is crappy. Have you tried a chemical peel? I like the alpha beta peel pads from MDskincare because they give me acids that can go into my pores and help to clear them up. But I've been using them everyday now for over a year. They're not cheap, but they work for me. Also, make sure the cleanser you use to remove your makeup takes off everything. Your issue definitely sounds hormonal and stress related. I'm using Yasmin, the generic finally came out thank gawd!, and that helped too. I've also found sticking products in one line totally helped me out. I can actually feel ok if I forget my foundation...which happened this weekend at the beach! My skin's the best it's ever been since I was 7. And that's not an exaggeration. Oh, I forgot, when I tried all natural products it did make my situation worse.

Good luck!

p.s.- I've heard good things about Obagi. It's expensive, but I would have tried it if my MDSkincare line had not worked out.

Well I don't have much advice for you but I've had acne since I was in grade 5.. high school and in my early twenties was especially bad for cystic acne. I started using ProActiv about a year ago and the results have been amazing. Cleared up my skin within two weeks.. although I still have acne scars that I'm trying to get rid of before the wedding.. but that can get expensive.. heh

Good luck.. I hope you find something that really works for you.. and let us know when you do!