Still searching for an acne cure

[Jack_M]

LearnedHand: The fact that things like this keep coming up is why I keep saying.

And yeah, I speak out against T boosting products too because I know full well the struggles many trans individuals have, especially when it comes to money.  We tend to have extra costs ranging from paying for binders, T vials, injection supplies, top surgery, bottom surgery or even just simply not having parental support and having to go it on your own.  I've not always been financially secure and we've all been desperate.  Telling people what literally cannot work, be it T boosters or homeopathy is a message worth spreading because new people browse this site all the time - there always tends to be a few guests kicking about here too, and they should know what's nonsense without having to search for the posts where people do point it out.  Anyone who doesn't change their mind and wants to believe in fairy tales can go right ahead and waste their money, but not everyone knows that it is all lies and fairy tales and if people don't say, they blindly waste their money on false hope.  And false hope can be damaging.  If someone was, to say, stop real treatments for their skin and switch to a homeopathy pill for their acne, if that acne gets worse that can be debilitating to an individual who was struggling to cope with how bad it was before.  I saw a post advertising the good that's come out of named homeopathic (although it may be that they have indeed got something real in it and therefore the homeopathy part is false advertising) and called it out.

In the end there's been plenty of good, real product suggestions and advice here.  Some of which I'm probably going to look into.  Even though my problem has cleared up, getting rid of more of the occasional spots is perhaps worth the extra effort.  Lol

Also, my main point to my message was more to do with diet than any western medicine.  The Oxy stuff is over the counter stuff, not prescribed, and the important ingredient is Salicylic acid which comes from the bark of a willow tree!  But that really only helps control the problem.  In my opinion it's the diet, I've found, that better halts the problem.  By the time face washes have anything to do, it's more last defense.

[DriftingCrow]

I am not on T, so my results might be different from those who are on T. But, using a clay mask has been the best thing I've ever done for my face.

I took a "before" photo a day or two before starting to use a face mask for the first time. It seems horribly girly, but I noticed my skin looked a lot better just after the first use. I mask 2-3 times a week, and continue washing my face daily with my knock-off proactive, but I've reduced it to once a day instead of twice. I'd been using the proactive stuff since like, March or April. It helped some but never cleared as well as I am now. I am thinking of moving over into making my own clay masks.

September 23, 2013: (here, it's actually not as horrible as it sometimes was. I only get acne near my chin and lips)



Today (November 24, 2013): (much better, I haven't had any pimples since the first week of masking. I just have some minor red spots, but they're fading fast)


I used to have to wear some concealer before going to work, but I don't even bother anymore.
My face used to also be wicked shiny all the time but now it's not anymore.

[Kytri]

Oh wow, that's a really dramatic difference. I'm gonna have to try that.

The recipe doesn't seem to say where to get the ingredients for the mask though? I think I can get most of the herbs and things from the natural foods store but do places like that carry the clay too?

[DriftingCrow]

 I am currently using Freeman's Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask Avocado & Oatmeal. Its available at places like cvs, walgreens, rite-aid. I think is around $6.

It has the kaolin clay in it. I was going to look on amazon for the dry/powdered version of kaolin.

Edit to add: Yep, there's a lot on Amazon for clay powders.

[ataraxiamachine]

I had severe acne for almost 20 years and tried everything at least once hoping for the magical cure.  Things would seem to work for a couple of weeks but it never lasted, and often the breakouts were twice as bad after clearing up for a while.  I actually put off starting T for years because my face was already so bad that I couldn't see adding anything else into the mix.  (Yeah, I can be that vain.)

At the beginning of this year, though, I started washing my face with neutrogena extra-strength t-gel (dandruff shampoo) and cool water, rationalizing that if it could knock out dandruffy clogged pores on the scalp, then maybe it could do something for my chin and etc.  I rinse and follow that up with a cheapo 10% benzoyl peroxide cream and something called "Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair" that contains retinol-sa.  I usually only do this once a day, though I did the twice-a-day thing for a while in the beginning.  I have a hunch that the retinol is the magic key here, but the three products each attack a different aspect of the breakouts so I just leave things like they are.

