Monday, February 27, 2012

Breakout Blahs

What girl doesn't get the occasional pimple? That annoying little bugger always seems to pop up at the least opportune time. Prom night, wedding day, that big interview, etc. We all have those stories. I've always had really bad acne. I tried every home remedy and every store-bought face wash before the doctor prescribed the heavy duty acne medicine, Acutane. For those of you that don't know about Acutane, let me give you some insight. . .you can't be on it without regular blood and pregnancy tests. The warning on it is pages long and it has even made some people suicidal. Yea, big stuff. It had some nasty side effects (super dry skin, crazy mood swings, and more totally un-fun stuff) but it did it's job and my acne went away.

Fast forward to this past October when my kidneys revolted. One of the first moves of my doctors was to take me off my birth control for fear that it was contributing to the issues. You may have even seen the commercials warning patients to talk to their doctors about it. One of the good things about the birth control was that it helped with the acne issue, so when I went off of it the zits made their way back. Add to that the addition of the steroids (known for giving people acne!) and you have the perfect storm for acne.

Which brings me to today. I can't count the number of zits I currently have on both hands. To be honest it's pretty embarrassing to have as many zits as my middle school students! It has gotten that bad. My usual regiment of Cetaphil face wash each night and Aveeno moisturizer in the morning just isn't cuttin' it any more.  How do y'all keep the zits away? What "must-have" items should I try? What am I missing here?? I'm open to anything and everything!

4 comments:

  1. I know exactly how you feel!

    I stopped taking my birth control last April. Within a week I had full blown acne not only on my face but my chest and back as well!

    I first was able to treat it with regular store bought products from Walmart. They helped for about 6 months! Then in October I got the worse face acne I have ever had! I was super embarrassed!! Especially since I was almost 27!

    I was still trying to treat it with the cheap stuff. Christmas rolled around and I was looking at some pictures taken at a family get together. I knew then I had to do something about it! It was so serious I could see all the bumps in the pictures! NOT COOL! So I decided I would buy the trial size of Clinique Ance Solutions! Their makeup is the only makeup I can use so I knew their other products would probably work for me too!

    Within a couple of days I started seeing a differance! My husband even noticed it! Its a 3 step system (similar to proactive) but I believe its less irritating! I have since bought the regurlar sizes and this weekend I even purchased their moisturizer!

    My face hasn't been this clear now in almost a year! I still get the occasional bump but its nothing like it was!

    Sorry this comment is so long!!! But I hope it helps!

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  2. I tried ProActiv when I went off of birth control a couple of years ago.I had a facial done at an Aveda Institute Salon in Brier Creek to try and combat the super dry, paperthin quality that my skin had become.. The lady that did my facial said to use face washes containing glycolic acid, not salycic acid (since those are too harsh on most women's skin)and also a moisturizer during the day that has a lower percent glycolic acid, and then a night cream (no glycolic acid) to make sure your skin stayed hydrated and dosent get over dry and paper thin like with ProActiv. They had a whole set that you could but, I tried looking on their site, but could not find what I had used, but you might be able to go into a salon near you and see if anyone know what I am referencing :)

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  3. and with some slight googling, I found the brand, RX Systems. Good Luck
    http://www.rxsystemspf.com/default.aspx?hb=5

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  4. I have the same probelm. My face is super sensitive so most medication breaks me out but I use a line called Murad.
    You can check out my post here
    http://adventuresofthesouthernwife.blogspot.com/2011/12/skin-care-q.html
    I love it and it works, but you have to moisturize very well cause it will start to dry your skin out.

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