Acne?

[Taboo]

Tried this in the shower last night, then again this morning. How often do you recommend? Every time you shower, or..? I didn't get it anywhere near my eyes but WOW the mintiness actually hurt my eyes like crazy the first time. The second time it was actually kind of pleasant haha. I could get used to it.

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I would not do that every time you shower, or you'll probably dry out your skin too much. Maybe every other?

I wonder if your health center carries samples of any acne meds? Most don't, but mine actually has some really random sample packs of stuff, and maybe they could give you some for free to try. I'm assuming you mean a college one though maybe it's a clinic.

The main problem you're going to run into here is that a lot of actual washes or whatever for acne are going to be too expensive for you to just try stuff until something works.

[Lindsey]

I would not do that every time you shower, or you'll probably dry out your skin too much. Maybe every other?

I wonder if your health center carries samples of any acne meds? Most don't, but mine actually has some really random sample packs of stuff, and maybe they could give you some for free to try. I'm assuming you mean a college one though maybe it's a clinic.

The main problem you're going to run into here is that a lot of actual washes or whatever for acne are going to be too expensive for you to just try stuff until something works.

That's true too, about acne washes being too expensive to try randomly. Thinking of it that way it might actually be more affordable to go to a dermatologist and get a prescription instead of trying random things in the bath aisle at the supermarket. I'll have to see if I can work it into my budget at some point. And yeah, it's a college health center, so it's possible that I could ask about samples next time I'm over there.

[Andara Bledin]

Keep your hands free of extraneous oils and do your best to never touch your face.

People think that chocolate causes acne because people who eat chocolate touch their face with chocolate oil tainted fingers.

^-.-^

[Green_Fairy]

so...yeah. acne sucks. been dealing with it for a couple of years now. i think i've tried literally every thing on the shelves. then The Hubs sent me acnezine while he was in iraq. no idea how he found out about it, but it is amazing. it's a pill you take once a day and a cream. i actually ended up not using the cream cuz i use philosophy's "on a clear day" system.
with this combination, i've been completely acne free since about august. i'm actually going off of philosophy because it's freaking expensive and starting acnefree. i expect a bit of a rough patch while i transition, but the biggest thing with acne control is taking care of it before it even happens. so basically, once you find a system that works, stick with it.
i'm also going to be switching to bare escentuals makeup because when i was married, my cousin used it for my makeup. the few zits i had cleared up literally over night. so...yeah. gonna be using that.

hope you find something that works!

[blas]

I am dying to get my hands on Bare Essentuals, but my bf wouldn't let me go by myself at Mall of America to their store (at the risk of getting lost), and there's no way of knowing my skin tone just by looking at a computer screen

[KiaKat]

A lot of the mineral makeup companies do samples so you can test which colour (or colour blend) fits you best. Look around online.

[Der Cute]

You know what sucks? When I was younger/teen, I had pretty simple acne. As I got older, 20s+ it got WORSE.

I have no idea why. Meds I take were known to have side effects of acne, but nobody could pinpoint it.
Then, about a year ago, it started being cystic acne. Those fuckers hurt.

Chat with your gen doctor. What we did was use a 2pronged approach; External topical antibiotic, internal antibiotic, and another night time called Differin. (google it) my scars are actually lighter, and that differen stuff works great at drying these out.

It's not gone, and I dont think it will ever be, because another doc pointed out that I might have PCOS. yay. not. I cant take any BC pills becuase they don't play nicely with the current drug cocktail I"m on.
I think the best summer I had for zits was when I was working 2 jobs, walking a mile or so daily to work, lost about 30# and had almost no zits. I think the exercise was the best part.

Since all of us here have had different treatments and different styles of acne, I think you need to visit a doc. Also - pregnancy hormones can throw a wrench into any kind of care you have running. Kep that in mind.

[draggar]

Would love to, but can't even afford that.. all my health center moneys go toward birth control right now, which is frankly a little more important. Hopefully in the near future, though, if I don't get this cleared up.

My wife is annoyed because her birth control pill medication had to be switched (age). The one she was on did a great job with acne, too. I'll see if I can find which one she was on before.

[trailerparkmedic]

Blas, you don't have to go to a Bare Minerals store to get Bare Minerals. Ulta and Sephora both carry it, and I've even seen it at the nice grocery store in town. Keep your eyes open.

[blas]

I appreciate your advice but this podunk part of Wisconsin does not have a Sephora. I'd have to go online or to Mall of America to buy the stuff in person.

Perhaps I will try online here to see if I can get some samples.

I do prefer mineral makeup, and I agree it's much easier on skin, easier to remove, and is much more natural looking. It sits on your skin instead of sinking in.

I also like powder/foundation cover ups, but right now I am using a mineral liquid cover up from Cover Girl. A little sloppy, but it works.

I love Avon as well, but can never find my damn shade there, either. No live samples, just a picture in a book.

I'm crossing my fingers for when the shot is out of my system and it's soley the Pill doing the work.

[blas]

Pardon the threadjack, but I was wrong. I did find a place that carries it! There's a spa right on the edge of town that has the entire line of product. For the same price as advertised on TV, but no need to sign up for new packages and you can just buy one thing (you don't need to order an entire kit like off TV) or you can buy whatever you want.

I bought a makeup primer they also make specifically for oily skin.

What I love is instead of sinking into the pores, it glides over the skin and it's so sheen and so light, yet it can correct redness, acne scars, freckles, whatever. It's simply amazing that something so lightweight and natural can cover so well.

[42_42_42]

Inexpensive things you can use:

BC powder: mix just enough water with one packet to make a paste and then scrub over your face. Leave on for about 5-10 minutes, then rinse your face. This is basically like a salicylic mask. You can use it as a spot treatment overnight as well.

You can use egg whites as a mask to dry out and egg yolk as a mask to moisturize.

Plain/regular milk of magnesia also makes a great facial mask.

Tomato water (the juice from a fresh tomato) is a great natural astringent, as is apple cider vinegar (mentioned above).

Witch hazel is another great astringent.

Baking soda makes a good gentle scrub and mask. Mix with enough water to make a paste and then scrub over your face. Leave on for about 10 minutes, then rinse.

Plain clay kitty litter (unused, of course!) can be mixed with water to create a great mud mask.

Not for the face, but for rough areas of the body, such as feet, knees and elbows, you can make a salt scrub by mixing kosher salt with olive oil.

Make sure you are using a fresh washcloth on your face each time and launder them seperately from your other clothes and linen, do not use these for any other part of your body. Make sure the cloths you use for your face are soft and gentle, not rough.

Use a fresh pillowcase every night.

Be careful of over washing and over drying, this causes irritation which makes the problem worse. Make sure you are using a light, oil-free moisturizer with at least an SPF of 15 every morning.

When looking at ingredients in cleansers, rosemary, tea tree oil, and grapefruit extracts are all excellent natural ingredients for the skin.

[Andara Bledin]

Another thing to consider is hair.

If you have longer hair, you might want to braid it overnight, to keep it away from your face.

^-.-^