This regimen (or some voodoo magic that I'm unaware of) has led to clear skin ALL YEAR LONG, for the first time in my living memory.  Seriously.  I finally started t a couple of months ago and still: have only had one or two just before starting.  Hoping that all stabilizes soon enough.  It's been nothing like I was afraid of, though.  This time last year my face was so covered in the things (seriously, the pimples themselves had started getting pimples) that I hated even leaving the house.

Every now and then lately I'll get a sort of blackhead in one of the old "popular spots" but the plug is always so close to the surface that it pops out if I run my fingernail over it.  These things are huge and nasty.  All I can think is that if they're what were getting stuck under there in the past then it's no wonder things looked the way they did on my face...

[D0LL]

I am currently using Freeman's Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask Avocado & Oatmeal. Its available at places like cvs, walgreens, rite-aid. I think is around $6.

It has the kaolin clay in it. I was going to look on amazon for the dry/powdered version of kaolin.

Edit to add: Yep, there's a lot on Amazon for clay powders.

LOL
I have the same exact thing in my house and started using it about a week ago.
My pores were getting noticably clogged, and you could see the dirt in them. Left the mask on for maybe an hour, and when I washed it off, omg, couldnt believe how bright my skin was! Im trying to do it 3-4 times a week and see how it helps.
Also ran out of my other stuff, so I stopped using Proactivs toner. I am ONLY using Alpha Hydrox's Glycolic Acid AHA cream, Beauty Angels Replenish red light lotion, and a sunscreen during the day. I figure I might as well limit my product use and so far, results are doing pretty alright. I guess Proactivs toner isnt helping me as much as it used to when I first started uaing it. I pretty much dont even use a face wash anymore, the clay mask just works so well. I also use a Tea Tree oil soap in the shower, and I think that has helped, as my back acne is also starting to clear up some. However, I have a rare skin allergy to coconut oil, and almost all tea tree soaps are made with it (coconut oil makes me break out worse than I have my entire life when used externally), so ir took me forever to find one that didnt have it. For almost every single person out there, coconut oil DOES help the skin, almost miraculously from what I hear. Just be warned there IS a rare chance it makes it worse, and if it does, its likely the coconut (I havent heard of tea tree doing that to anyone, but I guess theres always a rare chance of that, as with anything).

Im also going to be buying zinc, as Im deficient and it does help block E. I didnt buy it before because I dont want to aggrivate my already terrible allergies, but I guess well see what happens, and if I need to stop, I will.

As far as the homeopathic stuff, it DID help my acne, but definitely not by itself. I dont know why people act like Im advocating that everyone use it. I was merely trying something Id never tried before, as Im desperate for a cure, AND NOT ONCE DID I EVER TELL ANYONE TO GO OUT AND BUY THE STUFF. I hadnt even been on any of those items for an entire month, why the hell would I tell people "OMG THIS IS A MIRACLE CURE, GO OUT AND BUY THIS!" No, I only listed the specific brands so that people could see what Im taking. Brand is very important in tackling acne, so I try to keep people informed as to what Im using and how its working. If anyone was enough of a fool to go out and buy something I mentioned using after just a few weeks, then thats their mistake if it ends up being a pile of crap. It would be different if Id come on here saying that it had worked miracles and that it changed my life. No. I said I was trying it and it seemed to be working so far. Thats all.

I might still go out and buy some more of the Natura-Bio liquid (even thouhh the alcohol taste is terrible, I got used to it). I just want a full arsenal for when my monthly hormonal acne hits full force. Ill probably end up doing the clay mask twice a day every day that week. Anything to help.

Thanks to everyone for their acne fixes! Everyones acne is different, and to treat it properly, you need to address the right cause. For some people, acne is simply a result of their diet (unfortunately, Ive tried this before, and it doesnt affect my acne either way). Ill probably try the alcohol when it warms up outside (again, dry skin makes my acne worse than ever, so I cant risk it in these winter months, hence all the lotions I use). Id love to try oil pulling again, its just such a hassle. Plus I hate the idea of having to go out and buy coconut oil JUST for that, but I probably will anyway. Ive used olive oil before and thats just awful.

[xsmittyx]

I'm into hippie-skippy natural products and use apple cider vinegar on my face and chest; works well!


Also, tea tree oil.

[Alexthecat]

I'm into hippie-skippy natural products and use apple cider vinegar on my face and chest; works well!

Um that eats away at your skin. I've personally used it to remove over 6 moles.

[DriftingCrow]

Um that eats away at your skin. I've personally used it to remove over 6 moles.

It all depends how much you dilute stuff. I've been using diluted apple cider vinegar once a week as hair "conditioner", as well as diluted baking soda as "shampoo". If you dilute it, check it wuth a pH strip to be around 5 or so, it'll be around the same pH as yourskin naturally is so it won't be harsh and strip off oils, skin, etc.

[xsmittyx]

I dilute it and also drink it (diluted). It's good for liver detox. No  problems after years  of doing so.

May be interesting to research what the chemicals in the other stuff does to the skin.

[Alexthecat]

Oh I was using it straight out of the bottle.

[xsmittyx]

It's kinda cool that you were able to get rid of moles, though! DIY!

* sorry, I didn't specify in my original post that I diluted it

[Mr.X]

Not sure if this was mentioned before (too lazy to read all the posts, I know, shame on me!).

I also have bad acne problems (even the cystic version, bleh) and it turns out that my T levels are way too high. According to my doctor, this may be the cause of the acne issues, so lowering my dose should take care of it over time. Did you have your levels checked? If not, it would be wise to do so. If you had, then I'm sorry for not reading properly.

[spacerace]

I started shaving every morning right after getting out of the shower using Neutrogena sensitive skin shaving cream, and my face is clearer than it has been in quite some time. In the shower, I use cetaphil face soap. That's all I do now.

I gave up trying to keep toner on and using an exfoliate all the time- seemed actually to make it worse eventually

That mask seems like a good idea I might try at some point if I get break outs again.

[wheat thins are delicious]

Um that eats away at your skin. I've personally used it to remove over 6 moles.

I'm interested in learning more about this, could you use it to remove skin tags?  Please PM me.

[Sophia Hawke]

WHY O why hasnt minocycline been mentioned. I'm Pre HRT and the last 3 years ive gotten terrible acne that comes and goes.  Lower face/back/butt.(i also do a job sitting down all day).

Things to remember when your T is higher.

Your pores are much bigger.
If you arent wearing makeup(i assume not) you likely touch your face more and get more into your pores.
Smoking makes all this worse.
Food allergies cause acne, acne however takes time to show.  It wont show up immediately but a week down the road or something.(dont remember how long anymore)
Shower more.  You're skin is gonna oil out like crazy.   Tan less.  Tanning helps while you tan, until you stop then it all comes back.


In 3 weeks i went from crazy acne on minocycline to none at all.  It reduces the oilyness too.  Also its 35 bucks a month with no insurance.

[Alexthecat]

I'm interested in learning more about this, could you use it to remove skin tags?  Please PM me.

Sent

[Devlyn]

Here's a cheap one that might be worth a try. Crush some plain, uncoated aspirin and water into a paste and apply. I read it online, it must be true! 

Hugs, Devlyn

[Sophia Hawke]

Here's a cheap one that might be worth a try. Crush some plain, uncoated aspirin and water into a paste and apply. I read it online, it must be true! 

Hugs, Devlyn

My doctor Insists acne is primarily hormonal.  I'd really look Into tetracycline class of drugs, reduces sebum levels to those most girls without acne have.